Project Dollywobbler's Foxy little number

[Fumbler]

We have full confidence in you.

 

Much excite

[LightBulbFun]

Ohhh im very excited to see this is getting underway

 

(also that fleet shot is amazing )

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Speaking of your fleet (and as an aside) I saw a silver Perodua Nippa out in the wild yesterday and instantly thought of you.  Pretty tragic!

 

Down near Faversham at the time.

[Christine]

My Fiesta registration  is 707  too !

[AndySnapper]

I have an engine. I wonder if it fits? I wonder if it works? I wonder if I actually have all the nuts and bolts I need?

 

 

Personally, I am a little bit concerned that since garage tidy-up 2, you will never find anything you need ever again

 

It almost looks organised (but in a messy sort of way).

 

Also very concerned with your recent interest in car cleaning and half-decent looking paintwork. Are you experiencing a mid-life crisis of some kind or possibly on the verge of a breakdown? Best visit the quack asap (in TUK of course) and have a full service yourself

 

Andy

[wuvvum]

What a cute little engine!

[Squire_Dawson]

Am looking forward to this - a proper old-school light commercial, RWD, good loading space, easy parts availability and cost nothing to run. Will be an extremely useful vehicle once done.

[somewhatfoolish]

I think the little Fox needs something two stroke...

A Warty triple would certainly be a little different! Similar power to the original so wouldn't kill the gearbox or diff.

[dollywobbler]

Personally, I am a little bit concerned that since garage tidy-up 2, you will never find anything you need ever again

 

It almost looks organised (but in a messy sort of way).

 

Also very concerned with your recent interest in car cleaning and half-decent looking paintwork. Are you experiencing a mid-life crisis of some kind or possibly on the verge of a breakdown? Best visit the quack asap (in TUK of course) and have a full service yourself

 

Andy

 

Fortunately, there was very little Fox in there when I tidied the garage. Sadly, one thing I have lost is my Haynes Manual - which is especially annoying in this case.

 

The big problem is that I didn't start with a complete car. I bought the Fox with the engine already removed and partially dismantled. That engine proved to be scrap, so I got another partially dismantled engine - one with a few subtle differences that add to the fun. I have some containers with random fasteners in. They're all imperial, naturally, so nothing in my own stash of randoms will fit. Even worse, I found a website purporting to have a list of fasteners, but it's wrong, because imperial sizes are utter ARSE and have different types of the same size. So my new UNC manifold nuts don't fit, because the studs are UNF. I ended up bathing the original nuts in vinegar to clean them up. Manifold back on, but because I don't have a manual, the carburettor is the wrong way around. Not sure that matters for the trial run I hope to have, but it's a frustratingly slow business.

 

Naturally, I haven't got a hope in hell of finding any Reliant bits locally, so every time I hit a blank wall (like the missing exhaust manifold stud I discovered today), there's nowt I can do but add it to the list of stuff I need to order. The list currently includes a clutch kit (I don't have one at all) and a flywheel (wrong one fitted, because it's a Robin engine).

 

Then there's the wiring, which is just horrific. The positive battery 'terminal' is just a loop of wire. Trying to suss it all out is going to be an exercise in frustration I suspect. At least with the Invacar, I started with a complete vehicle. 

 

But, I'm still looking forward to it. I just think it's a project ill-suited to one as disorganised as me. Still, I hope to convince the engine to run one way or another fairly soon. At the moment, all that's stopping me is some appropriate fuel hose and possibly the spark plugs (which are pretty grim). Oh, and the fact that the back plate is incorrect and needs swapping to enable the starter motor to fit, but even then I'm not sure the starter is compatible with the flywheel currently fitted. That is a bit of arse as I'm not hand cranking it. Without a stand, that doesn't really work.

[coalnotdole]

Glad to see some fox progress even if it's small frustrating steps.

 

I've found you can get a fairly reasonable selection of new imperal studs online. but you do have to put the leg work in to working out diameters and pitches. I find a goodA vernier and a printed conversion table really help when ordering stuff like this. I use my copy of the Presto Counsellor a lot for metric / decimal conversion and looking up thread types. You can buy it new for less than £10. But they sometimes come up for less. A Mitutoyo Vernier can be had for £20-£30 if you've not already got one.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Presto-Precision-Engineers-Metric-Data-Book-Charts-Reference-Tables-Drill-Tap/132378479787?hash=item1ed25f4cab:g:by4AAOSwGwlZ9GL7:rk:1:pf:0

 

I assume your replacment 850 engine came from quite a late Robin? I think there was a prodcution change in about 1990. The later ones have a different, flywheel and clutch to the earlier models. ( I think the cluch pressure plate on those is shared in common with the fiesta 1100) The starter is also different moving to a pre engaged unit in a different position as you've found this uses a revised engine backplate. The cluch release changes to a roller bearing for the first time from being a carbon thrust type...

 

I'd probably convert the new engine to fox spec as far as you can. You'd loose the advantages of the newer clutch / starter setup but I think it would save on hassle long term.

 

You'd want an eariler 850 clutch kit in that case, An early flywheel, Backplate and starter motor.

 

Joe

[dollywobbler]

Did that happen? Let's see! 

