1953 Rover P4 75

May 2018 - Front suspension and brakes

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Front suspension components and some other miscellany stripped down to bare metal after many hours of wire wheeling.

I used the same Master Series Coatings silver primer that I used on the frame for the suspension components as well. The only exception were the coil springs, which were painted using regular enamel spray paint because enamels are softer than urethanes. I was uncertain about Master Series being able to flex and was concerned that it'd crack and peel when the springs flex.

After applying Master Series AG111 gloss black finish.

Initial reassembly of front suspension. All the rubber bushings were replaced with new reproduction ones available in the UK. All the original BSW bolts used for the front suspension were replaced with new yellow zinc grade 8 SAE bolts just to spare me the trouble of cleaning up the bolts and not having proper BSW wrenches (aka spanners). I would normally be a stickler for originality but this P4 is long past that point.

Reinstalled steering idler arm.

To reinstall the coil springs, I went by the Rover service manual recommendation to use a floor jack. Instead of using a chain to fasten the floor jack to the frame, I used a 10,000lb rachet strap. Worked perfectly!

Shock absorbers installed. You can find brand new replacement shocks from P4 parts vendors in the UK at a much higher cost. I opted to do more grungy research to find an inexpensive and suitable USA equivalent. The shock absorbers used on the front suspension have stem mounts on both ends. I measured the minimum and maximum travel distance required for the suspension to be about 10" to 16" and settled on Monroe 31069. The shocks originally on the front suspension when I bought the car were Monroe 5826. The rear shock absorbers have a stem mount on one side and an eyelet on the other side. Compressed to extended length was measured to be about 12" (bottomed out) to 20" when the leaf springs hit their travel limits. I used Monroe 33049 for the rear.

Front end suspension all done!

Front brakes and lines installed. I used 3/16" copper nickel brake lines to replace the crusty original lines. New British-Girling brake line end fittings were purchased from FedHill (Federal Hill Trading Company in the USA). All front slave cylinders and shoes were replaced with new parts from JR Wadhams in the UK.



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