It has taken a while but the car is ready for the paint shop. The last 3-4 weeks have been fairly hectic - not all on the car though and that's why it has taken so long since the last post.
Since August I have only done a few minor tasks really, I re-conditioned the choke cable and made an attachment for the cable to fit to the carbs and also looked at fitting the ducting. Good job I did really because there is no way to fit them once the wings are on!
Glad about the choke cable because I was able to re-work it and not have to buy new - a small thing I know but another part that is pre 1960.
Choke cable in place
Today was a day I have been waiting on now for a long time - finally off to the paint shop. They expect 4-6 weeks and I hope to brig some progress updates along the way to the blog.
After a couple of weeks discovering how to remove paint next thing is to attempt to fix the panels on to the car, sorting any issues, alignment before the car goes to the paint shop.
Have started with the front shroud. Before fitting I thought it worth while putting a bit of paint on the underside as it would be impossible from this point onward as the shroud is a one time fix.
Adding the primer around the bonnet flange
After the painting - resting!
That should put a nice edge on the inside edge of the bonnet flange. Fitting the shroud - forgot of course how it was attached - typical but after some goggling I managed to attach it, manly rivets to the bulkhead and screws/bolts elsewhere.
Shroud attached - 3/4 front view
Screws to the bulkhead x 5
Fixings to the inner wing - bolted
Couldn't resist dropping the bonnet on just to see what it looks like!
With the shroud on I really need to fit the wings and doors to find out what and where it all went wrong! and to practice how to fit them because when they get painted I need to know how to do that without damaging the paint. Another weekend followed and the wings/doors are fitted.
Right hand wing installed - no problems
Left hand wing & door fitted - lots of problems!
Fitting the wings was easy - I knew it would be but getting the doors to fit with the wings on, well that isn't as easy. For some reason beyond me the wings decided not to completely bottom out on the A-Posts both sides. The result was that the door gap was, well poor to be honest but after discovering at least 2 techniques to move the wings forward I am thinking that it is almost there with a reasonable gap to between door and wing. The problem is how to fit them when they are painted - going to go talk to the paintshop!
Not that far away from the paintshop now - another few weekends and we should be there - lets see, maybe the next update the car will be moved to the get his new top coat fitted - lets hope so.
After the Beaulieu expedition the next stage can begin and its one that I wasn't looking forward to, although in a way I am because it is getting closer to the painting stage.
How to get the paint off the panels? we thought of a few ways, there was the heat gun - basically burn it off, then there was the chemical attack - using paint stripper, sanding with a grinder/orbital sander and finally scraping. Which then is best?
First up - the chemical attack: Firstly, the weather here in the UK has been very hot, reminiscent of the summer of 1976, yes I can remember that one, which is not very helpful when you have to work hard to remove the paint!, My friend volunteered to start the process on the hottest day of the year so far. How he managed to get anywhere I will never know but attack the front shroud he did. See his efforts below.
Application of paint stripper
More paint stripper
Hard scrapping - lots of mess
End result - ready for final sanding and re-modelling
This all seemed a bit like harder than it should be really and creates lots of nasty chemical debris that you don't want to get every where - and it does. so we tried the heat gun on the boot - not the shrouds as they are alloy!
No pictures here but the heat gun wasn't that successful either - yes it got the paint of but it was slow and the panel very hot. Also there was some funny paint beneath the top coat that had the occasion to set fire!
Sanding with the angle grinder is very noisy of-course, works yes but not too happy using it for the whole of the panel areas - it too creates lots of dust.
Scraping then, without the application of the paint stripper seemed to be the quickest way forward, with the angle grinder in difficult places. Final surface sanding with the orbital sander after scrapping - the results then. .
The bonnet - first few minutes of plain scraping
After about 30-40 minutes
Wings half scraped
Finished wing - coated in metal prep to stop rust forming
Boot lid
All panels scrapped and ready for fitment work starting next weekend - looking forward to that because apart from progressing on to the next step, scrapping panels clear of paint isn't my idea of fun!
A reminder, when I purchased this Austin Healey 100-6 whilst in the pub on Christmas day 2016 it had a rather shabby but non the less original hardtop. Original items can often be sort after and whilst it was shabby it definitely, in my view at least, added to the car purchase. Having stayed with the car for all these years and travelled half way around the world it was a shame that it did not make it up the A34 from Southampton!
The transport company, however incompetent the driver was, was however honourable and agreed to replace it. I guess they were not expecting the near £6000 price tag to replace something made to the original design but that was what they did.
The settlement having been over a year ago, I finally got to the point where we could go and collect it from Nical Engineering in Beaulieu. So has taken 2 days to sort but here are some images.
Clint with his roof - when purchased!
Arrival at Nical
Initial look see - bad news - B post bracket had to be "Trimmed"
The 2 young lads at Nical - good to see some youth starting out in the trade
Rear screen to do - looking towards the workshop, out of the sun
The full team - the screen will fit!
Left Rear
Right Rear
All done - ready to come home
Wasn't all work, at least for us . . . . well when your at the seaside
So after getting the engine to work without leaking oil, I guess there will always be some oil lost, but at least not gushing time to move to the next step but a massive step forward.
When I first got the car back in March 2018 it arrived minus the roof which had been with the car its whole life yet didn't make Southampton to Leicestershire - a disappointing day. But I did negotiate a deal and am due to go to fetch my new roof very shortly. But before I can do that I have to get the car ready which meant that I needed some of the panels and windscreen fitted.
A transformation is made once you start putting the skin back on, albeit short-term.
The front end
Inside view
Side on
Rear view
Front View
Having put all these parts on I couldn't resist a quick opportunity to take a first drive, a very short one but drive just the same.
Next post we will have a new roof and a road trip to Beaulieu!
