Towards the MoT

26 April	The brake master cylinders have now been ‘bench bled’ (though without removing them), and the feel is much better. I’ve dispensed with the three individual fluid reservoirs. They were prone to leakage and made access to the master cylinders difficult. I now have a single reservoir bolted to the back of the wheelarch. The carburettor’s been stripped and cleaned, air passages and jets blown through, though with no obvious fault spotted. I measured jet sizes and replaced one of the primary jets with one from my tuning kit which better matched the size of the other. I’ve also measured all plug lead resistances and re-checked coil resistances, etc. and found no fault. I’ll have another go at running the motor next week and see if I can narrow anything down.
01 May	Made some passenger seat supports from aluminium channel, and also cut some for the MX5 seats. I’ve been trying to find a way of not drilling additional holes in the floor for the MX5 seats, but think this is going to defeat me. Gerry’s header tank and support bracket delivered. The bracket mounts it a couple of inches too low – it needs to be the highest point in the system. A couple of plates can be made out of aluminium to raise it up to the level where the previous tank was mounted. Other than that, the Rover top hose can be cut in two to fit both into and out of the header tank. The fan thermoswitch, I now realise, screws into the boss at the top of the radiator. All in all, the cooling system is simplified with fewer joints. I’ve fitted a valve in the fuel tank vent, one that operates both ways at a small pressure. This should help to stop the fuel smell, but was a bit expensive. At last a communication from Speedy Cables to say the speedometer should be ready by the end of next week. They really haven’t lived up to their name, this was sent to them on 21st February!
04 May	The engine’s been running again (after replacing a blown diode bridge). No sign of the previous misfire, but still a lot of top-end clatter to be investigated. Cooling system almost completely continent! The dwell’s checked OK at around 35 degrees. Checked the wipers with the engine running – unfortunately the fast speed isn’t sufficiently faster than the slow speed to comply with IVA requirements, so I’ve ordered a new motor. I’ve also ordered some switch identification stickers. Spent some time making seat brackets to adapt the MX-5 seats. The seats sit very low and are compliant with IVA requirements for seat belt height with a good margin – nearly 2 inches! More time spent bleeding the brakes. Hopefully getting a bit less spongy.
13 May	Fitted the new wiper motor, notable increase in speeds, though not yet checked frequency. Speedometer received back, calibrated, and fitted. Spent a bit of time tidying under the bonnet, and some time on seat frames and locations to aid transfer of the MX-5 seats. The fuel pressure gauge doesn’t work properly despite now being correctly wired. It really needs some advanced diagnostics, though currently I’m suspecting the sender unit. It seems to give an output voltage of around 200mV when the fuel pump’s on, which sounds much too low. I’ve been filling in forms and collating paperwork in preparation for sending off with the IVA application. Probably do this when I’m back from holiday in a couple of weeks. There’s really not too much left to do on the car.
10 June	Big step forward is I submitted the IVA test application a week ago. This coming Saturday I’m trailering the car to my MoT garage for a sort of pre-MoT and to help me balance the brakes. Worked out I needed to trailer the car around six times (maybe more) so in the absence of a very local hirer I’ve bought secondhand a neat Brian James four-wheel trailer which fits in the garage. I’ve spent a bit of time ‘snagging’ and getting things in order for the test, ensuring all wiring’s covered in convoluted conduit, bolts are sticking through nuts properly, and pipes and wiring are well supported. I’ve also obtained a new timing light and gastester to replace my 30-year-old ones which didn’t work any more!  I’ve adjusted the timing to 10 degrees BTDC static, vacuum advance disconnected. I think this is a reasonable starting point. I’ve adjusted the carburettor to give CO levels of around 3% which is well within the allowable for the age of engine. I’ve started to cut out footwell carpets from a roll I got cheap at a local autojumble. Although patterns are now made for my own, I’m not confident of them being finished before IVA test time. Still some niggles – the engine rattle being the largest, sounds tappety but I’ll get a view from Andy at Grappenhall Motors on Saturday. Not yet fixed the fuel pressure gauge, though I’m suspecting a faulty sender unit, and the float on my fuel gauge sender has sunk! I’ve sent for a brass replacement from Moss.
05 July	The ’pre MoT’ was a proper MoT – which I failed on brakes, rear brake and handbrake efficiency too low. The trip also revealed some persistent clutch drag which caused dome difficulty engaging first and reverse. A second visit with tightened handbrake didn’t turn out much better. I puzzled over it for a while – then realised I’d been misled into believing I needed a strong bias towards the front brakes. The set up I’ve got is MGB – the original MGB had single-line hydraulics, with no pressure limiting valve, so the balance bar setup should be 50:50 front to rear. However, my Hawk has a little more rearward weight bias, and has high friction (Greenstuff) front pads –so I need a little bias to the rear – not too much, which would upset the IVA. I’ve gone back to first principles to calculate the setup – I may send this to Phil to see if he thinks it’s worth publishing. I swapped the 0.7” master cylinder on the rear brake line with the 0.625” clutch master cylinder, and adjusted the balance bar to give approximately 53% bias to the rear brakes. This solved both problems – the clutch operating lever has more stroke and now allows quiet and easy engagement of all gears, and the brakes passed the MoT today! Rear drums have been drilled with inspection holes in case the IVA people are applying the letter of the regulations. The MoT emissions test showed that somehow my CO emissions were less than 1%. So much for the Gastester. I increased them to a healthier 3%! I’ve spent some time with carpets to make the interior look a bit presentable while I wait for Gerry’s carpet set to be produced, though there’s a bit more to do. I’ve sorted the fuel gauge with a new float. I’ve tidied up a number of loose ends in advance of the IVA test – which is booked for 8:00 on 23 July.

