project 1980 Austin Princess

[Felly Magic]

That's not a very big list to tick off there. Soon be on the road

[vulgalour]

It's very exciting.  Fitting the tyres are the only thing I need to spend money on now, everything else is just time and not a great deal of it for the most part.

[Noel Tidybeard]

i think that the number plate mounted that low is going to end in tears though especially as its plastic which would be a shame as they are nice 

did you try it flat on the centre of valance?

 

i forgot how nice the dash surround looks in shlurple- how ace would purple wood grain look?

[vulgalour]

Believe it or not, the sump is lower than that number plate so if I smash the plate I've got much MUCH bigger problems ahead of me.  I did try it flat on the valance, it looked shit.

 

I wonder if you can get purple wood veneer?  I be it's expensive if you can.

[Des]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diamond-Ceiling-Sparkle-Grooved-waterproof/dp/B00IYI0UK0/ref=sr_1_24?m=A1YEWMZXV3I1LP&s=merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1488015618&sr=1-24

 

What about this? It's corrugated plastic that I've been wondering about using for a headliner.

[worldofceri]

The number plate will be fine like that.  The plate on my Beetle hangs below the bumper and has always been fine.  Also, looks higher than the bottom of the bumper on most modernz.

[vulgalour]

@Des:  I'm guessing that's similar to conservatory roof polycarbonate sheeting in construction so I'm not sure if I could use it for the dash unless I could split it down to just the purple sparkle sheet and use it as a veneer.  It would look really good, I didn't even know it was a thing.  Quite like the black with rainbow sparkle they do too.  I'm trying to think of what you'd be putting it in as a headlining, you'd need something with a very flat roof.

 

@WoC:  pretty tough to get a number plate lower than a Beetle's torsion bar even when you do hang it off the bottom of the bumper.  I'd guess the Princess plate has about 6" clearance, possibly more, it looks way lower than it really is.

[Parky]

You could give the car that modern lightweight sports racer feel with this purple carbon fibre finish:

 

http://www.premium-quality.co.uk/Purple_Carbon/purple_carbon.html

[vulgalour]

I could.  I'm not going to.

[vulgalour]

Princess progress again, folks.  First thing to illustrate is how much lower than the number plate the sump is.  I'm really happy with how much lower the car looks on the front than it really is and the number plate location is a big part of that visual trickery.  Rust is just some surface where the paint was thin from an unfinished job and outdoor storage, I'll be rectifying that soon.

 

Found the central ashtray in the garage today and got that back in place.

 

Tried out the various bits and bobs to see what would work.  For one brief, brilliant moment, everything did!  Apart from the horn and two of the dash binnacle illumination.  The main beam telltale is almost invisible, the lens is a really dark blue.

 

 

I wanted to see what the lights looked like properly at night and was impressed at just how huge they look on the back end.  I should be pretty hard to miss.  They're like rocket boosters, which pleases me.

 

 

Apart from the aim being off, the new halogens up front are pretty good too with a noticeable difference between dip and main beam.

 

I replaced the side repeater that wasn't working, the one I removed just sort of fell apart so it's no wonder it wasn't working.  The new one went in really easily, one of the quicker jobs on the car.

 

Dug out the mk1 screen wash bottle from the spares stash and was going to use the matching pump I had but the connectors were wrong, so I used a brand new pump Mike gave me last year which is a proper match.  The pump needs fastening down but I now have working washer jets again.  That's an MoT job off the list!

 

 

Removed the mechanical fuel pump to reseal it and found all but about 5mm of the bottom of the spacer block was actually sealing really well.  The spacer block isn't deformed or cracked and bonded so well to the pump itself you can't remove it without more force than I was willing to put in since it's working fine that side.  I tried fitting a thick paper gasket to stem the oil leak from this that has plagued me since fitting the mechanical pump, the only failure of this alteration really since it's perfectly fine as a pump at all speeds.  Time will tell on this one.

 

Splashed some purple on the front wing to try out the full length two-tone.  I do like it, the car looks really long in profile and it takes a lot of that visual weight out of the nose end of the car.  For now, this is what I'll go with.  Finding the best line over the arch flare was tricky.

