Tommy's A-series Misery - Mini Action (plus bonus Aggro)

[Tommyboy12]

I got the valves out of the 7 today. Most came out easily but one of them fought me bitterly. I had to drown it in plus gas and heat which ruined the valve spring in the process. Thankfully they're a tenner for a new set.

I also found a rounded tappet lock nut which I currently can't get out. Thats also stopping play alongside the valve for lapping them back in. I've had to order a small nut splitter to try and get the stick lock nut out.

I also decoked the head and block face today. Took a while with a brass brush in a Dremel. Here's the head before I did the last chamber. I'll run the head over some fine grit sandpaper to make sure there's no high spots before I refit it.

While cleaning the block and pistons I found out I've got a very over bored engine with +60 pistons. That means I have a mighty 792cc of side valve power! Note as well that there's little numbers stamped into the block near each valve. The expectation of an Austin 7 owner in the 30s was that you took the valve so out regularly for lapping and decoking so the block and valves are all numbered to help.

I also fitted my new windscreen with the help of two budding volunteers.

I didn't photograph it but I also rebuilt the front shock absorber with new drop link bushes and the friction discs all greased up. I also fitted a new starter pull cable.

That's it for today. One step forward on a few jobs but definitely left the engine in an even more disassembled state than when I arrived which is frustrating.

[comfortablynumb]

You have become @HMC aicmfp!

[Tommyboy12]

Started to progress on rebuilding the engine last night with a couple of hours of tinkering. First up I removed the broken tappet stud with a nut splitter and a chisel. It eventually broke loose and threaded out.

Then I set about lapping in the valves and refitting them. It turns out it's a bit painful to fit valve cotters upside down when gravity is working against you but eventually they went back in and now I have 8 nicely sealing valves! Hopefully that means the compression is back up on the low cylinder.

I also drained my fuel*. It smelt very pleasant*

Next up in going to fit the head and manifold and see if I can get it running!

[Tommyboy12]

I spent much of this weekend with @sharley17194 underneath his Vanden Plas 1100 at the Practical Classics Resto Show. If you stopped by the ADO16 stand at any point you will have seen us (or at least our legs) poking out from underneath a rusty looking shed.

The car was trailered in on Thursday night and we had a long list and over the course of three days we replaced the engine mounts, freed off the clutch, replaced the master and slave cylinders for the brakes and clutch. All the rubber hoses and a bunch of hard lines for the brakes. Rebuilt the brake calipers and driveshafts and also replaced the petrol tank, exhaust and carburettor, swapping from twin carb to a single bigger carb. We also replaced the dynamo with an alternator and fitted a new fuel pump. The chrome was mostly polished as it was covered in a protective paint. We did get the brakes to work and the clutch but unfortunately an issue with a sticking float stopped us driving out of the show. We also couldn't replace the exhaust as intended as the exhaust that was brought was too large.

It was all in the name of another road trip! A group of about 30 of us are heading to Holland for EMWalhalla (very similar to FOTU) and I am planning to take my Aggro VP and said to Simon that he should be taking his 1100 VP. He said bet but on the proviso that I spend a weekend getting rust in my eyes.

Day one

Day two

Day three

And a nice* clean* engine bay

Watch this space. This car will be coming to the Netherlands in 7 weeks!

[Tommyboy12]

Day 5,311 of trying to get the Austin 7 started. I actually did a fair bit to it today. I did a load of wiring including replacing all the wires wrapped and crimped with bolts with proper connectors. I rewired the lights after I found some cruddy wiring connectors too.

The cleaning of the fuel tank has also commenced. The fuel sender unit was completely bunged up with crud and seized solid. The car did come with a spare in a box of bits but the float is holed and has fallen off. I'll have to try my hand at soldering one good one together from these two.

I also went back through the carb to check the jet height and cork seals as it was dripping petrol when we last tried to run it. It all seems to be in reasonable fettle although there is some issues with the jet height being a bit low. It should be too much of an issue. I also had to make up some gaskets for the inlet as apparently the reason there were stacked gaskets is that the inlet manifold studs hit the carb if there aren't more than two gaskets. Great.

I also went through and reached all my ignition wiring as it's still not starting. I think I perhaps have it too advanced so I'm going to have to play with it some more.

We did get various coughs and bangs out of it but it absolutely refused to turn over for any more than 2 or 3 complete (albeit weak) revolutions.

[RayMK]

37 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Day 5,311 of trying to get the Austin 7 started. I actually did a fair bit to it today. I did a load of wiring including replacing all the wires wrapped and crimped with bolts with proper connectors. I rewired the lights after I found some cruddy wiring connectors too.

