Project Rusty Triumphs in Scotland - 145 back up and running - 15/04/26

[captain_70s]

Longer days at work mean less motivation to weld in the evenings...

Cleaned up the manifolds. (Left side done, right side untouched).

There is a flap in the exhaust manifold to direct exhaust gasses up against the bottom of the inlet manifold. Seemingly to improve cold starts/running/economy. Naturally this was seized solid and it took a couple of hours with the MAPP gas torch and big hammer to get it to free up.

Conventional wisdom seems to suggest wiring it closed causes no ill effect. It being stuck open can cause vapour lock. Under the little cover on the right is a coil spring which I think actuates the flap as it expands/contracts. Or it would, had it not crumbled to dust in my hand.

Downpipe stud has also seen better days...

Dragged the water pump out the boot and wire wheeled it. There are a couple of threaded inlet/outlets that are badly corroded and will need replaced.

Spins freely but chances of it pissing coolant out are probably very high. Not sure of the logistics of having it serviced.

Tested out my expensive paint removing discs on the angle grinder. Very satisfying. 

Chucked bits loosely on the engine to keep them out of the way. 

[Matty]

Is the pump not shared with the later straight sixes like the Ventoras? If you could get a new un it's probably better for peace of mind?

[captain_70s]

1 hour ago, Matty said:

Is the pump not shared with the later straight sixes like the Ventoras? If you could get a new un it's probably better for peace of mind?

Similar but different.

I don't think you can actually get new water pumps for any variation of the 6 pot. There is something to be said for the parts supply of BLMC stuff, even if most of it is junk!

A browse of the owner's club mag and Google has shown that there are a few places doing refurb pumps on an exchange basis. So a solution is at hand if it proves leaky.

Obviously they can be rebuilt by DIY, but it sounds like one of those jobs that's a bit of a faff and potentially ends with a pump that lasts 50 miles because you misaligned something...

[Dyslexic Viking]

I had a look at the water pumps for 6-cylinder Opel now and new ones are available but they look different unfortunately.

[Matty]

1 hour ago, captain_70s said:

Similar but different.

I don't think you can actually get new water pumps for any variation of the 6 pot. There is something to be said for the parts supply of BLMC stuff, even if most of it is junk!

A browse of the owner's club mag and Google has shown that there are a few places doing refurb pumps on an exchange basis. So a solution is at hand if it proves leaky.

Obviously they can be rebuilt by DIY, but it sounds like one of those jobs that's a bit of a faff and potentially ends with a pump that lasts 50 miles because you misaligned something...

Still a result. If you can get a refurb exchange it's like having new anyway. Great to see you cracking on with this 👏 

[Dyslexic Viking]

This is a 6 and 4 cylinder 50s and 60s Opel water pump.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/388284958055?fits=Make%3AOpel&_skw=opel+blitz+water&itmmeta=01JZA7ZW0K1EH28Y581GWBT1BH&hash=item5a67964567:g:OAQAAOSw35NagCkC&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dqtP%2FQupZEUm%2FEcDsOWSerELbRcyEFHOpRoZjwPi5PN1EwcIMB9RY7awARwKJ86BpWKwqePzDU%2BAhWPK49sB6qgRahIYenN9AOr10tzhAZ%2BWiWRmehlAJCHZDK4tsfqaIRyAsKwarQkfcEL0zGOjoeedvHDQdKL6%2FWS6swicMEgi3YAaDF%2Fsj2Wy51fd2nMlDF1iemX3To4ITCkE55txdSZ6zg79I6I4dKDX0CAgmlW2n8Ph6UMLcj5hcdbCSTqXg%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7zA_8f6ZQ

[captain_70s]

Updates!

Acclaim has left the building. Massively hassle free sale to @RetroShite. End of an era but it was just sitting on the driveway going rusty and I've oversubscribed on project cars. Ironically when it left it was my only fully functional car...

Immediately before it was due to leave the exhaust snapped in half and I foolishly figured it'd be easier to take it off and weld it up rather than bodge in situ.

