How To Prep Suspension Parts for Media Blasting | Project Elva Sports Racer

Update by Tim Suddard to the Elva Mk VI project car
Jan 20, 2021

Our Elva Mk VI sports racer finally had a body that was roughed together. No longer did it resemble a mishmash of fiberglass.

Now we could turn our attention to our suspension parts. Our plan: We would media blast, crack check, repair and then paint or powder coat all of the suspension pieces that came with the car.

We first visually inspected each part while cleaning away the grease and grime. At this step, we also removed all bearings and rod ends as new ones would be sourced.

One suspension A-arm was very slightly damaged and, fortunately, we were able to gently straighten it in a vise. We decided that it was both straight and strong enough to be put back into service.

Some racers would tell you, however, that on a project like this, that everything should be replaced: You need to replace the frame, replace the body and then remake all the A-arms and other suspension parts.

For a modern, hardcore race car, yes, we can see that. But then at that point are you actually restoring the car?

We decided that, based on history of our Elva, the excellent condition of the frame and mechanical pieces and the intended use, which will be primarily exhibition and show events, that we wanted to keep as much of the Elva original as we could.

Once all of our parts were prepped, we carefully photographed every piece. While we trust The Blast Masters, where our suspension pieces were headed, only a fool sends rare pieces out of their shop without taking pictures of them. It’s a simple way to track everything.