The cleaning of the fuel tank has also commenced. The fuel sender unit was completely bunged up with crud and seized solid. The car did come with a spare in a box of bits but the float is holed and has fallen off. I'll have to try my hand at soldering one good one together from these two.

I also went back through the carb to check the jet height and cork seals as it was dripping petrol when we last tried to run it. It all seems to be in reasonable fettle although there is some issues with the jet height being a bit low. It should be too much of an issue. I also had to make up some gaskets for the inlet as apparently the reason there were stacked gaskets is that the inlet manifold studs hit the carb if there aren't more than two gaskets. Great.

I also went through and reached all my ignition wiring as it's still not starting. I think I perhaps have it too advanced so I'm going to have to play with it some more.

We did get various coughs and bangs out of it but it absolutely refused to turn over for any more than 2 or 3 complete (albeit weak) revolutions.

I'm sure you'll get the A7 running soon.  I was surprised by your carburettor which looks more like an SU rather than a Zenith.  Early Reliant sidevalve engines use a Solex AIC 26 or sometimes a Zenith 301Z.  As the Reliant SV engine is a derivative of the Ruby unit these may be an option, though availability is always a matter of luck for old types.   I've never liked SU carbs (if yours is in fact an SU) with their oil damped twiddly bits and needle sensitivities but that's just my irrational bias 😁.    

[Tommyboy12]

2 hours ago, RayMK said:

I'm sure you'll get the A7 running soon.  I was surprised by your carburettor which looks more like an SU rather than a Zenith.  Early Reliant sidevalve engines use a Solex AIC 26 or sometimes a Zenith 301Z.  As the Reliant SV engine is a derivative of the Ruby unit these may be an option, though availability is always a matter of luck for old types.   I've never liked SU carbs (if yours is in fact an SU) with their oil damped twiddly bits and needle sensitivities but that's just my irrational bias 😁.    

It is indeed an SU. A very early H-type. It was originally fitted to a Morris 8. To be honest I quite like an SU and am very used to them. While it's different from later HS and HIF types it works on the same principle so I understand it. It should have a Zenith side draft but I'm making do with what it came with. It should run on the carb as it's not too large I just need to get things fettled to the right settings

[Tommyboy12]

The Aggro got a bit of tinkering last night ahead of a road trip with 30 fellow lunatics from the UK to EMWalhalla in the Netherlands at the the start of May. It's a 700 mile road trip with a mixture of old British cars, forgotten 90s motors and a few odd balls thrown in like a couple of MK1 pignose Citroen Visas and a base model Peugeot 309 diesel.

@sharley17194 is taking his Vanden Plas Princess 1100 that I was working on at the NEC on this trip too so there will be a pair of VPs which the Dutch should love! Although there's still a bit more work to do there.

EMWalhalla is basically the Dutch equivalent of Festival of the Unexceptional except for the fact it's free to enter (if you ignore the need for a ferry and hotel) and full of European metal.

The route is pretty simple and it should be a good weekend.

Website if anyone is interested: https://www.elkmerkwaardig.nl/emwalhalla/emwalhalla-heaven-for-unknown-undesired-and-underappreciated-cars/

Anyway, the tinkering involved replacing some rather crusty fuel hoses in the engine bay as well as sorting the breather hose which was also split.

It was dated 2016 so it is 10 years old. I personally wouldn't run fuel pipe longer than 6-8 years having seen enough classic cars go up in flames.

The fuel filter was also crusty and didn't have any hose clips! Who does that??

Anyway with a bit of fettling and some new hose I now am confident that my inevitable breakdown is not going to be related to fuel hoses.

I intend to go over the ignition system and adjust the points and such before I go. I'll be taking a few spares but not many so want to make sure it seems ok before we leave.

[Matty]

I take there will be a running report of the trip?

[Tommyboy12]

1 hour ago, Matty said:

I take there will be a running report of the trip?

Of course! Would any of my road trips be complete without the calamities documented?

[Tommyboy12]

A momentous occurrence! The Austin 7 lives!

As I suspected it was just the timing being out. Some more timing was dialled in and it fired straight up! I'm so happy!

Unfortunately it's hard to convey in photo format but here's a still of it just after it fired up! It was a bit smokey!

It then drove out of the garage under its own power for probably the first time in 50 years.

Unfortunately the clutch was stuck so it was started in gear then driven out before being killed on the drive.

I parked it up next to this lovely Bedford Dormobile owned by my friend who is storing my 7.

