Sold 1981 Austin Princess - [expletives removed]

[Angrydicky]

Looks great! Can't be far off firing up now.

[eddyramrod]

Heroic stuff!

[vulgalour]

@lankytim: The white one I borrowed from Skattrd was (I'm pretty sure) an S series and ran fine on unleaded, was using that to commute and pootle and it never told me it had issues with the fuel.  Electricity, well that was a different matter, sometimes it would escape.

[vulgalour]

@angrydicky:  It is a short list to complete for firing up.  Need a battery, 4 spark plugs, to gap the points, fit the new timing belt, put some fresh coolant in and probably some fresh oil too and then see what happens.  I suspect it'll be fine because I managed to get it to fire up before when everything was RONG.  Likely to still be as noisy as a noisy thing, I've still not checked where the exhaust isn't blowing.

[Angrydicky]

Kinda veering off topic, but does anyone know if A series Maestros are susceptible to valve seat recession?

[vulgalour]

@alf892:  Gotcha.  I'll fire it up and see what happens, but my strong suspicion is that it will all be fine.  If it's not, I'll break it down and do it again.  The HL will be my barometer for healthy noise because that's running lovely just lately and is quiet, but not too quiet, it has that gentle tickety noise of mechanical components working in harmony without being rattly.

[Lankytim]

Kinda veering off topic, but does anyone know if A series Maestros are susceptible to valve seat recession?

 

Earlier ones yes, later no. You need to have certain letters on the start of the engine number. Google will tell you!

[greengartside]

Heroic effort so far Vulg - we're all waiting to hear the beast fire up once more. Keep up the good work!

[Captain Slow]

Mine was an S series, I read that they wont take UL but i'm prepared to be proved wrong!

 

S series post 89 was unleaded friendly. These are ID'ed by an oil filler cap on the rocker cover, NOT stuck out the front like an O series.

[DSdriver]

I read the thread title and thought OMG he's crashed it. Am greatly relieved to find it is another sort of head on.

[PhilA]

Nice to get things going back together, isn't it?

 

I'll be the second one on here to voice that parent/grandparent used to mutter the "noisy tappet is a happy tappet", which is true to an extent.

 

This is bolts or shims? My internet's being slow to load pictures today.

 

The GTA's shims, and what a pfaff that is.

 

--Phil

[twosmoke300]

Alf is right, get those valve clearances checked. They were prone to closing up and burning valves out.

A chatty tappet is a happy tappet

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I'me gonna stick my neck out and say DO NOT get involved in the tappets on that unless its rattling like a bastard. First off you need a special tool to hold the camshaft in place while you mess with the tappets. The 'official' tool os the most ridiculous heath robinson effort you have ever seen, looks like something an eBay trike builder would come up with. You can make a tool out of an unwanted cam cover, but it means finding a cam cover and chopping it up. The, the tappets are set with shims and if you mess them up it will sound like the proverbial self-abusing skeleton for ever more as you will never have exactly the right shim to hand to silence that last noisy tappet. Then you will find that you've taken it to bits and reassembled it so many times that the soft ally threads that hold the cam covers on end up stripping, and need helicoiling. 

 

These officially don't like unleaded, but realistically they are fine with it, they're an ally head obv so as Des says they have have seat inserts which are hard enough to take it, specially if you're not doing 20,000 motorway miles a year.

 

All this about 'a rattly tappet is a healthy tappet' is all very well on a Minor or Anglia or whatever, but on these a rattly tappet is an engine that sounds like its bloody knackered and actually is, due to the amount of grief to sort it out.

[vulgalour]

I'm not taking the engine apart again unless it needs it.  I only want to get this running and MoT'd and give it a few months/weeks of shakedown before it goes on to its next owner.  If the new owner wants to fanny about with tappets and additives they're welcome to it but I don't want to be bothering.

 

What I've learned is that one can err on the side of caution too much and since I'm on a mission to at least break even, I've got to be careful just what I spend fixing this one so that there's suitable funds to put into the 6.  Providing sorting the rear arms on the HL goes smoothly today I'll be getting this one's ancillaries plumbed in and the head torqued down.  Might even get the seats bolted down too if I have enough time, though I think that's likely being a bit optimistic.

