project 1980 Austin Princess

[vulgalour]

End of Week 9.

 

Another week down and I'm afraid it's another boring report.  All systems normal.

In fact, the only thing of note is that the Princess had to jump start the Rover whose battery had gone flat due to me only using it to do 30 miles in 2 months.



Had to jump start the Rover again today because for the first time in 8 years of car ownership and driving I managed to flatten the battery by leaving the headlights on.  Ironically, the Rover does have a buzzer to remind you when the headlights are on, only it doesn't always buzz.

[Asimo]

Low miles in January - may I suggest a good long "Italian tune-up" drive?

Get the oil properly hot, air everything through, de-glaze the brakes......

[SiC]

Got a date for moving house yet?

[vulgalour]

Asimo:  I have nowhere to drive to at this time of year so the cars tend to sit about not doing much.  It's not as fun to just go for a drive as it was when I first started driving, so I'm not even motivated to do that.  It's all rather depressing.

 

SiC: hahahahaha moving house.  hahah. Hah.  No.  It's turned into a rather trying debacle.  It's now at the point where we're looking at houses that were dismissed as unsuitable a year ago and honestly, I've just sort of accepted it could be another year or two before we find something.

[vulgalour]

End of Week 10 (a bit late again).

Very little to report.  I've not used the car a great deal this week, in part because of the snow and in part because I've had nowhere to go.

Fuel economy is slightly up.  Since fitting the electronic ignition, on the advice from a racing friend, I switched to fuelling up only at the local Shell garage instead of supermarkets.  I was dubious about this since I was of the opinion that fuel is fuel.  However, I've noticed a very slight decrease in fuel consumption and slightly smoother running since doing it, enough that the slightly higher cost is offset.

My driving habits are very stunted lately, having nowhere other than local errands to go to has meant I'm in urban territory for fuel consumption which is around 22-23mpg.  That is quite an improvement over the 19-20mpg I was getting before replacing the ignition components and switching to Shell for fuel, so I'm not dissatisfied with it, and it's perfectly within range for the book figures.

Other than that, over the last 10 weeks I've noticed a marked improvement in the braking efficiency and with the various bits of welding I've done the interior of the car is staying much drier.  Regular use, as expected, agrees very much with this car.  I am looking forward to warmer weather, all the same, if for no other reason than it will be easier to keep the car clean.

[PhilA]

Same happens here; fuel is not fuel.

 

Differing blends of chemicals to balance and artificially increase the octane rating behave differently. Modern engines with computerized ignition, knock sensing and oxygen sensors can get around these changes but a carbureted engine with weight/vacuum balanced timing is very much at the whim of a cheaper blend of fuel.

 

Phil

[dozeydustman]

I fully agree with the supermarket fuel being a bit pants, Vulg. If I fill up at Sainsbury's the Saab is really smokey and difficult to start in these colder conditions (though I think it needs new glow plugs) and economy is high 30s-low 40s so I normally fill up at the Texaco up the road - the one where I got some iffy fuel just under a year ago. Not so much smoke, runs nicer & easier to start, MPGs up to mid 40s most of the time.

 

Might be worth a try with super unleaded or V-power and seeing if that improves things further, especially if you go for a longer run and/or you get any pinking

[vulgalour]

Looks like I forgot my end of Week 11 update here too.  That's okay, nothing happened.

 

Princess Update end of Week 12:

All systems normal, as usual, with one exception. A peculiar wubwubwub noise and a vibration through the passenger floor, an occasional vibration through the brake pedal under heavy breaking.

Today being the first day of Week 13 means the following are identified as part of this week, rather than last week. The peculiar noise and vibration could be a failing wheel bearing as there is some slight play in the passenger front one and the noise is localised there. The other peculiar thing it did was on setting off home today, the starter motor decided to drag after the car had started, and then behaved normally once I got moving, I'll keep an eye on that and hopefully it won't require replacement or another rebuild and was just a random occurence. I'm not superstitious, but this is Week 13 of the experiment so...

[vulgalour]

 

Don't panic!  I haven't run Mike over, the suspension hasn't broken, we just decided to give it a check.  We'd both noticed the rear passenger side sometimes seemed to be sitting a little lower, by maybe an eighth of an inch, if that.  I'm a firm believer in doing my best to do preventative maintenance if I can so the bills can be kept low and big repairs avoided.  So, Mike got out the dalek and started by flushing the displacer on that corner.  The fluid that came out was green, but had some brown-ish sediment in it.  Reinflated back to the requisite pressure with fresh fluid and it seems fine.  The other corners were done as well and while the driver's side was very clean, the passenger side fluid was noticeably dirtier.  We're putting it down to being the side that does the most work, what with it being curb side, so it's likely just flushed more stuff around inside.