 

Here's the engine. I've now got the carb on the right way...

[plasticvandan]

Pre engaged starter came in 1984,roller bearing clutch came in 1990. If your gearbox has a hole for the starter bendix to go through,it needs the earlier (73-84) flywheel and starter. Being A reg,unless it's been changed in the past,it should be the earlier type.

[dollywobbler]

Ok. Engine is from an original Robin, but the starter from the Fox does not fit the backplate on the engine. The engine came with a different backplate. Reliant contacts reckon the flywheel is not correct for this application. I don't have a clutch, but there is a rusty thrust bearing resting on the gearbox input shaft.

[SiC]

Reckon this is your biggest project yet Ian? Looks quite a bit to get on with this one. Engine, electrics, interior and suspension all look like they need a fair chunk of work putting in.

[Squire_Dawson]

Is that a water heated inlet manifold I spy?

[dollywobbler]

Reckon this is your biggest project yet Ian? Looks quite a bit to get on with this one. Engine, electrics, interior and suspension all look like they need a fair chunk of work putting in.

 

Who knows? I did get off lightly with the Invacar really. 

 

 

Is that a water heated inlet manifold I spy?

 

Would appear to be. More missing pipework!

[stuboy]

are they fiat 127/128 headlamps?

[dollywobbler]

are they fiat 127/128 headlamps?

 

Close. 126, which is pretty much the same as 127 but with internal sidelight.

[Timewaster]

I always assumed they were Avenger / Allegro / base Metro head lamps.

 

I like a bit of parts bin spying.

80s TVRs were the best.

 

Cortina, MGB, Metro, Cortina, Talbot etc etc.

 

No wonder I ended up going to car shows on my own!

[dozeydustman]

I always assumed they were Avenger / Allegro / base Metro head lamps.

 

I would imagine orignally being a Greek made Vehicle Fiat or Polski-Fiat parts would have been easier for them to obtain, hence the 126 units.

 

I've got nothing better to do at the moment and while the sizes are roughly the same between the Fiat (Hella?) units and the Lucas 4FR fitted to many 70s and 80s motors, it's the fittings at the rear which are different.

 

At least replacements (if needed) appear available on the interwebs.

 

 

I like a bit of parts bin spying.

80s TVRs were the best.

 

Cortina, MGB, Metro, Cortina, Talbot etc etc.

 

No wonder I ended up going to car shows on my own!

 

My Scimitar was a mix of Ford, Vauxhall, Generic Smiths, BL, Raydyot and Generic Lucas.

 

Oh, and Aston Martin for the rear light units just to keep the price of replacements to a minimum*.

[LightBulbFun]

I always assumed they were Avenger / Allegro / base Metro head lamps.

 

I like a bit of parts bin spying.

80s TVRs were the best.

 

Cortina, MGB, Metro, Cortina, Talbot etc etc.

 

No wonder I ended up going to car shows on my own!

 

if you want a fun one try and figure out where all the parts on an invacar come from! 

 

I think the most recent discovery was by oli, that the windscreen wiper spindle thingy is from some sort of reliant  http://autoshite.com/topic/33919-oli’s-cars-reliant-jubilee-robin-rover-metro-rio-rover-211i-rover-city-rover-sprite/?p=1689898

[Timewaster]

There is probably a whole other thread in this.

 

Lotus Elise. P106 switches, Astra ignition barrel, AX wiper motor.....

 

Anyway, about this Fox.....

[LightBulbFun]

There is probably a whole other thread in this.

 

Lotus Elise. P106 switches, Astra ignition barrel, AX wiper motor.....

 

Anyway, about this Fox.....

 

if there is I feel like we need a link to it!

[dollywobbler]

Life! 

 

Took ages to find a good earth point, because plastic, but the body of the starter solenoid worked in the end. Nice to have some encouraging signs of life. Lights, wipers and even the heater blower were functioning. Hazards only seem to work on one side, but I'm sure that's a mere technicality. While I wait for engine bits to enable me to play more with the engine, this was a nice minor victory.

[dozeydustman]

Just did an MoT check to see last time the Fox was on the road. Interesting that the DVLA on the MoT check page still have it listed as Blue....

[GrumpiusMaximus]

DD, bear in mind the previous keeper thought that he could drive it on a 'L' plate because he had a motorbike licence and I'm in no way surprised it's not registered properly...!

[Ben_O]

Well that's an encouraging start!

 

When was it last running?

[dollywobbler]

Probably three years ago.

[Ben_O]

I had a 63 Regal 3/25 van that had been sat on top of a portacabin for 12 years and then under a tree for another 6 and surprisingly, when I bought it, it needed a starter solenoid, a fresh battery and fuel and away it went. All electrics worked as they should. Remarkable really!

 

I should never have scrapped it

 

Are you keeping yours green?

[PhilA]

nuts

That's an aspect of British engineering that I don't miss. Working on the Chieftain has been pleasant. Everything on the shelf is SAE; everything on the car is also SAE. America does like to hang on to some things when they work right, despite people's complaints.

 

Glad you've finally been able to make some leaps and bounds progress on this. It ought to have some fairly decent hill climbing capability. Is it a different set of ratios or a different final drive being as it's a van?

 

Phil