This week I picked up my A-arms from the powder coaters next door to where I work. They had been blasted and painted black and looked the business. This was quite an important moment for me. I could start to put parts of the car together rather than take it to bits. I had brand new bushings ready to install, and thats what I started to do. The powder coating needed filing out inside the bushing holes, and I was impressed with how hard it was to take off. Before I could do any assembly I had to do more cleaning. The crossbars were as manky as the rest of the car was when I got it. A little while with the wire brush got the worst of the grime off before it got sprayed everywhere by the grinder wire brush. I got the vice out and put it on the floor to hold the parts while I cleaned. Not for much longer though. I ordered a shed this week, so I’ll finally have space for a workbench. I started to try and push the new bushings in using wooden blocks and a hammer. This was the first time I’d done this and didn’t know it would be so hard. The upper arms have a lot of flex in them, so they tend to spring rather than push the bushings in. It took me two hours to get them in on the first arm, and I realised that I was wasting my time. I decided to take the other three to the garage that pressed them out for me in the first place. I filed them out, took the bushings apart and got them in far enough to hold the crossbars for the arms in. With a bit of luck, the ball joints will be here this week. Might get some of the car back together next weekend!