project 1980 Austin Princess

[vulgalour]

The sticky throttle issue seems to have fixed itself today and the car itself just felt better, more in its stride, so getting it out and used seems to be doing it good.  Only difficulty at the moment is getting as many miles on as I'd like to really get things bedded in/tempt fate.

[vulgalour]

Today, the parcel shelf has been sorted out.  This is a very simple job.  I used some art board I had left over from another project to laminate the original parcel shelf board and repair some of the damage to it.  Really, I should replace the entire trim board, it's had a very hard life, this was just easier.  After the two boards were bonded together, I then wrapped the whole lot in some new maroon vinyl I'd bought.  The leather I'd previously covered the board in was very dry and had shrunk a lot due to how insanely hot this part of the interior gets.  With the new vinyl I pulled it tight enough to be smart, and just loose enough that if it does shrink it's not going to warp the boards again, difficult to explain but sort of a 'comfortable fit' without being baggy.

The vinyl I bought is slightly darker than the dye I'd used on the rest of the interior.  That's not a problem, it looks close enough to not look out of place and BL had a habit of using slightly different shades of the same colour on their interiors anyway.  The other thing to do was remove the extra little bit of vinyl that goes between the rear window and the parcel shelf.  Again, I just cut this to the long curved shape it needed to be, and glued it down in a way that would allow it to stretch and shrink without pulling away, it's held in around the edges by other trim pieces so it's not going anywhere even if I didn't glue it.

With that all prepared I could ease the newly covered parcel shelf trim in and bop it down to get the trim clips to sit in their holes.  The new parcel shelf board is quite a bit thicker now and it's a tighter fit, I'm hoping that stops it making the occasional low volume boom over rough surfaces.  I also jabbed two small holes under each speaker so they could be bolted down and have the wires fed into the boot space.

Once I have an amp to go under the rear seat and an electric aerial to go in the rear wing I can look at installing the new head unit up front

[vulgalour]

Went on a little errand today, car dealt with the heat far better than I did.  Ended up parked next to something interesting.

[Parky]

Oooh, a silver Audi Estate!

Nah, kidding.  Princess looking good Vulgalour!

[vulgalour]

Over a month and no update?  That's because there's been nothing to report.  I'm barely doing any miles so it's all quiet on the Princess front.  Actually, I suppose that is something to report.  I'd been warned that after a valve and shim change the engine can be a bit clattery for the first few hundred miles afterwards and indeed, the Princess has been.  Now, however, it has almost got to the same level of quietness as it was before the work once warmed up.  Still fairly clattery when cold (not Talbot levels, thankfully), and it still has that slightly wandering idle until warmed up too.  I've got an oil leak from the mechanical fuel pump blanking plate, and another from the cam box end plate that need addressing, both of which are a nuisance and causing me to waste oil.  I suspect I need to pull off both plates, get busy with the sandpaper and gasket paper, and bolt it all back together again.

Other than that, I'm just trying to put cash aside for a suspension regas to try and get ahead of the game a bit and it's last legally required MoT is due in a few weeks.  Tax exemption on the horizon too.

There'd be more to update if I had more to do on the car and more places to go.  I'm lucky if I'm getting out once a week at the moment.

[flat4alfa]

Sorry to jump on thread but I’m after Princess o/s sills

Got any spare? Or even off cuts might do, thanks 

[vulgalour]

I do have a few partials as it happens.  Don't think I have a full one for either side.  Let me know how long a length you need and I'll measure what I've got.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, vulgalour said:

 Let me know how long a length you need and I'll measure what I've got.

I love this place!

[vulgalour]

Good news and bad news today.  Before work I had some time and determined to quickly replace the leaking gaskets on the engine of the Princess.  I had two culprits, the first was the blanking plate where a mechanical fuel pump can be fitted, this is really common for leaking.  The second was the cambox end plate, the one with the thickness specific gasket that caused all the fuss, this one isn't so common for leaking.

I removed both plates, cleaned off the old gaskets which had both partially blown out on the lower edge, and then sanded the mating faces to check for level.  There was no warping evident in either the head or the plates, so I had to assume the gaskets had just failed.  I didn't have any pre-cut gaskets to suit so opted to use cork sheet since I'd recently acquired some.  The gasket paper I have was too thin for the cambox end plate, and it is sensitive to the thickness of the gasket because if it's too thin the camshaft binds against the plate, the cambelt slips, and then all the valves meet all the pistons.  Ask me how I know (actually don't, because I'm still grumpy about it happening the first time).

Fuel pump blanking plate went very smoothly, no problems there.

