1951 Jowett Jupiter - Recommission

The original bump stops to prevent the front suspension arm clattering against the chassis were long gone 



I reduced the top of a domed bump stop to the correct height 



Then fitted them to either side 



I then needed to remove the inner wheel bearing from the nearside front stub axle in order to straighten up the oil seal on the other side of it before the drum was refitted - This had to be undertaken with care has I didn't want to cause any damage to the bearing or the seal - eventually I managed to achieve this with some modifications to a bearing puller along with lots of patience



The pair of used track rod ends that Jowett Cars Spares had supplied me were stripped 



The advantages of 70 year old car design - a fully serviceable & adjustable track rod end - cleaned up lubricated & reassembled - the external faces of the joint housing were prepared, primed & painted 



Easy to see why the old pair were beyond use - the bearing radius being oval due to the crown on the housing having been welded 



Track rod ends fitted along with the additions of dust boots 



The offside brake drum / hub was cleaned up - these were treated for rust with a light application of hydrate 80 then primed & painted 



New brake shoes fitted along with new return springs 



Followed by the drums - brakes were initially adjusted but will require checking once road tested - I need to make some tracking adjustments on the steering rack for the initial set up - Both the suspension & tracking will be aligned once the car is back on its wheels  
 

Rear drums are now refitted and the brakes adjusted 



Handbrake has been adjusted & balanced along with all the linkages lubricated - rear greasing points were all lubricated 



Rear lamps - indicators are being fitted and the side & brake lamps replaced 



These are now all wired in 

Radiator now refitted 



Along with the front indicators - I'm now waiting for the halogen headlamp bulbs to arrive - these are special order due to the fact that are a British Pre Focus contact fitting 



And I'm now on with some minor modifications to the starter motor prior to its fitment  

Stub axle on the nearside now removed 



The tension is applied to the torsion bar at the rearward of the bar - this I needed to clean up and back the tension off 



The bush & torsion bar had firmly rusted together over the last 70 years 



Hence lots of heat required 



And eventually they are parted from each other 



Now I have to somehow unweld the front torsion bar eye 



Access is a lot tighter than I first thought and there isn't the clearance to allow the angle grinder with a cutting disc to cut through all of it although I manage to get half way  



The power file can just reach from the underside to notch a slot through to weaken the eye mounting 



But it's an involved job and takes up most of the afternoon to achieve the removal of it 



The eye is being replaced 



Along with the bushes in both the front & rear eyes 



I still have the rear eye to remove from the chassis tube 



At this stage I checked the offside only to find that the same idiot had also welded the front eye on that side to the chassis - It means that the torsion bar bushes cannot be changed unless the eye is removed - You wouldn't  change the bushes on one side without doing the other - hence this also needs to come off and I'm going to have to back track on my words in the last post 



To do both sides it will be quicker to remove the engine & gearbox rather than now attempt to undertake the work with them in situ 

 

So out they came - more tomorrow 

I initially tried with the welding torch, then the welding torch and my 10 ton hydraulic body jack against the tensioner and still got nowhere - I then attached the cutting gun to the welding torch in order to apply much more heat to the area 



I had to get it all cherry red before getting anywhere with it 



The tensioner is now slightly bent with all the load that has been applied to it - so I'll need to straighten it up 



I then needed to cut through the front torsion arm mounting eye which again had been welded to the chassis like the nearside 



With the front of the torsion arm loose I could now have a go at releasing the rear eye 



Which popped straight out with a lever 





I could now separate the torsion bar from the arm prior to cleaning everything up



Removed what remained of the front torsion eye mounting 


 
And cleaned the chassis tube up where a brainless idiot had welded the eye to the tube 



Then straightened up the tension arm - again with lots of heat - I'll get the various cleaned up parts into primer & paint tomorrow - then I'm awaiting delivery of the new bushes & eyes - plenty of other things that I can be getting on with though

The reusable front suspension parts were cleaned, prepared & primed 



Then refinished in satin black 



With works to the rear chassis & drivetrain areas virtually complete the spare wheel carrier could be refitted 



The flexible exhaust mountings are woefully inadequate - they have either already broken or are under so much strain that they are will fail within a short period of use 





I've replaced them with heavy duty mountings - the Jowett boxer engine generates much more torque than a conventional inline engine hence there's quite a bit of flex within the exhaust system that needs to be taken into account 



Lots of other minor jobs coming together / being completed 



New earthing points on either side of the rear chassis - the harness still requires clipping up to the rear lights but only once I have tested the electrics / lights 



Headlights refitted with a halogen 55 / 60 watt conversion from the original 35 watt British Pre Focus bulbs - I still need to upgrade the side light bulbs which are currently 2 watt to 5 watt which are now retained within the headlamps 

Front torsion arm eyes - the new eyes had to be machined to suit the bearings 



Now sorted



Then the damper ring was made up to size - cut from VW Beetle torsion bar bushes 



I wanted to ensure that the torsion bar adjusting screws would be fully usable - I couldn't move them without getting the threaded collar on the chassis glowing red with heat - then the nearside one snapped - fortunately I could just get on to the other end of it to file a couple of flats onto which I fit a spanner - with it cherry red once more I just managed to wind the broken end out 





I'll need to run a tap through the threads which I have identified as 9/16 BSF 16 TPI 



No luck so far with my search for a replacement bolt 



So I may well have to have something made up 



But if I'm stuck I could probably loan one off one of my projects that I have in store whilst the replacement is made up 

Having sourced a replacement adjusting bolt along with both a 9/16 BSF tap & die I could now progress the suspension on the nearside

 

Retapped the threads on the nearside chassis for the adjusting bolt - fortunately the tap was just long enough to work through length of the thread eye



With the adjusting bolt checked the rest of the torsion bar arrangement could be refitted 



Dampening ring cut to size & fitted 



Fitted the new bushes to the torsion arm along with the mounting eyes 



Then assembled to the chassis 



Torsion arm could then be fitted to the rear mounting 



And the locking nut tightened and then wire locked - more to follow soon 

The height adjustable ball joint / track rod end is critical on the Javelin & Jupiters and needs to be checked through the full travel length of the suspension 



Each side needs to be checked & adjusted accordingly  



Once set it can be locked in place 



Final job on setting the front suspension & steering geometry is to set the track width - whilst the equipment looks somewhat rudimental it's the most effective way of setting the tracking - Whilst on modern vehicles camber / tracking can all be adjusted & set within a short a period you need several hours to set a Jupiter up 



The radiator, water pump & remaining engine auxiliaries have now been fitted and I'm edging ever closer to commence the recommissioning  of the electrical circuits and starting the engine