At the end of my last post I was almost at crank it day but didn't quite make it and left the blog in the lurch. Well the next opportunity came just a few days later and crank it I did! Now I did take a video of it, to mark the occasion, while it was running and here it is although not the best.
Whilst congratulating ourselves I notice the pool of oil beneath the bell housing. . . . . a happy end to a long day then - don't think so. Sleep on it and you never know the leak will go away wont it?? Er - No actually it wont. Disappointing then as the engine didn't leak before so what have I done then??
I am confident that it wasn't the crank scroll seal but everything points to that so the engine had to come out again.
Engine back out of the car, gearbox removed
I am told by one of my suppliers to fit a lip seal to the rear of the crank regardless of what I find as it will leak!! Well, after removing the flywheel I could not find any evidence at the back of the engine of any oil leak - really confusing as this wasn't just a drip!
At any rate I took the advice and went for the lip seal installation and purchased a kit. The 1st stage of installation is to drill and tap the rear face of the block using the flywheel fixing holes in the crankshaft flange as a drilling guide.
Tapping out the M5 threads in the rear face after drilling 10mm deep holes
Then we fit the seal and seal housings.
View of the lip seal in place
With the seal housing in place
Next there was the cutting of the engine rear plate as the new seal housing is now in clash with it - an angle grinder is a wonderful tool and 20 minutes later I have the back plate cut and in place.
Back plate fitted post cutting to clear the new seal housing
Then the flywheel and my home made clutch aligning tool get to work.
Flywheel fitted awaiting the clutch
Gearbox re-fitted and ready for re-integration to the car
Lets hope that the modification works as I am told but still that niggling feeling that this isn't the oil leak but at least a good insurance policy if nothing else.
Whilst looking for the leak I came across another that I hadn't spotted. It would seem that there is a blanking plate covering a hole in the block - this looks like a fuel lift pump hole to me yet there doesn't appear to be one on these engines - at least no gasket. The Weetabix box took the hit and donated a gasket to the cause!
Fuel pump blanking plate
Crank it day 2 approaching fast, refit the engine and re-connect it. Worth the wait and then, yes you guessed it oil leaking. However, this time the leak is clear to see an it isn't from the crank, rather the oil gauge feed pipe connected to the engine. This pipe was the original and is a shielded pipe and I think the rubber hose within had perished and cracked. Not having access to a new part I have just made one.
A big day then approaches, get the dash wired up and, the fuel tank in and the battery connected its crank it day right?
So early on the bank holiday Monday I started with the dash. Expectation - trouble but electrics on these cars are a reasonably simple thing, there are no computer signals, messages or electronics to deal with so just a case of connect all the wires. Previous experience and the schematic go most of the distance!
In action on the last restoration - a 1960 Austin Healey "Ashley" Sprite
The 100-6 dash about complete, less the oil and water gauge and the Schematic!
Dash installed, oil & water gauge fitted and ready to crank!
There was a moment - when I went to fit the oil gauge. I could not find the connecting pipe to the engine - that garage thief again. Searched high & low and gave up frankly so we just plodded on and then as we fitted the dash there was the pipe in the box I had laid the dash on top of. That was about an hour we lost. Clearly this is all not my fault!!
So fuel tank in, check, battery in, check. . . .
Battery & Fuel Tank - No room in there for anything else!
Best crank it then?? Commissioning plan and checks complete?? No just switch it on! Well that all went well - fuel pump on, fuel gauge on, ignition on all looking good. Plugs in a quick fiddle with the leads and fire up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Post 27: Dash Panel, Throttle Linkage & Clutch Cylinder
Decided to get the carburettors on the engine this weekend, well last weekend actually. These carbs only just fit on these cars - to be frank - IF I was designing it there would have to be a larger gap to the body and access to tighten the fixings - but as I didn't it is hard to fit without scuffing the paint a little!
I just cant believe thought that the throttle linkage levers off the bulkhead - this is just crazy but there it is! I didn't have the right dash bung for some reason - I am of the opinion that, other than the rat, there is something in my garage that hides parts because the amount of time I am spending searching for clip and stuff is really frustrating - so I manufactured a bearing to do the job - will see how it goes and if it doesn't work I will swap it for a new part.
Bulkhead bearing for throttle lever
Carburettors installed - waiting on fuel connection
Next bit of work was the exhaust heat shield. Now I have been looking for this part for months, that garage thief again, I can remember having it in my hand around Christmas when I fitted the other heat shields and I put it safe so that it wouldn't get broken as it was delicate - I have never seen it since to be honest and resorted to buying anew one - I am expecting it to turn up soon now that I have fitted the new one. You cant see it however on the car as it is now covered by the exhaust - you can see that!
Underside image - exhaust installed - heat shield just visible
To fit the shield I first had to fit the seat runner for the left side. Well rusty but a work of art and about a dozen holes drilled later the seat rails and heat shield were fitted.
Seat rails in place
Also repaired the clutch slave cylinder. Nothing on this car is easy - having fitted new seals etc and then refitted the cylinder it was clear that the lever rod just wasn't long enough. This is worrying - I am sure that the clutch internals are correct, the arm is sitting in what looks like the correct place but the rod is short. Having checked the parts available it looks like there is a longer rod - I don't know why it doesn't fit but have increased its length for now - guess it might bight back later. . .
Clutch slave and offending rod
The dashboard then. I had it in mind to paint this blue as the earlier cars but based on comment have changed my mind and had it covered. We spent about an hour fiddling with the new dash on the car, drilling fixing holes etc and then moved to the kitchen table to fit the gauges.
Every plan seems to go wrong - seems that the holes in the dash are un-finished because most needed filing. The main large gauges fitted but nothing else and the dremel had to come out, anyway after another hour we have some gauges and then stuck it on the car.
