project 1980 Austin Princess

[nigel bickle]

Straight sleeve nuts. Mister Tee (Maurice Taboor) in South London will be able to help. Easily found on the web.

 

Looks good.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

GET SOME NUTS off Mister TEE

 

[Formula Autos]

I seem to recall (from the dim and distant filing systems of my memory) a feature in a magazine about someone who had cocked about with a Princess to make it more like Harris Mann's original vision. It was probably in Street Machine* in the late '80s, as I seem to remember it as being in one of the first car magazines I bought. I think it was green, had been slightly roof chopped, and made into a two door coupe (though this aspect seemed to have been done well - possibly by even moving the B pillar and lengthening the front doors). It rode on wheels very much like these Lotus ones.

 

Does anyone else remember this and, if so, are there any photographs out there?

 

*or something of a similar ilk - that was the sort of crap I read, before Jalopy came along

[quicksilver]

On the whole I'm not a fan of non-standard wheels but those Lotus ones are actually a great improvement. With those and the purple paint it'll look like a family-size version of this, which is awesome.

1975 Lotus Elite by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

[Wilko220]

 

So that's what I'm doing, I'm creating a Princess as I hope Harris Mann would have liked it to have been done and in a way that won't compromise too much the good points of the car aesthetically.

 

Harris Mann is still alive, isn't he? Have you thought about trying to track him down and write to him with some info about what you're trying to achieve? I'm sure he'd be very interested and well chuffed.

Can't help with any contact details or anything but I wouldn't have thought it would take too much research.

 

Further to my last, apparently Mann now lectures at Coventry University...

[eddyramrod]

Those wheels look the absolute dog's! On a purple Princess, no doubt with some subtle and tasteful further light mods, they will be right at home. I'm with you all the way on a bit more sidewall, 205/70 shouldn't be too hard to find. Ask some of your local American-car people and they'll point you towards that size in narrow-band whitewalls like I have on the Granada, which will enhance the look even more.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

On the whole I'm not a fan of non-standard wheels but those Lotus ones are actually a great improvement. With those and the purple paint it'll look like a family-size version of this, which is awesome.

1975 Lotus Elite by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

 

I'm seeing this too. Polished Lotus 'loys, dark purple, lowered a bit and 'Princess' across the bootlid in chrome letters with a Lotus badge in the same fashion as the Elite bonnet badging. Completely daft. But so very right.

[MikeKnight]

At least I know who to come to now if I need a new satellite dish.

 

(playing the partner card, I'm allowed to rag )

[vulgalour]

BANG! ZOOM! Straight to the moon!

 

[MikeKnight]

I let you rag on the minilites on the Triumph all the time.

 

Though in my defence they came with the car and I dislike them too, but I don't exactly have the £1000 required right now for some really super nice brand new chrome wires with spinners. Would also do the suspension while I was there.. oh god money.

[vulgalour]

There was a break in the weather after I took the Princess out (on a private road) so I could get a feel of how she's driving post Maestro straightening. It might've only been a short run, and my driver's seat (replacement sourced) might be knackered but it reminded me just how much more civilised a place it is than the Maestro. With this in mind, I'm giving the Maestro a break while I put my time and money into the Princess.

Out with some useful tools, including a slide hammer (the thing with the red handle) which is on loan from the neighbour. I've never used one of these before, but I did find they're both useful, and hard work.

20130131-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

20130131-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

I'm used to using a drift and dolly - improvised, whatever's to hand really - so pulling out dents rather than bashing them out is slightly different. I used the same approach, estimating the deepest point of the dent so that I could, in theory, pull it out evenly.

