project 1980 Austin Princess

[michael1703]

Locking ring, £1.15

 

http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/ring-locking-sender-unit-ara1501.html?assoc=111170

[robinmasters]

Locking ring, £1.15

 

http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/ring-locking-sender-unit-ara1501.html?assoc=111170

 

British car parts specialist in reasonably priced part shocker.  

[vulgalour]

That's the easy bit to replace.  I had to replace the ring that's part of the tank that the above-linked ring goes into.

[vulgalour]

Huzzah I found a spare schrader valve block in the garage so I can pull that to bits and figure out how to fix the leaking one.

[tinribs]

Good luck with fixing that valve. Your patience with this car is an inspiration.

[dieselassist]

Good to see ye back on here, n updating; one of them cars that's 'a bit different' with the likes of the custom rear lights etc etc....- ive no idea why you took the 'break' from the place for a spell; that's your own business...

 

Nice to see the Princess wearing the badge I sent you on; doesn't look like its improved the car's 'luck', but does add to its look, er, very well...

 

I have never seen a rear gauge cluster 'delete' / DIY rewire like that- impressive skills there by Mike...

[stuboy]

welcome back fella

[Forty-two]

Good to see you back!

[vulgalour]

dieselassist:  it fits just nice on the grille there, the only thing is I can never get it to stay sat straight for very long.  What if it actually is working as a good luck charm, how bad would things have been without it!

 

I have no idea why I stick it out with this car, rationally it makes absolutely no sense.  I maintain it's not terrible even in the face of all these facts to the contrary, because on those days when it does work I find myself choosing to drive this instead of the Rover.  The Rover is quantifiably a better car in every single respect so why on earth would I place the Princess ahead of it in the enjoyment stakes?  I guess it's the same reason people like Landrovers which are pretty coarse, horrible, uncomfortable, leaky, basic deathtraps.  It's a mystery, it's a mystery, I'm still searching for a clue.  It's a mystery to me, shot in the dark, the big question mark in history.  Is it a mystery to you?

[xkjagnz]

Have to say that the 2 tone paint job really suits it. You say that it's a bit rough but it looks good from the distance. Should have been an option IMO

[Asimo]

It's not a mystery to me. Well-patched old jeans syndrome.


When you put a lot of your creative self into something it becomes far more than the sum of it's parts to you.
You are giving it soul and it fits you like you fit it.

Not the same as "fixing the bastard just so you can get to work tomorrow" which usually just makes you hate the heap.

[Twiggy]

Good to see you back. I love reading your posts, they are always fascinating.

[MikeKnight]

I have never seen a rear gauge cluster 'delete' / DIY rewire like that- impressive skills there by Mike...

 

Unfortunately it's nowhere as neat as I normally do those kinds of jobs, but I wanted to get it done quickly and it's a "test bed" that can always be cleaned up later.

 

I bet the problem with the high beam telltale is one of the crimped connectors has fallen out.

 

I don't like crimped connectors, they're horribly fragile, but they serve a purpose. When I re-do this properly I'll solder everything in place.

[vulgalour]

It will fit in the garage.  Just as well the bumpers were removed otherwise it wouldn't.

 

 

[PhilA]

I don't like crimped connectors, they're horribly fragile, but they serve a purpose. When I re-do this properly I'll solder everything in place.

Done properly, crimped connections weld themselves with the pressure through corroded surfaces and hold tight. Over a soldered connection, they are actually more reliable as solder will fracture with time and flexing and the additional heat required to solder old, corroded copper tends to make the insulation more fragile and prone to breaking near the joint.

 

I like my big crimp pliers, they are a must. I thought the same way as you before I got them as doing crimps with the wrong pliers makes for horrible unreliable connections.

 

Phil

[vulgalour]

I've started the laborious task of transferring all my photographs to a new host.  Photobucket has been there from the start of this thread back in February 2012 and up until the last 12 months or so I've been happy with the service.  Now, however, the end is nigh.  Even though I pay the minimum ad-free fee of £2ish per month, they'll only give me grace until some time between December 2017 and April 2018 before hiking it to their absurd £400 per month tier for the same service.

 

So the race is on really.  I've completed March 2012 as of tonight and I'll slog away updating the links as much as I can.  There will still be some dead links as not everything here was in the Princess folder but everything that's relevant to this build I will keep.

