After testing the tank with compresed air I found 3 leaks around the welds which were promptly re-welded to seal them up. Had a problem with sealing the sender/pump assembly ....leaking where the bolts were fitted ....was going to use o rings on the outside but will probably use them from inside the tank, that way I will only need to use one per bolt. so I will be screwing the bolts upwards from inside of the tank then putting shakies (spring washer) on with a nut
Will be picking up my propshaft from Major and Aspinal at Durham.....cost is £100:( which I thought was a bit steep considering I supplied the 2 uj's, ah well.

got my prop this afternoon, all looks good but the paint job was a bit naff so out came my el cheapo mini spray gun and was re done in jet black
this means I will soon be fitting the gearbox pretty soon

On the tanks we knock up for plant we use the blind rivnuts. Just thoughts
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=bli...:16,s:20,i:181
Bob

Yeah those had crossed my mind Rob, but I tried what I described earlier and they have nipped up great with no leaks I think the fact that I used 3mm ally gave enough thickness to tap a decent thread....they were clumsy to fit and tighten up but it worked and that is the main thing, so today I will be giving my gearbox a bit of a flush out....not sure what to use yet....petrol, paraffin, degreasant....anybody got any thoughts on that?

Liking your progress Kev, with regards to flushing the gearbox I'd be tempted to run it for a few miles with cheapo oil in then drain and refill it, I've never liked using flushing agents, you can never guarantee to get it all out.

After a few thoughts on the matter of flushing I decided to use some degreasant which is very thin so I used around 1/2 pint and give it a good swirl around inside tipped it out and repeated the process, then tipped the full pint in and did the same .....there were a few bits of metal stuck to the magnetic plug but no more than you would expect from a used gearbox (we have all ground gears at sometime or another).
Couple of days ago I managed to fit the gearbox with the speedo sender being the only fouling issue (whilst trying to move box backwards) but was resolved by removing it then move the box to its final position then re-fit the sender (just).
prop shaft fitted perfectly, so now I must make a start on re condition of engine but before that I will need to shorten the clutch yoke as it fouls the footwell at the mo, I think taking 6-8mm out of the length will render it clear then work out the best position for the slave cylinder.

All the graft you put in on the parts cleaning and paint has paid off kev it looks great:)

Bob

worst is yet to come Bob .....engine block and associated stuff:(
decided to to sort out handbrake for a change ......could not decide on slotting the cp plate or cutting cable, eventually decided to cut cable and join. I found a n easy way to join the cable back together, after a rummage in an odds and ends box I came across a buss bar contact from an old distribution board that had a nice handy tab on it where I could drill two holes in to slot the wire into once the two screws were tightened up.....picture might make more sense of it oh and it is not finished yet.

Got this back the other day after being checked and all journals polished
and also finding a set of Taiho bearings mains and big ends off the bay for £64 posted means I need to start the tear down of the engine. I was going to go for ACL race bearings but I found out that Taiho are OEM for some Nissan and Toyota engines

If I was you Kev I would knock out all the core plugs and take the whole lot down to the nearest recon shop and have them hot tank it bolts and all. Probably only charge you £25 . That gets rid of all the paint,all the oil sludge and descales the waterways. We got a bupi here and anthing mechanical goes into that. Not as big as this one but about a meter square http://www2.ppauctions.com/_assets/a...t_171_7859.jpg. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo scrubbing:) :)

bob