Almost working .....

14 Mar	Just about finished covering the steering wheel  - looks almost modern. Also been working to wire ammeter (needs testing), and new foglight switch to comply with latest IVA. Sourced some new washer jets with adjustable nozzles – the previous ones with fixed nozzles aimed too low. Spent some time on hydraulics, bleeding brakes and clutch. Found the front overrider support brackets don’t line up with where I think the overriders should be and will have to have some drop plates fitted to lower the level by a couple of inches. There are a lot of fiddly activities at the moment, lots of time spent achieving not much! I need to check the tappet clearances – the rough running of the left bank was I suspect due to low compression on one or more cylinders due to the valves not closing. One of the heads had more valve seat work than the other, which may have to be compensated by shims under the rocker pillars.
17 Mar	Steering wheel’s finished and in place, but the padded boss looks a bit naff and rather spoils the effect. I wonder if I can do something a bit better? The foglight switch and control is fitted and working. I’ve also removed the carburettor and inlet manifold to check the follower preload. I can see that it’s too high on No.3 cylinder, which I already suspected of poor compression. I’ll do the checks slowly and carefully over the next few days.
31 Mar	Obtained an MGB steering wheel padded boss, which as luck would have it fits the steering wheel perfectly! Four panels have been made in aluminium to fit under the dash, and covered with leathercloth. These can’t be finally fitted until last – when all the wiring’s fully sorted, the instruments are properly fixed and the speedometer’s back from calibration (‘Speedy’ cables are taking forever – 5 weeks so far and a further delay of 3-4 weeks). Tried shimming the rocker shafts to correct follower preload, but not able to get all followers within tolerance. Shelled out for adjustable pushrods, which are now fitted and adjusted.  Unfortunately having adjusted the preload, I tried the engine again (Mon 31st March), and the symptoms are unchanged. Time for some serious diagnostics …. Also tried while the engine was running, the clutch – I wasn’t very convinced by the feel and sure enough it doesn’t disengage properly. I think I’ll have to take the hydraulics apart, but first of all I might try to disengage it mechanically to check the amount of axial movement required. The delay with the speedo and the issues with the misfire and clutch are delaying the time when I feel comfortable to book the IVA test.
05 April	Improved the rigidity of the fog lamp and reversing lamp by making a small bracket to hook under the lip of the rear valance, fixed to the back of the lamp and to the main attachment point. They feel nice and rigid now, not forever being spun round every time I brushed against them! I’ve also made a VIN plate. It looks just about passable, and the text is large enough. Some detailing – I’ve fitted a Tecalemit 2800 model grease gun in the appropriate place under the bonnet. I think it will be decorative – can’t beat my Wanner for any serious greasing! I’m now waiting for a fine day when I can get the car in the drive and start to tackle the mechanical issues. I think the clutch will come first.
13 April	Main job over the last week has been to tackle the clutch. This involved removal of exhausts and propshaft, then separation of the bellhousing  from the engine and partial withdrawal of the gearbox. I had the front end jacked high enough to give access without complete removal of the gearbox. It was clear to see what the problem was, the release arm was fouling the side of the bellhousing, but what caused the misalignment wasn’t clear at first, but was probably some incorrect assembly where the release fork met the thrust bearing. The pivot pin was the correct one, 43mm outstand. Funny thing was, after very carefully reassembling everything – and this isn’t easy – and reconnecting the bellhousing, I got exactly the same symptoms, with only half a stroke of pedal travel. I removed the slave cylinder and pushed the pushrod in and out a few times, something seemed to fall into place and the pushrod didn’t go back quite as far. I reconnected the slave cylinder and hey presto, full clutch travel! As I had the propshaft off it was easy to check that the clutch was disengaging properly. A tip for anyone fitting the release fork: assemble the fork and slipper pads to the release bearing before offering up the fork to the bellhousing. The assembly can be held together with cable ties, elastic bands or lockwire to be removed after installation. The pivot pin can be screwed into place after locating on the release fork, and tightened with a shortened or adapted spanner. Don’t forget to fit the pushrod before offering up the release fork to the bellhousing. While the exhausts were off I took the opportunity to make some final adjustments and seal the joints with assembly paste, all except the manifold-to-downpipe joint, which I’ve left untightened at present ‘just in case’. I’m also improving the action of the handbrake, to get rid of some internal binding of the compression spring, and contemplating making some aluminium seat subframes that will adapt the MX5 seats to the existing floor drillings.
17 April	Glorious Good Friday, spent working in the sunshine! Front over-riders: made up some aluminium drop plates to lower the over-rider supports, drilled the locations alongside the grill and trial fitted the overriders. They look just about right, but of course will have to come off again for the IVA test. The handbrake actions been improved with some internal mods moving the compression spring. The action is now more reliable. Bled the brakes again by pressurising each system, but although no bubbles at the wheels, I still must have air in the master cylinders as the feel and action is poor. These will have to be disconnected and bled individually like I did with the clutch. For the first time the car’s moved under its own steam. Only to turn in the road and re-enter the drive though! The clutch seems to work OK but gear engagement was difficult. For now I’m putting this down to lack of oil circulation through the gearbox, rather than any mechanical defect, and hope that it gets better! I’d wired a test strobe in series with the plug for the suspect No.3 cylinder when I fired up the engine, which flashed away giving me no cause to suspect the spark. I removed the plugs and carried out a compression test, first on No.3, expecting to find a low reading. I got 140psi which I was reasonably happy with, though! Other cylinders varied between 150 and 165psi. Finally I repeated the test on No.3 and it gave 155psi. I think overall the range is reasonable and low compression isn’t a cause. I’ll probably check the carburettor next – I remember my old Scimitar regularly blocking a jet and running rough. Another concern is there’s a knocking coming from the engine, not sure where, but now the exhaust joints have been quietened it seems louder. Further investigation due.

Valentine's Day startup!

