Six Cylinders Motoring Notes

[Six-cylinder]

Today was the breakfast meeting for the Loose Alliance Group at the London Gliding club Dunstable. Another 45 miles of prewar motoring and I am finding it much more natural driving the 20/25.

I even remembered to press the 4th pedal today, anybody want to guess what it does?

[Surface Rust]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

Today was the breakfast meeting for the Loose Alliance Group at the London Gliding club Dunstable. Another 45 miles of prewar motoring and I am finding it much more natural driving the 20/25.

I even remembered to press the 4th pedal today, anybody want to guess what it does?

One shot lubrication?

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

I even remembered to press the 4th pedal today, anybody want to guess what it does?

Summons the Butler to serve Afternoon Tea? 

[hairnet]

mustard gas the serfs

 

[Six-cylinder]

49 minutes ago, Surface Rust said:

One shot lubrication?

Yes one shot chassis lubrcation.

[Surface Rust]

5 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Yes one shot chassis lubrcation.

Bit of a cheat as my Merc also has it, albeit it from 30 years later!

[tooSavvy]

3 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Yes one shot chassis lubrcation.

Ahh..... When a pimply yoof, out scrounging bits for my first wheels [MM 1000 van] in a scrappy, I looked at an old hearse, well derelict/rotted/collapsing... It had a network of pipes running to the leaf springs <aye, shocked me !> and a box on the well rotted bulkhead - said Tecalemit.

TYG 😉

🚙💨

[Six-cylinder]

Anybody wondered what happened to our 1989 Mazda 323GLX.

Nothing is the answer, in the spring I put it into storage to get something else out for a change and this week I was ready for a change of car so today I put the Seicento into storage and got out the Mazda.

6 months standing still. @Slowsilver insists on disconnecting batteries when we leave cars in storage and it works, I reconnected the battery and after a bit of churning it started fine without a jump. The n-s rear brake was stuck on but after a bit of forward and backward shunting it freed up and I drove it home.

[Six-cylinder]

3 minutes ago, Surface Rust said:

Bit of a cheat as my Merc also has it, albeit it from 30 years later!

I don't think any of my Mercs had chassis lubrication, which one is yours?

[hairnet]

1 minute ago, Six-cylinder said:

I don't think any of my Mercs had chassis lubrication, which one is yours?

1885

[Surface Rust]

1 minute ago, Six-cylinder said:

I don't think any of my Mercs had chassis lubrication, which one is yours?

1952 220 (w187). Prewar design really so probably a hangover from the past!

[Six-cylinder]

8 minutes ago, Surface Rust said:

1952 220 (w187). Prewar design really so probably a hangover from the past!

That explains it, the oldest I have owned is a W114. My dad had a Fintail and I looked at a couple with the view of purchasing one.

[hairnet]

3 hours ago, Surface Rust said:

1952 220 (w187). Prewar design really so probably a hangover from the past!

pics or else

[Six-cylinder]

Another local car gathering yesterday at Preston Bisset Nursery, which is the last for the year. The thing that stood out to me was the fantastic variety of cars attending on a damp Sunday morning.  

[Six-cylinder]

Last Thursday the brake lights on the Morris 1300 stuck on. I identified it the the hydraulic brake switch and I ordered one.  Today the new brake light switch arrived and decided as it was just take off 2 spade connectors and screw out the old one, screw in the new one I would do it myself.

I put cling film over the brake master cylinder is slow the drain of brake fluid when I took out switch. First problem was the old one was so stuck it tried to rotate the T piece it screws into and bend the brake pipes. Then it rained, after it stopped I griped the T piece with water pump pliers and a 27mm socket on the old switch and it came out.  

Now why the job was a failure, the replacement brake switch threads are so badly made it would not screw on. So many replacement parts are bad quality.

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

Last Thursday the brake lights on the Morris 1300 stuck on. I identified it the the hydraulic brake switch and I ordered one.  Today the new brake light switch arrived and decided as it was just take off 2 spade connectors and screw out the old one, screw in the new one I would do it myself.

I put cling film over the brake master cylinder is slow the drain of brake fluid when I took out switch. First problem was the old one was so stuck it tried to rotate the T piece it screws into and bend the brake pipes. Then it rained, after it stopped I griped the T piece with water pump pliers and a 27mm socket on the old switch and it came out.  

Now why the job was a failure, the replacement brake switch threads are so badly made it would not screw on. So many replacement parts are bad quality.

I'm surprised they use such a sophisticated* design. Triumphs of the same era had a simple plastic switch mounted above the pedal. When you press the pedal a plunger comes out completing the circuit. No need to interfere with the hydraulic lines when replacing them. The above looks like a better engineered set up until you  have to replace it. 

I always felt the BMC side of the company were better engineered than the Leyland side. Having had many Landcrabs and Triumph 2000s, the Landcrabs were definitely better put together. And whilst the Wolseley probably was a direct competitor to the Triumph, the Austin/Morris was meant to be a class below but the quality of all the fittings were just as good as the Wolseley even if they weren't covered in wood. 

So it doesn't surprise me to see this on the smaller cars. I assume a tap and die should be able to clean that thread up then it should be the simple job you were hoping for. 

[Six-cylinder]

16 minutes ago, Yoss said:

So it doesn't surprise me to see this on the smaller cars. I assume a tap and die should be able to clean that thread up then it should be the simple job you were hoping for. 

It is quite I fine thread and I did not fancy trying to find a die so have rejected it on Ebay and bought a different make. Now I have to wait 3 days and I wanted to use the car for a Triumph Club meeting tomorrow night.

[Schaefft]

4 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

Another local car gathering yesterday at Preston Bisset Nursery, which is the last for the year. The thing that stood out to me was the fantastic variety of cars attending on a damp Sunday morning.  

Liked for the Lexus LC500. One day...