Some interesting 'barn finds' plus garage progress on the Ford, Volvo & A40

Volvo, Mini, Ford, Triumph and Austin

10cwt Ford pickup refurbishment continues...
With the back end of the 10cwt Thames pickup looking more ship-shape, it was the turn of the front to receive some TLC.

As this involved turning it around to work on the cab, it seemed like a good opportunity to give it a test run (or five) up and down the drive. Since swapping the gearbox the old problems I'd had, of severe shaking and vibration from the transmission, have been cured. I didn't want the new clutch to start seizing so the opportunity to run the truck backwards and forwards, and get some heat through everything, can only have done good. The cab isn't in too bad a condition, but I'd known for a while that the section of vinyl in the roof would need removing, to reveal any rot in the corners of the recessed area, into which the seal is pressed.

Needless to say the news wasn't brilliant, and it was time to blow the dust off the Clarke Mig welder once more. I had to chop out a section of the channelling, at the lowermost corner above the passenger door, and make up a repair. It was extremely fiddly to get in with the welder, and a pro would die of laughter at my repairs, but they are good enough for me and have made the area solid once again. With this done, a few more localised areas to repair should see the cab ready for paint, assuming I can stop condensation dripping down from the garage roof ....

Marshalling on the Rally of the Tests car rally
The Rally of the Tests historic rally takes part in November, and this year was set to have a stop-over at a local (former) nuclear bunker between competitive stages. The day dawned crisp and bright, so it was out of the garage with the Devon, and a leisurely trundle over to spectate and get some photographs. I was the first spectator there, so had a little while to hang around before the first of the rally cars came through. Perhaps the organisers were short staffed, but another fella and I ended up as marshalls, guiding the tuned machines into and out of the car park, endeavouring to avoid any speedy competition car coming face to face with members of the public. All in all it went well, and I even managed to get some photos despite having to keep half and eye out for new arrivals. Photos of the classic rallycars running in the Rally of the Tests, can be found here.

Tappet adjustment on the 1200cc Austin, plus needle valves replaced in the Volvo twin SU carbs
Despite the weather getting decidedly frosty, some useful stuff got done in the garage to both the Devon and the Amazon. I'd always been a bit doubtful of the tappet settings on the Devon, its 1200cc pre-B series engine sounding a little rattly at times from the top(ish). A session with the 'rule of 9' and some imperial feeler gauges (15thou hot or cold) has improved things, as before most of the gaps seemed very tight if anything. There is still a slight chatter, so perhaps the timing chain is a little slacker than it should be. There is some debate over whether the A40 saloons had a tensioner or not, or whether it was just the commercial variant that had this luxury. As yet I'm still not sure!

The really annoying thing about the onset of winter isn't just the fact that its jolly chilly out there, is the joyful appearance of salty grit all over the roads. Be driving along when one of the *&*%'@ gritters is coming the other way, and you get a free grit blasting as you drive by. If that wasn't bad enough, the stuff they are laying down will swiftly invite corrosion to the underside of any car, classic or otherwise. A regular washing of the bodywork and jet wash underneath can help (although jetwashes often force water into nooks and crannies that it otherwise may not reach), but salty roads and classics really dont mix too well. Apart from the occasional trip out when the roads are clean, the Devon and the Amazon will probably spend most of the winter tucked away in the garage now. There are a few small jobs that I'd like to get done on them anyway, so nows a good time I suppose.

Something that I've been meaning to do on the Volvo, I finally got around to mid November, and that was replacing the needle valves in the twin SU carburettors. Lately the forward carb had decided to leak fuel from the carb nearest the radiator, a sure sign of either a punctured float or sticking needle valves (the little valves that are fitted inside the float chamber cover). I'd had similar problems many moons ago with my first Spitfire, so I was pretty sure that the valves would need replacing.
Two sets were ordered from Burlen (no point just replacing the one needle really), and they arrived a short time later. Somehow I managed to pick the coldest day of the year to swap the needles, but it didn't take long to do, once I'd persuaded the pin holding the float in place to come out. It was a little corroded and took some gentle jiggling to free up. Touch wood the flooding carb issue has been fixed, and the worrying drips of fuel over the exhaust manifold have disappeared altogether (!).

1932 Triumph 'barn find'

Late in the month I arranged to go and look at a pre-war Triumph that I'd heard about earlier in the year. So it was out with a packed lunch, camera, map, directions and a hot drink, and a 3hr30 drive to the secret location of this little car. Tucked away in an open fronted shed, surrounded by bits of old wood and bicycle frames, was the little 7hp car. Built in 1932, it has been in the same family from new. It last saw the road in 1956, and was driven into this shelter, where it has remained ever since. Extricating it will be an interesting challenge, as first off the brakes and steering will need freeing off. Then a tractor will have to be found, to carefully drag the car past a hedge, down a boggy field, across a small brook, through some woodland, up a bridlepath, and onto solid ground. This really will be a job for the better weather, so plan is to return in the Spring and make moves to get the car mobile.

The condition of the car is fairly desperate, especially the ash framework that has certainly suffered - particularly where the A posts once were (!). Whether it is saveable is open to some question, but I'll do my best to make sure it gets rescued. The aluminium 4 door outer coachwork is in reasonable order given the poor conditions it has put up with. The bonnet and four wings are steel, but should be rescuable if treated to a gentle blasting. The tiny engine still turns on the starting handle, and the car is more or less complete, apart from the radiator cap that was swiped years ago. Amazingly the original tax disc from 1935 has survived, and I was given this by the current owner, whose parents had bought the car back in '32.

1960 Mk1 Mini woodie estate car
Also this month I got to hear about an early Morris Mini Countryman, the little Mini-based estate car with the wood nailed onto it. The car in question, which hasn't set wheel outside of a garage since the early 80s, is a 1960 model with the floor starter. The Mk1 Mini woodie only came out in March 1960, so this example must be one of the earliest survivors - further investigations will be required. Its another car that is more or less complete, and saveable. First impressions weren't brilliant, with the car covered in dust and full of miscellaneous garage stuff, but a lengthy check suggested that most of the key points on this Mini's structure were in reasonable nick. The main areas to check on any restoration-project Mini are: subframes and mounting points, sills, floors, front wings and, in this case, condition of the woodwork. The sills will need replacing, and some metalwork will be required on the A posts and the front wings. Importantly most of the wood looks to be ok, only the lower bit on the rear doors looking like they'll fall off quite easily. Chances are the car will be collected in the near future, and a decision made about what a restoration would entail, once it is emptied of stuff and up on jacks for inspection.

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