19 Jan14	Battery connected and testing started. Lights look OK with the exception of the headlamp dipswitch, windscreen wipers don’t work and the heater fan blows a fuse! Altogether at least as good as I expected! Troubleshooting begins ….
09 Feb	Managed to sort out most of the electrics. The fan wiring was messed up, I’ve now got it running but only on a single fast speed. The wipers didn’t work properly with the rotary switch I was using (advantage being it’s marked ‘wipers’) but after changing the brushes, fitting a new park switch and 130 degree wheel to the motor unit, it’s now working with the two-speed-and-park switch supplied with the loom. I need to check the speeds are OK for IVA. I’ve adjusted the float in the tank sender, after it was obvious it was bottoming and giving a reading of quarter full when empty. I’ve spent some time on the exhaust – not a great pleasure given the recent poor weather and cramped garage access, but now much happier with the fit-up, though getting a ground clearance of much over four inches is challenging. I’ve been focussing both on getting the engine ready for starting, and on the IVA requirements. The engine’s now about ready – I’m not happy with the arrangement of the cooling system really, having seen how many joints I’ve ended up with. It’s now almost leaktight (at least unpressurised). The sump’s filled with Halfords Classic 20/50 – which looks remarkably like Duckham’s – and I’ve primed the pump with an electric drill until 40psi on the gauge. I’m just waiting to sort out the ballast resistor ignition circuit. I looked at a number of diagrams on the net, but only one (MGB-V8 site) correctly showed the need for a diode bridge. Without this, the starter runs as soon as the ignition key’s turned to the first position. It’s actually obvious from the various circuit diagrams I looked at, that as soon as the ignition’s on, the current runs to the starter solenoid, but I made the mistake of wiring it that way first. The kit needed is a 35A Diode Bridge KBPC 3504, which costs buttons from Maplins. I’m just waiting for this and then – fingers crossed – should be able to fire up. I called at the petrol station to fill my two-gallon Valor can with petrol (I do this every year for the lawnmower – always half expecting to be refused, as although the can has held petrol continuously for over 75 years it’s considered ‘non-PC’ these days!) which has been transferred to the tank. I’ve run the pump to prime the filters and carburettor, fixing the inevitable couple of leaks. Also turned the engine over a few times – without plugs – on the starter motor.
16 Feb	Diode bridge arrived and I fitted it onto an aluminium backplate with the ballast resistor, wiring it to a piggyback connector to the ‘start’ terminal of the ignition switch. Valentine’s day – 14th – was historic, I reset the ignition timing approximately, and the engine fired up quite readily, though with blowing exhausts, water drips from hoses and a biblical oil leak from the oil pressure gauge connection. Also a bit of an intermittent misfire from the left bank. All in all, no worse than expected! Next job is to get the clutch working. I’ve got a 5/8” master cylinder with the Rover 7/8” slave cylinder, which means the stroke at the slave is approximately half the stroke at the master, which seems to be about 1¼”. So far not much success bleeding the system – but I think I know why. I’ve been using a vacuum pump which of course is drawing the slave piston AWAY from the operating rod – I need to use a pressure system which forces the slave piston onto the operating rod. As the rod stroke is only going to be 5/8” this is quite critical! Watch this space.
