project 1980 Austin Princess

[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.

[Parky]

Whacking great lump of rubber gaffer taped to each suspension arm for that genuine Moulton space saving sensation?

[vulgalour]

Actual honest to goodness progress this weekend, happily.  After spending yesterday trying to do the job 'properly' by removing the pivot shaft and finding out there was no way that was ever going to happen, we removed the complete arm assembly on the HL much faster today.

 

 

The big bumpstop decided to fall off, so I need to glue that back on or something.  It looks like the fixing tabs are still bolted to the car, but the rubber has dropped off.  Brand new rebound straps didn't get fitted today, but they look like a fairly easy job to do once everything else is sorted out.

 

Old suspension arm with sphere removed.  I'm pretty sure it's the diaphragm that's blown but I've not had time today to investigate further so it's sat in a bowl slowly dribbling out smelly green hydragas fluid.

 

The underside of the HLS and the HL are actually in similar healthy condition, which I'm pleased about, though the HL does need to be freshly undersealed for best results.

 

The suspension arm from the HLS was in good condition, nice and dry where it needs to be and barely any sign of corrosion.

 

Comedy jaunty Princess pictures...

 

 

Everything went back together much easier than it came apart.  Highlights of dismantling was having to take a grinder to a seized brake union and finding the back plate of the HLS drum had rotted through.  Thankfully I can get spare brake parts as required and I have a good spare drum back plate from the axle I bought.

 

Bolted the HL back together but I haven't quite finished the job as the torque wrench I need is in the boot of Dad's car which is presently in Scotland until he comes home tomorrow night.  Then I'll need to set the arm to the correct level, bleed the brakes to make sure they're no air and because it's overdue and get the garage out to pump up the hydragas.  I'll probably also fit the new rebound straps, the HL straps look a bit worn so it won't hurt to fit the new ones.

 

I have a palpable sense of relief at the progress made and am immensely thankful that Mikeknight brought tools with him as well as the ability to weild spanners, I could not have done this job on my own.

[Bucketeer]

On your marks . . . . . . . . get set . . . . . . . . . . GO.

 

 

 

 
 

[RedSparrow]

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.

 

Oof. That's a couple of hundred quid down the pan for the manager.

[HMC]

Just Flicked back a few pages to the accident pics, you've done such a great job on the front end repair!

[vulgalour]

Do you know, it's when people tell me how good a job I've made of sorting the front end out that I feel vindicated that I didn't throw in the towel after the bump and that I didn't believe that was the end of the road for this old wedge.  Few more niggles to sort and I can get on with swapping interiors and making both cars look that bit more presentable, can't wait for the longer hours and warmer weather to help me along a bit more with that.

[eddyramrod]

I wish I'd known you 23 years ago when this happened to my black one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloody hell, typing that makes me feel so old now!

[vulgalour]

I doubt I'd've been much use to you 23 years ago, I was only 9 years old  Sad to see your wedge all crunched up like that.

[eddyramrod]

   Yeah, don't worry.  I think it was beyond hope really.  It was savagely attacked by a 1978 VW Polo one morning on the way to work.  I did strip off and save some of the undamaged parts, but they've all long gone now.  Nobody wanted Princess bits until very recently and I had them in my car-boot stock for a dog's age.  When I finally got paid out I bought my mk5 Cortina, so some good did come of it!

 

Anyway, yours are something to be proud of, especially the rescue you've done on the beige one.

[Mr Livered]

That's real progress Vulgalour, good show

[Timewaster]

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.

Rong.

[Asimo]

Those wing mirrors are awful.

But everything else is full marks.

 

Please don't lower it. A few bags of sand in the boot does improve the stance, and is easily reversible.

[vulgalour]

Plans to swap the whole interior were thwarted today by a troublesome wrist and hand which I've injured again recently and the weather which while mild is decidedly wetter than it was over the weekend.  I was desperate to get the dash in and tested, I didn't want all the work of swapping bits around to be for nought.

 

Initially, the indicators wouldn't work, the switches would only work sporadically and the dash wouldn't light up but some judicious wiggling of connectors and lots of switch flicking got it all sorted.  I had exactly the same issue when I first bought the HL and use turned out to be the cure.  I am now the very happy owner of a phase 1 dash and proper Princess steering wheel, two things I've wanted in this car for quite some time.

 

The first breaker car I visited had a wooden radio fascia hiding in the glove box which I salvaged 'just in case' and that has actually turned out to be of use. The radio that was fitted in this binnacle wasn't done quite the way I wanted it to be so I'll be modifying the wooden fascia to fit the radio in a stronger and tidier way though none of the wood itself will be visible once this is done. One modification I hope to effect is to drill another hole to the top left of the clock on the dash so I can insert a phase one telltale and bulb tube to make use of the sidelight telltale bulb that's still attached to the wiring loom and is fully functional.

[vulgalour]

Been steadily plodding along.  My camera has been troublesome too so I'm low on snaps.  Anyway, had a stroke of luck finding a full set of rare contrast-piping HLS seats and 2 full carpet sets in brown for £1.98 which sorts out the interior on the red car very nicely.

