HMC WBOD news

[HMC]

I had great success earlier, in the midst of a cold snap, in freeing off carefully and successfully, the heater  valve on the daimler. 

Ive now got very  slight wisps of tepid air coming through. Maybe the matrix is clogged? Any recommendations on how to improve the performance?

[somewhatfoolish]

If it is wisps I'd look at the air flow path of the heater; is there a filter or wire mesh that's encrusted with 70 years of grot obstructing the flow? Is there grot in the matrix? Is the fan motor putting all of its dobbins out in synchronisation? Are all the phlappy phlaps phlapping as intended? 

[lesapandre]

16 minutes ago, HMC said:

I had great success earlier, in the midst of a cold snap, in freeing off carefully and successfully, the heater  valve on the daimler. 

Ive now got very  slight wisps of tepid air coming through. Maybe the matrix is clogged? Any recommendations on how to improve the performance?

The nuclear option is to put a couple of dishwasher tablets or dishwasher cleaner in the radiator and take it for a  long run. 

Then drain the coolant out - it will have a drain plug on the rad and probably one on the block the heater may have one too.

Then disconnect the heater in and out under the bonnet and connect a hose to the in - and extend the out with some plastic pipe so it drains away from the car.

Gradually increase the water pressure and let it run through for 10 mins.

At the end you will either get it back together and find:

Nothing has changed.

You have the flu.

It leaks everywhere.

You have heat.

Daimler and Lanchester owners club may have a spare matrix - who knows.

I'd give the block a flush through too.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

 

[Weird Car]

14 minutes ago, HMC said:

Ive now got very  slight wisps of tepid air coming through. Maybe the matrix is clogged? Any recommendations on how to improve the performance?

The only true answer is to swap it for a newer Daimler😉🤣 

 

On a more serious note I’d be pretty surprised if it was a particularly good heater even when it was new to be honest, I’ve never had much more than a “mildly warm mist” from any 50s car heaters 

[wuvvum]

Re the Rover 75 door closing issue - it could also be the microswitch in one of the door lock mechanisms that has got stuck - that can happen in cold weather, mine did it a few years back.

[lesapandre]

The heater box - ie the heat exchanger may be a generic one from the 50's ie a 'Smiths Industries' or some such so there may be a replacement about to fit for when the original gets recored. 

Try muffing the radiator grille - the car may be running cool. What does temp gauge say...or is it accurate...

Silver foil should do it.

[lesapandre]

On 01/01/2025 at 19:14, HMC said:

Daimler seem to have been particularly guilty of this it seems…..

Shameless!

[Matty]

30 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Try muffing the radiator

Phnnarr 🤣 

[lesapandre]

8 minutes ago, Matty said:

Phnnarr 🤣 

[HMC]

1955

 

2025 (different car, same spirit of ownership)

[captain_70s]

Funny to think it was considered a vintage car in 1955, when my Cresta was brand new, which was considered a classic in 1977 when my Dolomite was brand new, and has been a classic itself for 20 years...

[lesapandre]

@HMC how are these Conquests to own? They look charming.

I know the 'Carbodies' coachwork can get very rusty. But given how few they made there are a surprising number still lurking about. 

I've heard them described as 'high camp' which I think sums up 50's Daimlers  - they always make me think of parma violets and Boris Karloff in a Homburg hat.  But how do they drive? They were even raced in period. Are they 'fun' or a chore?

I've not used a pre-select g/b much - though I have driven a 30's Lanchester years ago.

They make nothing much £-wise on the open market whereas the compact Jaguar MK1 or the big MK7-9 were cheaper in period and are now worth ×5 as much at least.

I always take my bangers abroad - will these tackle the motorway/autoroute or are they quaintly undergeared?

Great content as usual. You and @LightBulbFun should get the annual oscar award.

[lesapandre]

They have quite a lot in common with the Dingo scout car I think. As seen here.

It is possible to mash the pre-select and get quite a lot of performance out of them (shortening the life of the g/b quite considerably before a rebuild I am sure). Secret will be to have 2-g/b one in use and one under refurbishment I suppose.😂

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

They have quite a lot in common with the Dingo scout car I think. As seen here.

It is possible to mash the pre-select and get quite a lot of performance out of them (shortening the life of the g/b quite considerably before a rebuild I am sure). Secret will be to have 2-g/b one in use and one under refurbishment I suppose.😂

London Transport RT buses (the one before the Routemaster, 1939 - 54ish) also had Wilson pre select gearboxes. I assume it was a slightly bigger version. But I have been on some very spirited drives in those.

I've not driven one myself but sat in the downstairs front seat and watched many times. They seem like a brilliant idea so I don't know why they didn't catch on more. Maybe they were a bit expensive for a car? 

A late friend once told me Mr Wilson had the idea in a dream and even though it works perfectly he still had no idea how or why it worked even after he built it. But that might be an old wives tale. 