23 Feb	After some more concerted bleeding – the clutch may be working – although the engagement seems a long way down the pedal travel. Hard to tell until the engine’s running again and I can try and get it in gear. Think I’d like the brakes functional too, first …. Made a collapsible hub, with the intention of satisfying the IVA requirements, but as it actually looks quite good I think I’ll retain it.  The solid boss obtained from Scarborough Racing Developments is machined right back to leave only the spline adapter and flange; this is drilled with four 6.5mm holes to suit the PCD of the rear face of the collapsible hub unit I got from Europa Spares. At the business end I machined an adapter flange from aluminium plate which mates with the collapsible hub and the steering wheel. I’ve trial fitted one of the seats from the MX-5, which seems to give an acceptable vertical height from the seatbelt anchor point. It may be best fitted via an adapter frame to make best use of hole drillings. I’ll set some time aside for this just before the IVA test, now I know it’s a goer.
24 Feb	Got to grips with the front suspension. I’m replacing the ‘pattern’ wishbone arms with refurbished OE items; the pattern parts haven’t got the inner pivot bush welded on squarely, which doesn’t look good and while it may or may not affect the suspension performance with rubber bushes it would preclude any later fitting of poly bushes. The front ride height’s always seemed an inch or so too high; I thought this might be due to wind up in the rubber bushes, but also could be due to incorrect springs. I carefully measured the spring when removed, and calculated the length under load. Due mainly to being too long (10.3” free length, rather than 9.9” for the pre-’72 roadster OE item), the length under load comes out at between 0.4 and 0.5” longer than the OE spring (AHH6451). Factored up taking into account the intermediate position of the spring along the wishbone, this accounts for 1” of additional ride height. I now have a pair of AHH6451 springs on order and hope this sorts the problem.
26 Feb	OE springs delivered amazingly quickly from Sussex Classics, offside spring fitted. Springs are approximately 0.5” shorter than those from MGBHive and have a smaller wire diameter (0.5” not 0.515”). This should cure the ride height issue. For anyone interested in the spring / ride height calculation - here it is: MGBHive spring AHH6451 spring (pre-72 roadster) Outside diameter of coils in OD 3.8 3.8 Wire dia in d 0.515 0.5 Mean diameter of coils D=OD-d in D 3.285 3.3 Torsional modulus of steel lb/in2 G 1.13E+07 1.13E+07 Number of active coils N 7.25 7 Free length in L 10.3 9.825 Rate = Gd4/(8.N.D3) lb/in R 385 349 Spring load lbs P 1030 1030 Compression = P/R in C 2.68 2.95 Compressed length = L-C in CL 7.62 6.88 Difference in compressed length in 0.75 Difference in ride height: Dimension from inner pivot to spring centreline in A 5.1 Dimension from inner pivot to kingpin trunnion in B 11.8 Ratio ride height / spring compression = B/A 2.31 Difference in ride height = difference in compressed length x ratio B/A in 1.73 Reflectors relocated to where the upper over-rider support’s going to be. They now face squarely rearward.
28 Feb	Finished the front suspension, pleased to say that fitting the OE springs has completely cured the ride height issue, lowering the front by about 1.75” and leaving the indicators just above the minimum required height for the IVA test (350mm). Also fitted N/S pads and bled the brakes, front and rear. I think they need bleeding some more to improve the pedal feel, but was able to test the pressure switch and brake lights.

