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Fabergé Greggs: Camper Master Cylinder woes


Fabergé Greggs

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2 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

For the clamp, I believe cast two-bolt ones offered for Minis are a suitable replacement.  That manifold-to-downpipe join is a bugger on all BMC/BL stuff that does it and if you're on the more basic clamp types, especially the pressed steel ones with separate shells, you can never really get them to seal.  If I've remembered rightly, these also have a bracket from the downpipe to the gearbox to help prevent stress on that join, so if that's missing you'll never seal that join for any amount of time.

You already know this, no doubt, but don't forget to recheck your head bolts for correct torque since the head gasket has been done and you've driven it a bit, they might need nipping up a bit.

That is all very helpful, thanks! 

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As discussed prior to sale, the mayo thing on this is really weird.  No oil in water or coolant loss, temp never changes and no real evidence of problems when I changed the head gasket (minor discolouration on part of one side of the copper gasket might have pointed to something, but equally might not).  Apart from the trip to Milton Keynes last year it was only used for short runs by me, so it's interesting that there was nothing to see after your trip home but is again now after more short trips.  I've not really had condensation problems with a-series engines before but maybe that really is the problem in this case (as I said, it was my mechanic friend's opinion when I showed him).  Fingers crossed that's all it is...

And sorry, I thought my second attempt had sealed the downpipe.  It does have a gearbox support, albeit more home-brewed than original, which was good and tight so should be supporting it ok.  As I think I said, it's an aftermarket exhaust, and getting it to line up perfectly was pretty much impossible!  If you do find/use an original two bolt clamp, be aware that the diameter is different top and bottom (larger diameter goes at the top) so make sure you have both halves the right way up.  These do make a big difference; unfortunately I didn't have one to hand.  I'm not sure a standard mini one will fit as I believe the mini exhaust is even smaller diameter.

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43 minutes ago, BeEP said:

If you do find/use an original two bolt clamp, be aware that the diameter is different top and bottom (larger diameter goes at the top) so make sure you have both halves the right way up.  These do make a big difference; unfortunately I didn't have one to hand.  I'm not sure a standard mini one will fit as I believe the mini exhaust is even smaller diameter.

I forgot about the directional thing.  I've got a pair of the cast clamps on the Princess, they were from a Mini and exactly the right size.  They're not terribly expensive and if you only need the one it's probably worth the gamble, I'd be surprised if the 1100 has a different sized exhaust than the Mini, they're basically the same thing (but the 1100 is obviously superior in every way).

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Just now, RobT said:

This is the clamp I used when replacing my exhaust manifold.

392854764__1.jpeg.jpg.b0774680a00b3399ac26b57eea7d195a.jpg

Bit of paste inside and it sealed the parts up a treat.  My manifold also had several cracks in it, so the farting was reduced considerably.

Thanks is that the 32mm one? 

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Actually I might be wrong, as there's a different type listed for the 1275.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Mini-Exhaust-Manifold-Cast-Clamp-For-1275cc-Engine-morris-minor-bmc/183912438060?hash=item2ad209192c:g:FXkAAOSw3xJVcXgi

Basically I just did a visual check on what was on there and bought the same.  Sorry for the useless and vague post, I'll need to double check.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Vespa Sprint: Someone kindly knocked it over, denting both the cowls, snapping a brake lever and denting the headlight ring. It's now nearly back to normal after some amateur panel beating. 

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Morris: A bloody delight. Making mayo but mysteriously not using coolant or overheating. Breather canister cleaned, rocker cover cleaned, head bolts checked. I'll try and oil change and then consider a head skim/recon head. 

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Saab: Being brilliant and loveable as ever as ULEZ draws closer :(. Recent 500 mile surf trip completed. 

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C2: Delighted to won this in the roffle of recent times. Many thanks to @wuvvum, it was great to see his fine fleet. As you've no doubt heard about these, it feels a bit normal unless you absolute thrash the hell out of it, where it can generate some quite surprising closing speeds. The ride is mixture of enjoyably firm and annoyingly jiggly depending on which brain mode you have engaged, though always well damped and composed. Steering is nicely weighty but a bit numb, made more exciting by being a very quick rack. All of this in combination with being tiny with a wheel at each corner makes for a pretty hilarious hoon machine. 