Unfortunately during removal it promptly fell to bits in multiple other locations...

Fucksake.

Promptly fired some amazing* welding at the problem...

The following is probably my finest ever welding work.

Ironically on reassembly it started blowing at the manifold/downpipe flange. Fucking thing.

I then collected the spare parts for it from the super secret storage location.

Note to self. Bring gardening tools on the next visit to the lock up...

The Volvo ran out of MOT. Threw it at the garage where it promptly failed.

The wipers have never automatically parked, they park wherever you switch them off. From what I understand this shouldn't be a fail, but I'm going to borrow the relevant relay from another Scotoshiter to get it through the test....

Headlight aim has never been an issue before. I'd put good money on their testing rig being buggered.

Horn was buggered. I have solved this.

Had a nose at the bad tyre.

Naturally its the newest tyre on the car, probably hasn't done 1,000 miles. Was supposed to be replaced today but the mobile fitter simply never showed up...

Ordered lower ball joints for it. Not that I can feel any play in either of them. Unfortunately taking an age to arrive so aren't going to get the free retest...

Not much going with the Cresta. I've been polishing chrome in my downtime...

Rummaged through my bits and found the parts to assemble a decent front grille, as the one that came with the car was pretty rough...

It will take some jiggery pokery to get it all to fit together properly. It's a mix of '55/'56 parts which aren't quite identical.

I also actually got to see an intact Vauxhall E Series in the metal for the first time!

Also a '56, but a 4-cylinder Wyvern.

I also got tired of the Cresta sitting on a flat tyre.

Modern rubbish that can't even last 40 years...

Superior 70 year old rubber...

The Dolomite has been largely trouble free and has been the go-to daily.

It was also my Shitefest transport.

It has recently started overcharging, the charge light dimly glows. Bought a repair kit and replaced the regulator. Still overcharging.

The brand new parts were actually rustier than the bits on the car, so I don't exactly trust them...

All the wiring for the alternator goes through a multiplug into the rectifier, which seems to be fine. I think it's earthed straight through the casing.

Yesterday I changed the oil. Today I engaged in some turd polishing.

Add in a bit of satin black rattle can and we have a set of fully restored* wheels.

Rustival this coming weekend. I'm in Redcar for work the next two days. Ideal prep time...

Oh. I also managed to wash my garage.

The joys of the "outside" tap being inside the garage. Hose partially came off the fitting and fired high pressure water all over the place while I was washing the car...

[Dyslexic Viking]

Looking forward to when the Vauxhall is finished as is one of my favorite cars on here.

[captain_70s]

On 26/08/2025 at 06:59, Dyslexic Viking said:

Looking forward to when the Vauxhall is finished as is one of my favorite cars on here.

I'm looking forward to it as well, I suspect we've got a couple of years to go...

The Dolly made Rustival!

Convoyed down with @blackboilersuit and @juular/ @MrsJuular

The show was good and museum excellent.

Sat at a steady 65mph or so most of the way south, started that on the return leg but got tired around Preston and was 70+ for most of the time north of there.

Not a bad mileage covered considering the car in question.

Casualties included the alternator tensioner.

And starter motor wiring.

Stripped and cleaned the starter motor, which was full of shite from oil running down that side of the engine from the rocker cover.

There were also some screws loose on the end plate so it was twisting with the motor a bit.

Replaced the toasted wiring with some random shit I found in the garage and threw some shit welds at the alternator bracket.

My welder has a broken switch so I can't turn the voltage up high enough to get decent penetration on metal that thick. You can see the frayed belt caused by the alternator flapping about...

Anyway, I then fucked off to Lanzarote on a stag do for four days...

If you want a 1980s Japanese 4x4, 70s/80s Mercedes or 90s Peugeot with destroyed paint is is deffo the place to go.

Then I came home and immediately flogged the Dolly up to Laurencekirk to see @Inspector Morose, then across country to Dingwall to see my sister.

This took in pretty much every "Old Military Road" and up the Lecht, which involved a lot of 2nd gear at 5000rpm tackling the 20% grades.