 

It's about the right sort of timescale and mileage to do a check after the last service on the suspension anyway and we found it had all settled out a bit lower than it should.  Reinflating all four corners to the requisite pressure has improved the ride and appears to have levelled the car out again, so we're hoping it was just that things had settled from use and needed a refresh.  Certainly something to keep an eye on, other things keep getting in the way of me affording to get a set of displacers regassed, though that is on my shopping list for the future.

 

While Mike was doing the suspension, I was sorting out the rebuilt carburettor that a friend had done for me.  This was originally so covered in grime and muck I wasn't entirely sure it was salvagable, but after replacing basically every part that can wear out, it was returned to me as good as new.  Perhaps even a little too nice!  Certainly made the rest of the engine look like it could do with a clean.

 

The only issue was the float wasn't set quite right and rather than faffing taking the carb on and off (which is incredibly annoying because of where it's located), I cheated and took the new float out and refitted the old one which is set correctly.  Ideally I was going to fit this new carb and set it up at my friend's place, which would have made things easier, but after weeks of clashing schedules it was determined to post it out to me. At some point I'll either swap the new float in set to the correct height, or I'll totally forget and leave it as it is.

 

 

One annoying thing I noticed on cleaning the car recently is that the paint around the side repeater on one side is lifting.  I have no idea why, it's not doing it anywhere else, I'll just have to clean it back and repaint it.

 

Everything sorted, we could go home.  I was having an issue with the throttle not being very responsive, which was a little strange.  Disconnected the throttle cable and held the engine end while Mike operated the pedal end and the cable sorted itself out.  Not sure how, but it seemed to have got bound up inside the sheath somehow.  Once reconnected, normal throttle was returned.  With the suspension serviced and the new carb, the car rides much nicer and accelerates much better.  The occasional hunting/flutter thing that it would do is gone, and there's no hesitation setting off.  I will of course monitor things over the next few miles to see if things stay like this, but initial signs are promising.

[320touring]

This is turning into a lovely thing!

[SiC]

Have you lost the front to rear hydro connection pipes? Or did these never have them?

[captain_70s]

I thought all hydrasag systems worked interdependently front/rear as it helped stop the bouncing you used to get with the hydrolastic systems?

[vulgalour]

Keep up at the back.  I took the interconnecting pipes off ages ago in favour of individualising units, an idea nicked from MG F racers.  A compromise, really, since I've sacrificed some comfort in favour of handling.  It also means if a displacer does fail, you can see immediately which one it is and the car is much more driveable should a displacer fail.  My original pipes had rotted and failed, as they do.  It's not as nice in the back, I'm told, the ride is a little bouncy, but since I'm never in the back I don't care about that.

[MikeKnight]

201902-01.jpg

 

Don't panic!  I haven't run Mike over

 

..... yet.

[MikeKnight]

It's not as nice in the back, I'm told, the ride is a little bouncy, but since I'm never in the back I don't care about that.

 

It's bouncy like "my rear dampers have failed" bouncy would be on traditional strut suspension.

 

Not horrible though, don't get me wrong, it's only unpleasant if you're going over speed bumps or such and then it feels like it's bouncing for about fifteen minutes.

[vulgalour]

End of Week 13.  Late again, this time because I've been unwell.

 

No oil and coolant usage as I've come to expect.

 

The biggest change this time around was fitting the newly rebuilt carburettor.  Initially this was a little frustrating as the float behaved as though it was stuck, initially solved by swapping out the new float for the original.  However, a drive the following day resulted in several failures to proceed with the same sticking float symptoms.  A simple matter of pulling over, letting the excess fuel drain out of its own accord, restarting the car and driving for as long as it would before the needle stuck again.  Tedious, but not particularly dangerous since I was so close to home when it happened on slow roads.  Fortunately, because it was a friend that had rebuilt the carburettor, it meant we could have a chat about the potential issue and both agreed that while nothing looked amiss it did sound like a sticking float or float needle, so he popped some new ones in the post for me and once they arrived, I could remove the carburettor yet again to have a look.

 

 

Initially, nothing appeared amiss at all with the float he'd installed, nor the seat.  Everything was still spotless and free moving.  It wasn't until I got the replacement needles - fluted type, rather than triangular type - that it became apparent that the needle he'd used for the rebuild was ever so slightly off centre.  Honestly, on its own you couldn't really tell, it was only when compared to another needle and in photographs that you could make out the slight deformity.  I took three photographs with the needle resting on each side of the triangular body to show how minor a flaw this was.

 

With the replacement float needle and seat fitted, I also refitted the new float and checked the various measurements before reinstalling on the car.

