Jowett Javelin Appraisal/Restoration.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Continuation  from the original For Sale advert, where else can you obtain a classic car for free!

https://autoshite.com/topic/56113-free-borked-jowett-javelin-deluxe-–-ideal-for-christmas/#comments

This was going to be parked up over the winter at my unit and then next spring assessed as to the viability of restoring it into road going condition on a budget.

However due to unexpectedly selling two of my fleet that were parked on my  garden last  week,  I  had a spare  parking slot for it at home.

Initial inspection looks positive, lots of previous welding repairs on the chassis and bodyshell structure, most of which appears to have been done to a good standard.

First task was getting it parked into the available parking slot.

Three of the brake drums were partially seized and needed dismantling to free up. This took longer to do than would be usual as I had to find my Whitworth spanners to dismantle the components. 

Once that was sorted and with the help of my assistant, we got it parked.

 

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

The drivers door window has detached from the winder mechanism and  is is currently inaccessible inside the door shell.

It appears that the car has been in dry storage for many years previously, as a temporary fix , I have taped a plastic rubble sack over the window aperture to hopefully  keep the interior dry

First job tomorrow is to remove the framework at the front of the car, check if there is any coolant in the radiator and have a look at the engine and chassis number.

Pictures include  the amount of steering lock that was standard on most rear wheel drive cars of the era and the front framework.

 

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Posted this in the wrong section, can a Mod move it to Autoshite?,  t.i.a.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

  On 18/11/2023 at 22:58, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

Posted this in the wrong section, can a Mod move it to Autoshite?,  t.i.a.

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Thanks.

[Matty]

  On 18/11/2023 at 22:22, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

The drivers door window has detached from the winder mechanism and  is is currently inaccessible inside the door shell.

It appears that the car has been in dry storage for many years previously, as a temporary fix , I have taped a plastic rubble sack over the window aperture to hopefully  keep the interior dry

First job tomorrow is to remove the framework at the front of the car, check if there is any coolant in the radiator and have a look at the engine and chassis number.

Pictures include  the amount of steering lock that was standard on most rear wheel drive cars of the era and the front framework.

 

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Little bit of weekend work ala Derek Matthewson? 

[reb]

If the engine is a goner I have an XUD here that you could fit and become an AS hero.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Main issue  is the engine, if that can be freed and it runs restoration  may be viable.

Discussing alternative engine options with my tame mechanic, he suggested a Ford 1.6 CVH and gearbox out of a Sierra.

Three problems with that is first sourcing one at a reasonable price and then the work involved to fit it.

Next are the insurance implications when declaring it as a modified vehicle and also declaring an engine change to DVLA. There have been a couple of posts on Facebook groups recently that Swansea are being awkward in registering a non standard engine conversion without an engineers report.

Assuming any combination of the aforementioned is doable, the next issue is a set of new tyres. Five of the correct spec. are around £135 each plus another £105 for inner tubes, plus whatever it costs to get them fitted. 

These cars aren't worth a great deal of money at the moment, a reasonably tidy road legal example sold on Ebay recently for £4000.

There are several essential components missing, the brakes will require a full overhaul, a considerable amount of bodywork is required, the interior needs a lot of work and then there's  the paint.

And of course there is currently no ID for the car

I may buy a better example and keep this one for spares, or offer it back on here next year  for what it eventually ends up owing me, which is currently £80.

I'll see how it goes.

To be continued as and when progress is made.

 

 

[bunglebus]

It's already got a flat 4 in it...

[Matty]

B series and box? Look suitably old, rakes about and with a small fettle will do roughly 100hp and 100 or so lbft. Should make a javelin go like, well a javelin I suppose

[Captain Mainwaring]

I'll be watching this with interest, being made in my fair home town of Bradford and all. 

Are those rear lights off a Moggy?

[Tigerfox]

The Jowett Car Club has a very good selection of new and used spares, probably worth a ask about an engine.

[RayMK]

Most of the other flat 4 engines are configured for front wheel drive, all wheel drive or are rear mounted with the drive going to the rear wheels via a gearbox in front of the engine.  I'm not aware of any that have a convenient transmission for front engine, rear drive unless you dabble in much rarer  options e.g. Lancia Flavia 1.8 or use an early Honda Goldwing water cooled flat 4 engine which is of course already configured for front mounting and rear drive by shaft  😃.  I suspect the latter would be quite a project to fine tune the transmission for car use.   As @The Old Bloke Next Door says, he would prefer to avoid budget and other complications which are likely to result if modifying an engine (and the car) from a different marque to fit.  Whether you could squeeze a readily available straight 4 from a front engine rear drive car under the Jowett's bonnet, perhaps retaining the Jowett's  transmission with an adaptor plate, is also an open question. Flat fours tend to be more compact (shorter) than a straight 4.  Radiator mounted to one side to gain a bit of space perhaps? 

Wonderful potential there and I wish you luck.  At least you've saved it for a while whilst options are explored. 