First of all, a pilot hole is drilled into which a screw is screwed. I found the screw I started with in the pictures had too small a head and I had to change this for a larger headed screw to prevent the slide hammer jumping off. To operate, you hook the tines of the slide hammer under the head of the screw and pull on the red sliding handle which hits a nut at the end of it's run, thus giving a similar action to a hammer hitting the panel from underneath.
20130131-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

It's a fairly crude tool, really, but it's not bad at lessening the appearance of the sharper dents and will mean that less filler is required. Certainly, a bodyshop could do better. I found that because of how flexible the bonnet is I had to sit on it while using the slide hammer for the best result. Thankfully, there's not much to me so I didn't put more dents in the bonnet.
20130131-04 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

20130131-05 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

Once I'd gone as far as I could, I set to with the flapwheel to remove the loose paint and surface rust.
20130131-07 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

Then slap some primer on before the heavens opened once more and I can see it's better, if not perfect. Once I have more beige paint I'll blend this in pre-MoT just to keep things tidy, but I'll likely need to replace this bonnet if it cannot be repaired. I'd rather repair it as it's a very good bonnet bar the obvious dents.
20130131-08 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

I didn't expect the wing dents to pull out as well as the bonnet because of the strengthening crease there. But I'm planning to buy a new wing anyway for when I book the car into a bodyshop to get this repaired properly.
20130131-09 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

Bolted the trim and lights back on and made a start doing pre-MoT checks but the weather was really against me.
20130131-10 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

So far, I've discovered the following to address:
> Drivers side sidelight not working
> Passenger side wing repeater not working
> Number plate light not working
> Headlights require proper alignment
> Small oil leak (have materials to resolve, I think)
> Running a bit rich, visible emissions at start up

Other MoT items I know are needed:
> front number plate missing
> Bottom of drivers side wing insecure (rotted out)
> Rust in bulkhead/inner wing both sides. Caused by arch liners, funnily enough

Other, non-MoT items I know are needed:
> Tracking
> Lotus wheel balancing
> Jolly good clean

Now, if we can just have some nice weather I'll be happy.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

If you need a really shit-hot bodyshop, I can recommend a place in Chesterfield. Just one guy on his own who set up last year after 14 years as a painter at Stratstone (nee Bridgegate) BMW. Not expensive, but very conciencious and very good. This is right up his street, something that's a bit unusual. If you want I'll PM his number.

[vulgalour]

Please do, all contacts are good contacts, especially recommended people on my doorstep.

[hennabm]

Hi

 

Can I have the contact details as well please.

I've just tried sending a PM but apparently you don't have PMs enabled????

 

Cheers

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Both PM'd. No idea what's up with my inbox.

[hennabm]

Thanks

[richardthestag]

top work VA, I am in awe of your drive to get out when it is cold, wet and generally miserable.

 

I drove a princess facking years ago and it compared well with a trummie 2000 I was also tyre kicking at the time. I ended up with a rover 2200sc instead though as nothing in my price range beat the ker-lunk of the doors closing. If it hadn't been for terry and june at the time which did an Alan Partridge for the Princess I reckon I would have bought that instead.

 

 

get it fixed and give the old maestro a rest

 

Currently feeling some trouser stirage for an elite though

[vulgalour]

@Rev: Cheers for the PM. I'll give him a buzz at some point.

 

Decided that given the relative clemency of the weather today - ie: it's not raining sideways - I'd get myself some beige paint for the Princess to tart her up a bit. One trek over to my local Halfords to find they no longer stock Champagne Beige but have the similar Sandlewood Beige in and I'm all set to get on with it. I did mean to pick up a couple of bulbs and a numberplate, but I forgot the former, and didn't have ID to obtain the latter because I was over-excited about paint.

 

I'm not doing a super-special paint job here, just a quick rattlecan tidy up. Still, it's worth wrapping various bits of trim with newspaper to save work later on.

 

 

New rattle can paint is rubbish and I really don't rate it. Far too easy to end up with runs everywhere and it's quite expensive to get a decent depth of paint, much more so than it used to be. This will all be coming off at a later date anyway, so as long as it was waterproof and tidy that's all I was fussed about. Paper off, some trim refixed and she's looking remarkably good all things considered.

 

 

Even that crumpled wing looks okay. There's no filler in any of this either, it's all bare bones stuff with paint stuck on top so I'm impressed at how well it turned out considering that.

 

The front end is still a bit bent. The bottom corner of the valance is squished back a bit and the wing rail is, I think, ever so slightly pulled down. By the looks of things, the bonnet isn't exactly straight anymore either, but it all looks tweakable by a pro, it's beyond the tools I have available now.