 

Finally, I swapped the old boot lid on in favour of the green one that didn't fit so well.  Stripping the paint was proving really difficult because it's ludicrously thick and barely anything touches it apart from the most recent respray I did some time ago.  I decided to try out the alignment and had it fairly close I thought so went to just shut the boot to, but not on the latch, when it shut on the latch.  Now it won't open. I've managed to shut tools, the manual and spares in the boot too.  The lock works on the key but won't release so I'm not really sure how I'm going to fix this problem without damaging the boot lid.  I've tried various prying, leaning, hitting, wiggling and easing of the boot lid to no avail.  I'm not sure I'm small enough to fit through the cross-brace holes behind the back seat to get into the boot to release it from inside, it's not a job I'm looking forward to.

 

 

I believe I've found the cause of the electrical gremlin too. After having everything working, the horn stopped working properly, then the indicators gave up, then the rear heated screen switch wouldn't illuminate. Fuses are fine, what wiring I can see without dismantling the dashboard is also okay. The Princess did this when I bought it five years ago, in almost exactly the same way (I don't recall it blowing fuse #5 back then), and it was down to dirty switches and connections in the dashboard panel itself so I'll take the dashboard out and give everything a clean and check over. Hopefully that's all it really is.

 

MoT list update:

> connect fog lights

> connect number plate lights

> stick number plates on - DONE

> make hazard switch work

> make the indicator lights work - DONE

> pump up the suspension - DONE

> fit the new tyres

> fit a new washer jet pump - DONE

> tune the carb.

> find the loose steering component

[vulgalour]

P.S. suspension stayed up! I was very nervous going back into the unit given this car's history with displacer failure.

[Noel Tidybeard]

you could use the wing top and window line as paint split- i'm sure rolls/bentley or the muricans did something like that back in the day

[vulgalour]

You mean like an HLS Princess with a contrast trim full vinyl roof?

[Pillock]

The number plate will be fine like that. The plate on my Beetle hangs below the bumper and has always been fine. Also, looks higher than the bottom of the bumper on most modernz.

I used to have my Beetle plate nice and low, mounted on zip ties so it hung vertical at rest but hopefully flapped back enough at speed so front facing cameras would be oblivious

 

And mine wasn't torsion bar, so the next low hanging thing down the car was the gearbox.....

[vulgalour]

Fancy moderns with their fancy suspensions.

[Noel Tidybeard]

You mean like an HLS Princess with a contrast trim full vinyl roof?

 

no like- bonnet, roof, pillars & under rear window in beige bellow widow line shlurple

[vulgalour]

Oh right, I get you.  Not sure how I'd split that on the front wings since there's no natural line for it.  It's a shame the 'bulge' on the bonnet isn't a slightly different shape so you could run from the back corners to the front along the line of it.

[sporty-shite]

 

Those foglights remind me of funny car wheelie bars, for some strange reason. Everything sensible in me tells me they shouldn't look right, but I think they just do.

[Angrydicky]

This is looking great, but I'm going to stick my nose out here and say that the Captain Slow and WBOD stickers spoil it, along with the crumpled wing and oversized wing mirror. Extending the purple paint to the front was the right thing to do, and although the Lotus wheels are better, the chrome hubcaps are a perfectly acceptable alternative until you get the new tyres sorted.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I like what you've done with it. It's really coming together now and the paint helps massively.

 

Have to agree with angrydicky on the wing mirror, IMO it doesn't fit with the styling of the car as a whole.

 

Also where did you get those trims? I think they'd look awesome on the wife's micra!

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[vulgalour]

@Dicky: I agree with the stickers, for now they're staying put.  I've got to make one good wing out of the two bad ones I've got to replace that Captain Slow sticker and the WBOD will only go once I've got the time and space to repaint the bonnet properly, which is a big job since it's a huge flat panel and I only have access to rattle cans.  Who knows, I may pay someone else to do it if work continues to be good to me.  The mirrors... I like the mirrors.  I like the chrome ones I got more since they're tidier on the car, I just need to get the plinths made for them before I can fit those.  We'll get there, I want to do the bulk of the work and then address the areas you've mentioned last so I don't end up with too many little jobs all getting on top of me.

