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Post by dave1800 on May 25, 2012 9:55:15 GMT
Tommy, who would have thought Norway would be such a rich source of bargains? I'm envious again! Regards David Hi all! It's back on the road again! Within a week, quite happy with that. It works very well in deed! Tommy |
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Post by tommydp on Jun 4, 2012 21:52:02 GMT
Hi again! I'm so happy with the new white one, I can't get it on the road soon enough:-) As you may recall, I've tried it on the road but only for a day with "testing license plates". I will have to put it through the Norwegian MOT to have it registred and back on the road with the original number plates. My plan is to make it safe and fully functioning and enjoy it as it is. I've already made a dive into my spares department and found most of what I need: new rear wheel cylinders, a set of brake hoses, radiator hoses, chrome mirrors and two engine mounts. Apart from a pair of windscreen wipers and of course new petrol hoses it seems it all that's needed. Oh yes, and I'll get a overhaul kit for the brake master... The body is not immaculate, but there is ZERO rust, apart from quite some surface rust on the paintwork here and there. I'll try to shine it up as well as possible and will possibly have it repainted later. The driver's door (left here!) was not very nice, with a large dent and (OK, the only..) rustholes. I will fit a better secondhand one if it is to be repainted once, but until then my filler and aerosol paint skills will do:-) I'm uploading some pics of the result so far. As you can see from the front wing the paintwork polishes up quite well. I'll paint the door, front walance and the sills to make it look as well as possible.    Tommy |
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Post by tommydp on Jun 4, 2012 22:02:28 GMT
LOL, the wing is so shiny you can spot my Hydrolastic pump if you look closely.. Just below the indicator:-)
My shoulder and right arm hurts, but the polishing efforts seem to pay off:-) Ah, this is fun! And it's great therapy to have some hours to work in the old, worn barn and get one's mind off work and other stuff, like the bloody weather we're having...
T.
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Post by Penguin45 on Jun 4, 2012 23:43:10 GMT
Coming along nicely, Tommy; sounds like all basic stuff to get her right. Pity about the door. How bad is it? If it's actually rotten a better door might be a better bet. If it's not too bad, can a bit of welding save it?
I replaced all the doors on mine and three of them have still needed minor bits of welding carried out.
Chris.
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Post by indianajones on Jun 5, 2012 0:49:41 GMT
Lovely body  Doesn't sound like anything too major in regards to getting her back on the road. -Andrew |
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Post by tommydp on Jun 6, 2012 17:12:27 GMT
Hi again! Spent some hours with the white one the other night, too.. Getting better! I'm quite pleased with the way the paintwork polishes up. Quite ok for an unrestored, original look. Tommy.    |
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Post by tommydp on Mar 30, 2013 8:34:12 GMT
Hi all!
A quick update on the white one... I've spent some days preparing it for the "MOT". I've removed, inspected and painted all brake pipes, fitted new brake hoses, new rear wheel cylinders, overhauled the calipers and fitted new seals to the master cylinder. Pads and shoes have been changed too, of course. I also cleaned and re greased the wheel bearings. I will have to change one of the rear ones, as it has quite a bit of slack. Amazing how old grease will get rock hard over the years..
The engine is ship shape and still runs beautifully:-) I have rented test lisence plates for Monday, so hopefully I'll be finished by then. It's on summer tyres, so hopefully the weather forecast is wrong (they usually are...) as it says snow again on Monday... If not I'll have to get the blue one out and swap its studded tyres over for the test run.
If OK, it will be ready for registration soon. My intention is to have it back on the road, mechanically ship shape, and do a rolling restoration to the body. It has no rust, but is generally "well used" regarding paint etc. I find it quite charming, as it is a totally original, well used but well maintained family work horse from days long gone.
I discovered an interesting "modification" to the rear hydrolastic suspension arms. It has LARGE, modified bump rubbers rather than the original, smaller concave ones which it rests on when fully loaded. I guess it will have the same effect as the Special tuning type rubber bump stops. Possibly been done to overcome low rear end as it used to tow a caravan.
Updates to come.
Tommy
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Post by dave1800 on Mar 30, 2013 11:41:18 GMT
Hi Tommy
You've certainly been very busy I'm impressed! I see you have painted the brake pipes - I always greased / Waxoyled them. What paint did you use?
regards, David
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Post by tommydp on Mar 30, 2013 16:54:14 GMT
Thanks, David! Yes, I've been very active this Easter after returning from a few days in the mountains (Norwegian Easter tradition..) I painted the pipes with "BMC green engine paint", bought through a Mini specialist. I've found that paint very tough and high quality, and for some strange reason I like military green coloured brake pipes... Don't ask why It just looks clean, well maintained and correct imo. After bleeding the brakes today I took a quick spin down the road. No Norwegian police officers here I hope... Well, it's a very rural district.. It was very satisfying, although I remembered I have to change one track rod end and also the wheel bearing mentioned earlier.. Other than that it's great and the brakes worked very well:-) The engine is very sweet and powerful and no signs of smoke of any colour. Great relief:-) So, tomorrow I'll fix the wheel bearing and track rod end, fit the carpets and it's ready for a test drive on Monday:-) Happy days, and the weather is marvellous! Tommy |
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Post by Penguin45 on Mar 30, 2013 19:36:37 GMT
All sounds good, Tommy. Glad to hear of the progress. Sun has been out today for the first time in weeks, so I've started dealing with the various bits of flaking paint. Again.  Chris. |
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Post by tommydp on Apr 2, 2013 21:11:46 GMT
A quick update on yesterday's test drive.. Sorry, no pics..
