HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[lesapandre]

2 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I once drove to Manchester and back in a rented Mondeo Ghia Tdi without realising it was 6 speed. In my defence it was dark.

6-speed!I have never driven a car made after 2004!

[BorniteIdentity]

6 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Yes on a lot of these 50's cars 1st was seen as a 'starter gear' or for steep hills etc.

My only real memory of my Nan’s terrible driving was she never used first. Second and the clutch was fine for her. I often wonder whether her Mini (which is outside) is still on “her” clutch!! 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

2 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

6-speed!I have never driven a car made after 2004!

This was a late Mk2 , so must have been before 2003. Don’t know when they became commonplace, I remember Turbo Cavaliers and  Calibras had them in 92ish . I think I first drove either an Audi 100 S4 or BMW 540 with a six speed in about the same time.

[HMC]

Sit rep.

Discovered based on the engine number it’s actually a 1098 and originally fitted to an a40 mk2. basically a hot rod. OK an exaggeration but it’s a lot quicker than I was expecting-

I decided to give it some beans and was enjoying the comedy handling. Alas I Suspect this car has previously fallen foul of that old car curse. Too many little trips out to a “show” with hamper and deck chairs and a thermos. Does cars no good at all not to be properly used. Hence my vigorous shakedown had unintended consequences.

after long climb on a twisty B road the fuel pump died. Tick tick tick and then silence. A helpful farmer towed me to his farm but I also literally shit myself part 1 as the brakes failed part way back to the farmstead.

That was not the end of the shitting of pants for me today. I called up my ever helpful friend Steve (also a big old car person) Behind a too short row rope and handbrake and chuck it into 3rd and pray retardation I got home.

 

But I’m back, my life having been shortened by 5 years, downing a cider and despite it all I had a very fun drive and they are both simple fixes. Who said old stuff was slow and boring?

[Skizzer]

‘Like’ for everyone living to tell the tale, not the various woes obvs.  It does sound like it will benefit massively from a bit of shaking down, and reward you eventually.

[lesapandre]

Check out the handbrake and fixings when you look at the brakes - they can shear off for extra fun.

The brake master cylinder and integral reservoir is under the drivers footwell and is well exposed. Difficult to fill too - they don't carry much excess fluid either! Austins designers were still some time away from suspended pedals and bulkhead reservoirs which came in with the first Cambridge I think.

I would join the owners club for advice.

http://www.austina30a35ownersclub.co.uk/SourcesOfInfo.aspx

I had mine in the 1970's and the brakes were interesting. You can adjust the shoes up with the wheels off with a screwdriver. But I expect the OC have plenty of advice about sensible modern mods to get the brakes good - and the racing fraternity will know of more radical stuff.

The contemporary Pitmans handbook is useful. A few on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383376882898

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

4 hours ago, Magnificent Rustbucket said:

When I was a small child on holiday in the South of France in the late '70s, I remember my dad talking to a fellow who had driven down there in an A30, all the way from the North East of England with his wife and two children. They were camping somewhere IIRC. I wasn't particularly impressed - but my father was (his first car was an A35), which is why I remember it.

In those days it was a 'thing' for people with a powerful car to do the journey from Cheshire where I lived to the South of France in one day. You could do some real speed back then. It was an anathema to my dad who preferred gentle touring with lots of stops, but he had a couple of friends who did it, one of whom had a Mercedes 450SEL. I was far more impressed by the idea of powering down in one day in a big V8 - but I remember my father saying the guy making the same or longer journey in an A30 four-up with luggage was far more of a feat.  Forty years later, I agree with him.

 

57 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

You could still do it up until the early 2000s - I remember driving down to Grenoble in the Saab 9000 Turbo I had at the time - once I got past Paris I'd set the cruise control to 120 and just sit there until the péage at Lyon.  I still got overtaken even at that speed.

 

I have never driven on a motoring holiday in France, but when I went as a kid and I went with my parents we would have occasional bursts of speed on the Autoroute like that (generally when my mother was complaining we would never get there on my dad's meandering route) - but we never did it consistently. My father liked a powerful car and I remember we once covered the distance between two peages too quickly and were made to park up and wait for a period. My father was quite relieved there was no fine. People used to drive in far faster in the UK way-back too. I remember kneeling on the back seat of an XJ12L and watching all the cars disappear into the distance through the rear window as it wizzed along at nigh-on 150 mph on the newly opened M56. No seatbelts or anything. Different times - this would have been the mid-70s, I guess.

