Restoration work continues

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Work carries on with the Standard 8 engine and the Ford pickups bodywork

Standard 8 engine fettling

As the weather was jolly pleasant early in the month, I decided to spend one leisurely Saturday seeing if the engine in my recently purchased Standard 8 could be persuaded to run. A peek under the bonnet suggested that everything was in place, albeit of unknown condition and vintage. A re-charged battery was brought from the garage, and a sizeable tin of fuel sourced. Having established that there was oil in the sump, and that the engine was not seized, a tentative attempt was made to connect up the battery. No plumes of smouldering wiring resulted, so the button on the starter solenoid was given a prod and the engine span over merrily. Sadly the ignition key had long since disappeared for the Standard, so the switch was replaced with a flick switch for the purposes of experiment.

With the ignition on, a healthy spark was visible across the points, and was snaking its way successfully to the spark plugs themselves. I cleaned out the fuel filter on the pump, and attempted to fire up the engine. The fuel in the tank was of unknown age, and as modern fuels seem to go 'off' much quicker than good old (proper) 4 star, I didn't hold out much hope of combustion. Several churnings of the engine later and the plugs were getting wet, but nothing else was happening. There was nothing else for it, so I pulled off the fuel pipe to the pump, and drained off the cruddy old fuel from the tank (question - how now to dispose of old petrol?? will probably use it for cleaning oily components I suppose). Fresh unleaded was poured in, and primed up to the pump.

Many more churnings of the starter ensued, and the little 803cc engine gainly coughed and spluttered but still refused to fire. While scratching my by-now oily chin, it seemed wise to check on the firing order, and the order of plug leads. Perhaps unsurprisingly it turned out that leads 1 & 2 were in the wrong order, so that minor problem was rectified.

A few more churns on the (several times) recharged battery, and with a healthy cough the little all-iron engine fired into life, settling on a perfect tickover. I half expected some unpleasant mechanical noises, or at least a billowing cloud of smoke after all this churning and years of inactivity, but no. It ran very sweetly, no noise or smoke.

The next temptation was to see if it'd drive, so hopping in quickly before it had chance to expire, an attempt at clutch disengagement, and gear selection, was made. Huzzzah! everything seemed to be in order here too, so, with rising anticipation, a gentle drive up the garden was initiated. A few test runs across the lawn and all seemed well, the engine emitting a healthy purr from the side-exiting exhaust. The brakes were u/s as expected, but the sound of the smooth engine was very gratifying. I'm still not sure what to do with this car, I am having thoughts about buying back my old green 122S Volvo, which has been fully restored by its current owner, so the Standards may have to go to make some room, we'll see.

The old MX5 sells
With the purchase of a replacement Mazda in June, I was keen to see the old MX5 sold on as soon as possible. One option was eBay, although this can attract lots of tyre kickers. Given that the weather was quite sunny, and that we live on a well used road, there didn't seem to be anything to lose by placing a huge For Sale sign in the windscreen, and park it up on the entrance to the drive. Interest in the car was very encouraging, and after just two days, and several viewings, the Mazda went to a new home.

The E83W weld-a-thon continues

This has been going on for some time now, partly because the rear corner is a tricky little blighter to reconstruct, and partly because welding isn't exactly a favourite pastime of mine, hence usually gets pushed back behind other jobs. The idea with this Ford pickup is to get it presentable and usable, I think bringing it up to show quality would be a lengthy and drawn out process plus, with some other E83Ws in pieces, the last thing I need is another one in bits. So, the plan all along has been to get things solid and essentially rust free, repaint it using a tin of enamel and decent brush (just like many old commercials were done in their day) and actually use it. The rear corner had been stuffed with filler long before I bought this truck (1992), so it was long overdue a proper repair, which I've been gradually seeing to. The other corner needs a little TLC too, so I've got that to look forward to once I've finished the passenger side. Woohoo.

Triumph 7
News of an early thirties Triumph Seven has recently emerged, needless to say its at the other end of the country, but it sounds like an unusual little car. Condition is very hard to tell, I've seen one small photo of it, just visible in an old car port. The car is still in the ownership of the gent that bought it new in '32 and I'm told he may sell. It hasn't been on the road for decades so quite what state it is in is hard to say.

Ford Model Y

Talking of 1930s cars, I recently agreed to buy the sorry remains of an early 30s Y-Type Ford 8. Condition is just about the worst I've ever seen outside of a scrapyard, but some parts should be rescuable from it. The lower 2' of the body has all but disintegrated, and the top section of the cabin is perched precariously on the top of the chassis, with the scuttle, wings and bonnet equally dilapidated. With a bit of luck the chassis will be ok underneath the 100% shot coachwork, as hopefully with be some of the mechanicals such as engine and axles.

Pickings will be slim, but if some parts can be rescued its better than them ending up in a landfill site somewhere.

Audlem Festival of Transport

The month ended with a trip to a local vintage run & transport show. I entered the Standard 10 a few months ago, so was looking forward to taking part in a leisurely run around the lanes in convoy with lots of other elderly motorcars.

Vehicles started gathering on a village green opposite a pub at 10am, with a varied mix of makes and models appearing, ranging from an early veteran Delahaye, through cars of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, to a few moderns from the mid 1980s. Most of the turnout was cars, although there were some old lorries, a coach or two, and a few tractors for good measure. Following an essential sausage buttie from the pub, the road run kicked off at 12.30, and saw a continual stream of cars take to the (temporarily) closed road, cruising at a leisurely pace towards Audlem itself.

The pace was steady, enabling lots of the local villagers to have a good look and wave at the passing cars. The end of the road run was a field near the village itself, and all the cars were efficiently directed into the compact parking area where a collection of classic motorcycles had already assembled. This is the first time I've done this show, and it was a very enjoyable and laid-back affair, so with a bit of luck I hope to take part again next year. Photos of this Audlem show can be seen here.

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