[twosmoke300]

I agree it is a ball ache to sort the shims on these and didn't realise you were selling it.

These ohc engines usually close valve clearances rather than loosen though so they are unlikely to rattle. More likely to get more and more difficult to start esp when hot.

[PhilA]

I'me gonna stick my neck out and say DO NOT get involved in the tappets on that unless its rattling like a bastard. First off you need a special tool to hold the camshaft in place 

 

BL worked it out. Renault you need to lock the crankshaft with a silly pin and hope that the cambelt is accurate.

 

Shims turn a 30 minute adjustment job into a 3-week mail-order one. 

 

--Phil

[vulgalour]

Today's plans of working on the car haven't happened for it is blowing a gale.  Instead I wanted to work out what's left to do and leave myself a little list.

 

Braking System

> Handbrake cable - new one purchased last night, delivery sometime early January.

> New rear shoes - very cheap, just haven't got around to purchasing them yet.

> New front hose - passenger side looks cracked, should be replaced.

> Rear hose - passenger side was cut through.  Some stubborn fixings to undo so I can fit the new one I have in stock.

> Brake fluid & nipples - likely to break at least one bleed nipple and the system will need fully bleeding.

 

Suspension

> Rear sphere - Have a replacement, as previously mentioned it's an engineering/garage job to get it put in the trailing arm on the car.

> Hydragas reset - Need to get the system pumped up again.  About £50 from flat.

> Pivot shafts - Need to unseize so trim level can be reset properly.  Need to do this on the HL too.  incorrect trim level results in an effectively saggy, undersprung rear end.  This is another garage job, I haven't the tools/means to do it at home.

 

Engine

> Timing belt - fit.  I hate putting these things on, they fight all the way.

> Coolant - Ready to go in, system to be flushed before we top up properly.  No coolant/water in the engine presently.

> Oil - Change required, new filter too.  Oil obtained, filter to acquire.

> Radiator - May have leaks, not sure yet.  Could need to be replaced/re-cored.

> Carburettor - small O-ring required for internals, otherwise in very good order.

> Manifold - gasket to refit before bolting to head.

> Fuel lines - may need to replace a couple of rubber hoses between pump and carb.

> Battery - second hand from Deatons.  Good nearly new battery £15-20 usually.

> Spark plugs - need four, the three I had have disappeared.

 

Interior

> Front seats - to bolt down.

> Rear seats - back to swap and bolt down.

> Parcel shelf - to retrim

> C pillar trims - replacements to modify to accept courtesy lights before fitting.

> Carpet - sill trims to fit.

> Door cards - passenger side to clean, front passenger card needs fabric re-gluing.

> Dashboard - to finish rebuilding before fitting.

> Centre console - to screw down.

> Rear view mirror - to refit.

> Door seals - full set of replacement seals to fit.  Good seals from this car to go into spares box.

 

Miscellany

> Tyres - wheels to be swapped with ones taken from HL.

> Headlights - check adjustment.

> Mirrors - fit replacement door mirrors, several in stock.

> Sills - check condition thoroughly, repair if required.  No obvious damage apparent on initial inspections.

> Track rod ends - check for play before MoT.  Budget for replacements.

> Radio - test and connect if working.

 

 

I can get a fair bit off this list when I've got a couple of decent days weather-wise.  Ideally I'd have the car in a garage and three or four people to put all hands to the pump, I could get all of the above done in a day then.  As it is, I reckon it'll be a few more weeks until it's all resolved.

[vulgalour]

Passenger door cards came off yesterday.  The front one had got damp at some point in the past and this had unglued the edge of the velour so I reglued that with some multi-purpose glue from Wilkinsons and clamped it with about 412 clothes pegs for an hour or two so I could get it ready for cleaning, which it needs rather badly.  It's otherwise in pretty good order and if the drivers side is anything to go by it will clean up nicely.  If I'd tried to clean this before regluing I ran the risk of stretching the fabric or ungluing it further.