[wuvvum]

4 hours ago, HMC said:

1955

 

2025 (different car, same spirit of ownership)

That's the first time I've ever heard of removing the water pump being considered an upgrade!  Also are those LED bulbs in the sidelights?

[wuvvum]

3 hours ago, lesapandre said:

@HMC how are these Conquests to own? They look charming.

I know the 'Carbodies' coachwork can get very rusty. But given how few they made there are a surprising number still lurking about. 

I've heard them described as 'high camp' which I think sums up 50's Daimlers  - they always make me think of parma violets and Boris Karloff in a Homburg hat.  But how do they drive? They were even raced in period. Are they 'fun' or a chore?

I've not used a pre-select g/b much - though I have driven a 30's Lanchester years ago.

They make nothing much £-wise on the open market whereas the compact Jaguar MK1 or the big MK7-9 were cheaper in period and are now worth ×5 as much at least.

I always take my bangers abroad - will these tackle the motorway/autoroute or are they quaintly undergeared?

Great content as usual. You and @LightBulbFun should get the annual oscar award.

The pre-selector 'box is very easy to get the hang of once you've got your head round the idea that the left pedal is emphatically not a clutch!  I wouldn't describe the Conquest as fun to drive in the way that, say, a Sunbeam Talbot 90 is, but they're pleasant enough and keep up with modern traffic OK.  Mine was happy enough at 60 - it sounded like it was revving hard at that speed but then straight 6s always sound like they're spinning faster than they are.  The Century will (or would) do 100 flat out so at A-road speeds it's probably only doing half of its maximum revs.

[IronStar]

What happens to preselector gearboxes if you use the select pedal as you would normally use the clutch? Doesn’t work? Borkage express? Something else?

[wuvvum]

Borkage express, basically.

[somewhatfoolish]

It's not a clutch, the pedal just tells the box to shift. How it works.

[lesapandre]

In effect it's a big foot-operated switch between ratios which are 'pre-selected' on the column.

[Sigmund Fraud]

The Wilson/Daimler box uses epicyclic gears, brake bands for gear selection, and a torque converter. I'm not an engineer, so my little brain can best make sense of it as an automatic box without the automatic selection.

They were amazing compared to the manual boxes that were around in the 1930s, but by the mid 1950s they had become so much of an anachronism that even Daimler began fitting fully automatic boxes.

If you slip the gear selector pedal like a clutch, you are basically putting quite a lot of torque onto the tiny friction surface of a brake band. Said brake band will soon wear out, resulting in the box slipping. There is a small amount of adjustment possible, but once you've run out of friction material the box needs to be taken apart and the brake band reconditioned (because it's certainly not a part that GSF keep on the shelf !).

[andy18s]

On 26/12/2024 at 14:54, Matty said:

It's genuinely getting to the point that you can only surpass yourself next time by buying a 1920s biplane or something similar 🤣

Funny you should say that .. 

 

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

The Wilson/Daimler box uses epicyclic gears, brake bands for gear selection, and a torque converter.

Being pedantic (unlike me I know) it's a fluid flywheel rather than a "proper" torque converter.  Does much the same thing though.

[Sigmund Fraud]

57 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Being pedantic (unlike me I know) it's a fluid flywheel rather than a "proper" torque converter.  Does much the same thing though.

You are absolutely correct ; the Daimler system is a simple fluid coupling that does not multiply torque.

I was just using the term to emphasize the similarities between the Daimler transmission and later automatic boxes (that many of us are far more familiar with !).

[HMC]

Going from the austin 12 crash box it feels like a space ship 😂 

[artdjones]

17 hours ago, captain_70s said:

Funny to think it was considered a vintage car in 1955, when my Cresta was brand new, which was considered a classic in 1977 when my Dolomite was brand new, and has been a classic itself for 20 years...

Vintage has a specific meaning in this context, that is, a car built between 1919 and 1930. 

[IronStar]

11 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

It's not a clutch, the pedal just tells the box to shift. How it works.

An amazing read. Thanks!

Lubrication has really come a long way since as well. Recommended gearbox oil change interval at 3000 miles and that was considered long life! 

[2flags]

I think my dad might have had one of these when I was born. He said he had a big Austin that he used to be able to just wheel the pram into the back. [Full size Silvercross type.] He worked for Regent oil at the time, so managed to 'acquire' his petrol. Apparently, it did like a drink. 😁

[HMC]

Is there a less appropriate car to do a VSCC trial in? As its an destructible chugger, with a saloon body, and a solid base of a successful line of taxis, most people would say no. And they would be right in their assertions!

However, as its an inappropriate, yet eligible vehicle, im entering the 2025 exmoor fringe trial in it (next month) It coincides with half term, so i will employ the kids the be bouncers in back as we attempt to scale muddy tracks and hillsides. 

I would expect to be the first entrant to come to a stop and bogged down, but arranging a load of silly nonsense is what life is about. Ive just got my motorsport UK clubman licence sorted (cost £0) so its game on!!

[wuvvum]

That will require you to still own the car next month though.  That's a pretty big assumption...