November 13 to January 14 progress

15 Nov	Axle out, halfshafts stripped and new bearings fitted. I used one of the old drive flanges held in place with the axle nut to help knock out the shafts. The press came in handy again for bearing removal and fitting, the forces involved are 1-2 tonnes. The axle’s ready to go down to Shropshire for the new CWP to be set up. The 3.07 crownwheel is appreciably thinner than the 3.9 one – a comforting observation! Made and fitted inner sills in 2mm alloy. Not (yet) backfilled with foam.
30 Nov	Completed the wiring inside the boot, wired up the fuel pump, tidied up the vent and fuel lines and protected all rear loom wiring with split convoluted conduit. In the process of tidying all the underbonnet wiring and securing with conduit. Running the front light wires out through grommeted holes in the inner wings. Acquired wipers and side repeaters at the Classic Car Show, also changed the fuel pressure sender for one with 1/8NPT thread. This is now installed on top of the Filter King. Axle delivered to Andy Stewart in Shifnal. Apparently some Moss CWPs are noisy – fingers crossed this one’s not too bad. Looking forward to getting this finished and refitting the axle. The car’s really difficult to work on, immobilised in the garage. The shortshift has been returned from welding – an excellent job too. I’m now in the process of fitting it.
20 Dec	Gearchange completed, including a mod to the existing linkage which removes the need to acquire any other components. The gearlever end of the original extension linkage is used, bored to fit directly on the selector shaft. A small metal plated is glued and screwed to this to engage the reversing light switch. Axle collected and re-fitted, Andy looks to have done a thorough job, stripping, repainting and fitting a new cover plate.  I’ve filled with EP80-90 diff oil. Handbrake lever welded and handbrake re-fitted and connected.
10 Jan 14	Managed to find some time over the Christmas break to do a few jobs. I’ve welded the handbrake actuation lever to the bottom of the handbrake lever and connected the rear brakes. I’ve also welded a couple of components in the throttle linkage, which I’ve modified slightly to remove some unwanted deflection, and made and fitted an accelerator pedal. The side repeaters are now fitted and wired, and the wiring for the headlamps and front indicators has been completed. The wiper motor and washer are now wired up. I think I’ve found a way of fitting the rear fog and reversing lamps which overcomes the height issue for IVA. The lights are fitted to short sections of 5/8” aluminium round bar which are retained through the lower holes prepared for the over-riders. A bolt fitting into the inside end of the aluminium bar will also retain the exhaust pipe hanger. When I’ve got these lights fitted and wired up I can start testing the electrics – finally starting the commissioning phase!
18 Jan 14	Reading the 2013 revisions to the IVA, realised my rear fog lamp won’t pass, so have obtained an electronic gizmo from Cartek which needs fitting. I’ve tweaked the bends in the exhaust pipes so the rear hangers line up with the over-rider supports. I’ve made up and welded some half-decent rear straps and the exhaust is now in place. I need to make some adjustments and shortening of the rear sections, and find a way of sticking the tailpipe trims on. The fog and reversing lamps are now fitted using an aluminium spool piece through the bodywork in line with the lower over-rider support bracket, the inside face of which supports the exhaust. It hasn’t improved the aesthetics, but the lower edge of the lights is now more than 30cm from the ground, which should tick the IVA box. I think the electrics are wired to the point where I dare connect a battery and start testing, so as soon as I’ve finalised the exhaust, that’s the next step.