The cambox end plate is a little trickier.  It's a complicated shape and if you don't clear the camshaft properly it causes problems.  The first attempt I found I hadn't cut the upper hole large enough, as evidenced by the oil witness mark.  To test fit I fixed the plate and then tried to turn the engine MANUALLY.  I've learned my lesson, no turning the engine with the starter and hoping it's right.  I'm glad I did, it took several attempts to get the shape of the gasket just right and I tested the camshaft was free both with and without the spark plugs in.

Everything had gone smoothly so I let the car idle for a bit and no oil was reapparing.  Set off for a test drive of about a mile, that's usually enough to get the temperature up to something like normal after the car has been idling a while.  Didn't experience any problems on the test run, pulled up at home and found the oil leaks were apparently cured.  Good job.  However, the coolant bottle was looking murky and the idle was now a bit lumpy so something wasn't right.  I kept an eye on the usual suspects and then noticed bubbles in the coolant bottle.

Pushed the Lanchester out of the garage so I could get to the torque wrench, double checked the head bolts on the Princess and found they were all fine.  the bubbles kept appearing and there was clearly oil in the coolant now.  The longer the car idled, the worse the problem became so that's a blown head gasket.  Again.

I'm hoping it's just a bad gasket, the one that's fitted has only done about 70 miles and I've not been doing anything silly with the car since I've been bedding in the new valves and shims.  I've ordered a new head gasket kit and when that arrives I'll pull the head off again and see if there's anything obviously amiss.  I'm not getting water out of the exhaust or any sign of water in the oil, at the moment it's just putting a bit of oil and a little bit of exhaust into the coolant so I reckon it must have popped on the test run which means I've caught it early.  The car didn't overheat, it didn't even leave the usual temperature range on the gauge and didn't drive with any cause for concern.

I don't really know what would have caused this gasket to fail other than a bad gasket to be honest.  As I say, this gasket has only done about 70 miles, it was fitted after the valve busting issue when I didn't refit that cambox end gasket that I didn't know was so critical at the time, so it's on a newly skimmed head, new head gasket, new valve train, new fluids, new cambelt, basically a freshly built top end really.  It's never given cause for concern with temperature or performance or behaved out of the ordinary, it just seems to be one of those things.

Rotten timing though.  I'd just booked it in for a suspension regas and have had to cancel that until I find out what's gone wrong and how much it's going to cost to put it right.  I do know where there's a NOS engine and we may yet go that route, there's just no price listed for it and I don't currently have the tools for an engine swap or the space to keep said tools safe.

 

[plasticvandan]

Unless a.million years old or very cheap I would be surprised if it was just a bad gasket.id be checking for cracks in the block around studs etc.

[mitsisigma01]

Can the head be pressure tested 🤔

[captain_70s]

I blew a gasket on the Dolly within a few hundred miles of fitting, fitted another in exactly the same manner and it lasted until the engine detonated.

I suspect some gaskets are just a bit shit...

[Tadhg Tiogar]

9 minutes ago, mitsisigma01 said:

Can the head be pressure tested 🤔

....the risk being that he might not have a head after the test.

[vulgalour]

Not only that, before this gasket was fitted the head was pressure tested and skimmed.  Passed the pressure test no problems and needed a 10 thou skim.  Put it all together, then smashed all the valves into the pistons when I cocked up the cambox end gasket, put it all together again without getting the head retested because I hadn't actually run the car at that point due to valve smashage, and it was fine for the last 70ish miles.  It might actually be more than 70 miles since I have put fuel in it since then.  It's probably just shit luck, I have a lot of it with this car.  It'll be fine for ages and ages and then it'll break totally randomly.

[Angrydicky]

I don't know if it's likely to be a problem on the O series, but on the Somerset/Devon 1200 engine (which is renowned for blowing head gaskets) some people have actually discovered the block face is warped after blowing a couple of gaskets. Blocks can be skimmed but it's obviously a bit more involved. Just a suggestion.

[vulgalour]

To recap on the HGF history with this one:

First HGF, 2013/14 I think, happened on the motorway.  Original head put away because I'd got a spare that we plonked on with a new gasket set and valve stem seals.

Second HGF 2019.  Original head pressure tested, skimmed 10 thou, fitted with all new gaskets, spare head put back into storage.

THE COMPLICATION - the cambox end plate gasket was leaking.  Tightened a bolt which pulled the thread out of the head, removed the gasket, didn't realise its important, refitted the plate after helicoiling the thread and used Wellseal.  Camshaft bound on end plate, belt slipped, all valves bent when they met the pistons.  Head came off again.  Head rebuild with new pistons, valve stem seals, and valve shims.  Head was not pressure tested or skimmed because it hadn't even been run in from the last time it was done.

Third HGF 2020.  No idea of the cause yet, not had it apart.  Happened a few minutes after replacing two leaking gaskets, one on the fuel pump blanking plate, and the other on the cambox end plate.