 

So I'm switching back to using the Princess as a daily once I've got a happy little MoT certificate. I'm hoping to book her in somewhere in a couple of weeks, I'd do it sooner but I need the road tax money before I can book her in anywhere.

[Spiny Norman]

Excellent work VA, great to see this dear old lady being resuscitated after her unfortunate prang.

 

I'm hoping to book her in somewhere in a couple of weeks, I'd do it sooner but I need the road tax money before I can book her in anywhere.

You can drive to a pre-booked MOT without tax. The car needs insurance but it doesn't need tax, it's not as if you could tax it without a MOT anyway.

[vulgalour]

yeah... but then I'd have a car with an MoT that I couldn't drive which would drive me up the wall. I'm going to get her all MoT'd with tax money in my pocket so I can go for a jolly post-MoT (providing I pass, obvs.)

[Spiny Norman]

I thought that might have been the reasoning, can't say I blame you. Think I'd be sleeping in it if I had another one nowadays.

[barefoot]

Just a modicum of encouragement from all of us here at barefoot towers.

 

My only memories of Princess are,

1, Absolute astonishment at the smoothness of the ride and the amount of room in the back (I was a kid & my old man had a morry minor!)

2, Refusing to buy one, (actually an Ambassador) in favour of a mk2 Cavalier

3, Hiring a return taxi - outbound a Vauxhall Omega, it was ok but the return journey was in a Rover 800, which made the Vauxhall feel really harsh and crappy and it felt so smooth and had masses of leg room like the old princess.

It buggered my bonce and reminded me enormously of that old Prinny from when I was a kid.

Frightening, but not purple, although that is starting to grow on me...

 

Keep it up youth.

[vulgalour]

Cheers, clan Barefoot.

 

More MoT stuff. I've had a look underneath and I can't find anything that needs addressing (there might be something I can't see, obviously) bar the front wing that needs a little bit of remedial fibreglassing or gaffer tape or similar MoT bodge for the very short term. Gave both sills a good thump down their entire length, particularly where crusty, and they're perfectly fine and sound. Checked the inner arch rust too and that looks superficial enough not to be a concern, I'll probably just clean up any flakes and give it a quick tidy to get me on my way.

 

Wheel bearings - no horrible noises or play.

Brakes - clean, plenty of life, good and sharp. Handbrake is also much better than when I got the car.

Tyres - MoT worthy if I don't get the Lotus ones on before booking her in.

 

That done, I needed to check my lights. Everything but the passenger side repeater and driver's sidelight are working as they ought. So we pulled the side repeaters and the passenger side emptied a bunch of water out of the plastic shroud that's supposed to keep water out.

 

 

Dried things out, ran a few checks and found that the bullet connectors under the bonnet needed a jiggle to get the earth connected again.

 

After checking the brakes and whatnot, the wheels went back on with their trims to make things look more presentable and to prevent me accidentally damaging the trims while I'm sorting out storage for excess car things all over the house. This is actually much the stance I'd like for the Princess, only slightly lower. It's a great shape for a bit of rake.

 

After much multi-metering and fiddling I found that the sidelight bulb I replaced wasn't working because there's another temperamental earth connection on the replacement unit. After a while everything lined up, just a case of jiggling things about until whatever is slightly amiss connects. I think the earth is a bit dodgy in the replacement unit as that seems to be the root of the problem here, but it's cured with a quick jiggle.

 

I also bought a new number plate and one of those magnetic tax disc holders I'm fond of because of how tidy they look. I'll fit those tomorrow if this weather holds for me.

 

Checklist is now:

> Resolve oil leak - would've done this today, but there wasn't enough light to work by

> Align headlights - Quick job, just needs to be dark. Cba to do it right now, it can wait.

> Bodge rust hole and split seam on front wing for the MoT, probably with fibreglass. It's coming off anyway so it'll be a very short term measure just for the MoT.

> Check running. There's a bit of condensation coming out of the exhaust rather than any real emissions, probably from the car being stood for a while. Regular running of the engine seems to be resolving this.

 

Nearly there, then.

[Cheggers]

Excellent, it looks like it's really coming together!!

[Mr Lobster]

Cracking job you're doing there VA, top stuff.