 

The carpet I liberated from the brown breaker in Liverpool has been fitted, though I have no pictures of that yet, and is very plush and new smelling and feeling which caused some problems getting things fitted properly as the old carpet was flat and threadbare.  The driver's seat from that car has been fitted too and is a vast improvement over what was in though I'm still in the process of getting it set correctly.

 

It was too dark to get pictures or to finish fitting the other seats, but that proved useful for aforementioned HLS interior collection as the car was pretty much a van.  Speaking of, the hundred mile round trip to collect the seats went smoothly with not a complaint from the HL at all, though my headlights do need realigning as they presently seem to point at the front bumper which isn't fun driving on unlit country roads when they're only sealed beams.

 

Before fitting the new carpet I removed the draught excluder boot that I knew was damaged, I'd grabbed the really good one from the Liverpool car 'just in case' which paid off.

 

The new one fitted and I can report that a lot of the oily smell in the cabin has gone now and passengers no longer complain about exhaust gas odour.  I also have less issue with fogging up so it's probably cured quite a few things in one fell swoop.

 

Today the wheel nuts arrived and they're the correct size happily, my only issue is that the not-locking sleeve nuts have shanks that are about twice the length they need to be.  I think I'll be okay just cutting the shanks down to the right length so the nut sits flush with the wheel face.  I'm hoping to have a go at this before the next Retro Rides meet on Monday as I'd love to turn up with the Lotus alloys fitted.

[George-Roper]

You need a medal and should inspire others. Top marks.

[vulgalour]

Got all the seats in today, driver's seat was already in place as was the lovely new carpet.

 

Front seat in too.  Needs a bit more of a clean, but I just wanted it in the car, I can clean it properly in situ.

 

Unfortunately, the back seat is made up of my original seat back and the seat base from the brown Liverpool car as I couldn't liberate the seat back from that car before it got squashed.  A blanket disguises this fact well enough, but I'm on the look out for a correct seat back which should be just about impossible to find.

 

Fitted the boot rams also liberated from the Liverpool car and applied copious amounts of WD40 to make them work as smoothly as possible.  I'm not sure what's in these rams, but they feel like they have springs instead of oil or gas in them.  They work exceptionally well, at any rate, so I'm happy with them.

 

While I was in the boot I fitted the tatty trim taken from the car I got the axle from.  It doesn't look great, but it's better than having nothing there at all.

 

Finally, a picture of the car up at the proper height again.  Looks weird because the front arch liners are removed and there's no black underseal in there.  I'm going to go around and double check everything as I put on the miles, but it seems to be okay.

[Alexg]

Consistently excellent progress. Interior is looking splendid

[barefoot]

Will you not put the Lotus wheels on so we can all see what it looks like?

[vulgalour]

Providing I have enough time to sort the sleeve nuts out, the Lotus wheels are going on for good tomorrow afternoon.

[vulgalour]

Got the sleeve nuts cut down to the required length and put two wheels on the car.  I didn't know the air station had a flat-tyre setting which you have to press to inflate tyres below a certain psi and by the time I'd got back and been informed of this I didn't want to trek out again to find out if it's that setting or the valves that are the problem with two of the tyres being flat.  Happily, the two wheels I did fit have decent tyres that hold air and there's only the very slightest hint of wheel imbalance from them at 60mph, below that they're perfect and I've managed to do away with the noisy tyre.

 

With 205s on the rear and 185s on the front, the car corners quite well and the Dunlops (I had thought they were Avons, don't know why now as they're clearly not) are much better behaved on the damp roads than the Kelly and the Infinity that were on the back.

 

When I can afford to get all the Lotus wheels balanced I'll have all four fitted, but for now I'm happy with skinny steels up front and fat alloys out back.

[Lord Sterling]

Good work Angyl, but we demand pictures (please) 

[vulgalour]

I'll try and take some tomorrow.  At the RR meet tonight none of the photos I took are legible but there was a chap with a Toyota Starlet wearing the same alloys and he convinced me to fit spigot rings for peace of mind, especially since they're so cheap.  For now I'm okay up to 55mph at which point I get a very small wheel vibration as though one of the alloys isn't balanced, quite likely as they have no weights on at all.  60mph the wobble gets a little more serious but doesn't develop into anything alarming up to 65mph so I reckon they're secure enough.  No banging, knocking or untoward sensations and having driven both the Princess and the BX with loosened wheel nuts thanks to someone tampering with my cars earlier in the year, I'm confident all is well on the fitment front.

 

In fact, since sorting the suspension and fitting the alloys to the rear axle I've found myself getting quite brave with the cornering as the car seems to be much happier to go around corners as if its glued to the road.  Fun is probably a strong word, but it's certainly more entertaining than it is scary to drive with gumption.

[wackywacerwill]

Get on with the Lotus wheel pics already!

 

I'm with Barrett too, a shade lower on those wheels would work a treat.

[Des]

No raise it. Lowered it'll look like a fat Esprit.