Progress Reports

This page will hold all the archived updates, so you should be able to see if I have achieved my aims or if I’m failing miserably. Whichever the case, I’m hoping that keeping this site updated will help me keep on track.

 

12 04 2007 to 12 05 2007 Progress Report

 

12 03 2007 to 12 04 2007 Progress Report

 

01 01 2007 to 12 03 2007 Progress Report

 

29 08 2006 to 31 12 2006 Progress Report

 

28 08 2006 - Initial Assessment

 

 

12 04 2007 to 12 05 2007 Progress Report:

Engine: We  I have made a decision regarding the engine rebuild (see last months update below). I will rebuild what I have without spending any more money on it and accept it will probably only run for a few thousand miles before it needs doing properly. This will at least give me the chance to find out what else needs doing to the car so I can complete the engine rebuild and do the other jobs at the same time.

 

Having made the decision I have now reassembled a the block as a short engine. This way I can keep the bores well oiled while it is waiting for the rest of the car to reach a point where I can install the engine. During the reassembly I made several discoveries, adjustable tappets sound very nice but are a complete pain the ****.

 

Firstly I reassembled the valve chest and then set about adjusting the tappets - well that was my first mistake - you cant adjust the tappets unless you have a very thin spanner, easily fixed, I ground down an old spanner to fit, slackened the adjusters and set the gap, then discovered it was almost impossible to tighten the adjuster locknut without changing the gap - back to square one. Finally I stripped out the valve chest again used my loose fitting valve guide (I ground down an old guide to make life easier to grind in the valves - it hand pushes in and out of the housing without being sloppy) and valve to adjust the gap correctly on the cam follower. I could then easily remove the follower tighten the lock nut and recheck the gap quite easily, making minor adjustments as I went. It was then a simple job to reassemble the original guides, valves, and springs and recheck the gaps - all were ok the first time. This leaves me wondering how I will adjust them when the car is in use and I have a much more restricted access to the valve chest (please send me feedback with any ideas or experience you may have).

 

Secondly I discovered that if you fit the sump to the block you can not fit the flywheel - I know because I tried every way I could to fit it, in the end I took the sump off again, dripped the flywheel in and then refitted the sump.

 

Lastly I nearly got caught out by the timing marks in the timing gear. The line on the crank gear was quite clear but the line on the cam gear was quite small and I nearly miss took it for an old damage mark. I only spotted my mistake it after I had set up the timing using the line on the crank and the dot on the timing gear. When I then looked at the piston position and the cam lobes it looked wrong, so I went back to first principles and worked out where the cam gear should be, I then realised my error!!!

 

 

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12 03 2007 to 12 04 2007 Progress Report:

Engine: After an awful lot of rust removal, cleaning, freeing and gentle persuasion I have finally cleaned up all the engine components. I have also ordered, received (thanks to the club) and fitted a new oil control ring for number one piston. I have also honed the bores, and tried to remove the rust spots from the crank. This has left me with a difficult decision, do I reassemble the block knowing that I will be low on compression on number one cylinder due to not being able to remove all the rust marks and having a slightly suspect crank (again due to the remains of the rust marks) or do I go for a re-bore, crank grind and a complete rebuild?

 

Crosshead: This month I have had to clean off the damaged paint (after the brazing) and put a coat of primer on in preparation for the new top coat. Now all I have to do is remove the runs I have managed to add when putting on the primer (it doesn’t say on the tin it comes complete with runs!!!)

 

Sundry: Thanks again to the owners club and their fantastic service I now have a complete exhaust system (moved across the country by members of the club so it didn’t get damaged during shipping - thanks again guys).

 

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01 01 2007 to 12 03 2007 Progress Report:

Engine: I have yet another 10hp engine. The bad news is it was seized and has no ancillaries, manifolds or distributor. The good news is I have stripped it down, freed the seized piston, and generally given it the once over. I have never seen an engine like this one, it looks like it has been rebuilt in the recent past (miles wise, not time - the bottom end bearings are not badly worn and should be good for a few miles yet) but it has shims between the big end caps and the con rods(several thou thick on most rods), it also has shims between all the main bearing caps and the block (about 0.5 thou), but why? If you know please send me some feedback. I suspect the valve springs are stronger than standard and it has adjustable tappets. I suspect this engine may have been used for racing, and it then blew the head gasket by number one cylinder, was swapped out and put to one side with the intension of repairing it - it just never happened. Unfortunately rust has set in in number one bore, the piston has rusted and was seized in the bore, the piston rings are stuck (and there is a broken oil control ring - its currently in soak to try to free it all off), the valve guides, cam followers and cam lobes on this cylinder have also suffered with a coat of rust. In addition there are small rust spots on the crank journals - I don’t think these will polish right out but I should be able to polish out most of it. The long and short of it is I think I can make one good engine out of the two bad ones without buying too many parts - fingers crossed.