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Anyway, I set the sat nav to twisty roads and thrashed the hell out of it all the way home, so much so that the brakes got a bit smelly and I felt a bit sick at one point. Maybe that could have been down to the tasteful* interior though.. 

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  • Fabergé Greggs changed the title to Fabergé Greggs: A collection happened...
18 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Glad you had fun!  It is much better on that kind of road than it is on the dual carriageway where it can get a bit revvy.  I liked the shift light - just like an F1 car...

Yeah the shift light is ace! One good thing about how short the gearbox is though is that you're nicely in the power from 70-80mph.. 

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Bank holidays are for cleaning the hot hatch right?

Cleaning up the interior was pretty urgent as there was a significant level of mustiness/mould happening, presumably from previous water ingress/lack of use. I attacked everything with distilled white vinegar and now it smells a bit less like must and a bit more like vinegar... After some jetwashing I can't see any signs of ingress so we'll have to keep an eye on that. 

The steering wheel cover had to go but the wheel itself is a bit funky. What's my chances of painting it with some sort of rubbery steering wheel repair kit? 

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It did suffer from water ingress when I first got it, treating the door seals with rubber reviving shiz sorted that and it's been watertight since, although like most of the fleet it did get rather condensation-y inside over the winter when I wasn't using it.  I had a go at the mould when I did the seal and I thought I'd got it all, but I must have missed some :oops:

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On 4/9/2021 at 3:35 PM, RobT said:

This is the clamp I used when replacing my exhaust manifold.

392854764__1.jpeg.jpg.b0774680a00b3399ac26b57eea7d195a.jpg

Bit of paste inside and it sealed the parts up a treat.  My manifold also had several cracks in it, so the farting was reduced considerably.

Just that picture make my back hurt and my knuckles bleed.

Bad memories.

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20 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

It did suffer from water ingress when I first got it, treating the door seals with rubber reviving shiz sorted that and it's been watertight since, although like most of the fleet it did get rather condensation-y inside over the winter when I wasn't using it.  I had a go at the mould when I did the seal and I thought I'd got it all, but I must have missed some :oops:

Haha, nah its grand I think it just became "activated" on the journey home. Good to know re: seals! 

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6 hours ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

The steering wheel cover had to go but the wheel itself is a bit funky. What's my chances of painting it with some sort of rubbery steering wheel repair kit? 

Reminds me of the ex-Bo11ox Rover 623.  The previous owner to him, who was an ARG mental, painted the steering wheel and gear lever to match the beige interior.  As you can see if you zoom in, it didn't wear well.  And it looked shit.

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You might have more luck obvs.  I spent ages cleaning that paint off, only for the head gasket to kipper soon after.

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6 minutes ago, RobT said:

Reminds me of the ex-Bo11ox Rover 623.  The previous owner to him, who was an ARG mental, painted the steering wheel and gear lever to match the beige interior.  As you can see if you zoom in, it didn't wear well.  And it looked shit.

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You might have more luck obvs.  I spent ages cleaning that paint off, only for the head gasket to kipper soon after.

That is some sage advice. I’m tempted to change the wheel but I’m scared the airbag will blow my face off. 

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7 hours ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

Bank holidays are for cleaning the hot hatch right?

Cleaning up the interior was pretty urgent as there was a significant level of mustiness/mould happening, presumably from previous water ingress/lack of use. I attacked everything with distilled white vinegar and now it smells a bit less like must and a bit more like vinegar... After some jetwashing I can't see any signs of ingress so we'll have to keep an eye on that. 

The steering wheel cover had to go but the wheel itself is a bit funky. What's my chances of painting it with some sort of rubbery steering wheel repair kit? 

IMG_3574.thumb.JPG.042315e16c5c34188861a8814b2422ac.JPGIMG_3573.thumb.JPG.f1ec57964271463ef98e70ef64b1257a.JPGIMG_3572.thumb.JPG.559253d9e030569c1deb420ac1c4b845.JPGIMG_3575.thumb.JPG.c8c9dc039e48e6754718f551edb4c773.JPG

 

That interior is fucking epic. Who ever originally ordered this car had rarely seen taste

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  • 1 month later...

The Morris is the car that's been getting me about on trips to the shops and stuff recently. 

 

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I've been keeping an eye on the temp and coolant level and it's been good as gold. Today I whipped the rocker cover off and not a drop of mayo in sight... 

