Time to rebuild the steering assembly, with new seals, gaiters, etc. The shortened steering column still had some light pitting where it met the oil seal, so instead of using the standard EP90 oil I went with semi-liquid grease. Not only has the grease prevented leakage, it also made for a very childish and entertaining evening with a couple of friends as we worked the grease into the assembly accompanied by all sorts of ridiculous noises!

completed rack

The attachement of the rack to the chassis is slightly different from the donor MGB. I eventually worked out that it uses the mysterious gold-tinted metal blocks that came with the kit.

fitted rack

After taking the front hubs off, fitting the brake discs, and refitting the hubs …

front brake disc

… I popped the front wheels on to check the toe-in/out. As suspected from reading various postings on the 289 register, there was a distinct toe-out present even with the track rod ends wound on as far as they would go, so “Trim track rods” went on the whiteboard to-do list.

The left wheel roughly in line with the chassis rail (ignore the channel drain on the floor):

left wheel

The right wheel clearly pointing well off to the right:

right wheel