fiddly bits - October-November

18 Oct	I’ve fitted horns, coil and ballast resistor, and wired up the alternator, which now has a drive belt too! The rear trim covering the seat belt support frame is in place. The nearside door trim is also in place, but needs some fettling. It doesn’t fit well around the piece of moulded fibreglass that covers the door hinge, and will have to be re-worked. I’ll probably take the opportunity to replace the ‘fir tree’ fasteners, which only seem to work once, with some spring clips. A steering column extension has been made in aluminium and is ready to be drilled so it can be located in place. This supports the indicator switch – though I’m uncertain where I’m going with that. I wanted a switch that dipped and tooted as well, but the one I’ve got looks clumsy and almost obscures part of the speedo. The Ace dashboard layout preceded column-mounted switches, and somehow they don’t look right. I’ve obtained all exhaust components, bent the pipes as required (they’re shallow bends and my Machine Mart bender does the job, with a little care), and the offside system is complete and trial assembled in position. I’ve managed to get 5” ground clearance (about the maximum feasible), though this may reduce when I sort the front springs. I’m not yet happy with the exhaust hangers, there’s more work to do there.   I’ve removed and covered the dashboard, which is ready to go back and be fitted out. Note this exercise will be repeated post IVA.
02 Nov	The dashboard’s in place, and a number of switches and instruments are now hard-wired in, though gauges are not yet clamped in position. The steering column extension is fitted and clamped in position. I note the steering wheel boss needs a little machining work to match the tapered section of the steering column, just behind the splines.   I’ve been busy under the bonnet too. I’ve finally primed and fitted the tappets and pushrods, torqued up the manifold and fitted the carburettor. The static timing has been crudely set and ignition leads and plugs are in place. I’ve made and fitted a battery tray from 2mm alloy sheet, piped the fuel feed to the carburettor and fitted heater water pipes and hoses.
07 Nov	Fitted the oil pressure gauge pipe, and battery connections – though I have to finish off the isolator switch mounting on the scuttle under the bonnet. Also decided to have a go at making the ‘short-shift’ conversion on the Rover gearchange, having received an offer of alloy welding. I think it’ll look a little less agricultural than the Sherpa change.
14 Nov	Finished the isolator switch, and I’ve been wiring dashboard switches, fitting seat runners to the driver’s seat, machined a conical female taper into the steering wheel boss and generally fiddled about. I’m going to the classic car show at the NEC this weekend with a shopping list of odds and sods. I’ve had the ‘short-shift’ welded, though I’ve yet to see the result, and I’ve also found someone who’ll install the new CWP into the axle. The cost/difficulty of obtaining special tools is a factor. Next job’s to take the axle out and strip the halfshafts, ready to be operated on!

September Update

27 Aug-18 Sep

Holidays and family visiting have prevented much progress, though I now have all three looms joined together and most of the holes drilled in the dashboard. Windscreen fitting is required before finally fitting the dashboard. Other than that I’ve been making components for the new handbrake. Hope to get stuck in better before the end of September!

21-29 Sept

The handbrake lever’s finished apart from the weld required when the lever that connects with the cable is in the ideal position. The cable’s also fitted temporarily. The capscrews didn’t help the manifold problem – they were even more impossible than the hex heads! With some difficulty it is just possible to get a spanner on the offending screws and tighten them, but it needs patience.   I’ve replaced the Lucas starter motor with a geared  one from Powerlite. The Lucas unit needed repair to the main terminal which wouldn’t have been easy, and when all’s said and done its condition was unknown. I wanted to have the best chance of startup when the time came. The Powerlite unit is much smaller and lighter.     Faced with an ultimatum to clear the spare bedroom (!) pending guests staying, the windscreen is now fitted! A bit of a struggle drilling the holes for the retaining screws, and a bit stiff the day after! Fitting needs careful measurement to ensure compliance with the dimensions recommended by Gerry’s Build Manual.         Following this the dashboard’s been drilled for the instruments and switches, and is now in place, though will need to be removed for covering with leathercloth. The intermediate steering columns been removed and had the grooves milled in place to receive the clamp screws.   I’ve fitted the trim covering the seat belt mount, and the seats are loosely in place. I’ve also fitted the nearside door trim – though this will have to be removed later for remedial work. I made a template from thick paper and accurately drilled the holes for the ‘firtree’ fasteners – but really these are one-shot fasteners, and are damaged by removal. Unfortunately the fit around the GRP moulding that covers the door hinge isn’t good and I need to re-work the trim panel to increase the clearance here and make it fit better – which means fitting new firtree fasteners which in turn means separating the cloth from the hardboard backing.   Gerry’s propshaft has arrived and is now fitted. Good to see it’s fully greasable!   The next major job will be the exhaust. At the moment I’m proposing to build the system myself, using primary and secondary absorption silencers, and 1.75” pipe. This is really a bit too large but silencers taking smaller diameters are not readily available, it seems. I propose to make up a couple of dummy silencers with wood and card to find the best positions.   I have the remaining ignition components – leads, coil and ballast resistor – on order, also over-riders. As of tomorrow – 1st October – I become semi-retired, so hopefully progress might be a bit faster!