 

The result was 10 minutes of happy idling followed by a day of trouble-free errand running.  A frustrating problem initially but one that was thankfully easily resolved, it appears. With the new carburettor fitted I can get the car to idle at about 800rpm, the book suggests 750rpm.  If I drop the idle below 800rpm, the engine cuts out so the next suspect item is the distributor which discussion has led to the theory that the advance springs may be weak. Fact is, the car is happy enough at 800rpm idle so, for now, I'm happy to leave it alone.

 

Next on my list is the front wheel bearing, a replacement kit - 2 bearings and an oil seal is required - is £15-20 delivered per side and the workshop manual makes it look like a fairly straightforward job.  I have a couple of complete spare front hubs in my stash and I'll strip one of these to get an idea of how difficult the job might be before digging into the car, at least that way I'll have some idea of how likely it is I'll end up immobilising the car.

 

Since servicing the suspension the car rides much nicer on broken road surfaces and is considerably less bouncy, so I'm glad we did that too.  Fuel economy is I suspect improved, but the figures likely won't show this because of the float needle issue, so I'll have to drive and fuel up a few more times before that becomes apparent.  Certainly the car accelerates much more smoothly now and slightly more rapidly, which is welcome.

[vulgalour]

End of Week 14 report.

As has become something of the norm, there's nothing of any real note to report.  The new carburettor is working a treat and the fuel overflow issue appears to be resolved.  With the milder weather, the car has been starting and running much better.  Hopefully the new wheel bearing kit will arrive soon so I can get that done, I'm not having any real problems with the worn one on the car beyond the noise, so I'm keeping the use and speeds down as much as I sensibly can so I don't make the problem prematurely worse.

Other than that I get in and drive wherever I need to go, whenever I want to go there, and the Princess does it.

[MGSven]

Hi

When you do the wheel bearings have a close look at the drive shaft uj boots, When you have it all apart changing these is all the much easier. And it is easy to damage them dismatling the bearing assy. Don't ask how I know!

 

Good luck

 

Sven

ex many Princesses

[vulgalour]

I already have a pair of boots to go on, somewhere, just in case.  I suspected this might end up being an issue.  Now, just to figure out where Somewhere Safe was this time.

[vulgalour]

End of Week 16 - Unidentified noise finally identified when wheel bearing play was found. At the same time, it was discovered one of the CV boots (on the opposite side to the problem wheel bearing) had split. Parts ordered.

End of Week 17 - couldn't undo the hub nuts because they're on far too tight for any of the tools and people I have access to. For the first time ever I've had to book the car in at a garage to have work done and, since the MoT is due at the start of April anyway, decided to get it all done in one go. Car was dropped off on Thursday and I've been without personal transport since.

I don't know whether or not to regard this as the end of the 6 month experiment. We've done four months and this is the only thing I haven't been able to sort out myself. It's also the sort of repair job even much newer cars require, so it's not like it's a strange Princess-specific failure, or even an old-car-specific failure.

I'll keep logging the weekly reports (when I remember) until the six months are up and then do a review, assess things on balance at the end of it.

[320touring]

Assess it why?

 

You'll still be keeping the blahhdy thing;)

 

It's done well, certainly more reliable than a Clio 172

[dozeydustman]

I think Vulgalour means the viability of using the car as a daily for ever & ever amen, while when the BX is finished, which will be daily car & whch would be weekend plaything,

[vulgalour]

Yes, that.  I'm not getting rid, but the experiment was to see if I could live with the Princess as my only car, back when I foolishly thought just one car would be enough.

[320touring]

Yes, that. I'm not getting rid, but the experiment was to see if I could live with the Princess as my only car, back when I foolishly thought just one car would be enough.

You are a chap like myself - the number of dailies needed is only constrained by the number of days in the time period selected;)

 

I'd forgotten about the BX..

 

That and the princess = difficult decision every day before you go out the door!

[LightBulbFun]

 

End of Week 16 - Unidentified noise finally identified when wheel bearing play was found. At the same time, it was discovered one of the CV boots (on the opposite side to the problem wheel bearing) had split. Parts ordered.

End of Week 17 - couldn't undo the hub nuts because they're on far too tight for any of the tools and people I have access to. For the first time ever I've had to book the car in at a garage to have work done and, since the MoT is due at the start of April anyway, decided to get it all done in one go. Car was dropped off on Thursday and I've been without personal transport since.

 

I don't know whether or not to regard this as the end of the 6 month experiment. We've done four months and this is the only thing I haven't been able to sort out myself. It's also the sort of repair job even much newer cars require, so it's not like it's a strange Princess-specific failure, or even an old-car-specific failure.

 

I'll keep logging the weekly reports (when I remember) until the six months are up and then do a review, assess things on balance at the end of it.

 

 

its been very interesting and fun reading your blog of it all

 

it shows that it is possible to daily a vintage car without the world coming to an end

[vulgalour]

End of week 18.