[phil_lihp]

Very nice work, fingers crossed for a first time pass! And if I might say so, it looks better without the front bumper for some reason, gives it cleaner lines and there's nothing to hide the snarly expression I guess

[vulgalour]

Cheers again, chaps. Great to hear such encouragement and enthusiasm.

 

Today, I've got all bar two of my pre-MoT jobs done. The first of those jobs is waiting for darkness to fall because it's headlight alignment. The second is waiting for it not to be so dark, because that's a good clean of the car so she doesn't look like a complete shed when I take her for the MoT.

 

Here's what I got up to. First job was getting the mechanical fuel pump off to resolve the oil leak. While this is a really good upgrade over the electric pump that was fitted when I got the car, I've had trouble getting one spot on the spacer gasket to seal properly. I think I've cracked it today, but I'll only find out after a few miles. Had to disconnect and remove the pump, clean off the rocker cover face and the spacer face so there wasn't any of the old sealant on there and then apply the new, higher quality and far more expensive, sealant. Hopefully this will work better. The other side of the spacer seals perfectly to the pump with no leak issues whatsoever.

 

After a while of running the car at idle not even a smidge of fresh oil leak was visible and there's no smell of burning oil either from any residuals so I think we've got it. I hope so, because otherwise I'm going to have to look into yet another solution to this.

 

Then it was time to make sure that the wing was secured to the car. It doesn't flap around, but because the seam between the wing and valance had burst, I was concerned it might be seen as being insecure. I drilled some holes and found a little bit of drilled aluminium in the bits box along with some suitable screws. It's not pretty and it is a bodge but it is only for the MoT and not long term.

 

Also put some gaffer tape over it, just to prevent there being any sharp edges and to tidy it up a bit.

 

I then went around the car putting little pieces of gaffer tape over bumper holes and the trim fixings on the damaged wing that I can't figure out how to remove so there were no sharp edges or places for exhaust gasses to get into the car. I had to do the same thing with the Polo when it had extraneous holes and it got through the MoT no bother.

 

Next we wired in the new (rubbish) LED number plate lights. I put them through the original number plate wiring holes and found we then had to relocate the number plate to the factory location rather than where a previous owner had moved it as it wasn't being illuminated properly. There were no fitting instructions on these LED lights but I guess they're supposed to replace the number plate bolts/screws rather than the way I've fitted them.

 

Eyeballing or measuring resulted in a wonky number plate because it is a rubbish number plate. We fitted it as best we could and as near to centre as it would look. It is now illuminated enough to be legal and that's all I can ask. Because of the hassle of getting the rear bumper on and off, I've kept it off for now. The car looks odd, but it doesn't look terrible. I'll be refitting them once I've got a better number plate light.

 

Finally, after much deliberation, I fitted the new front number plate. There's not really a great deal of choice for location so I just put it where it is, that being the most vertical location on the front of the car. When the front bumper goes back on I'll relocate it in a better place but as with the rear, it'll do for now.

 

If I can, I'll get her booked in for an MoT this coming week. I don't have the tax money saved up yet, but I realised that if she fails it's best to do so early so I can fix stuff than closer to my deadline when I can't. I'll just have to sit on my hands if she passes.

[michael1703]

Cheers, clan Barefoot.

 

More MoT stuff. I've had a look underneath and I can't find anything that needs addressing (there might be something I can't see, obviously).

 

Track rod end boots? steering rack gaitors? insecure battery?

[vulgalour]

Track rod ends are brand new. Steering rack gaiters are brand new. CV boots are in good shape, don't look like they need attention. Battery is properly secure. Brakes are good, suspension appears fine, wheel bearings good too. All the lights now work. Don't need a passenger side mirror due to the age of the car, other mirrors fine. Fan works when it should. Washer jets work. Sills are solid, floor pan and mounting points look okay (I won't know for definite until she's in the air). Doors all work, locks all work, windows all work (driver's window is a bit funny, but it does work). Clutch is fine, gearbox is okay, handbrake is sharp, telltales all work. Tyres are legal and don't leak, no holes in floor or boot. Windscreen in good order, wipers work and have new blades.

 

Anything else?

[Rocket88]

If you use an MOT station that's used to old stuff, should be fine..........