 

 

The rear door card this side was black with grease in places, from the state of the original interior it looks like this is where the animal/s were sleeping that were using the car as a kennel.  I've already given this one go over with the shampoo which has lifted the majority of the dirt but it will need shampooing again at least once before going back in the car.  The vinyl needs some red overspray removing from the top back edge.

 

Removed all the door fixings and gave those a clean up too.  The grab handles were black with grease which happily came off very easily with the Astonish brand engine degreaser.  I found one of the window winder spacers was snapped so I've glued that back together and once the door cards are fully cleaned they can be put back in the car.

 

While in Wilkinsons buying sundry supplies, Dad spotted this handy device which should allow me to refit the chrome trim I removed from the HL and the trim that's fallen off the HLS but is still with the car.  Next thing I'll need to purchase are relevant trim clips to rivet to the body through the existing trim holes.

 

Most importantly I got the timing belt on with Dad's help as it was a little warmer today.  The belt didn't put up so much of a fight and while it was hard work getting it fitted, it did at least go on.

 

With that in place the distributor could also go on and the timing get set accordingly.  Engine moves freely with everything connected so I think we'll be okay when we fire up.

 

If I'd had a helper (Dad had errands) to get the manifold connected I could have got the carb fitted, borrowed plugs and battery from the HL and filled the coolant so that we could have seen whether or not the engine will run after I've had it to bits.  Instead, that's going to have to wait for another day now.

[Forty-two]

Checking in daily to see if this one will run! Enjoying this tale so far, so fingers crossed it all goes well.

[vulgalour]

Little update, but without pictures.  Door cards are drying so I can assess whether or not they need more cleaning tomorrow but are otherwise ready to reinstall.  Dashboard is 90% complete, but I'm missing a couple of fixings and can't be doing with going through the box at the bottom of the pile of stuff to see if they're in there.  Dashboard also needs 1 telltale bulb and a fog light switch plug fitting before it's fully operational, but all the bits that need to work do and can be plugged in when we fire the engine up so I can keep an eye on temperature and telltales.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if my last job of 2013 on this car was to get it running and my first job in 2014 was putting trim back on?  I bet it isn't though.

[vulgalour]

Pulling out the relevant parts of my recent list, here's an update on that. 
 
Engine
> Timing belt - fit.  I hate putting these things on, they fight all the way.
> Manifold - gasket to refit before bolting to head.
> Fuel lines - may need to replace a couple of rubber hoses between pump and carb.
> Spark plugs - need four, the three I had have disappeared.
 
Interior
> Door cards - passenger side to clean, front passenger card needs fabric re-gluing.
> Dashboard - to finish rebuilding before fitting.

 

 

 
The timing belt did get fitted on a marginally warmer day with some of Dad's experience and likewise Dad provided a vital third hand to get the manifold and gasket all plumbed in satisfactorily.  I then bolted up the carb - well, 3 out of 4 nuts since one made a bid for freedom and I've not fished it out from under the car yet - after which the air filter box could be fitted, the broken cold air feed pipe trimmed down so that fits too now.

 

Engine bay is looking a bit better filled now.

 

With everything connected that could be I could find out just what was missing.  This lead me to head over to Autosupplies to pick up everything I needed.  Annoyingly I forgot to get the O-ring for the carb innards, but I can pick one of those up tomorrow when I get a battery from the local scrappy.

 

For just under £30 I got myself 4 spark plugs, a vacuum retard hose, some new jubilee clips, new 6mm fuel hose, 4 blind grommets to stop both cars belt covers from rattling (will make a small hole in them to fit tightly), an in-line fuel filter and some tie wraps to reroute the fuel overflow pipe from the carb since there doesn't appear to be one fitted and I don't fancy fuel going directly onto the exhaust.

 

I might not have got the car fired up today, but I certainly got a massive way of the way closer.  I just hope that when we fire up the engine I'll have a working video recorder so that I might share the joy.

[Rocket88]

The audience sits apprehensively ...............

[purplebargeken]

and a sticker to fit.

