project 1980 Austin Princess

[keef]

You might find a bit of grit under the valve stem. "Tickle" it, being careful of the pressure. A rag over the valve should help.

[vulgalour]

Tried that already and it made no difference at all.  First thought was that the pin had got stuck.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Defo whiz the valve core out and clean/replace

[vulgalour]

I can stick one of my spare brand new never been used ones in, that'll probably do the trick.  I reckon tomorrow I'll be rummaging through spares and cobbling something together and we'll get it sorted.

[plasticvandan]

Fault located,new part in stock = win

[vulgalour]

Dropped off one the small MGF individualiser blocks and one of the displacer fittings to a local engineering company today.  I decided that the cost wasn't so much a factor as the hassle and risk with the pipe.  I know from the way the fixing works that these individualisers stand very little chance of leaking and if they do they'll be very easy to seal with any number of plumbing type products.  Ditching the pipes is, at this moment in time, sensible.  If I want to reinstate the pipes at a later date I suppose I can, I expect I won't.

 

I only have a rough estimate based on how long they think the blocks will take to make and what the materials will cost.  The displacer fitting is an unusual size and the hex bar they need to be made from is also less-than-standard so that adds a little extra as a result.  Estimated time to machine each block was 3 hours and estimated cost for the set of four was £60-100.  I'm going to budget £150 because estimates are estimates and hope it comes in closer to the £60 mark leaving me some cash in my pocket.

 

Time for completion is, ideally, by the end of the month.  It's a funny sized job being not quite small enough to do in a day and not quite large enough to go in the order queue, so it'll be done between other things.  This should also keep that estimate down a bit.  I'm optimistic that this will fix the problem.

 

The other advantage to this is if I have another displacer fail it only takes out one corner, not the whole side of the car.  If it goes gas-to-fluid I can then just fill that displacer up with more fluid to compensate as a temporary measure until a replacement was got.  It just means the ride won't be quite as smooth as it was, in theory, though it might handle better if reports from MGFs, Metros and Minis with the same treatment is anything to go by.

[BeEP]

Alex Moulton will be spinning in his grave....

 

....although I individualised the rear displacers in one of Craig the Princess's wife's Austin Metros, so the above is said somewhat tongue in cheek   

[vulgalour]

I have the greatest respect for his work, I really do, I'm just fed up of the lack of parts support.

[BeEP]

I wasn't criticising; I totally agree.  For 20 years from 1995 I pretty much exclusively drove hydrolastic/hydrogas suspended cars (a couple of Maestros might have snuck in as well).  Although I still own four I no longer use them as everyday transport as suspension issues are a pain to sort out in quick time.  One of my 1100s is currently on the naughty step with a burst pipe above the rear subframe, and I know if I drop the subframe to extract it I'll find other problems.

[vulgalour]

I know you weren't criticising.  Written word falling a little flat there, as it sometimes does.  Dropping subframes... you never know, you might get lucky and find there's nothing to do but clean and underseal it!  That's reminded me, I have a weird 1100 problem that needs going in its thread so I'll stick that over there.

[keef]

That's reminded me, I have a weird 1100 problem that needs going in its thread so I'll stick that over there.

Another thread to add to my list.

 

Where is it?

[vulgalour]

There's a link to it in my signature.

[keef]

There's a link to it in my signature.

Silly me!

 

Found it via a search, although AS is getting a bit bloated with all the sub categories now.

[vulgalour]

Let's have a happy Princess update for a change shall we?  The carpet I redyed has cured and is ready to go in the car.  The weather is clear, Mike is available to help with fitting everything and we can ditch the old black rug that's in there.

 

20171018-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

I've done this job a few times now, trying to improve the carpet each time and finally I've got a carpet I'm happy is complete, in reasonable condition and a colour I like.  Just having the inner sill pieces complete alone has made a huge improvement to the cabin.  It's also much less dreary in there than it was in all black.  I really don't like all black interiors, I like a splash of contrast at least.

20171018-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

20171018-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

The dashboard needs repainting again, or the paint stripping off back to the original orangey wood veneer.  I'm going to try stripping the purple off first to see if I can salvage the veneer since it's a reasonable match for the carpet and if not I'll likely repaint it in copper or metallic orange to match up with the rest.  I also need to get some fixings for that under-dashboard trim.