Drove back home last night in torrential rain completely unable to see where I was going. Great fun.

Either way, trip counter currently reads 354, so 1,354 miles completed over the last 3 weeks. Which is good going for an old banger with 57bhp. I was going to take the Volvo up to Dingwall, but haven't had time to rectify the MOT fails.

Not entirely trouble free. My welded alternator bracket partially snapped again, the NSF wheel bearing is grumbling on cornering and there is a horrendous low resonance droning linked to throttle application/on the overrun. This is either something touching the body which shouldn't be or propshaft vibration. The prop deffo has some slack now, as you can feel it flapping about when pulling away.

I guess I should be grateful I can reliably do enough miles to wear out driveshaft components these days!

Winter beater Volvo will be getting sorted next, as the weather is turning. Then the Cresta/Dolly can be tinkered with over winter.

[captain_70s]

Felt a bit guilty for having a day off work and not doing anything productive. Raining so played with Cresta shit.

Welded the final bit of the upper hinge area and started chopping out the lower hinge area.

Exciting moment when my flap wheel snagged, exploded and yanked the grinder out of my hands and sent it skittering across my legs at full pelt.

A few small holes in my overalls and a bruised thigh was the extent of the damage thankfully...

I also started fucking about getting grille parts to fit together.

The complete grille assembly should look like this at both ends.

Beneath the indicator/sidelight surround the assembly is quite obvious.

One bolt goes through all the components and holds everything together. Simples.

I dug out my selection of best bits (two NOS indicator/surround, a NOS bottom bar, a grille that was NOS but fitted in 1981 and the original top bar) and offered them all up and all seemed fine.

Briefly.

I quickly found that on top of it being fiddly as fuck on a table not quite big enough to hold all the parts that the bolt holes weren't quite lining up on one side...

Ah. Although looking nearly identical '55 and '56 have different surrounds, going from a diecast part to a pressed steel one. I think I can get away with using the '55 part with a bit of modification, the area around the grille is a slightly different profile but I reckon it won't be that noticeable once bolted to the rest of the scrap that is forming the finished car.

Also my new NOS '56 was missing it's mounting bracket.

Not a problem, I'll just unscrew one off my knackered old one.

These obviously immediately rounded off despite my best efforts.

So I did the right thing and ground the screw heads off and then drilled out the remnants before a rattle can resto.

I'll need to re-tap the bolt holes before reassembly.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I've been looking for a similar Cresta for sale now and can't find one, which is pretty incredible. The closest I can find is this 56 Velox in NZ. The survival rate  doesn't seem to have been good for these.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/vauxhall/other/listing/5384806210

[captain_70s]

1 hour ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I've been looking for a similar Cresta for sale now and can't find one, which is pretty incredible. The closest I can find is this 56 Velox in NZ. The survival rate  doesn't seem to have been good for these.

Survival rate was abysmal. They mostly went in the bin before they were 10 years old due to major rust issues. Australia and NZ have the highest survival rate by far, due to being a popular car built locally in knock-down kit form and the lack of rust proofing not being as big of an issue. There are also quite a few survivors in South Africa and India, for similar reasons.

This is a photo from 1962, that Wyvern is 7 years old and even from this distance you can tell it is very rusty along the sills and doors, even compared to the older Austin Somerset next to it.

I've been to a lot of car shows and have seen one E-Series...

 

They also became unfashionable very quickly. As a 1940s design by the mid 60s they were very dated. As the mid 70s rolled around the PA series (as @eddyramrod has) became collectable quite early on as a 1950s rockabilly icon. The E-Series was always a bit more stodgy and the earlier cars with the "crossbow" grille were the first to really become worthy of preservation, but by then most had been long since scrapped.

The fact they're so rare is why I bought mine. I like unusual cars. Also, if they were more common I'd have bought a better example!

