Practically Classics Forum

kevin wrote:cheers for that skipper.
the only reason i was going to get a paint match rather than just ordering off a paint ref is i am led to believe the shading will be more of a match?
as for the heater, its only ever plugged direct into a wall socket, extension is just for the odd occasion i need to use the grinder etc

kev

Understood. If you just want to do the microblistered bits it might be the best way to go. Those little bleeders have ruined many a nice looking motor!

had some spare time last night and tonight so carried on with he drivers side brakes.
last night i soaked the caliper in the parts washer, then stripped the front hub off, cleaned and repacked the bearings then reassembled the hub and gave it a quick blast of paint (vht etch primer followed by vht black)
tonight, dried the caliper off, stripped the STAINLESS STEEL PISTONS out (how good was that of the previous owner to replace the steel ones for me) removed the seals and replaced them with a fresh set.
removed and cleaned the bleed nipple and fitted a new flexi.
gave i all a coat of etch and vht black and reassembled it onto the hub.
here is a very small bit of surface corrosion to the outside face of the discs but its surface only and they have loads of life in them so will see how tey bed in once used a bit. pads were fine as were the springs and split pins.
copious amounts of brake grease and copper grease (in their relevant places) will keep things working nicely and aid future maintenance.
will finish fitting the flexi and bleed that side on thursday.

Discs look fine, and I expect once you start using it on the road will be fine for quite a while. Seen far worse out there in use!

Agreed. They're perfectly serviceable and don't appear to have seen much action. I can only imagine how gutted you must be to have been, all set for a session of seized caliper piston freeing off only to find that some inconsiderate soul had ruined your fun by fitting fresh ones fairly recently!

Jammy, very jammy.

tonight i finished the drivers front brake. all reassembled with a new flexi and bled through with new fluid. all working fine and dandy
had a quick tidy up and got her out of the garage to turn round. had a nice little tootle up and down the private road which was made all the more enjoyable by having brakes!
so, back in the garage, whipped the passenger front wheel off, cut the flexi and removed the caliper. disk is in great condition as are the pads and hey ho, a set of stainless steel pistons fitted to this one too.
dunked it into the parts washer to soak until tomorrow night.
took a pic to show a crusty caliper



kev

stripped, cleaned, rebuilt (new seals) and painted the last front caliper tonight. stripped the backplate off the hub, blasted it and etch primed it followed with some black colour.
so, just need a spare hour on saturday and that will be the 4 brakes rebuilt inc new flexis.
need a few days off for some garden maintenance so it will be a week or so before i remove the girling remote servo and fit the brand new (genuine) lockheed servo.
i will then flush the brake fluid out again and replace with new (been using new fluid to bleed each wheel as i have rebuilt them) just to make sure all is clean and free from contamination etc.
need to buy 2 more axle stands so i can take all 4 wheels off to ship off to the powder coaters before getting my nice new tyres fitted

kev

had a few days off from the garage but was up bright and early today.
so, coffee in hand i started a few jobs i had planned.
sorted a light weep on the rear flexi brake pipe union and re-bled the brakes. took both rear wheels off and re-adjusted the handbrake, all well it seems.
had a poke around the engine bay for anything obvious that was causing the poor starting. i think it is a mix of needing a good run, some more fresh petrol and as it appears, a fuel pump rebuild.
the pump (ac type) isnt lifting fuel very efficiently it seems. so ive ordered a service kit for the pump and we will strip it and see. its full of the usual crud that builds up over the many years of standing so i can soak it all in some solvent whilst its stripped down.
moved to the rear of the car and took advantage of it being high up on axle stands to strip off the rear bumper and over-riders to clean with solvo autosol and polish with some harley wax.
slowly dechroming the car so i can clean all the paintwork properly and aid with any repainting needed. all the chrome is bubble wrapped and stored in the garage loft for safety, the side trims are wrapped and stored in a section of 4" drain pipe so they wont get bent!.
friday, i went to pick up the paint supplies (cellulose) from colourwerx in stoke, what a great bunch of blokes, very classic friendly and a great deal to boot, ordered a new devilbiss spray gun with set ups to suit the primer and topcoat. getting there now ..

had 4 days away for my son's and my birthday so nothing done at all (will change that situation tomorrow and over the weekend
came home to a few supplies though, an ac fuel pump rebuild kit (to suit unleaded petrol) and 3 new bleed nipples for the brakes. the original nipples fitted are some sort of speed bleeder and whilst they are free enough im not that happy on using them to bleed the system so powertrax have supplied me with some stainless steel items of the normal design. i have some nice covers for the nipples too...oooeeerr.

the first owners widow dropped off a few pictures of the car as taken in 1985, looks like spring summer and was the last year the car was used as it was taken off the road exactly 28 years today which is also my birthday..how coincidental is that!
first 2 pics are of the singer with his wife and the 3rd with his wife and mum gladys..





up early tomorrow to refurb the fuel pump and make a start on fitting the lockheed remote brake servo.

Happy birthday!

Those pictures are fantastic! History like that is worth so much more than the cost of the film. Even back then, that car would have been a pretty rare sight and a very much loved part of the family.

This thread gets better with every fresh post, keep it coming please!

thanks john!

no pics today
stripped the ac fuel pump off today and thats currently soaking before being thoroughly cleaned and rebuilt, hopefully over the weekend.
took the old girling remote servo off and started to get the new (genuine) lockheed remote servo fitted. i want it to look as authentic as possible so im working hard to get the mounting brackets as neat as possible. should get away with using the existing brake pipes as the position and layout of the new servo isnt far different to the old one, bought a pipe bender so i can tweek any angles i need without kinking the pipe.
got a busy day tomorrow so may not get much done until sunday

kev