I roped in another friend to do some painting while I set about some other jobs. It still has no sealed water jacket so while it ran I didn't want to run it too much incase I cooked it.

Expertly masked and rubbed down.

Expertly tarted with a brush. This is just a random tin of old black paint. Not quite the same colour but better than red lead primer.

The car is very patina so I'm not worried about the colour match being perfect.

I set about replacing the rear shock absorber bushes which had turned to dust. I had good access while the tank is out. I also found more grease nipples which I didn't know about.

I'm very happy to have it running! It feels like a big step forward and although they're not on the forum a big thank you to Matt and Andy for their help getting it running.

[Matty]

Excellent news 👍

[Tommyboy12]

A busy bank holiday weekend for me. I managed to get plenty of time on cars between other activities. As it was sunny I wanted to prep my favourite cars for the better weather.

First up on Sunday was my turbo Mini. It needed an oil service and the air filter cleaning and re-oiling. Plus I took it as an excuse to replace the rocker cover gasket which had gone crispy with a fancy silicone number.

Out with the old.

In with the new

And with a service it should be good for a summer of driving starting with my club meet on Wednesday evening. My air filter is now bright blue from all the air filter oil 😅

I then followed up on Monday morning with the white Mini.

Firstly I had to drag it out the garage where it's stored. Thankfully after hooking up a fresh battery it sprang into life pretty quickly. It was filthy from winter storage though. I think I forgot to wash it before I put it away.

A service of the oil and air filter first.

Then onto some wiring. This car is going to Cornwall in a couple of weeks then is driving to Poland in late May. I'm racking up some serious miles in it this year. So I fixed my radio which wasn't working and wired in some 12v sockets so we can keep phones charged on the road.

Midway through wiring.

And a nicely installed radio and sockets

Finally I roped in my good lady to help me give it a damn good scrub and clean. It looks glorious.

While working on the Mini I spotted something though... A puddle has formed under the Allegro. A puddle of coolant...

Turns out this was the culprit with a failed bearing...

Thankfully you can still find 1500/1750 water pumps and I have one en route. Unfortunately they're what I shall refer to as a snug fit in the engine block. And this one would not be disturbed from its resting place.

Things got violent.

And more violent

I still have to get the barrel of he pump out the block. Speaking to a few in the Allegro society you need to slice it then chisel it out like an old suspension bush so I need to finish off that which will happen in the sunshine and evening this week.

To be honest I'm glad I spotted this before I drove it to Holland and access is pretty good. So while it's inconvenient it's not exactly difficult.

[captain_70s]

Wow! That water pump was/is well stuck.

I've yet to encounter one that doesn't come off with a thump from a rubber mallet, perhaps I've just been lucky... 😬

[Tommyboy12]

11 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

Wow! That water pump was/is well stuck.

I've yet to encounter one that doesn't come off with a thump from a rubber mallet, perhaps I've just been lucky... 😬

The design seems to sit in a recess on the E-series. Not like most other pumps I've changed. So it's just welded itself to the block. Apparently this is pretty common for this engine.

[Tommyboy12]

I got the turbo Mini out to the Huntingdon Car Club meet last night. We had about 50 cars turn up. No doubt helped by the weather!

[Tommyboy12]

I drove my white Mini to work yesterday. I popped a head gasket on the way home which was frustrating... First boot full I gave it joining the motorway and it went. Thankfully it went on the way home and not the way to work! I got home eventually and spent the evening changing it.

I'm so used to changing them that I can do it in less than an hour now. It takes a bit longer when you don't have the standard exhaust as you have to take the manifolds off.

The culprit...

The carnage

However the head looked good after a cleaning. It does look like it's been suffering some blowby on all the cylinders but it measured flat and the fire rings look healthy.

The bores also look very healthy. I built this engine about 10k miles ago and everything looks great.

I did clean up the block face and inspect everything and it all looks good. It was back together and running in no time.

Just a standard Thursday evening 😅

[High Jetter]

10k sounds low for a head gasket - but maybe the quality of such items ain't wot is used to be?

[Tommyboy12]

2 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

10k sounds low for a head gasket - but maybe the quality of such items ain't wot is used to be?

Quality is probably a big part of it. The gaskets are certainly a lot thinner than they used to be so I imagine there is less tolerance in them because of that.

[High Jetter]

7 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Quality is probably a big part of it. The gaskets are certainly a lot thinner than they used to be so I imagine there is less tolerance in them because of that.

I have a vague recollection of someone advocating using 2 gaskets instead of one, years ago - no idea which engine it was on now though.