[comfortablynumb]

Liked for cresta content, not attempted amputation 🥺

[Dyslexic Viking]

It's a shame that they haven't survived well as I like them and the look of them. I have never seen any of these in any models in Norway in present time And I've only seen a few Wyverns in old photos from Norway and only the one photo of a new 1956 Velox below and no Cresta so I doubt they sold well here and it's doubtful any have survived.

[comfortablynumb]

Bit late now @captain_70s, but I've had success before with screws like that by welding a nut over the screw head, gives you more purchase, and frequently the heat means it'll unscrew, and save you recutting the thread.

 

[captain_70s]

1 minute ago, comfortablynumb said:

Bit late now @captain_70s, but I've had success before with screws like that by welding a nut over the screw head, gives you more purchase, and frequently the heat means it'll unscrew, and save you recutting the thread.

 

That was my initial plan (after I found soaking in penatrating fluid wasn't going to cut it) and I did try that with one of them and it just instantly snapped the bolt!

They drilled out alarmingly easily so the metal must have been very soft...

The surround itself was crushed in the corner as well as very rusty, so I didn't feel too guilty attacking it with a flap disc at least.

[Steviemillar]

Great to see progress on this car, keep up the good work.

Here's a pic of the late Fatha 'Millar with his Velox that he shared with his old man. It wasn't corrosion that killed this one, the evasive action taken  on meeting a motorcyclist coming around a sharp corner on the wrong side of the road saw the Velox rolling several times in a farmer's field. No injuries however my dad remained upset about writing the car off even in his later years.

[captain_70s]

Update!

Dolomite still the daily. Desperately needs the propshaft refurbishing, only runs on three cylinders when cold and has lost syncho on 2nd gear. Usual BL stuff.

Volvo has been in the air so I could replace the lower ball joints in the front suspension.

Wheel nuts were done up to tyre fitter spec...

Got this far and then hit a brick wall. Couldn't shift the balljoint off the spindle. @juular came over with a couple of ball joint splitters and also failed to budge it.

Only one thing for it...

Lower arm removed and sent away with @juular for him to press the ball joint out with a press. 

Naturally the rubber bushes largely disintegrated on removal so they were ordered up.

I also noted the brake backing plates were knackered, so set about removing them.

Working in the dark, as per.

The hex head fittings were slightly tired.

Liquid can't be seized.

Due to not having the correct socket for the hub nut I attacked the backing plates with a Dremel. Had to use a carbide burr tip to dig down behind the hub and slice them off. Took forever.

New bits fitted.

Back on the ground.

It'd been airborne for a while...

Now it's back on its wheels I just need to torque everything up and fit the split pins. Can't really complain, all the removed parts seem to be original Volvo...

Also did some minor playing with the Cresta.

The indicator/sidelight surround brackets were repaired.

And the front trim assembled.

I had to oval out the grille mounting holes on one side to accept the '55 diecast sidelight surround piece. This actually turned out to be way easier than fitting the correct '56 pressed steel side as the bracket for the lower bar was either a factory defect or bent in some weird way and nothing wanted to line up. It took a lot of prying twisting and swearing to get the bolt holes lined up and it still isn't a perfect fit. Also, yes, I dented the NOS sidelight surround in the process... At least you can't really tell the sidelight surrounds don't match!

Obviously I had to tidy up the sidelight bulb holders/trims and rig them up to a battery for fun.

[captain_70s]

Well I did the right thing and ran the Dolly until it simply wouldn't start.

Did the valve clearances, cleaned gapped the points and plugs, checked static ignition timing, took the carb off and completely stripped and cleaned that aaaaand....

It still wouldn't go. It'd fire on one cylinder, just enough to disengage the starter, and then die.

I then replaced all four spark plugs with a set of  ancient Champions were in a wooden box in the boot when I bought the car in 2012.

Fired right up.

So I guess it's just that new spark plugs have a lifespan of about 3,000 miles...

Then I blew yet another headlight bulb.

I've been running R2 bulbs but recently have been so dazzled by oncoming traffic my own candles in jam jars were barely rendering the verge immediately next to me visible so I got some halogens on the correct base plates.