 

@TADTS: Bit more expensive than when I bought my set, they can be found here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/14-Wheel-Trims-Baby-Moon-CHROME-Hub-Caps-Full-Covers-Hubcaps-SET-OF-4-/262869774680?hash=item3d34427158:g:3cIAAOSwgQ9Vy2A4  If you want to try and find them cheaper, they're made by a company called Autopure, most listings have them in the USA at about $130-150 a set.

[Timewaster]

I had reservations about the rear lights but that dusk after burner shot looks very cool.

[mat_the_cat]

Getting very close - I hope to see you, in this, at SF '17???

[DeeJay]

I do hope you're going to break out the nets for the final paint finish (that would've set the dash paint off nice as well).

[vulgalour]

http://www.car-body-kit.co.uk/austin_bmc_princess.html

 

A pair of fibreglass front wings would cost me £164.90 delivered, which isn't a lot given how impossible wings are to find.  Anyone have any experience of this company?

 

My thinking is I could remove the metal ones and repair them off the car, paint them and then refit when I've finished them nicely and run with the fibreglass ones so the car doesn't have to come off the road.  Or just run with the fibreglass ones permanently if they look reasonably okay.  It would also allow me to properly tidy up and rust protect all of the inner arches at the front, especially the nose end, which is quite difficult to do with wings still attached.

[DodgeRover]

They're probably Smith and Deakin ones, fit could be good or could be shocking it really depends on how good the moulds were 40 years ago and what state they are in now

Best bet would be to ask if anybody has fitted some recently in the Princess owners club

[vulgalour]

I've seen one fibreglass wing fitted on a Princess and it was okay, certainly fine for a temporary solution, but looked a bit 'soft' around some of the mould lines if that makes sense?  Probably the same ones.  Fit was adequate as a temporary solution though, and I do know someone that is excellent with fibreglass who could help me with fit and finish if they were to be permanent.  Sadly, the same person would cost a lot more than I have to make me a pair of really nice fibreglass wings because he'd need to take moulds and I haven't a good enough wing for him to take one from.

[loserone]

 

MoT list update:

> make car look seriously fucking awesome - DONE

> ???

> profit

[JeeExEll]

http://www.car-body-kit.co.uk/austin_bmc_princess.html

 

A pair of fibreglass front wings would cost me £164.90 delivered, which isn't a lot given how impossible wings are to find. Anyone have any experience of this company?

 

My thinking is I could remove the metal ones and repair them off the car, paint them and then refit when I've finished them nicely and run with the fibreglass ones so the car doesn't have to come off the road. Or just run with the fibreglass ones permanently if they look reasonably okay. It would also allow me to properly tidy up and rust protect all of the inner arches at the front, especially the nose end, which is quite difficult to do with wings still attached.

Why not just take off the metal ones, do whatever work is really necessary, then refit the repaired metal ones, saving the whole cost of getting fibreglass ones. Could do it in a day. Am I missing something?

 

Interesting project, looking forward to seeing this one finished and on the road.

[vulgalour]

The metal wings need a LOT of work. They've both already had a load of repairs done and need even more work, realistically they should be binned as they're well past their sell by date. I'm only keeping them because they're so impossible to source. I'd need more than a day's work to put each one right again, they're much worse than the pictures let on.

 

---

 

Mike has some spare time this week which has coincided nicely with my spare time too, we can really crack on with a lot of jobs. First one today was a bit of a car shuffle so the Micra could get out of the way of the lift and the Princess could take up residence. On going outside the car started running a bit rough, then dropped a cylinder, then died. Had a look at oil was puddling all around the spark plug under the distributor. Pulled it out and cleaned it up, checked there wasn't excessive oil coming up from under the plug (ie: knackered rings), and checked that it was in fact coming from the distributor instead. Looks like this has reached a critical point and on removing the distributor, the old O-ring which I can't remember replacing was very hard and flat like plastic.

