Any interest in another Amazonian rescue? On the road.

[Ronkey]

22 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

@juular is probably your man for info for the dizzy…

Absolutely beautiful work as always. On the road for spring/summer this year?

Late spring is the plan, but the wiring may have other ideas. It would be great to spend the summer charging around in this! 

A modern replacement distributor would be a great fallback but I do hope to get the original fixed with perhaps a Boyer Bransden box fitted.

[Ronkey]

I've had my head down trying to get this job jobbed. I've had the car for two and a half years and I want to drive it now! The wiring is now complete with the exception of an earth to the rear number plate bulbs (this can from the body originally but I haven't the heart to scrape away the paint). I have added an earth to the rear lights as well for the same reason, replaced the relays with modern equivalents and installed a bladed fuse box. The indicators have started hyperflashing after initially working ok - both directions are the same. Time for a new flasher relay? Bulbs are traditional fitment and earths are good.

The original coil has an armoured cable back to the ignition barrel which I guess was a security measure back in the day. 60yrs old bosch coil? Yeah, reckon that'll be fine. I also took the dizzy apart and found it to be in great condition, so that went straight back on.

 

Having the dash off the car made rebuilding it much easier and it went together well

I've also put a lucas style alternator and I'm glad that @juular had a go first! Made myself up a bracket, painted it, then realised that the earth was via the bracket. Paint off and then cold galv spray for attempt two, and I added a spacer to the back helping a 900mm belt to fit. Worked well. 

This is a great photo. I could stare at this all day. It was taken a couple of weeks ago and the bay is now complete. It would be rude not to try and start it! It took a while for the fuel to pump through and I knew that the car was only very roughly set up, but the oil pressure light went out quickly and it coughed into life! No nasties from the exhaust either. Bloody result that. It is tuned and balanced a bit more now and is sweeeeet.

My Dad had a little bump in his car and I took it to the chaps who painted this for repair. They we more than happy to drop it off and we spent a good hour looking over the rebuild. Got a big thumbs up and I have been told to bring it back when it is done. They are not finished yet!

Had a go a fitting the front and back windscreens. They went in fine, even with the aluminium trim attached, but there is a gap between the seal and the body behind the face rubber so am going to have to put in some non-setting sealant. Any tips gratefully received. 

I'm working on the interior fitout now and the end is in sight! Fitted the number plates today. They look the business!

[Matty]

Stunning. Absolute credit to you that is.

[danthecapriman]

6 minutes ago, Matty said:

Stunning.

Exactly the word I was thinking. It really is!

Nice work on that alternator bracket. When I did my resto I had a few electrical gremlins to go through and sort. Mostly paint covering earth points.

[Ronkey]

Very kind chaps!

[Spiny Norman]

That engine bay is a joy to behold! ❤️
I wish I hadn't let mine go so cheap all those years ago. 

[High Jetter]

Impressive. That's going to be one of the best-looking ones out there.

[Ronkey]

And we are on the road! First tentative steps to the petrol station for a conversation with his nephew.

It drove very well but there were a few bangs from the back end. A check on return found there was a few more turns to be had from the nuts holding the trailing arms; no more noise. 

Cornering could be better. I set the camber as stated in the handbook - positive half a degree. I think I would be better with negative 0.5-1.0 degrees which I will try. I wonder why they specified a positive camber? Anything to do with cross plys? Tracking set dead ahead.

Great! All good. Then I looked under the car to be greeted with the sight of a pool of oil. Bugger. Opened the bonnet and it was pretty clear that the rocker was leaking. No biggy. But then I remembered the rear crank seal. When finishing off the engine I watched a video from amazon cars saying how poor the modern seals and that they were thinner at 7mm rather than 10mm. I checked the new seal I had and it was indeed 7mm so I took a risk and left the 30+ year old seal in place. Sods law says that is leaking. Gearbox off then. I've never done that on the car before and I now know to split the box from the bellhousing first. Bloody awkward finding that out part way through. Anyway, out with the old.

There was a slight dribble but nothing really. Would have been alright to leave but now that I have found the correct 10mm seal I'm bloody changing it. Found a file for a 3D printed tool to align the new seal and a mate printed it for me. Set the seal in uniformly and made the job nice and easy

Now that is sorted and a new rocker gasket installed - this time with sealant to the top and grease to the bottom - that seems to be the end of the leaks! Time to rack up some miles and finish the last of the trim. 

What a bloody job it has been. But what a result eh?

[Matty]

5 minutes ago, Ronkey said:

And we are on the road! First tentative steps to the petrol station for a conversation with his nephew.

It drove very well but there were a few bangs from the back end. A check on return found there was a few more turns to be had from the nuts holding the trailing arms; no more noise. 

Cornering could be better. I set the camber as stated in the handbook - positive half a degree. I think I would be better with negative 0.5-1.0 degrees which I will try. I wonder why they specified a positive camber? Anything to do with cross plys? Tracking set dead ahead.

Great! All good. Then I looked under the car to be greeted with the sight of a pool of oil. Bugger. Opened the bonnet and it was pretty clear that the rocker was leaking. No biggy. But then I remembered the rear crank seal. When finishing off the engine I watched a video from amazon cars saying how poor the modern seals and that they were thinner at 7mm rather than 10mm. I checked the new seal I had and it was indeed 7mm so I took a risk and left the 30+ year old seal in place. Sods law says that is leaking. Gearbox off then. I've never done that on the car before and I now know to split the box from the bellhousing first. Bloody awkward finding that out part way through. Anyway, out with the old.

There was a slight dribble but nothing really. Would have been alright to leave but now that I have found the correct 10mm seal I'm bloody changing it. Found a file for a 3D printed tool to align the new seal and a mate printed it for me. Set the seal in uniformly and made the job nice and easy

Now that is sorted and a new rocker gasket installed - this time with sealant to the top and grease to the bottom - that seems to be the end of the leaks! Time to rack up some miles and finish the last of the trim. 

What a bloody job it has been. But what a result eh?

Stunning. Im trying to talk my Dad into an Amazon at the moment. Wish i had his buying power. Idve been in one yesterday. Congrats on getting this done, and to such a high standard.

[Mr Pastry]

7 minutes ago, Ronkey said:

I wonder why they specified a positive camber? Anything to do with cross plys?

Probably.  A small amount of positive camber was quite common with crossplys.

[juular]

Amazing work. Looks worth every second of effort.

Did similar with the gearbox when I took it out - jammed the bell housing against the bulkhead. Had to drop the cross member and take off the coolant hoses to allow it all to tip back as I couldn't get the gearbox to bellhousing bolts off.

Still leaks 😁

 

[danthecapriman]

Absolutely beautiful car! Well done @Ronkey.

Theres bound to be niggles after such a thorough rebuild, I expect every car that’s been restored has had them. Quite possibly one or two others will show up once you start getting a few miles on the clock. To be expected really. 
Perfect time of year to get it back on the road too.