|
|
Post by Ben N on Apr 17, 2016 5:08:25 GMT
My children have reached the height where their heads bump the ceiling in the back of my MGB GT, so I was looking for something with a proper back seat. I found this 1971 Austin 1800 on Craigslist and brought it home to Quadra Island a few weeks ago.  The previous owner couldn't start it one day then left it in his garage for some years until deciding he wasn't going to get around to sorting it out, so he finally sold it. Now, I'm (mostly) enjoying bringing it back to life. - Ben |
|
|
|
Post by Nick RS on Apr 17, 2016 8:41:15 GMT
Welcome Ben,
The car looks amazing in that picture, if its been looked after during storage then maybe it won't take too much to get it on the road again. Look forward to reading more about its adventures.
Nick
|
|
|
|
Post by tommydp on Apr 17, 2016 11:07:17 GMT
Welcome!
It looks great! Probably an easy project.
Tommy.
|
|
|
|
Post by dave1800 on Apr 17, 2016 11:32:31 GMT
Welcome! The car looks really nice; hope you can get it going soon.
regards
David
|
|
|
|
Post by snoopy11 on Apr 17, 2016 15:46:03 GMT
Welcome.
If if it won't start I would give it a good service and some new fuel then see what happens.
If it was a runner before being put away there will not be much wrong.
|
|
|
|
Post by Penguin45 on Apr 17, 2016 16:52:36 GMT
Hi Ben.
Looks like a good one. If you've got an MGB, you'll recognise the engine.
Chris.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ben N on Apr 17, 2016 18:40:14 GMT
Thanks for such a friendly welcome!
I have got it running - most of the trouble was dirty electrical connections, especially green growth around the fuses. (the fuse cover is missing) Also, the 12V wire on the coil was broken inside the insulation an inch from the terminal... and the float valve in the SU was stuck. It was very handy having the MG nearby as a ready set of working spares to try.
It was repainted about 15 years ago and mostly kept inside. The carpets were also replaced then but the seatbelts were never reinstalled. Some scanned pages from a mk2 manual on this forum were very helpful for figuring out where to start poking looking for the mounting holes.
The latest success was pumping up the hydrolastic with a homemade grease gun tool. When they say this takes a long time, they are not kidding. It's just about ready for the road now.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ben N on Apr 18, 2016 0:16:42 GMT
...and this afternoon I heard some dripping and saw the car listing to one side again - the same side I pumped up yesterday. <sigh> It was dribbling from a hole behind the engine. I guess it's not as close to being on the road as I thought!
|
|
|
|
Post by charlypm on Apr 18, 2016 4:57:30 GMT
Hi Ben, I'm just down the road from you in Tacoma WA. Sorry to hear about your leak.
|
|
|
|
Post by peppib on Apr 18, 2016 6:59:05 GMT
Hi Ben and welcome along from me as well.
Sorry to hear about the suspension leak, but most things are fixable, and once on the road you have a fantastic car
Dave
|
|
|
|
Post by Penguin45 on Apr 18, 2016 10:57:32 GMT
Sounds like a displacer hose has gone. The displacers are in the cross tube behind the engine. Have a look in Technical for info on hose replacement, as shipping complete displacers around the globe is likely to be horrendously expensive.
Chris.
|
|
|
|
Post by andrewa on Apr 18, 2016 13:31:21 GMT
Welcome - what a great looking car and what a lovely part of the world to live in - hope you get the displacer sorted before too long.
Cheers
Andrew
|
|
midnightblue
Member
Posts: 52 
Attribute: International Man of Mystery
|
Post by midnightblue on Apr 20, 2016 20:01:14 GMT
I'm about to move my family away from Sooke BC; my Wolseley 18/85 is the European side of the Atlantic, I have a Rolls Royce Spirit II in BC (which shortly will be for sale).
Hydrolastic bits are neither expensive or difficult to obtain; talk to P45.
(Hydrogas bits for the later 'wedge' Austin Princess make hens' teeth look as common as pebbles on a beach - luckily, yours being 1971 has a plentiful supply of spares.)
If you do a bit of searching, I understand that parts for classic cars can be imported into Canada duty-free if the sender puts the right words on the CN22, or whatever they call it these days. It's not the duty that is expensive it's the handling fee - and the delay while Post Canada work out what fee to charge is annoying too.
I've never had to worry about this, I've just brought bits for the RR across as hand-luggage or hold baggage.
MidnightBlue
|
|
|
|
Post by Ben N on Apr 28, 2016 5:09:28 GMT
It turned out to be the hose at the front RHS displacer. The first hydraulics shop I brought the parts to looked at the displacer, said he wouldn't touch it, and made some discouraging remarks about old foreign cars. However, i had more luck at the next one and walked away with a new custom made hose and compression fitting to connect it to the displacer unit's pipe. Pumped that side up again today, let's hope it stays up this time. MidnightBlue, I think I put Mini 850 CV joints in my wife's purse for an overseas flight once.  Thanks for the advice about duty-free parts. I was at the English car swap meet in Saanich on the weekend. A couple of the vendors said there was another person there asking about 1800 parts. Do you know of anyone else on the Island with one? |
|
|
|
Post by Penguin45 on Apr 28, 2016 18:31:46 GMT
The old memory cogs started grinding slowly at the thought of Canada. There was a guy who advertised in "Crabmart" on Landcrab.net for ages with all sorts of 'Crab parts, based on Prince Edward Island. Just next door to you, I imagine....  Anyway, Foursquare went digging in some of the darker recesses of the vaults and came up with this: "Parts for sale. Doors, All Glass. Bumpers (front & rear), Rear Suspension parts, Hydrolastic displacers, Wheels, hub caps, Speedo units, Brake drums, Gear boxes and Diffs, Some interior parts. Grille, Winter cover for grille. Please email me for anything not listed here. The parts are all used and came from cars that were scrapped. Prices on request (but cheap). Located on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Can ship small parts. Contact Ben Rodgers" This is a few years old, so whether or not he's got anything now, I've no idea. Last email was irishrover1{AT}sympatico{DOT}ca. Might be useful. Chris. |
|
Thanks for the advice about duty-free parts. I was at the English car swap meet in Saanich on the weekend. A couple of the vendors said there was another person there asking about 1800 parts. Do you know of anyone else on the Island with one?
Anyway, Foursquare went digging in some of the darker recesses of the vaults and came up with this: