project 1980 Austin Princess

[vulgalour]

@Lord Sterling:  There's very little I took that I don't need at the moment.  I doubt I'll need to strip another car this bare again to sort my two out but I'm not sure if I could stop myself if another one turned up.

 

@Warren:  yes, they still are.  Ran out of tools, time and patience to get them off.

 

@michael t:  er... it's in Huyton, Liverpool on an industrial estate.  That's about as much attention as I paid >.>  Here's their website http://www.robcliffe.co.uk/

[purplebargeken]

Bloody brilliant scrapyard haul! Great that you managed to help other wedgies too. 11/10.

[fordperv]

good going fella, i havnt seen a wedge in a scrappy for a good while now 

[RedSparrow]

Great when so many bits can be salvaged like this.

 

Yeah as Warren said, get the brake bits if you can, even if you don't want them some TR7 pikey like me will buy them off you on ebay.

[vulgalour]

get the brake bits if you can, even if you don't want them some TR7 pikey like me will buy them off you on ebay.

 

I can get my friend to collect them if you really wanted them.  Yard seemed willing to let them go in the region of £20-40 each based on condition and since they'll look pretty rough I'd say it'd be nearer the £20 mark.

[RedSparrow]

I can get my friend to collect them if you really wanted them.  Yard seemed willing to let them go in the region of £20-40 each based on condition and since they'll look pretty rough I'd say it'd be nearer the £20 mark.

 

Thanks but I'm in a massive autoshite failure situation at the moment. But there will be people out there who want them; fairly sought after parts.

[trigger]

Have you looked to see what the calipers sell for, I'd get them off and sell them on if I was you!.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Princess-4-Pot-Calipers-/151129092485?hash=item232ffef185&nma=true&si=5Ea2G%252FuTbNqISgTHO5htiU0JLNQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRINCESS-4-POT-CALIPERS-/271282316099?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f29afa343&nma=true&si=5Ea2G%252FuTbNqISgTHO5htiU0JLNQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[vulgalour]

That's ridiculous!

[Mr Livered]

Wow! They're sold prices too, not asking prices. Definitely worth taking if you're up for another trip. If it was me I'd keep one as a spare, and clean up and sell the others.

[vulgalour]

They only come in pairs.  Discs on the front, drums on the back.  I'll have to see if I can wangle the extra readies from somewhere to collect the calipers and then just sell them on at profit rather than keeping them as spares.  I need the cash more than the spares, really.

[Mr Livered]

Yeah, I don't know what was wrong with me; of course they have drums at the back. Still worth grabbing the calipers to flog them on though, as you say, if you really can get them for a pony or so each.

[vulgalour]

A pony?  I was planning on using pictures of the queen.  Here's an interesting* fact, I have no idea what a pony, a bag, or a monkey is in monetary terms.

[greengartside]

A pony?  I was planning on using pictures of the queen.  Here's an interesting* fact, I have no idea what a pony, a bag, or a monkey is in monetary terms.

 

http://www.aldertons.com/money.htm

[RedSparrow]

Have you looked to see what the calipers sell for, I'd get them off and sell them on if I was you!.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Princess-4-Pot-Calipers-/151129092485?hash=item232ffef185&nma=true&si=5Ea2G%252FuTbNqISgTHO5htiU0JLNQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRINCESS-4-POT-CALIPERS-/271282316099?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f29afa343&nma=true&si=5Ea2G%252FuTbNqISgTHO5htiU0JLNQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

Yep, that's what I was talking about. Worth nabbing.

[Angrydicky]

The price of those calipers! You're 'avin a turkish!

 

More often than not, the standard reply from Kirby's breakers in Rochford in response to parts enquiries is "score mate".

[vulgalour]

turkish bath... baff... larf.. laugh?  Southerners are weird.

[stuboy]

great haul there..............

[vulgalour]

I had a bit of a head scratching moment recently when I realised that the telltales on the phase one and phase two dashboards are laid out differently.  Went to send an e-mail to the chap that wants some of the dash binnacle to find he'd already e-mailed me to warn me of this as he'd encountered the same issue swapping from a phase one to a phase two, the reverse of what I'm doing.  The main issue is the tubes that direct the light for the telltales on the phase one are straight, but on the phase two they're wiggly to go to the new locations.  I have no idea why they changed this, it makes little sense, but it should be a case of stripping down each dash and rebuilding with the appropriate clocks and pipes being careful not to damage the circuit board.

 

Since it's easier to get the binnacle out without the steering wheel in place I reckon I'll figure this out at that point.  I've got the nut for the current wheel soaking in WD40 as it's being a bit stubborn, but the Princess wheel I got has been cleaned up and is ready to go on now.  In the meantime, I removed the old bent bumper and tried out the new one.

 

 

What surprised me is that the car is actually a lot straighter than I thought it was.  The front bumper bracket fixing location on the left hand side actually needs bashing back as I've pulled it too far forwards which is making the bumper sit too low and too far forwards.  All the holes on this replacement bumper lined up perfectly and since the brown car had no signs of crash damage I think that probably means I did a reasonable job of straightening the front end out.

 

The new bumper chrome isn't very good, but then this bumper was very cheap because of the condition of it.  The new bumper sits further forwards, which really highlights how bent the brackets had been on the old one, it looks like my old bumper absorbed quite a lot more impact than I gave it credit for.

 

I need to relocate the number plate again as the new bumper obscures it hence it being removed at the moment.  I also have confirmation from the scrapyard that the nose on the brown one can be chopped off for me and they'll let me know when it's ready for collection.  Reasonable slam panel, top half of the valance and headlight brackets for £40 is not to be sniffed at and when am I ever going to get the chance to get those panels again?  Really couldn't pass up the opportunity to get the repair section and I've gambled on getting that instead of the calipers or spheres as it's marginally more difficult to acquire.

[catsinthewelder]

It's looking great V,  you can hardly tell that it's been damaged in that last shot. 

 

If the scrapyard are cutting the front off the donor for you, could you remove the other parts that you would like to buy for them to put to one side until you can afford them?  It would be a shame if they got baled with the rest of the car.

[vulgalour]

I think I have to let the other parts go this once.  Prioritising, the front panel work is going to be the hardest thing to source as there's other Princess owners with calipers and spheres should I need them.  I wanted the dash and centre consoles out of the other breaker but chose to take the rear axle instead so in a way it all balances out really.

 

On that brown car I left the glass, window regulators, stainless trim, spheres, calipers, wheels with the trims and rear light clusters.  Anything else beyond that was pretty knackered and the engine did not look in good shape so I'd say I spent my money fairly wisely and collected a lot of spares I otherwise wouldn't have been able to.  It's regrettable that I don't have the extra funds for the few items that are left, but not so regrettable that I'll lose any sleep over it.

[vulgalour]

The weather is really slowing me down now that I have to work out in it.  Although I had a friend visiting who was willing to help, neither of us could get past the fact that it was just too cold to be able to use tools and do fiddly jobs with the temperatures we've got so it was pretty restrictive what could be done.  The weather might end up putting paid to the sphere swap this weekend that's supposed to be happening, as might any issues with the fixings if the spare axle I bought was anything to go by.

 

We did get some things done, thankfully.  The seats and carpet were brought into the house for a pre-fitting clean and so I could get measurements more easily for the new seat covers I'm making good progress on.  I'm now at the point where I'm putting the multicolour squares together with the black borders and I'm really pleased with how they're looking, should look right at home in the Princess.

 

 

The other thing we achieved was swapping the bonnet rams which is sensibly a two-person job.  We were going to then get the interior parts swapped around accordingly but it just wasn't happening as everything was far too cold and when the wind kicked up it was even worse, like trying to work in a freezer.  It's very strange having a bonnet that goes up and stays up as it ought after nearly two years of needing a prop to do the job for me.

 

Finally, I lowered the car all round.  I don't drive it more than just round the block to warm things through and keep things free and moving.  I could probably drive it further but in all honesty I don't want to.  Even sitting at this height, the exhaust scrapes on the dropped kerb entrance to the drive and on any bumps you come across.  Suspension isn't hard, but neither is it comfortable and while the bump-steer is eliminated now the car is the same height both sides (really the main point of the exercise), I really wouldn't recommend keeping it this way if you had a mind to.  It's no fun.

 

Progress continues to be painfully slow and I continue to be stranded.  I miss my battered tin garage, I hate having to work outside in the winter.

[barrett]

It may be no fun, but it looks insanely cool at that height. Shame there is no way to lower a 'gas sprung car really, because it looks about 2340978% better than standard at that altitude.

[vulgalour]

I'm sending an electronic letter over to the people at Koni as I got a tip off that they used to do a direct swap kit for the displacers to replace them with more conventional shocks and springs.  With modern tech, there's a good chance this would improve handling and eliminate the biggest fear when using a Princess daily.  It may also not be hideously expensive like an air or hydraulic system would be.  Obviously, I'd rather keep the Hydragas as it's bloody ace, but practicalities must unfortunately be considered.

[KruJoe]

Angyl, did I read somewhere that the brown breaker got baled, complete with front end and calipers?

[vulgalour]

You did.  The manager wasn't happy that the weekend crew had done it, he'd left instructions for them to keep back the rear axle and front end at least if they had to get it out of the way.

[oman5]

I've never heard of a replacement standard suspension kit for hydragas systems. I stand to be corrected though.

I remember you could get ordinary replacement shocks for the hideously expensive self levelling nivomats on SD1s.

 

You can lower hydragas cars but its a total pain in the arse involving moving the displacer mounting points.  

[Asimo]

If you have to lower Hydragas, you shorten the push-rods between the suspension arms and the displacer diaphragm. That way the spring-rate is unchanged. If you lower by removing fluid, the spring rate stiffens (Because the diaphragm effectively gets larger as the fluid volume is reduced, it is seated against the conical housing)

For a better explanation and a diagram see http://gregh.co.uk/html/hydragas.htm

[Parky]

Isn't there a chap on Aronline (Alexander Boucke I think) who wrote a piece on repairing spheres?

 

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/austin/maxi/tech-recharging-maxi-spheres/

 

Here it is - anything useful in here?

[Angrydicky]

The trouble is, any lowered hydragas/hydrolastic car just looks like it needs pumping up.

[vulgalour]

This is my problem with the Princess lowered.  It'll probably look ace a smidge higher on the Lotus alloys but there'll always be that thing where I can't help put see it as a saggy broken car that needs pumping up because of what it is.

 

The Maxi sphere tutorial (which I think I've read about a bajillion times now, nobody else has done anything like it on the interwebs that I can find) would be fine if the sphere had gone gas rather than fluid, I don't think it would have helped prevent the failure I've had even if I'd done it.  Short term I'll be using spare spheres, long term I need another solution I think.