[vulgalour]

Today I edged closer to getting this thing running, but it's been a bit manic on the errands front so I didn't get as far as I wanted.  Sorry, there's no running engine video yet, it got too dark and cold for me to finish off the jobs.  List items now removed:

 

Engine

 

> Carburettor - small O-ring required for internals, otherwise in very good order.

> Fuel lines - may need to replace a couple of rubber hoses between pump and carb.

> Battery - second hand from Deatons.  Good nearly new battery £15-20 usually.

> Spark plugs - need four, the three I had have disappeared.

 

That doesn't mean I did nothing, far from it, I got quite a bit sorted.  I had previously hinted that progress had been made with the dashboard and indeed it has.  Not fully built up yet, I've a few bits left to connect and tweak, but it's a far cry from where I started.

 

The engine was my main focus, I had about half an hour spare to spend before the daylight was completely gone, which was less than ideal, but I was determined to get something done to get things a bit closer.  Managed to get a fresh O-ring for the carburettor innards, I just need to top up with some ATF to get it squelching now.

 

Reasonable battery from Deatons for £20.  I've had quite a few used batteries from here and never been let down with them.

 

Battery on, carb all screwed down, vacuum retard hose trimmed down and fitted, spark plugs and leads fitted...

 

Fresh fuel lines and jubilee clips, new fuel filter and overflow from carb smartly tie wrapped to route away from danger zones.

 

I was coerced into checking it would turn over, which it does rather well and sounds healthy.  Didn't go as far as firing the engine up, I want to set the points properly, change the oil and put the coolant in before I do that.

[vulgalour]

Today I wanted to try and get this engine running so it was time to top up with coolant first.  That's when I found out the radiator leaks from the top hose but not enough to stop the car from being run up, it's another thing to get fixed, the radiator itself looks otherwise reasonable.
 
It's been a merry old dance today really.  When I rebuilt the head off the car I also fitted the fuel pump but I'd fitted it incorrectly and it was pumping a mere dribble into the engine.  Popped the top off to check the diaphragm to find it good and put the top back on, then did this at least twice more before realising the problem wasn't internal to the pump but was because the tongue wasn't interacting with the cam lobe correctly.

 
The tank had half a jerry can of fuel tipped in as that's all we had to hand and we made another attempt but now the pump would only really pull bubbles and stale 4star through.  Bypassing the mechanical pump with an electric confirmed it wasn't a pump fault and we found some more unleaded fuel in the camping stuff - it's for a heater or something, I don't know, I don't do tenting - and ran a direct feed from that to the mechanical pump which saw a good flow of fuel happen.
 
Car wasn't firing so we checked the old points which were past it.  New points fitted and gapped and tried again.  Still nothing.  Pulled a plug and tested for spark which there wasn't though we did get a spark from the earth strap to the block instead.  Opened up the distributor to find the new points had opened too far when screwed in so they were regapped and the spark was returned.
 
By now the battery was labouring a bit so we called the cavalry in.

 

 
We got as far as the engine trying really, really hard to fire.... and then we ran out of fuel.  Then it got dark.  Then it rained some more.  Then I realised I'd eaten nothing all day and it was 4:30pm so we're going to have another go tomorrow or when I get more fuel to chuck in.
 
Yes, I have made noises of much frustration.  Today has been one of those days.  At least there appear to be no unwanted oil leaks and with the exception of the radiator, no coolant leaks either.  Happily the handbrake cable I ordered also arrived today so once the engine is running I can get on with sorting the brakes out.  Oh, and the ball bearings exploded out of one of the factory jacks I've got so while it still seems to work, the bearing is shot in it.

[vulgalour]

Time to check the list, I think. Here's what's left.

 

Braking System

> Handbrake cable - to fit and adjust.

> New rear shoes - very cheap, just haven't got around to purchasing them yet.

> New front hose - passenger side looks cracked, should be replaced.

> Rear hose - To fit.

> Brake fluid & nipples - to purchase.

 

Suspension

> Rear sphere - Have a replacement, as previously mentioned it's an engineering/garage job to get it put in the trailing arm on the car.