20171018-04 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr

 

The only thing that went a little bit wrong was a wire for the rear cigar lighter pulled out of its spade terminal and needs recrimping  so I haven't fully fitted the rear centre console yet.  I would have done it today but the wire crimpers and spare connectors aren't at the house.  Other than that, I'm really happy with this job.

 

 

[beko1987]

That looks proper smart! Hope it lasts for you!

[vulgalour]

I've just noticed a really unimpressed face where the centre vents are and now I can't stop seeing it.

[danthecapriman]

Carpet looks fantastic, very 70's!

[purplebargeken]

That looks pretty impressive. Typically I have no carpet that needs recolouring. How remiss of me.

 

Metallic orange dash would look very, very cool indeed!!!

[Junkman]

To dye for.

[vulgalour]

Wow.  Just... wow.

[Noel Tidybeard]

I've just noticed a really unimpressed face where the centre vents are and now I can't stop seeing it.

 

Y THO!

[vulgalour]

I have been quietly getting stuff together on the Princess to try and get things in a position where I can really just go through stuff in the winter.  The suspension issues have thrown a bit of a spanner in the works, as did getting the 1100, and work projects... but I'm top side of everything now so I finally have time and resources to devote to the wedge.

 

Mechanically, I've got two oil seals to replace and everything is crossed that these custom individualiser blocks I'm having made resolve the suspension issues as much as possible.  Everything else seems in fine fettle on the mechanical front.  Electrically I've got two inoperative dashboard bulbs which are going to be investigated sometime within the next week or so and some minor rewiring for the rear end.

 

That brings us neatly to the cosmetic.  A colour change is planned because of the new orange carpet inside the car which works so well with the black interior.  The only other interior jobs I need to do are to redo the parcel shelf in vinyl because the velvet has already faded - the sunlight through that rear window is really fierce - and recolour the dashboard insert.  Other than that the interior is really as I want it.

 

On the bodywork side of things I'll be repairing the best four of the eight doors I've got and putting the best glass, etc. in them before repainting.  That will also allow me to hopefully resolve the saggy driver's door hinge that has been an issue since day one.  I've got a spare front wing to allow me to repair the damaged one too, this is one of the biggest jobs on the car since they're not easy to remove or repair.  Elsewhere there's two small patches needed on the rear lower wings and the new light buckets to let in on the back panel.

 

Ah yes, the back panel.  Originally I wanted a matched pair of lights and couldn't find what I wanted in budget.  For various reasons my budget has since increased and options widened so I now have what I wanted in the first place rather than what I could get.  I'm quite excited by this.

 

 

 

I'll be doing away with the bullseye modern lights, the BMW 2002 lights and the foglights and replacing the lot with these four 1964 Ford Galaxie light units.  I've got two more cake tins ordered to give me the bigger internal buckets I need to install them with and then it should be just a weekend's work at the very most to get it all in and wired up.

 

I know, unfortunately, that the suspension is going to be the one thing that is going to continue to cause me a headache on this car.  If I'm really lucky, the solution I'm currently pursuing will see me right for some time to come.  I've not had much luck with the suspension on this car, however.  In fact, I've been one of the unluckiest!  That's just the way these things go.  I'm so close right now to having everything tied up and finished and looking how I want it's both frustrating and exciting.

 

The Rover, by comparison, is perfectly fine the way it is and I'm very happy with how it looks.  There's room for improvement but how it looks doesn't frustrate me like the Princess does, perhaps because the Princess has been a real fight for various reasons for the last five years and I feel like I ought to be a lot further along with it.

 

I still can't see myself getting rid of the Princess or, for that matter, the Rover.  They're a good fit for me and I do, when they're behaving, enjoy owning them.

[JeeExEll]

You do realise that with four rocket-tail-lights installed you won't actually need an engine to drive forwards, and that suspension will only be required upon landing.

[vulgalour]

ooh, that should help with fuel economy!

[JeeExEll]

Onwards and upwards.

[plasticvandan]

I'm hoping for orange,or brown

[Mally]

It's the minor details that piss you off.

I sorted the pipes on mine, then a displacer, then the cam belt teeth fell off  and bent 2 valves.

Final straw was the gear lever started going round like a pudding stirrer instead of forward and back.

Welded a slot back into the ball on the lever and got rid!

[vulgalour]

I had the pudding stirrer happen in the middle of Sheffield.  That was fun*.

[Dippy]

The carpet looks great and those seat covers are brilliant.

[chaseracer]

I had the pudding stirrer happen in the middle of Sheffield.  That was fun*.

 

That's one for the quote thread...!