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Post by mistersocks on Jul 30, 2016 9:59:09 GMT
Hi David, Thanks for your reply, I'm amazed the replacement went as smoothly as it did to be honest, and even more amazed that the car is still level a week later!
Interesting theory about the hot weather being a factor in the hose failing. This is the second front displacer I have had go in this way. Actually the third, as I had to replace the n/s/r displacer on my 1300 which is the same part as an 1800 front displacer. Also, several of my spare ones had already failed in the same manner. I wonder whether this is a weakness in the original design (maybe the curvature of the hose is too tight an angle), or more likely its just the fact that the hose is at least 40 years old, and time takes its toll! It would be interesting to know if BMC ever specified a service life? Anyway, the sun is shining again, and I've got to replace the float needle on the 1800.
Cheers! Rich
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Post by mistersocks on Jul 22, 2016 10:07:38 GMT
So off to Barnstaple I went to collect the freshly rebuilt starter. Came outside this morning to find a distinctly lop sided crab... Five minutes with the Darlek revealed a blown front displacer. Another two minutes on here found my old thread from a couple of years ago when replacing the displacer on my old blue Morris (now owned by Keith). Out with the spanners then, and maybe a cider, particularly as the sun is shining. Cheers!
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Post by mistersocks on Jun 26, 2016 9:49:45 GMT
Hi Chris, I think this 1800 is determined to not be seen at a car show. I was going to take it to the Bude Classic a few weeks back but couldnt get it in for MOT.... I took the starter off and took it to Barnstaple for a rebuild, the top of the solenoid had a great deal of hammer marks on it (not from me!) so its not the first time its happened! So its parked up in pieces at the moment and I've had to revert back to my £100 Vauxhall Vectra. Perhaps I should make a start on the Wolseley Six now. It would be good to meet up when you come West in August, stay in touch and hopefully you'll see a white 1800 cruise into the car park at Widemouth soon! Cheers Rich
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Post by mistersocks on Jun 24, 2016 16:29:33 GMT
Teething problems grrrr!!! Its Holsworthy Vintage Rally this weekend, which I was looking forward to attending with the crab.
Until a couple of clicks from the solenoid, followed by some unpleasant graunching, signalled the end of the starter motor. A spare one from my stockpile proved to be no good either. So its off to Alter-Start in Barnstaple tomorrow to get the starter rebuilt. I suppose at least it had the decency to pack up at home rather than on the rally field....
Cheers!
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Post by mistersocks on Jun 10, 2016 19:38:24 GMT
I think every workshop should be fitted with a dishwasher!
Patched the tank as a temporary repair, using Granville PetroPatch. Seems to have worked so far...
I have a spare tank, but the condition is unknown, and my original tank isn't going to get any better. So I'm hoping to make a new tank at work (I work as a welder for a sheet steel fabrication company). If I can give the CAD team the relevant dimensions I can get a tank punched and bent ready for me to weld. I'll put a post up in the technical section when this happens. Might not be for a month or so though.
Cheers Rich
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Post by mistersocks on Jun 8, 2016 21:02:56 GMT
Hi David, I've used an 1800 rear displacer in the rear of my 1300. I, the same as you, have always been led to believe that f+r 1100 displacers are the same as 1800 rear ones. Cant help on the valve info I'm afraid, but an 1100 one would definitely fit. Hope that helps Cheers Rich
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Post by mistersocks on Jun 8, 2016 20:46:21 GMT
Hi Chaps, Many thanks for the comments, I'm very pleased with the way its turned out. My little boy has enjoyed helping too, especially with the oil can during the cranksaft re-assembly! He's keen on the landcrab, particularly the "magic gearbox", his favourite car is a red Wolseley, hence the latest purchase...