> Hydragas reset - Need to get the system pumped up again.  About £50 from flat.

> Pivot shafts - Need to unseize so trim level can be reset properly.  Need to do this on the HL too.  incorrect trim level results in an effectively saggy, undersprung rear end.  This is another garage job, I haven't the tools/means to do it at home.

 

Engine

> Oil - To change, oil and filter acquired.

> Radiator - Minor leak on top hose inlet requires soldering.

> Carburettor - new float needle needed. Service kit ordered.

 

Interior

> Front passenger seat - to bolt down.

> Parcel shelf - to retrim

> C pillar trims - replacements to modify to accept courtesy lights before fitting.

> Carpet - sill trims to fit.

> Dashboard - to finish rebuilding before fitting.

> Centre console - to screw down.

> Rear view mirror - to refit.

 

Miscellany

> Tyres - wheels to be swapped with ones taken from HL.

> Headlights - check adjustment.

> Mirrors - fit replacement door mirrors, several in stock.

> Sills - check condition thoroughly, repair if required.  No obvious damage apparent on initial inspections.

> Track rod ends - check for play before MoT.  Budget for replacements.

> Radio - test and connect if working.

> Exhaust - find and resolve MASSIVE blow somewhere at the front, probably downpipe.

> Handbrake Warning Light - need to resolder the connector at the handbrake.

 

It is steadily getting to be a smaller list. Had another go at getting the engine to run. Removed the base plate from the carb to find the float had jammed in place so removed that and inspected the float needle to find it worn, but didn't look as bad as the one I took out of the HL. Rebuilt it all and the same problem of the car firing and then flooding persisted and after speaking to the people at SU we came to the conclusion the float needle is dead so Dad bought a service kit to get that sorted out. Happily, we also found that the car will draw fuel from the tank without issue so the rest of the fuel in the jerry can went in the tank so there's no more awkward jiggling of tanks in the engine bay. We also checked that earth strap that was getting hot when trying to fire up the car and found it was loose, tightening the nut made the car turn over much happier and the earth strap no longer warms up. Good, that's engine progress of a sort.

 

Earlier this week I attempted to get a fresh key cut for the ignition but found that the key cutting place I use doesn't do them. I could have driven around for ages to find a solution but then Dad suggested we just copy what the previous owner of the HL had done and raid the penny jar. One 1981 two pence coin and some solder later and we have this.

 

Works a treat too, no more swearing at the stub of a key that was almost impossible to use. Just got to drill a hole in it so I can put it on the keyring.

 

I managed to find someone selling their last Morris Ital window winder on eBay which, as it happens, is the same as the 1981 Princess handles. Luckily, I still had the Princess spacer on the door and now we have a full compliment of correct handles in the car.

 

Rear seat properly fitted and quite possibly the most comfortable bench ever made by human hands. Also note the clean passenger door cards. Fitted a replacement door seal but the original doesn't seem badly damaged so that's staying with the car until I've had chance to inspect it and see if a refit will sort it as the replacement seal is a slightly different trim colour and doesn't properly match the HLS' interior.

 

Drivers seat also bolted down. Holding off doing the passenger seat until I've resoldered the wire that connects the warning light to the handbrake.

 

While I wait for the carb parts to arrive I'll continue to fettle the interior and work through the rubbish and spares so that the car looks as good as it can. Really, I'm genuinely surprised at just how much more improved its already looking, particularly inside.

[dollywobbler]

Brilliant. I like that key engineering.

[Angrydicky]

Have you got a local Timpsons branch? I got a spare key for the Maestro cut there, they had a few car key blanks and the one he made up for me had roughly the same size and shape of black plastic as the original BL key. Works well, too.

[vulgalour]

Dad keys are way cheaper than Timpsons keys so it's a bit of a moot point.

[Angrydicky]

Fair enough! Top job on the interior as well, it's a dramatic improvement. The look of that velour is making me want a Princess more than ever now!

 

I notice it has an Austin Rover logo on the steering wheel, I've never seen one with that before. Did only the very last made get the badge then?