 

I've had to prioritise somewhat too.  This is the longest running uninterrupted thread I've kept and, as such, the most important to keep whole.  I'll do the Rover thread afterwards and the Austin thread is already established on Flikr where I'm moving everything to.  The trouble isn't shifting the photographs, that's easy, it's keeping them in context that's taking the massive amount of time to do.  Unfortunately, my older threads on things like the Xantia and the Renault are going to be dead, I can't see me getting through the Princess and Rover threads quickly enough to get those updated before Photobucket nix my account.  I'll do my best, all the same.

 

I absolutely hate that Photobucket have done what they have, already there's so many threads that are incomplete that were useful reference points, now barely any use at all since the reference images are gone.  It's going to take a long while for a lot of forums to recover from this and I only hope other image providers don't pull the same stunt.

[tooSavvy]

^^^^^ .... this .....

 

Battddss

 

 

TS

[vulgalour]

July 2012 (page 10) completed as of now.  Fixed a couple of file names in my archives and a couple of links to missing pictures in the thread up to that point too.

[vulgalour]

2012 photographs all updated (page 21).  Really wasn't a good year at all for the poor old wedge, she got knocked about a bit.

 

In more recent news, I spoke to scaryoldcortina recently and he reckons he can repair that leaking schrader block so, once I've got the suspension pipe off, I should have the Princess back in use again once I can get the local Hydragas pump contact to come out and do the do.  Happy days.

[Felly Magic]

Soon you will have a real BLARG fleet up and running, then you will be spoilt for choice at what to drive. GO TEAM PURPLE

[vulgalour]

RIGHT.  I've been fighting with this sodding Hydragas pipe and finally have it off!  Bit of a chore as jobs go, this one.  After unscrewing the fixing at the rear displacer and at the front displacer (well, the repair section in my case) you then have to unbolt and partially drop the rear axle, unclip the pipe from all the clips under the car, removed the schrader valve from the block at the front and then spend far too long swearing at the car and wiggling the pipe and moving axle stands until eventually it comes out.  Don't forget to headbutt the sill-to-floor seam on your way out from under the car for maximum enjoyment.

 

How things look in the engine bay.

20170813-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

The pipe itself.  I could potentially have made things a little easier by removing the whole exhaust but I really didn't want to do that since it's a bugger of a thing to get to seal again when you remove it.

20170813-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

This is the bit that's leaking and which I'm hoping to get repaired.  If it can't be repaired then it will be replaced instead.

20170813-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

I've got a couple of spare sections of pipe with the relevant block that show no signs of leaking, so we'll just have to see on this one.

20170813-04 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

Back on her wheels again so she can be moved back into the garage later.

20170813-05 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

I am *not* looking forward to reinstalling the pipe.  If it was this difficult to remove you can bet it'll be twice as difficult to refit.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Those pipes SUCK. I've got a NOS one for an 1100 sitting about, but you have to remove front and rear subframes to fit them! They must be one of the first parts they attached to the bodyshell after painting it.

[vulgalour]

Would not surprise me one bit.  Anything that could be in the way, was.  I can well see why people say you shouldn't touch them unless you absolutely have to.

[richardthestag]

would it not be easier to make up a new pipe? what is it 10mm?

 

Recover compression fixing from original

 

feed new kunifer pipe in from a coil, make up the ends and jobs a good un

 

advantages more flexibubble than original steel so less bother refitting and Less rust

[vulgalour]

It's just easier and cheaper to get the block re-sealed and stick the pipe back on the car.  The amount of work involved in making a whole new pipe with 400psi friendly fittings isn't something I want to be getting into if I can avoid it, and paying someone else to do it is prohibitively expensive for my budget.

[vulgalour]

I really ought to get mine done, I just keep finding other things to spend the money on.  It's £60 minimum per unit for anyone else that's doing it which is a big chunk of cash I don't presently have (in part because I spent it on the 1100 like a fool).

[vulgalour]

Can I come and stomp on your wheeltrims?

[vulgalour]

Hang on, I've just noticed something I never have on Ambos.  The rubbing strip isn't thick enough to stick out further than the furthest point on the door, which is the bodyline the door handles sit in.  What is point, BL?  That's delightfully redundant.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Is it a Y Reg?

 

I do love me a wedge, especially in beige

[MarvinsMom]

oh,

 

Austin Ambassador.....

 

y-reg.....