 

Fitted a new one which makes putting the distributor back in difficult so that should do the trick.

 

Then got the car up on the ramp to have the first real up close and personal look at what the score is. I was aware of some oil leaks, quite a bad one on the passenger side. This was slightly embarrassing because it was just that I hadn't tightened the oil filter properly, at least it was easy to resolve. Lots of degreasing to do now.

 

All the while I've had the car there's been a leak that I've suspected was where the selector rods go into the gearbox. I've never been able to get the car on a lift at my leisure so it wasn't until today I could actually prove my theory true. Not quite sure what I need to replace here to stop it leaking.

 

The copper exhaust stay was checked out too. It's held up fairly well but is now tearing so I'll get this replaced with a steel bracket before the MoT since it's easy to do it with the car on the lift.

 

Long term readers will know I had to replace a lot of air and rust with fresh metal and will hopefully understand my being nervous about having a proper look under the car to see what I was still going to have to deal with. I have to say overall I was pleasantly surprised. The sections I've repaired, particularly the giant orange patch, are substantial but other than that it's all pretty solid. The underseal needs redoing, which I planned to do anyway, as that's seen much better days. Overall, it's not that frightening under here. My only concern is the state of the rear displacers, something I can't do much about since they're exposed to all the crap and made of steel, not BL's best design decision that. All I can really do is give them a coat of rust converter and paint I think since they can't be dismantled to have the casings properly protected and repaired if needed.

 

 

 

Found a bit of bodge and/or dirt hiding on the inner wing where it closes the tool compartment section of the boot. An easy repair with the car on the lift but not one that's need for MoT so it can wait for now.

 

With me in the car on the lift and Mike underneath we tried to find where the play in the steering was. Nothing amiss underneath so the car came back down and as I was manipulating the wheel, Mike could watch the universal joint under the pedals and see it was just a little loose. A quick tighten of the nut and bolt and the play is gone. That's an MoT job and a previous fail item off the list!

 

The other big job was getting the boot open. The rear seat had to come out, which was easy enough, then the backing board had to have the rivets holding it in removed. This allowed much better access than I'd expected to the hinge bolts and the boot catch, removing the boot lid was very easy as a result. I can't get the catch out of the boot lock though, we can't figure out how it's got stuck the way it has so some fettling will be in order.

 

 

 

With the back seats out it's actually very easy to get to the sections of the boot floor that need a bit of repair. Something for another time though, these areas were not mentioned at the last MoT and I've no welding gas so I'm leaving them for now and will be doing them later in the year instead.

 

 

Mike did an excellent job of wrapping and tidying the wiring in the boot. We did find a possible cause for fuse #5 blowing too which was that I'd forgotten the fuel sender wiring had been cut but the wires not isolated from the bodywork so it's entirely possible they've been shorting out on things.

 

The rear number plate light now works (another MoT job done, yay!), just the fog lights to go to complete the rear end now.

 

The last job was to remove the wheels and tidy up the rim on the spare steel I've got ready for the tyres to be fitted tomorrow. Tyre and wheel situation is a little odd, the car is currently on one excellent tyre destined to become the spare, 2 reasonable tyres on good rims and one perished tyre on a rusty rim that leaks so I cleaned up the rim on a good spare steel I've got, removed the three wheels with bad tyres and will pass those on to the tyre place to get them sorted. That will then be another MoT job off the list.

 

 

The only item on my fail sheet I need to address is an insecure CV joint, something I've not been able to identify at all before having access to the lift and if I can't find the problem then it's pretty much impossible to fix it. The rear brakes seem to work and the handbrake holds the car well, I haven't the means to test those MoT fashion so I just have to hope I've got those about right and they'll pass.

 

MoT list update:

> connect fog lights

> connect number plate lights - DONE

> stick number plates on - DONE

> make hazard switch work

> make the indicator lights work - DONE

> pump up the suspension - DONE

> fit the new tyres

> fit a new washer jet pump - DONE

> tune the carb.

> find the loose steering component - DONE