You might think the new bulb isn't much brighter, but the reflector in that lamp is quite badly pitted. As can be seen when both new bulbs were fitted...

The passenger side lamp is a bit low but the adjuster isn't in the best of health and needs to be turned with mole grips while off the car.

The difference in light output is significant. High beam is probably on par with my van's dipped beam now. Tragic, but better.

These bulbs are higher wattage so will need to look at fitting relays before I melt my light switch.

I washed the 740, just need to book it in for an MOT and refit the alloy.

Continued welding on the Cresta, we now have two hinge mounts that might support a door!

Next up is the sill end.

Cut away and inner peeled back to look along the chassis rail...

The end was all full of oily brown dirt. The first potential sign of rust proofing I've seen!

Then a peer along the sill...

Second sign of rust proofing, in that there is some sort of black coating inside the sill. It was highly effective, as you can see...

[High Jetter]

7 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

These bulbs are higher wattage so will need to look at fitting relays before I melt my light switch

410 to 472 should be ok IIRC. Any more, then yes

[hairnet]

welding dog

[plasticvandan]

Another way of getting brighter headlamps (and other lamps too) is to fit led's in the sidelights and tail lights,this gives you far brighter lights and has the effect of making the headlights brighter due to there being virtually no load for the less,so all the chargingness goes to the headlamps.

[Angrydicky]

Great work Captain. And your welding is fine, nice and strong unlike others’ pigeon shit efforts I’ve seen (not on here).

 

[captain_70s]

7 hours ago, plasticvandan said:

Another way of getting brighter headlamps (and other lamps too) is to fit led's in the sidelights and tail lights,this gives you far brighter lights and has the effect of making the headlights brighter due to there being virtually no load for the less,so all the chargingness goes to the headlamps.

My issue with LED sidelights is the bright white light. Old shitters need warm white lights to look right...

I'll need to see how well LEDs play with the rear lamp reflectors. I've seen retrofit LEDs end up less bright than fluorescent bulbs due to sending light the wrong way!

6 hours ago, Angrydicky said:

Great work Captain. And your welding is fine, nice and strong unlike others’ pigeon shit efforts I’ve seen (not on here).

The Cresta isn't bad to weld on, which h helps! Decent 1.2mm steel throughout, the Acclaim was 0.8mm mostly and awful to work with.

[davehedgehog31]

On 26/08/2025 at 06:59, Dyslexic Viking said:

Looking forward to when the Vauxhall is finished as is one of my favorite cars on here.

The Captain dons his best hat before taking the Cresta it's inaugural drive.

[captain_70s]

8 hours ago, davehedgehog31 said:

The Captain dons his best hat before taking the Cresta it's inaugural drive.

I've committed to at least one, preferably two, evenings of Vauxhall fixing every week in the hope that it'll be finished before I croak...

[Matty]

41 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

I've committed to at least one, preferably two, evenings of Vauxhall fixing every week in the hope that it'll be finished before I croak...

The rate your going at it theres no doubt itll be done before you shuffle off.

[captain_70s]

Volvo MOT today. Dropped it off yesterday evening after work.

First thing this morning:

The last fail, for comparison:

Fucking thing is falling apart faster than I can fix it...

The horns have been replaced and were working, so that's fun. Washers are positioned so they work at 50mph but are a bit high when stationary, haven't been touched since they weren't a problem...

Handbrake cable must have snapped during the test as it was fine before and would bind the brakes at 3 clicks! Guessing everything else is just sticky from being mostly sat since mid August...

Did some more welding on the Cresta. Sill/chassis rail join now intact again, have started making a new sill end/A post bottom.

[danthecapriman]

Liked for the sill repair not the MOT fail.

On the bright side, at least the Volvo’s fail list doesn’t look all that bad to actually put right. 
The handbrake cable on mine broke a few years back and took a while to get though…

[captain_70s]

Car is back.

Handbrake does nothing at all, presumably snapped during testing. No idea how they managed that.

I clearly have a different opinion of what constitutes a functional horn...