Restoration & maintenance work for May 2005

Standard gets fresh oil and E83W panelwork progress continues

Standard gets a fresh dose of XL30
With the Standard freshly greased and MOT'd for the year ahead, the only remaining 'must do' thing on the list was an oil change. A sunny afternoon was chosen, and the might of its 948cc engine swiftly pulled it up onto suitably period wooden ramps. This was after a run around the local lanes to warm the oil up a bit, in order to make draining it off more effective. Up til now I'd always used a decent quality 20/50 oil in it, but this time, in a moment of rare exuberance, I splashed out on a (retro styled) tin of Classic Castrol oil, XL30 monograde variety. The theory being that this is what is listed in the Standard-Triumph handbook, so can't do any harm to try.

The oil change went without a hitch, and the black old 20/50 was soon consigned to my 'old oil' gerry can. It had only done <1000 miles in the last 12 months or so, but was quite black, probably as a result of doing lots of short local journeys, and stop start movements around the drive from time to time. Anyway, with the sump plug back in place (I knew someone who overlooked this small detail once, resulting in 5 litres of 20/50 taking a short journey through the engine and straight out the bottom again) the engine was topped back up with fresh 30 grade lube.

Back in the 1970s, a previous owner of my (now sold) Mk3 Spitfire, used to take great delight in 'economising' wherever possible in his motoring expenditure. He would routinely change his engine oil, as a keen motorist should do, the problem was that the lubricant he'd be pouring in (probably to replace oil that had burnt off in the worn engine) was not the freshest that was available. He'd put the word out among work colleagues that an oil change/top-up was on the cards, and they'd all donate their used engine oil to his garage. He'd then take this oil, run it through some old tights, and pour it into the suffering engine in the Triumph. So I doubt that engine ever ran particularly low on oil, as there was a healthy supply of already worn out lube to pour in to get the levels back up. The rest of the car reflected his indifference to proper regular maintenance, and by the time I got hold of it in 1985 it was in a dreadful state. I managed to get the old girl back on the road, and sold it in 1992. News is that a full rebuild by its new owner has recently been completed, so, against all the odds, this little Triumph soldiers on well into the 21st century. To look at it 20 years ago, it already had 3 wheels in the scrapyard. But amazingly it is still around and fighting fit.

The engine in the Standard 10, a close relative to the Spitfire engine, sounds a little quieter now that its running XL30, whether its just an illusion or not I don't know. The oil pressure has never been super fabulous anyway, despite a previous owner doing a 'rebuild' to it only a few thousand miles ago. Time will tell, I have a spare recon engine 'in stock' so if it does ever expire, it won't be the end of the world.

Kelsall Vintage show
The following weekend, dad and I toddled over to a local classic car show in the Standard, and it drove there and back without a hitch, despite the weather on the return trip resembling a monsoon. This little steam & vintage show, in Kelsall nr Chester, is a very enjoyable event, and has a good mix of older trucks, cars, motorcycles and tractors, plus a healthy contingent of steamers always makes the effort to attend. Last year I took the Wolseley 16/60, with the Standard providing transportation the year before, in 2003. Kelsall photos are now here.

Oulton Park and Smallwood Vintage show
Other shows visited in May were the Classic & Jaguar raceday at Oulton Park, and a vintage rally similar to Kelsall held at Smallwood, in Cheshire. The Oulton race day was very enjoyable, the weather being fantastic throughout. A number of races took place during the day, including several Jaguar races, sports and saloon cars, and the Michelin Porsche Club championship (Oulton photos here). All in all a jolly fine day. The vintage vehicle meeting at Smallwood, a 3 day-er, was also very entertaining, in a laid-back, mooch around kind of way. We just went on the final day, bank holiday Monday, by which time I suspect some of the exhibitors had already set sail for home after the Saturday & Sunday, but there were still plenty of interesting machines to look at. I've never owned an old bike, but a tasty early 1950s Matchless really caught my eye. A vintage 2 wheeled machine would be most welcome on display in my living room, but I fear that opposition from the guv'nor may preclude this particular idea for interior decoration. Ah well.

Further work done on the E83W pickup
Work on getting my little green Ford Thames pickup on to the road is continuing, following on from last months successful test run up the drive following its clutch and transmission overhaul. So far I've prepped and repainted (good old brushed enamel) the passengers front wing, and refurb'd a replacement grille to replace the slightly bent original. I've also sourced a better drivers front wing to go on the truck, the original being full of filler and patched repairs. The extent of the plating on the old wing has virtually doubled its weight over that of a standard Ford panel, so if nothing else fitting a better unrepaired wing will help the E83W with its very lethargic acceleration. Perhaps I'd better go on a diet to further improve its 'get up and go', hmmmmm. One original lamp, and a better replacement for the drivers side, have both been refurbished as necessary too. There are some parts that I'd like to source for my E83W, including a better screen frame, so if you know of any spares out there suitable for the '38-'57 10cwt range, please let me know. Early versions were known as the Fordson 10cwt, whereas later '50s examples were produced with Thames badging. The basic vehicle however changed very little throughout the course of production.

Llangollen Motor Museum visit
One recent new addition to oldclassiccar is a museum guide, the idea being to list basic information on car collections up and down the UK, and overseas. This was prompted by a run out we took a week or so back around the leafy lanes of North Wales, a trip we make every now and then, including the very scenic Horseshoe Pass out of Llangollen. While driving through the aforementioned Welsh town, I spotted a sign advising that the local classic car museum was open. I last visited this collection in the early 1990s, so it seemed an ideal opportunity to stick my head around the door and see what was there. Based, if memory serves, in an old mill building, this museum contains a varied selection of vintage and post-vintage motorcars, pedal cars, automobilia and related paraphenalia. If you're in the area, and are interested in such matters, I recommend popping in. I can't remember offhand the days of the week that it opens, but the Llangollen Motor Museum website contains this information (see the museums guide from the oldclassiccar homepage).