I replaced the bad wheel bearing and the track rod end and set off. Of course it had been snowing, so I had to swap the studded tyres over from the blue one.
All in all, great success! I drove it all day and it behaved perfectly in every way. I'm very pleased with it and can't wait to have it tested and back on the road for real. The engine is very responsive and sweet, the suspension is marvellous and there is no smoke, pinking, bad noises or anything.
The ironic, or rather tragic, part is that I'm far more satisfied with this £300, unrestored car that I'm with the other one which I've spent a fortune on.. At least I now have a well functioning example to look at and compare with, in order to get the blue one where it should be one day.
In addition to the weird engine behaviour of the blue one, the suspension/ comfort of the two cars are miles apart. The blue one is far too stiff compared to the white one which really feels to float on fluid as meant to. I haven't got a clue what causes this, as I've tried different displacers, evacuated air by vacuum and I use a proper Dalek pump. The only thing I can think of is that I've played up the radius arm bearings, by loosening and tightening the pivot bolts, changing arms etc..
I don't really understand how these bearings (slipflex) work. Could the arm and bearing assembly pivot on the bolt itself, rather than on the bearing as I suppose it's meant to? Am I right if the bolt should hold one part of the bearing, while the other one pivots with the radius arm. If anyone can make this clear I would be happy!
Regards, Tommy
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Post by dave1800 on Apr 4, 2013 1:22:54 GMT
Hi Tommy I'm no expert on these Slipflex bearings and my local BL agent used to complain about them being difficult to fit. I believe they screwed up quite a few. As I understand the way they function (and hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong) is that they are simply the equivalent of the roller bearings used on MK1 cars. As I see it the bearing surfaces are the bearing bush and the Slipflex DX bearing / rubber bush. It would appear that the bearing pre-load is critical (4-20lb ft) for the bearing to function. Too tight and the DX washer will be distorted. The w/s manual section Ha covers this but not too well. Note on assembly the surfaces should be soaked in rubber lubricant. As you indicate you have changed arms and re-tightened the bolts I guess it is possible one or more is overtightened. So how do you check without a lot of dismantling or depressurising? I think you should be able to determine which of the arms appears to be firmer than the others. You have another car there for comparison - measure the deflection when you press down on the car on each of the corners. If nothing shows up are there any arms / bearings that haven't been touched? I see you have used the Dalek hydrolastic pump, did you manage to evacuate the system? I believe some members of the primarily Australian 1800 Google Group groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups&hl=en-GB#!forum/austin1800 have changed Slipflex bearings in the past so may be able to help if you don't get any more responses here. Regards David ....the suspension/ comfort of the two cars are miles apart. The blue one is far too stiff compared to the white one which really feels to float on fluid as meant to. I haven't got a clue what causes this, as I've tried different displacers, evacuated air by vacuum and I use a proper Dalek pump. The only thing I can think of is that I've played up the radius arm bearings, by loosening and tightening the pivot bolts, changing arms etc.. I don't really understand how these bearings (slipflex) work. Could the arm and bearing assembly pivot on the bolt itself, rather than on the bearing as I suppose it's meant to? Am I right if the bolt should hold one part of the bearing, while the other one pivots with the radius arm. If anyone can make this clear I would be happy! Regards, Tommy |
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Post by tommydp on Apr 17, 2013 13:29:08 GMT
Hi all! I'm happy to say the white 1800 sailed through the test today:-) So it's back on the road:-)
The guy who did the test was really nice, and allowed me to adjust one of the rear drums as this was weaker than the other. After a quick adjustment both drums braked evenly.
I'm very happy with that, and it runs like a dream:-) Pictures to come, when I receive the license plates. Hopefully they'll be here tomorrow.
Regards, Tommy
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Post by Penguin45 on Apr 17, 2013 23:57:08 GMT
Well done, Tommy - really pleased for you.
Chris.
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Post by tommydp on Aug 14, 2013 21:16:31 GMT
As you may remember from another thread, my white one has done around 200 000 kms without any rebuild. I've been using it almost every day since April, and it is a marvellous engine. However, it appears the bearings are on their way out, as there is a rattle on start up and when the engine is warm. It's burning oil,too. Last week I took it out of the car, and I've decided to rebuild it myself.
In the meantime, I've put in another engine. This is the one I just got from UK (forum member Sherpa). It cost a bit to get it here, but I decided it was a present for myself as I've quit smoking:-) It's been 4 months, actually.
Anyway, I took the chance and put this engine straight in, as it was said to have done only 27 000 miles. Well, who knows, but at least it has no bearing noise or other noises, and it does not burn oil! The oil light goes out right away when cold, too, and it sounds quite sweet and healthy.
Quite happy with this! I think I'll do a simple rebuild on my own, honing cylinders and changing everything standard size. In fact I've just got hold of a set of new pistons with rings and conrods (all genuine BL!)as well as all bearings, in standard size.
Regards, Tommy
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Hi all! It's back on the road again! Within a week, quite happy with that. It works very well in deed!
Doesn't sound like anything too major in regards to getting her back on the road.