[timolloyd]

With that 1098 you can now be just like David Coulthard: https://www.goodwood.com/grr/event-coverage/goodwood-revival/2017/9/video-ride-with-david-coulthard-as-he-slides-an-austin-a35-round-goodwood/

[Richard_FM]

I heard about someone with a Fiat 126 in New Zealand which they drove for ages without 1st gear.  Eventually he sorted the gearbox out but it was very slow & noisy, though he likened the car to driving around on a motor mower.

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

6-speed!I have never driven a car made after 2004!

My limit is for cars is 2002 unless you count the 3 day old Pug 208 we hired in Zagreb last year which just felt like one of our work vans. Not unrelated, my van, a Peugeot Partner dropped its clutch last week. One day I was given an elderly Vivaro. I stalled it three times in the yard before I realised they'd put a sixth gear where reverse should be. 

[HMC]

3 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I once drove to Manchester and back in a rented Mondeo Ghia Tdi without realising it was 6 speed. In my defence it was dark.

Ditto for a mk3 st220 I had just bought. Straight down the m5 in 5th. Cringe. Again it was dark and quite fun as you were further into the powerband.

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, Richard_FM said:

I heard about someone with a Fiat 126 in New Zealand which they drove for ages without 1st gear.  Eventually he sorted the gearbox out but it was very slow & noisy, though he likened the car to driving around on a motor mower.

The 126s always had a crash first gear, even the late Bis - I'd imagine a lot of them got lunched due to careless downshifting.

[lesapandre]

9 hours ago, HMC said:

Sit rep.

Discovered based on the engine number it’s actually a 1098 and originally fitted to an a40 mk2. basically a hot rod. OK an exaggeration but it’s a lot quicker than I was expecting-

I decided to give it some beans and was enjoying the comedy handling. Alas I Suspect this car has previously fallen foul of that old car curse. Too many little trips out to a “show” with hamper and deck chairs and a thermos. Does cars no good at all not to be properly used. Hence my vigorous shakedown had unintended consequences.

after long climb on a twisty B road the fuel pump died. Tick tick tick and then silence. A helpful farmer towed me to his farm but I also literally shit myself part 1 as the brakes failed part way back to the farmstead.

That was not the end of the shitting of pants for me today. I called up my ever helpful friend Steve (also a big old car person) Behind a too short row rope and handbrake and chuck it into 3rd and pray retardation I got home.

 

But I’m back, my life having been shortened by 5 years, downing a cider and despite it all I had a very fun drive and they are both simple fixes. Who said old stuff was slow and boring?

I think these originally had a mechanical fuel pump. If it is electric is a later mod with the engine change.

[lesapandre]

You may need to call the RAC?

 

[SiC]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

You may need to call the RAC?

 

You'd be annoyed if that was your order they've picked!

Look Fred, it's the RAC bods here. Better do what the bosses told us to do and turn the carb back a couple of flats to weaken the fuel mix. 

[anonymous user]

It's a while since I've worked on one, but will confirm all mine had mechanical fuel pumps (with a little primer lever, handy when the car had stood for a while) I'm sure you could adjust the brakes with the wheels on, as long as the wheels had been put back so the holes lined up. Brake cylinders are very expensive. An easy upgrade was to swap the front back plates and drums for ones from an A40 Farina Mk2. You had the bonus of larger drums and cheaper wheel cylinders. Morris Minor backplates and drums are not a straight swap and require work to the back plate. Midget discs are fairly easy to fit, but the master cylinder needs slight modification and a remote fluid reservoir.

[HMC]

6 minutes ago, anonymous user said:

It's a while since I've worked on one, but will confirm all mine had mechanical fuel pumps (with a little primer lever, handy when the car had stood for a while) I'm sure you could adjust the brakes with the wheels on, as long as the wheels had been put back so the holes lined up. Brake cylinders are very expensive. An easy upgrade was to swap the front back plates and drums for ones from an A40 Farina Mk2. You had the bonus of larger drums and cheaper wheel cylinders. Morris Minor backplates and drums are not a straight swap and require work to the back plate. Midget discs are fairly easy to fit, but the master cylinder needs slight modification and a remote fluid reservoir.

This one has an odd electric pump (looks like a universal one) and almost a numbered regulator in line. The power supply is good but the pump is now dead. I’m wondering if running it out of fuel earlier hastened it’s demise. I need to have a look for the presence of a blanking plate on the block-(  I’m hoping there’s one @lesapandre thinks a40 mkII 1098s had a mechanical pump so I’m hopeful)  and the mechanical pump is cheaper to buy as well.