 

So really, it's not been blowing head gaskets repeatedly, it's had the job done more often than usual because of the valve-piston-interface incident, rather than some sort of recurrent issue.  When it blew the head gasket most recently it wasn't due to overheating, in fact since the last gasket set was done, it's never overheated, never got above 3/4 on the gauge in fact and it's normal for these to run 1/2 to 3/4 gauge.  The car is always well cared for, mechanically, regular fluid changes and all that good stuff, and I never treat it unkindly.  It's probably something simple like a bad head gasket, I won't know until I pull it all apart.

This is my sticking point.  I'm at a point where the car would benefit from a proper bodywork, engine, and suspension overhaul that I lack the funds to do.  If I could sink £5-10k into it I could get it all sorted and end up with a car worth... £4k?  That doesn't really matter, I've already spent more on this car than it'll be worth because it's not an investment and I am likely its last owner.  I have to admit I've been very tempted by the Renault 11 that @colc is selling but I don't think it's going to solve any of my current problems, rather it's likely to add to them because I could see myself easily getting attached to the Renault when what I really need at the moment is something that's totally disposable that'll see me through the next six months or so without me having to spend on it.  I actually had to talk myself out of the 11 on the grounds that I don't need another car that needs something fixing on it, and it would be unfair of me to use a car like that through the winter.  I also really don't want the stress of trying to sell it once I'm done with it.

The Princess is at no risk of scrappage or sale, it will get sorted, it's put me through worse than a mojo slump because of a job I hate doing and apart from this one issue it's actually in pretty good shape overall.  For now, I'm just going to put money away until I can make a decision to either DIY or send it off to someone else to go through properly.  I feel like I've done as many of the DIY jobs as I personally can do on it.  Seeking advice on engine stuff tends to result in a lot more stress because whatever I do I always end up feeling like I've done it wrong somehow and because it's not something I'm passionate about I've not that much mojo to deal with any engine work in the first place.

I suppose the TL;DR is that if anyone out there wants to help out by letting me pay them to actually find out what's wrong and fix it for me, I'd be happier to go that route.  Don't all rush at once.

[vulgalour]

OMGHGF happened a month ago.  I still have no desire to do the job, and since I've had the time to really think about things I've decided to decline the offer of help to just swap the head gasket etc. in favour of getting the engine fully rebuilt.  A little drastic, perhaps, but there's good reason for it.  The engine has always consumed a little oil and that consumption has been steadily increasing so something is worn out somewhere.  The head gasket issue has really knocked my confidence in my own abilities a lot and since engine work isn't something I enjoy to begin with, you can well imagine why I don't want to venture back into it.  Also, if I give the engine to someone I can trust (someone I trust has offered to help when he's able) then that takes some stress out of the whole endeavour.

Since I'll also be repainting the car when the weather allows - paint, brushes, and sundries are all got for the job now - it will be  alot easier to get a nice finish in the engine bay if the engine isn't in there.

Other big expenses are the suspension regas that I cancelled the booking off when OMGHGF happened, and a new windscreen to go in with the new windscreen seal I STILL haven't fitted.

My goal at the moment, at least, is to finish the existing projects before starting new ones and since I can get by with lifts from the other half and my own legs, I can live without a car of my own for a few months I reckon.  It's annoying, but at the end of it I should have a nice car I like a lot.  If all else fails, work on the Lanchester will be progressing alongside this anyway and if it's ready before the Princess is then I shall just use that instead.

EDIT:  There's also that as-new engine that was linked to me which is still available, so that could be an option.  Either way the engine would want pulling apart to check it was good so it might be better to stick with what I've got.

[vulgalour]

The weather was ideal for a bit of painting today, so that's what I've done.  Those of a nervous disposition should look away now.

In some lights, the pink is really shockingly pink.  In others it's more orange looking, and in others it has a grey-ish look to it.  I love how much it varies depending on the light and I actually really love how obnoxious it is.  What I didn't love is that the new door mirrors I bought have already gone rusty so that makes up my mind about putting the black wing mirrors back on which are still my favourite mirrors I've ever put on this car.

I have the same problem with this pink as I had with some red I used a while ago in that the paint dries too fast so I haven't the working time to dress it and let it level out.  I'm also out of practice and I found my technique was almost where it ought to be just as I finished the job.  Never mind, I knew more than one coat would be needed so I'll just flat this all back to prep it for the second coat and improve the surface.  I enjoyed doing this significantly more than spray painting and I know from experience that this paint will flat and polish quite well once done so I'm not that worried about the imperfect surfaces.

The boot lid isn't done because I was limited on time and wanted to avoid anything going wrong.  I wasn't sure on exact drying times and since the spoiler is what stops water getting into the boot through the fixing holes and the car lives outdoors, I chose to leave it until I have more time available and knew what to expect from the paint.  I'll be able to tackle this properly with the next coat of paint.