 

Gearbox: More bad news. I was worried about the amount of play between the forks and the trunions so I asked Terry (GEE Ltd) to cast an eye over them. I was right to be worried, he said they needed to be sleeved and machined. This job has to go near the top of the list of things to do as it stops me from getting a rolling chassis by mid summer. I have been told by one company they can’t fit it in before the end of the year - there goes my schedule. However, a few phone calls later and a member of the club has offered to do the work much sooner. - Thanks Pete - I may yet get back on schedule.

 

Front Hubs: I now have two new stub axles, complete with all nuts and locking washers (supplied by GEE Ltd).

 

Crosshead: When I went to see Terry (GEE Ltd) I also took the crosshead with me for him to give it a once over, he took a look at it and confirmed it is in excellent shape. He also told me the position the king-pin clamp bolts should be tightened up to on the king-pin. However he did condemn the “original” brake pivot point, mine has a nut to hold it in, and Terry says it should be brazed - the good new is Terry was both able to supply and fit a new pivot pin for me - thanks Terry.

 

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29 08 2006 to 31 12 2006 Progress Report:

During this period I have done lots of little jobs, so I have broken this update down by the items I have worked on.

 

Engine: I have acquired another engine, this one is a genuine 10hp one and is complete and does turn over. However, on stripping it down for a closer inspection, I found that the big ends have chunks of white metal missing, and therefore I will need to have new white metal bearings cast. The rest of the engine currently seems ok, but things like stuck piston rings will need to be freed, as well as a closer inspection made of the other components. I may yet have to find another (better) engine.

Gearbox: I have cleaned the box, checked everything works, (without stripping) and had thread inserts put in the stud holes and new studs made, it should now be ready for refitting.

 

Rear Suspension: I have spent many hours disassembling and cleaning the rust off the forks, hub, springs and fixings. The forks and brake back-plate have now been repainted ready for reassembly. The springs have been greased and reassembled. I have also had two plates made to fit inside the rear cross-members to strengthen them, as per the Owners Club recommendation.

 

Front Hubs: I have had to order two new stub axles and fixings, as I have found that one of the old ones was removed with a hacksaw, and the other with a lump hammer!! These should be available in late January. I have also had the back-plate brackets welded on as per the Owners Club recommendation. These now need repainting.

 

Wheels: The wheels had been previously cleaned, checked and repainted with red lead. However, over the years they had suffered and had gone rusty and looked in poor condition (see the early photos). I was planning to leave these until I was ready to fit them, but when I went and acquired scrap tyres to fit to them (to stop them getting damaged when I fit them to the rolling chassis) I was told about somebody who could do a really nice job on them for not a lot of money. They have now been chemically dipped (to remove rust and old paint) and then powder coated in cream paint (see latest photos). I now just have to paint round the spoke nipples to complete the job, as the new paint was blown out from here when the paint was baked.

 

Brakes: I have decided to recondition the Girling brakes in several phases. The first phase is to complete the reconditioning of the wheel units (operating cylinder and adjuster). I have stripped, cleaned (they came apart very easily and they look like they have been cleaned before) greased and reassembled the adjusters. The operating cylinders were a different matter. They took many hours of soaking and persuasion to get them apart, and then many further hours to get them clean. I have not currently reassembled them as the front cables need cleaning, inspecting and re-greasing first, and I currently don’t have a rear cable. I have also had to have a couple of new studs made as several of the fixing threads were damaged. I have also found three sets of new brake shoes (two front and one rear!!)  in one of the boxes.

 

Windscreen: The only reason I have touched the windscreen is I knew there was a brand new rubber sealing strip that fits along the bottom of the screen in one of the boxes, and I did not want to loose it, or have it damaged. However, fitting it was not that simple. Firstly I had to remove the frame support brackets, then the bottom rail from the screen (I didn’t want to break the glass), remove all the remains of the old seal, and then lubricate the new strip with WD40 before fitting it. It still took over half an hour of pushing and pulling, and two of us to fit it. I have not cut it to size, as I suspect that it will shrink slightly over the next few months, as it recovers from being stretched.

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28 08 2006 - Initial Assessment:

I have clearly been very lucky in that the chassis has been repaired, rebuilt and repainted. In addition, a new crosshead has been made to replace the old damaged bent one, complete with new sliding pillars and springs. In addition, the radiator surround has been rebuilt and re-chromed (and looks very good) but requires a new core fitting.

 

The bodywork falls into two distinct areas. The bulkhead and rear body (not original style and needs painting) are in excellent condition, as are all the wooden parts except the seats, which need a complete rebuild. However, the wings and bonnet are in poor condition and need a lot of work.

 

The mechanical parts are a mixed collection, I suspect that most parts will clean up (with a lot of work) and will be re-useable. The engine is an 8hp block with a 10hp head!! (the car left the factory with a 10hp engine) and had been completely stripped down many years ago, and is generally in very poor condition. The gearbox is complete, but dirty, and three of the four stud holes have stripped threads and all the studs are damaged.

 

The remaining parts will be assessed as they need to be re-fitted.

 

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