[Carl1981]

The owners club are pretty good, they’ll know who has a spare engine knocking around.

all our jowett spares are vintage, except the Jupiter, which is also missing an engine!

[Mr Pastry]

The Javelin is so much designed around the compact flat 4 engine that fitting anything else isn't very practical if you want to retain the character of the car.   The car handles well because of its good weight distribution.   The engine bay is very short and the radiator is on top of the engine.  A straight four engine would have to be set well back to preserve the weight distribution, which would then intrude into the cabin which isn't that wide.    You can't adjust the suspension much, because torsion bars.  Then performance is going to be limited anyway by the drum brakes, and the low axle ratio - Jowett themselves were looking at fitting an overdrive.   So making it into a hot rod isn't really going to work.   It is better to put the time and effort into the correct engine,  which is well understood and not really that complicated.

[Mr Pastry]

Maybe I should add that of course, the owner can do what he likes with his own car.  And in this case I think he knows exactly what he is doing.

 

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

  On 19/11/2023 at 17:43, Captain Mainwaring said:

I'll be watching this with interest, being made in my fair home town of Bradford and all. 

Are those rear lights off a Moggy?

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Yes,

[wuvvum]

Lycoming O-360?

[ProgRocker]

Good luck! 

My dad once owned a Javelin. 

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

The engine number is intact and readable, unfortunately the bonnet is stuck shut at the moment which is  preventing me from comparing it with the chassis number.  Should be able to get it open tomorrow when my assistant arrives.

If the numbers match then it should be possible to get the registration number from the Jowett Club,

There is also no oil in the engine, which according to my tame mechanic may be why the engine is seized. I'll be topping it up with red diesel this week, spraying WD 40  through the spark plug holes several times, then trying a breaker bar on the crank pulley.

Its looking increasingly likely that this will be a spares car, earlier this year a complete running and driving car which looked in better condition than this one and with a V5 sold for a grand.

If I do use it for spares I won't be bothering with getting a V5 as I suspect the ID is on another car and applying for the V5 will open up a can of worms.

Update tomorrow.

 

 

 

[LightBulbFun]

  On 20/11/2023 at 16:07, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

The engine number is intact and readable, unfortunately the bonnet is stuck shut at the moment which is  preventing me from comparing it with the chassis number.  Should be able to get it open tomorrow when my assistant arrives.

If the numbers match then it should be possible to get the registration number from the Jowett Club,

There is also no oil in the engine, which according to my tame mechanic may be why the engine is seized. I'll be topping it up with red diesel this week, spraying WD 40  through the spark plug holes several times, then trying a breaker bar on the crank pulley.

Its looking increasingly likely that this will be a spares car, earlier this year a complete running and driving car which looked in better condition than this one and with a V5 sold for a grand.

If I do use it for spares I won't be bothering with getting a V5 as I suspect the ID is on another car and applying for the V5 will open up a can of worms.

Update tomorrow.

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feel free to PM me the details as you find em and I can run to see on the off chance if there is any pre-existing DVLA record  

 

glad to see you did managed to grab it in the end, I am looking forward to seeing how ya get on with it, hopefully it can be saved, but if not, hopefully it can at least yield good spares if you take on another one  

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Thanks, I'll compare it with the chassis number which is partially legible at the moment.

It would be an ideal spares car.

Back in the 80's I was usually running a Marina as daily, when one was around being uneconomical to repair I would buy an identical model, preferably the same colour to replace it, Banger economics.

[jonathan_dyane]

  On 20/11/2023 at 16:07, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

There is also no oil in the engine, which according to my tame mechanic may be why the engine is seized. I'll be topping it up with red diesel this week, spraying WD 40  through the spark plug holes several times, then trying a breaker bar on the crank pulley.

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Don't put a breaker bar on the crank pulley, the mounting bolt is easily sheared off (yes I learned this the hard way) big screwdriver/pinch bar on ring gear may be safer

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Thanks, I'll remove the starter and see if I can get in with a breaker bar. If not I'll get the engine out to access it.

I assume you had one with a similar problem then, did you manage to free it without dismantling the engine?

[jonathan_dyane]

I dismantled two engines that it would seem had been left outside for some years and has ended up full of water, they were mostly destroyed although I did retrieve some parts

[jonathan_dyane]

If the crankcases are good it's probably fixable. Good second hand pistons aren't hard to find alternatively fiesta pistons can be machined to fit (the skirts need shortening so they don't hit the crank webs). I might have a reasonable secondhand crank if you need one.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

This car appears to have been in dry storage for many years, the engine is bone dry.

I'll check if its got any coolant in the radiator this week as its going to be sitting outside over the winter.

I'll update as and when.

[Matty]

Any progress with this @The Old Bloke Next Door?

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

It now has a bonnet and a front grill yet to be fitted.

Having given it a thorough inspection it is an ideal spares car, not financially  viable to return to the road. I'll either buy a better example this Spring and keep it for spares or move it on, will update as and when.

[Back_For_More]

If you're looking to move it on please do make it a loud shout out..... I'd definitely be up for a look at it. 

[Rocket88]

Interesting……