Stripping the engine bay
Did a little work on the car today, mainly focusing on getting the bits and pieces out of the engine bay. I started by trying to get all of the petrol and brake lines that go to the back of the car out, but the hand light gave up the ghost. I got most of the brackets off, just the last couple near the diff.
I then took apart some of the brake lines in the engine bay, but most of the bolts would not come loose. Luckily, enough of them came loose so that the master cylinder and the proportioning valve could be taken out of the car. The clutch master and slave cylinders came out easily, as did the brake booster. The worrying thing was the state of the brake/clutch fluid. It was very sludgy and dirty. One of the seals on the brake master cylinder had deteriorated quite a bit. This may explain why the brakes didn’t feel so great when I drove her last (nearly two years ago :(). I also took the steering shaft out (We’ll have to steer her by the wheels now).
The only thing left in the engine bay now is the brake lines to the front brakes, the engine mounts and the steering/suspension. I’ll leave these things for next time. She’s also in need of a good de-greasing, from front to back. I think that we’ll have to repair quite a few seals on the engine and gear box.