[Marm Toastsmith]

I’d go back to standard, too. I’ve had more bother with aftermarket electric pumps which were supposed to be an upgrade...

[wuvvum]

I have to say my experience of those universal eBay pumps is that they don't like being run dry.

[SiC]

A guy at Moss told me that fuel pumps are the single type of product they have refund and replacement the most. 

[Angrydicky]

My work (Past Parts) has stainless resleeved cylinders on the shelf. I’m sure last time I checked there was a full car set there; master cylinder, front wheel cylinders and rear frame cylinder. 

Beware: there are some really crap repro wheel cylinders doing the rounds (we don’t stock them) buy original where possible.

The little A30 looks fabulous! I like how whoever upgraded the engine has retained the original gearbox and transmission tunnel. Often they fit the A35 tunnel and gearbox with remote change.

 

[Vantman]

These were bread and butter cars in my day,i owned 3 in total--2 x A30 and 1 x A35,just all round fun cars and spares were easy because we used to service a fleet of 20 A35 vans so good 'used' spares were plentiful. My claim to fame was driving home from the pub one night with 6 passengers which caused havoc with the A30s handling!

[lesapandre]

Some great nostalgia here. An A30 was my first car at 17 in 1976. I passed my driving test in it that year. Tough little things - I took it to the Lake District driving from London the following winter on a walking holiday - buzzing over an ice bound Honister Pass at 1160ft at night in that car. Buzzed along nicely at 50mph on the M6.

It was 23 years old by that time - it did seem even then very old fashioned. But time has been kind to the A30 - somehow seems more relevant now than it did then as a tiny city car.

I bought it in Clapham London for £75. London was good for really old cars then as less salt on the road meant better survival. And before parking restrictions London streets were littered with 'bangers'.

I replaced it with a 1964 Sunbeam Alpine - again £75 - that was a really nice car with overdrive.

[Richard_FM]

I remember someone posted on Flickr years ago that the part of London they lived in during the 1970s had a lot of 1950s cars because they could be bought cheaply & fixed up with a bit of effort.

He mentioned his Dad had a few including a Rover P4 & a series of Rootes cars that could be treated as disposable.

[lesapandre]

Yes in the late 70's old 'cooking' 50's cars were seen as pretty disposable - it was rust and engines reaching circa 100,000 miles which usually meant they were finished and uneconomic to bother with repair. A30's survive because of toughness, popularly and ease of fix with the A Series engine and economy. Cars like the Standard Vanguard, big Humbers etc have a much lower survival rate.

As a 17yo I could afford to run a 30 and thus keep it alive.

[anonymous user]

I'm old enough to remember the 1960s and 70s. One of my heros was a bloke who worked at a scrap yard and exclusively drove  end of life  big cars, he had his pick of anything that came in and would run things until they failed, or something else came in that he fancied. I remember a Bristol 400 and Studebaker in the 60s, by the 70s it was more Jags, big Vauxhalls. He did tend to buy a lot of oil off us  most things used to drive off in a cloud of blue smoke. Sometimes when he was really hard up my dad used to give him the secondhand oil from someone's oil change

Apologies for thread drift

[Richard_FM]

The big Vauxhalls seemed to not spend long on the roads, it’s often joked about how many were used in the Professionals & other 1970s police shows as cars that were likely to be written off in a chase.  

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, Angrydicky said:

The little A30 looks fabulous! I like how whoever upgraded the engine has retained the original gearbox and transmission tunnel. Often they fit the A35 tunnel and gearbox with remote change.

Hopefully they've also retained the A30 rear axle so it'll do 0-60 in 10 seconds but the valves start bouncing at 63.

[HMC]

49 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Hopefully they've also retained the A30 rear axle so it'll do 0-60 in 10 seconds but the valves start bouncing at 63.

I think this as it takes off well but runs out of revs. Sprint spec maybe?

So my investigation of the block for an aperture for the mechanical pump.....

Not the best pic but there’s no cover plate where the hole for the fuel pump should be so I’ve ordered a reconditioned points type electric su pump. 
 

And here is the current fuel supply arrangement. What looks like garden hose (?) with a generic electric pump and a regulator valve, presumably to hold it back from overwhelming the carb.

[HMC]

6 hours ago, lesapandre said:

You may need to call the RAC?

 

I love how the RAC man is bounding around the factory floor (CAB1 atlongbridge?) with a fag in his mouth. Such different times!