Work on the Dodge lorry and other motoring stuff (Dec 2005)

Also: Austin 7 'find', Morris Mini traveller

But first, a ride on a steam train..
December started off with a pleasant journey on board a preserved railway, as opposed to in a preserved motorcar for a change. We'd been roaming around and stumbled across the Churnet Valley railway, near Leek in Staffordshire. A peek over the fence showed us a very nicely restored station, with regular trips on a steam train

available. We booked a couple of places on the next trip, and retired to the fab cafe for a swift mug of coffee. The old buildings have been restored and have a very period feel to them, the ticket office was warmed on the day we went by a huge open fire crackling away in the grate. The trip up and down the line itself was enjoyable, although perhaps we'd have had a quieter ride if we'd found this railway earlier in the year, before the Santa Express kicked in for December!!

Who said modern cars are reliable??
Problems on the automotive front reared their head, this time with the Mercedes estate (W124 series).

Usually it is as reliable as anything, until the day we decided to go and choose a Christmas tree from a large choice at a 'cut your own' place 15 miles away. Now, previous years 'er indoors has always been a little disappointed with the Christmas trees we've chosen, so for 2005 we decided to go early in December and get a good 'un. At least that was the plan, until the Merc decided to throw a wobbly en route to the tree place.

After a while of cruising at 40mph or so, I noticed the thing suddenly struggle to accelerate. I pulled over and was greeted with a 6 pot engine running on just a few cylinders. It would drive, just, so I drove it back home, all the while receiving black looks from the passenger seat. Modern cars baffle me, so I knew it'd be a plug in and pray job for the local garage. My early thoughts were that the head gasket had blown, and visions of major surgery and open-wallet surgery loomed ominously. The local garage checked it over the following week, after plugging it into their new diagnostics system, and noted that a coil pack had given up the ghost. This they replaced and the Merc came back home after a week or so out of use. In the meantime the Volvo and A40 Devon had been pressed into service. It seems that swapping the coil packs (I replaced all 3 in the end) cured this gremlin.

A40 Devon pressed into Christmas tree service

While the Mercedes was out of action, I received a number of regular reminders that we were still a Christmas tree down, and that all the best ones 'would be gone by the weekend'. There was nothing else for it but to press one of the classics into action. The plan we hatched was to collect a big tree on the roof of the Devon, protecting the paint with numerous blankets, and roping the lot on. Off we pottered to the tree place, and half an hour was spent comparing various trees, before we returned to the first one we'd seen, paid for it, and tied it securely to the curvy roof of the '49 Austin. The 1200cc engine is used to propelling the Devon at 40mph, so our leisurely return with the tree up top was no bother at all, the tree arriving home safely, with all needles intact.

Collecting the 1960 Mini woodie estate

The Morris Mini traveller was introduced back in November's garage ramblings, and it was in December that the scruffy old thing was retrieved from its garage, home since 1980 I believe. I've no idea what I'll do with it, but the Mini needed saving as the previous owner is planning a housemove to a smaller pad, and there'd be no room for (or willingness to work on) this old woodie. I had noted that there was no drivers door fitted, but was advised that the red door buried under boxes of junk in the car was suitable, so I thought no more about it. That was til I got it back to base, only to find that the spare 'driver side' door was in fact another passenger door!! I was a bit peeved about this - I suppose I should have dug out all the junk to check first, but seeing a glimpse of a door under loads of bits, I assumed it was for the drivers side, supported by the assurances from the vendor. I think I'll try and find a new home for it with a Mini enthusiast. In the meantime, I could do with finding a Mk1 Mini driver's door.

Dodge lorry - festive firing up session

I'd not run the Dodge at all during 2005, and I resolved to hear the mighty 5.4 Mopar straight 6 flathead run again before the year was out. First problem was the battery. I purchased a pair of heavy duty 6 volt batteries, but despite prolonged charging, neither new battery was really able to churn the big old lump over on the starter, even when linking the two together. Previous attempts to get it running had been performed using a 12v battery, and I resigned myself to using a new 12v battery I'd bought for the Merc, to see if I could get the mighty Mopar to turn over sufficiently for a firing up session.

Fortunately there is no wiring in the truck, so just the (12v fitted) coil and starter would be subject to 12v power. A tin of fuel was perched on the o/s chassis, and the battery plugged in. Not much happening. A squirt down each plug hole with a drop of fuel, and the old girl coughed a few times. Repeated churning, swearing and re-charging of the 12v battery ensued. Finally, having achieved both fuel and sparks in the region of each cylinder, the all-iron sidevalve lump roared into life, and settled into a hearty idle.

I'd have liked to leave it running for a while, to get heat around the Dodge engine, but the rapidly growing pool of oil beneath the truck, signalled that something may be amiss.

Oil was being jettisoned in spectacular style from beneath the oil filter housing cover, spraying nice clean engine oil over the chassis, bulkhead, steering box and floor. Bugger. The cork seal under the cover had always been a bit, err, dodgy, so a new-old-stock seal and Mopar filter were popped in, to see if matters improved. When I managed to persuade it to run again, oil still poured down the outside, so I think next thing to do will be to plug in an oil pressure gauge (to make sure the pressure relief valve isn't playing up) and make a new gasket from new, slightly thicker, cork/neoprene mat.

Austin 7 Special

Always being a glutton for inspecting interesting old cars in their long-term hideaways, I tagged along with a couple I know to have a look at a 1937 Austin 7 that needed clearing from a garage. Little was known about the car, so for all we knew it could be a Ruby or tourer, complete or scattered across the floor in pieces. What we actually spied in the 1940s-built garage, was a homebuilt Austin powered 'special'.

In the 50s it was all the rage for enthusiastic, mechanically-minded, motorists to buy a down at heel Ford or Austin, strip the body away, and either fit a replacement sporty bodyshell, or use the running gear and fit it into a home-made chassis, clothed with hand-beaten panelwork. In response to this mushrooming interest, a number of specialist companies were formed, supplying all manner of sexy tuning gear and go-faster goodies to suit the humble Ford or Austin powerplants (some of these 1950s specialists get a mention on the tuning pages. This Austin 7 is tiny, and may have been used for competitive events in the 40s and 50s,

perhaps off-road trials, as it definitely has the feel of a home-grown clubman's road racer about it. The engine has been breathed on, and is fitted with an alloy 'Cambridge' cylinder head, and came with various groovy inlet and exhaust manifolds. The body has been constructed using very basic techniques, and has a great deal of, err, patina, to it, all of which adds to the charm I think.

Only problem is that the footwell area is tiny, and I haven't a hope in hell of persuading my size 10s anywhere near the pedals. It could be modified, but I'd also need to find and fit a remote gearshift, and try and move the backrest further back in the cockpit, if I was to take it on - so sadly, with enough projects to sink the proverbial battleship already, I think I'll have to pass on buying this one from them. I'm told an afternoon with a tin of fuel and a 6v battery got the little Austin running sweetly.

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