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I'll keep a slightly less keen eye on it for now but I'm going to tentatively say it must have been residual from the previous HGF. I do need to learn to not go into mental overload when stuff like this happens, many an hour I've wasted worrying about it.  Anyway, this is tentative good news cos knowing that I don't need to whip the head off,  I can sort the downpipe clamp and start using it for longer journeys sans fumes. 

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't appreciate slipping into its shonky seat, stirring its minimal gearwand and harking its throaty chit chat. 

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Yes I do have a list of niggles to sort and yes I will get round to them when I'm not having so much fun. 

 

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  • Fabergé Greggs changed the title to Fabergé Greggs: A Morris miracle?
  • 3 weeks later...

Fixing the manifold lasted all of 20 mins, the blow was worse than ever. 
 

investigating further revealed that my clamp has taken a section of the bottom of the manifold with it.. I don’t think I was being too crazy with the clamp, as I was being cautious if anything. 
 

Anyway, new manifold time. Should I go crazy and get something tubular from a mini and escape this downpipe seal problem altogether? 

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  • Fabergé Greggs changed the title to Fabergé Greggs: Morris manifold woes

Glad to hear the mayo has disappeared, but a shame about the manifold!  Be careful if you go down the mini lcb route; they are slightly too short to fit comfortably and also tend to foul the driveshaft couplings; if you look at the 1300GT manifold you will see BL put an extra curve in the offside pipe to give clearance.  Given that you aren't doing this to get extra performance, I'd be tempted to separate the inlet part from the current (broken) manifold (half an hour's work producing many sparks with a grinder) and use in conjunction with an ado16 twin carb (non GT) exhaust manifold like this (not sure why the photo has distorted):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164931407773

Image 1 - MG1100 Riley Kestrel Wolseley ADO16 Exhaust Manifold

I'm almost tempted to buy that one as a spare as it still has the outer sheath intact at the bottom! (and ignore what the seller says about not fitting 1300 models).  You should be able to cut the existing exhaust to fit rather than buy a matching system; the exhaust on the (non GT) twin-carb models was exactly the same as the single carb system other than the shorter downpipe.

Edited to add:  by GT models I mean 1300GT plus MG1300 mk2 and Riley 1300 mk2 which used the GT engine.

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3 minutes ago, BeEP said:

Glad to hear the mayo has disappeared, but a shame about the manifold!  Be careful if you go down the mini lcb route; they are slightly too short to fit comfortably and also tend to foul the driveshaft couplings; if you look at the 1300GT manifold you will see BL put an extra curve in the offside pipe to give clearance.  Given that you aren't doing this to get extra performance, I'd be tempted to separate the inlet part from the current (broken) manifold (half an hour's work producing many sparks with a grinder) and use in conjunction with an ado16 twin carb (non GT) exhaust manifold like this (not sure why the photo has distorted):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164931407773

Image 1 - MG1100 Riley Kestrel Wolseley ADO16 Exhaust Manifold

I'm almost tempted to buy that one as a spare as it still has the outer sheath intact at the bottom! (and ignore what the seller says about not fitting 1300 models).  You should be able to cut the existing exhaust to fit rather than buy a matching system; the exhaust on the (non GT) twin-carb models was exactly the same as the single carb system other than the shorter downpipe.

That’s some top advice as ever thanks- I’ve put in an offer on that manifold and can pass it on if it doesn’t work out. 
 

I did wonder if there’s an engine steady or something that I’m missing which is putting extra strain on the manifold joint- I need to research into the mounts etc. 

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There was never an extra engine steady on models with the 'remote' gearchange (as the Morris has).  The gearchange extension itself provides the steadying effect.  Later models with the 'rod' change box had steady bars from offside end of block to rear top of subframe and from nearside end of gearbox to the subframe behind it.  The latter can be fitted to models with the earlier box by drilling one hole in the subframe. The former requires the corresponding bracket (which was built into the subframe) and switching to the later clutch slave cylinder with the bleed nipple on top, as the bar fouls the nipple at the rear of the cylinder.

Aftermarket steady bars were made for the ado16; I used to have one made by Cosmic (better known for their wheels) but unfortunately sold it a few years ago.

There should be a bracket from the bottom of the exhaust downpipe to the gearbox/diff.  I can't remember exactly what I did on the Morris but I know I put something on!

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