Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[norustplease]

The sun came out!
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[Ray White]

You have a good one there!

[Rick]

Two tone paint schemes really work well on those Austins, not something that can always be levelled at many other cars of the era.

RJ
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Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
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[norustplease]

Out and about in the sunshine yesterday.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[Ray White]

That looks very nice.

[norustplease]

Hadn't been very far to date with the Austin, 20 mile round trip max, so decided to be brave and tagged along with the monthly mid week run with Preston and District VCC.
The navigated part was around 30 miles, but by the time that we had driven to the start and back from the finish, it was more like 60 miles.
So, a good shakedown run.
Everything went fine, no overheating and oil pressure up to the mark in spite of its being quite a hot day, but I started to get a hint of a slight hesitation and misfire in the last few miles, and the car finally expired about three quarters of a mile from home, fortunately on a wideish and straight bit of road with a pavement.
A quick look under the bonnet didn't reveal anything, and so I walked home, thinking that I would have a think and then call the RAC if nothing suggested itself.
It occured to me as I sat at home, that this might be an ignition coil issue, tickover had gone lumpy as well as the hesitation, and I had been stuck in a couple of queues at roadwork traffic lights. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to touch the coil whilst inspecting previously.
I left the car for about 40 minutes, had a cup of tea and then returned. The coil was still very warm and felt slightly oily. However the car started and I drove it home.
Removing the coil showed it to have oil on the end cap, so I assume that it had overheated and then gone open circuit and failed to deliver any sparks.
So a new coil is on the way.
I am ashamed to say that, put off by the relatively inaccessible location of the BMC B Series distributor, I have never actually taken the cap off, believing that old maxim, 'don't fix what ain't broke'.
However, having pulled things to pieces locally, I disconnected everything and unclipped it to give it a clean, and lo and behold, we have electronic ignition, something like one of the Accuspark Stealth setups which substitutes a magnetic switch for the points.
Picking the coil up and inverting it briefly produced a fairly major oil leak from the central terminal, which rather confirms the diagnosis. I have ordered one of the Viper type of resin filled coils, so hopefully this will be a fix. The coil is in rather a warm location, sat on top of the dynamo and quite close to the radiator, engine block etc. I may experiment with a more remote location. I will keep you posted.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[Rick]

Sounds similar to the mither I had with the 4CV in my recent video, the rotor arm was the principle culprit in my case. Fitted a new one and it fired right up, and kept running, re-fit the old one (which looked fine) and it wouldn't start at all.

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[alastairq]

Re-the rotor arm?

I noted it was a 'black' rotor arm in the Renault?

I do wonder whether the arm was a 'recent' addition, rather than one from 'back-in-the-day?'
As Distributor Doctor goes to great lengths to explain, many modern rotor arms , coloured black, to look like the originals, were made in China to order...but the Chinese used a lot of carbon in the plaggy mix, to colour them.

{ In all fairness, the factories wouldn't know, or give a damn, for what purpose these plastic bits were to be used]
Does DD sell his own production in the style suitable for the Renault?
Indeed, maybe that would be a solution for the Austin as well?

Personally, I'd replace any rotor arm with one of Distributor Doctor's own manufactured, red, arms, regardless.

Then at least I'd know the provenance of the new bits I'm fitting?

This 'questionable' quality of new, but basic components was one reason for my preference for modern Hall Effect replacements for CB points.

{That, and ignition timing consistency}

Maybe it's the same issue for modern coils? [Quality of construction]

Oil-filled coils present a problem. I try to always mount my coils in a vertical position, lead side up. For no other reason than the oil level isn't on a slope?
I have about 20 spare coils, in a box...some have resistors, some don't. some probably made by Lucas, some by PAL, some by the likes of Ducellier!
I have no idea how to tell what to use to sort one from t'uther...and whether any would be in working order?
Few have any sort of labelling left on....
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Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
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Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[peter scott]

Not terribly important, I know but I suspect that failures that recover when cooled down are more likely due to short circuiting rather than open circuiting.

Peter
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[petelang]

Alastair.
All old Lucas coils will have part number and a date code stamped on the bottom.
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Daimler Fifteen 1934
Armstrong Siddeley 15 Long 1933
Daimler V8 250 1969

[alastairq]

[norustplease]

Getting a good healthy spark now, and for good measure I have stripped down the Zenith carb whilst the car has been off the road and am waiting for a rebuild kit from Burlen. As with most of these downdraft types from the fifties there are a mass of jets and drillings as well as a diaphragm in the economy device. I haven't found it particularly dirty inside , but the piston on the accelerator pump was sticking and the diaphragm looks a bit tired. Hopefully the kit will be arriving tomorrow and I can rebuild and get back on the road
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[Ray White]

[Rootes75]

Just looking through the pictures of the Austin, I really think that's a nice looking car. The two tone suits this model really well and I think its also the actual colours involved.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[bjacko]

Diaphragms are prone to cracking after a long time expanding and cracking due to metal fatigue. Check it with a magnifying glass carefully.
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1938 Morris 8 Ser II Coupe Utility (Pickup)
1985 Rover SD1 VDP