 

Oof.  This week.  As I reported previously, the Princess was booked into an actual garage to have the repairs done and the MoT, since I couldn't do the former due to the hub nuts being way too tight, and could do the latter because I'm not an MoT tester.

 

The hub nuts I really genuinely wouldn't have stood a chance with.  The passenger side one came off eventually so that the wheel bearing and CV boot that side could be done.  The driver's side, however, put up much more of a fight and took some tools out along the way.  Annoyingly, of the two wheel bearing kits I'd bought only one was correct, and since there's nothing wrong with the driver's side bearing, it made no sense to damage it if possible since it was only boot replacement on the driver's side that was required.  Fortunately, the garage knew what they were about and drilled the castle nut off after acquiring a suitable direct replacement castle nut and then the job went okay.  This side will need a lower ball joint replacing, there's enough play in it to warrant an advisory, not enough for a fail, and had the part been more readily available it would have been done along with the rest.  Instead, I need to track one down, which I'll do in due course.

 

Tools broken, new parts fitted, car back together, all good.  MoT passed with an advisory on the aforementioned ball joint and a little play in the steering column top bushing/bearing which again, is an advisory rather than a fail and unlikely to get worse.  I'll replace the problem part when I can find out where to get one.  All that done I could get a lift over and drive the car home.  My next job would be brakes since I had a verbal advisory - wasn't serious enough to warrant an MoT advisory, but I do like to know about things that might be a problem soon so I can address them in plenty of time, keeps the car in the best health possible that way and focuses my attentions on what needs it - on one front disc which was a bit off, but not bad enough that it could be considered dangerous.

 

Set off home and all was well at first.  Then the brakes started to feel very odd.  When the work had been done, since the calipers had to come off to do the boot, the usual thing of resetting the pistons etc. was done before reassembly and it seems this highlighted a problem I didn't know about, or rather, did know about but couldn't pinpoint.  I've never done any work on the front brakes other than bleeding them in all the years I've owned this car but recently I've been having a sort of thumping sensation through the pedal that we thought was the worn out wheel bearing, since the two things happened about the same time.  Here's a video to explain in full:

 

NOTE: Fixed the video with a re-upload.

 

Mostly it's a video of interest to me because I never see myself driving my car, for obvious reasons.  Anyway, after a while the brakes felt very strange, the thumping had gone but they just didn't feel right.  Sometimes they'd work really well, sometimes it felt like they weren't doing anything, after a few miles I pulled over, we called the garage and took it back to find out what was wrong.  A quick look underneath showed a very hot disc which was also obviously warped.

 

Presumably, resetting the caliper meant it was working properly but the disc was already warped, unknown to me, so it just made matters worse very quickly after a few miles.  Because the garage wasn't really open today, only for me to collect the car, it couldn't be fixed and since I had broken down, I called the AA.  Rarely for me I lost my temper on the phone.  AA wanted to send someone out to investigate the problem before recovering me, even though they wouldn't repair the car at the roadside and even though it was already diagnosed.  That seemed a waste of time but fine, whatever.  Then, because I was on the street outside the garage where we'd inspected the problem they determined I was 'at a place of repair' and wouldn't recover me home.  The parts I needed to fix the car were at home, not on the street outside the garage.  I had, or thought I had, suitable cover to choose to be taken to a place of repair or home.  But because of some daftness with terms and conditions, they flat out refused to recover the car.  Great.  Suffice to say I've dropped them like a hot stone because over the years I've been with them I've called them out 3 times, of those only once was I recovered (head gasket failure) and they wouldn't dolly the car because they didn't believe it weighed as little as it did so they faffed around with relay instead, which took FOREVER.  I'll just use whatever my insurance offers, because it can't be worse and it's way cheaper.  So much for the fourth emergency service.

 

Anyway, the car was left at the garage, the parts will be collected/delivered to fix the brakes - fortunately I have spare discs so I don't need to fork out for new ones - and once fixed it'll come home.  I'm surprisingly not angry about this, it's a thing that happened, fortunately I was with friends that could keep the car safe and get me home safe, and it'll sort.

 

On the plus side, since fitting the new carburettor the emissions look very good, and overall the car is behaving itself so apart from this minor annoyance, we're still good.

[vulgalour]

So, because I copy-paste to various fora the aforementioned garage is of course ScaryOldCortina's place and he is, of course, sorting this terrible old boat out for me in exchange for some pictures of the queen.  Top bloke, as those that have met him and used his services already know, so if you're stuck for shite fettling in the North East, he's the one to call.  I don't trust very many people with my cars, but SoC I'd trust with any of them.

[Rod/b]

Love the blue effect on the rear cam, it looks like the opening sequence to the Sweeney.

[MikeKnight]

Considering what your car looks like in a rear view mirror, I'm going to start calling it "the floaty menacer".

[Rod/b]

That’s what i once called a particularly unflushable stool. Coincidentally.