I find the kitchen makes an ideal second home after the workshop.Its well lit, dry warm and conveniently near the fridge if my ale level begins to drop. Handy for the dishwasher too, which made light work of the brake calipers and carb. In fact I can heartily recommend the dishwasher for caliper rebuilds. I had to use a grease gun to get the pistons out, so a Finish Powerball was required. I put the pistons in the freezer while the dishwasher worked its magic. When it was done the frozen pistons slid into the very warm calipers with just a smear of brake grease and no wind back tool. In fact it was such a nice job to do, I've rebuilt another spare set of calipers just for something to do. I think I need to get out more...Luckily the missus didnt know about all of this until it was too late!
Few teething problems with the crab today, namely a gearbox leak from a fractured dipstick tube (hopefully already fixed with some rtv sealant), and a fuel tank leak. I was feeling triumphant after a succesful journey to work and then on to collect my boy from nursery so decided to brim the tank. Just as well really, as it revealed one tiny pin hole just below the seam. Not sure whether to remove the tank and repair it properly or just use the petro-patch type repair. Any thoughts?
Anyway, there'll be some more updates soon, I've got to change the transfer gear bearings on my 1300, then do a few more jobs on my ultra long term mk1 1800, then I can start on the accidental Wolslely. It was advertised on the Facebook Landcrab page a few weeks ago. I spoke to the chap who was selling it, he wanted to sell it to someone who would restore it, or he was going to banger it!!! I decided to buy it, then talked myself out of it. Then oddly, Mrs Socks talked me back into it. She obviously has already had enough of me lurking around the house....In a weird twist of fate, a chap called Keith Hollands ended up transporting the Wolseley down to Devon for me, he knew where I lived as he bought my blue Mk2 Morris 1800 off me a couple of years ago and has done a stunning job on rebuilding it to 'S' spec.
Cheers! Rich
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Post by mistersocks on Jun 6, 2016 12:38:27 GMT
Hi All, Its been a busy few months on the landcrab front, after a couple of years of inactivity, so I thought I'd post what I've been up to! First of all a bit of background to the car. In March 2008 I bought a Mk3 Austin 1800 auto from Penzance (a journey of about 80 miles). It was reasonably cheap, reasonably good condition and almost made it home, getting as far as Camelford before spitting the dummy out. I limped home, put it in the barn and had a ponder on what to do. Then I bought several other landcrabs, and the Mk3 had bits and pieces robbed to fix the others. It got put into long term storage which didnt do it any favours (it wasnt as dry and secure as I'd been led to believe).About 2 years ago I spent a few days trying to get it running with no joy, then it got put back into storage again. By the end of December 2015 it was a pretty sorry sight, no headlamps, front bumper, grille, alternator and carb gone, suspension down on both sides and a rather damaged o/s/r door thanks to an argument with a tractor. My mate whose shed it was in was fed up of looking at it and gave me an ultimatum, either get on and fix it or the scrap man would be taking it away! So there then followed a flurry of activity the like of which I'd never seen before, culminating in its first MOT for 8 years successfully achieved last week! For anybody whose interested , heres a condensed version of what went on... How it looked after 8 years of neglect, non running, missing parts, collapsed suspension, a gem! A compression test came up with results between 45 and 80psi. No wonder it wouldnt run! Engine and autobox out and seperated, engine bay steam cleaned and painted. Thats enough for one night. The handy thing about working on an industrial estate is easy access to local machine shops. I ordered a new set of +20 pistons, stripped the block and had it rebored and the new pistons fitted to the rods, stripped the head and gave it a 15 thou skim, all for £230 (including the pistons), all done inside a week! Luckily mrs socks is very understanding (or she's realised that moaning wont make any difference), so the block and head were reassembled in the comfort and warmth of the kitchen! Crank was measured and found to be ok, so it went back in with a fresh set of standard size shells Attention then turned to the bodywork. A pair of s/h interconnecting pipes got the old girl sitting level again, and a few localised repairs on the body saw it sanded and primed. Windows came out (putting them back in again proved to be a mammoth test of strength and patience, not to mention two windscreens...) A search for a useable o/s/r door proved fruitless, so my fabrication skills were put to the test. The underneath proved to be very solid, thanks to the original owners regular waxoyling, and just needed localised repairs to the o/s sill and o/s/r quarter. Then it was time for paint! Before the paint was dry, the fit up began. I've been fortunate enough over the years to build up a stockpile of parts, so some nos sidelights and tail lights went on, halogen headlights and new side repeaters. Engine back together with the auto box, which was treated to a steam clean and fresh oil. A couple more weeks saw the engine and ancillaries installed, fitted with electronic ignition, timed up and running! I'd managed to lose the bolt that holds the air filter housing onto the carb, so had to make do with a pancake type one. Special tuning sticker is more than a little tongue in cheek.... And that was about it really. Rebuilt the front calipers and fitted new rear wheel cylinders and four new tyres. A good steam cleaning underneath and a thorough waxoyling, then it was ready for MOT, which it passed with no advisories! Looking forward to putting some miles on it now, hopefully the sun will keep shining. Its never going to be a show winner, and I didnt want to go for a full on restoration, but I'm pleased with the results. Its good enough to turn heads but not so shiney I'd be afraid to leave it in a car park! Mrs Socks was relieved it was done as I've been out in the workshop most evenings and weekends for five months. But then I accidentally bought a project Wolseley Six. A story for another day... Cheers!
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Post by mistersocks on Jan 13, 2016 19:24:28 GMT
Hi Chris, Many thanks for your reply, seems o/s/r doors are a bit thin on the ground! Might have to go with plan B of repairing the door shell and re-skinning it, I'll keep my eyes peeled though.
Cheers Rich
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Post by mistersocks on Jan 10, 2016 19:49:30 GMT
Hello All, Firstly, Happy New Year to everyone. Ive been quite quiet on here for a fair while, but with a new year comes some new enthusiasm, so Ive decided to crack on with my Mk3 Austin 1800.
To cut a long story short, does anybody have a good useable offside rear door for sale or exchange? I have some excellent condition driver+passenger front doors, and a very good n/s rear door, but not the one door I actually need...
I would be willing to swap with another of my doors, or I also have a sizeable stash of parts if anyone needs something else. Or I'd be willing to pay if someone has a door for sale.
Many thanks in advance
Cheers
Rich
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Post by mistersocks on Jun 3, 2014 7:29:58 GMT
Hi All, Does anyone know how to bypass the starter inhibitor sitch on a mk3 1800 auto? I can get the starter to work by shorting the terminals but nothing at the ignition key... Cheers Rich
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Post by mistersocks on May 25, 2014 14:29:03 GMT
Hi All, I'm restarting my stalled mk1 project in two weeks after purchasing a running replacement engine and gearbox recently. I want to replace the metal fuel line that runs under the car from the pump to the carb, but so far have drawn a blank as to what to use. I'm pretty sure that you're not allowed rubber fuel line underneath the car and copper is a no no due to the possibility of it becoming brittle. Any suggestions? Cheers Rich.
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Post by mistersocks on May 12, 2014 19:39:49 GMT
Hi All, Didnt manage to pick up any fuel tanks as the chap who had them was still refurbishing them and couldnt decide on a price. If anyone is interested though, he does have an absolute mountain of spares including panels, displacers etc etc. The chaps contact details are as per the "Power unit in Derby" post. He also has an Austin 1800 auto engine+box all nicely repainted. I have a couple of photo's of it if anyones interested? Cheers Rich
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Post by mistersocks on May 11, 2014 8:03:17 GMT
No problems, I'll see what I can pick up. TThink the van may be a bit lower on the way home! Cheers, rich.
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Post by mistersocks on May 10, 2014 21:31:08 GMT
Hi Andrew, Am I right in thinking the fuel tank is the same on both the 18 and 2200? I'm visiting a chap tomorrow who has broken 11 landcrabs so is bound to have a fuel tank amongst his stash of spares. I can get one on your behalf and post it to you (or drop it off if you're between birmingham and barnstaple) Let me know if this is of any use and also how much you want to pay for one Cheers Rich
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