August progress

06-17 Aug	Steam Rally at Chelford yielded material to make the cross-linkage behind the engine block (from a commercial vehicle wiper linkage!), which coupled with three Rose joints and some linkage components I’ve had in stock for many years, has seen the throttle linkage almost complete – except for a single ball joint to fit to the carburettor . I’ve also loosely fitted the engine bay loom in place. The relay stack and fuse box will need some ingenuity to fit around the throttle linkage on the footbox top. I’ve distracted myself with a number of small jobs, I really need to concentrate on finishing one before moving on.  I’ve been planning the alternator ‘bracket’ – which will be just a long sleeved bolt going through the pivot brackets. The bolt preload compresses the sleeve and prevents the load of the alternator stressing the threaded connection. The previously mentioned commercial wiper linkage has yielded a turnbuckle which I may be able to use as the tensioning link. A suitable long bolt has been obtained from the Tatton Autojumble today. Other finds included a gearknob, 45 degree cooling hose elbow (now fitted to the radiator bottom outlet) and a metal tube – ex Norbar torque wrench handle – which will make an ideal handbrake lever.
18 Aug	Fitted the demister ducts under the demister chrome outlets. This needed a bit of ingenuity, the ducts have each been drilled in two places to take a piece of 6mm diameter brass bar, cross-drilled and tapped M5 to take the screws which fit through the chrome outlets .Gaffer tape may be needed to make sure it’s all ‘airtight’!   The top of the driver’s footbox is now sorted, the relay stack and fuse box have been fitted around the throttle linkage and the result looks quite acceptable. A picture’s worth a thousand words ……  I’ve started to run the loom around the engine compartment. There’s not too much slack to reach the earth on the nearside chassis, so needs a bit of care and thought. There seems a lot of wire for the N/S lights – I’ll check that again!   The dash is in position now having holes drilled to the steel frame. Button head screws, for safety, aesthetic and IVA reasons.
22-24 Aug	Using some thick aluminium plate bought at a local steam fair, made a plinth for the relay stack, and a bracket for the alternator. The alternator’s now fitted, (some modification to original plan) not without a deal of fiddling, turning, milling and drilling! I’ve incorporated a turnbuckle in the tensioning link, making adjustment easier and more positive than the usual slotted bracket arrangement. Next job is making a spacer for the water pump pulley, so that all pulleys can sit in line.         Wondering about the indicator switch mounting. The outer column doesn’t protrude through the dash, so unless I can extend it with a sleeve there’s nothing to fix it to.
25-26 Aug	Used a piece of ¼” aluminium plate to make a spacer for the water pump pulley. Sounds easy – but took a good few hours. The spacer needed to be like a large washer, about 3.5” outside diameter and 2.25” inside diameter. There are three ¼” holes on 3” pitch circle diameter. The inner diameter is stepped (2.25” and 2.35”) and the outer face needs a raised spigot to locate the original pulley. A combination of milling, drilling and turning to produce, now fitted and all pulleys aligned.   To make clearance for the V belt drive to the alternator, the header tank had to be moved forward about an inch. While under the bonnet, replaced the offside block drain tap (which slightly fouls the blockhugger manifold) with a ¼” BSP taper plug. Noted that the two lower central screws holding each manifold to the head are practically impossible to manipulate with a spanner. These need to be replaced with 3/8” UNC x 1.1/4” long socket capscrews.