What I do love is the contrast between the stainless trim, the pink, and the satin black of the C pillars.

What I'm not sure on at the moment is what to do with the engine bay.  I'm considering doing the panel under the windscreen in pink, and the slam panel at the front in pink, and having the rest of the engine bay in black.

I will be doing the door shuts and any other bits of the car that are visible outside of the trim, but I won't be going to the extent of repainting the floors or any other parts of the car that aren't seen.  There's no point pulling it apart that much.  I am happy to see the beige going away.  

Today's efforts was 3 hours of work and I had 4 available, 5 in a pinch.  I'm not sure what time I'll have between now and my next time off to do more, so I'll just have to do it as an when.  One advantage of how quick the pink dried is that no flies got stuck in it, so that's something.

[phil_lihp]

Well that happened!  Unexpected update, good to see it getting some love.  If you were taking votes, I'd go with that as-new engine but that's just me.  Or a Rover V8.  

Is that rustoleum paint?  Not planning to recolour mine but curious what it is.

[vulgalour]

It's synthetic enamel, tractor/machinery/modern coach paint basically.  Roller or brush on, fairly low odour, minimal fuss, single stage.  I probably would have got a better first finish with rollers given how quick the paint's drying but that's much messier to apply so I'll persevere with brushes.  The Rustoleum is what I used before and it's okay, but does need a lacquer to stop it fading on top so it takes a lot longer to do and is much more pricey than going the brush-paint route.

Engine wise, there's one popped up in Buckingham on eBay (well two, technically, with the same seller) that's NOS from a Marina and I'm probably going to go for that one since it's easier to collect and we've made a space for it to live until I'm ready to fit it, providing it remains in budget.  Have decided to not worry about having the Princess on the road just at the moment and instead concentrate on all the jobs I want to get done, so that's paint and new engine, suspension when I've saved up for it, and windscreen when I've saved up for that.  Next year it should then all be sorted I hope.

Hopefully this focus on the existing projects is going to pay dividends even though there's strong temptation to adopt something new while I'm without personal transport.

[Asimo]

My favourite colour!

[High Jetter]

That is...um...how can I put this...very...pink! I'm pretty sure that was not on the original BL colour chart.

[plasticvandan]

The synthetic resin enamel does dry a bit quick,I used a lot of it over the last few years on motorcycles. My dad had some craftmaster coach paint which I used on a few projects and it is simply the best brush paint I have ever used,it is more expensive than what you would be used to paying but I would hundred percent recommend trying some if you want a satisfying painting experience.oh,and you have turned a car I hated into one k like,so top marks!

[vulgalour]

The black should go better, it always has when I've used it before.  I was toying with going for a more expensive paint (didn't know about Craftmaster), but instead went for somewhere in the middle.  Had I not bought enough to do the whole car I'd definitely go and buy some more, as it is I'll just stick with it and adjust my technique.  Small areas, worked quickly, seems to be the best approach.  Get it nice and smooth and very quickly dress it lightly once or twice and then leave it alone was giving me the smoothest results so that's what I'll go with.  I'm used to putting on long slow strokes and then dressing a few times in opposing directions before moving on.  This will just have to do for now.  Nothing a bit of wet and dry and some elbow grease with the polish can't sort after.

The brushes, I should mention, were recommended by @puddlethumper and are Hamilton Perfection pure bristle, a very comfortable brush to use, and really nice bristles, a very well behaved brush too so the paint actually goes where you tell it to.  Definitely worth the asking price which seems much more reasonable once you've used the brushes for a bit.

[puddlethumper]

I found for larger areas it's sometimes better to use a small gloss roller to spread it then a quick brush out.

[vulgalour]

I was having the most trouble on the bonnet and roof, as it happens, I imagine a roller would help me get the paint down quicker in a thin even coat compared to the brushes?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

This car sure does evolve. I still reckon you should bring back the funky patterns you crafted onto the bootlid a few years back. 

I'd love to see Harris Mann's face!

[vulgalour]

That was a fun project. I have been plotting some more lace paint, as it happens, I just haven't settled on a design yet and I want to see how the car looks in just the black and pink before I start making it any fussier.  The black wing mirrors are making a comeback, and the Lotus wheels too once I've got the paint to sort those out.  This was 2013/4, how time flies!

[bunglebus]

Love it. Looks like it belongs in Custom Car circa 1976

[puddlethumper]

28 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

I was having the most trouble on the bonnet and roof, as it happens, I imagine a roller would help me get the paint down quicker in a thin even coat compared to the brushes?

For roof and boot I would definitely use a roller first then a brush with very little paint on it. Work the brush towards where  you have painted to blend it. Keeping a wet edge as short as possible is best so the edge where you began is not starting to dry before you get back to it.