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Austin A40 Devon pickup
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Busy day today. Drove down to Rustngton to collect my wheels that had been zinc'd and powder coated.
When I got home I was pleased to see that the nice man had delivered my new Avon tyres.
This means that I can finally get rid of the "monster truck " wheels that are fitted.
Took the wheels and tyres to the tyre place for tehm to fit, where it turned out that the modern valves on the new inner tubes were too small for the wheels and required a reducing bush (maybe thats an enlarging bush) which the the shop didnt have .
Im too impatient to wait for that sort of thing so went home and fired up the lathe and knocked some up from black acetal rod.
went back and left the wheels with them then went back an hour later to collect.
I wanted them to fit the wheels but they were busy so I went home and fitted them myself.
Its been raining most of the day and ive been in and out of the truck which means that the carpet and all my clothes were a bit damp. I wanted to go for a test drive but the windows keep fogging up making it impossible to drive safely.
Next job to do should be to get a demister fitted and working.








Last edited by Miken on Wed Oct 28, 2020 8:56 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This shows where the old tyres have been rubbing.
Hopefully the new wheels will improve matters


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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The rain stopped yesterday evening and because more rain was forecast today I went out in the truck last night at 10.00pm for an hour because I put it away wet and I wanted to dry it out.
Thats what I told my wife, but of course I really wanted to try out my new wheels.
The first thing i noticed was that with new round tyres, the steering wheel oscillations had disappeared.
Steering and maneuvering at low speed was heavy but now much lighter.
My speedo now displays an accurate speed when compared to my satnav, I forgot to check the odometer but thats going to be better too im sure.
A long steep hill that I normally ascend in 3rd gear was climbed in 4th.
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2020 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It finally stopped raining last evening so I went out for another nocturnal tootle around the Sussex countryside for a couple of hours.
After a while I realised that with my new smaller wheels my brakes are now noticeably more efficient.
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2020 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A win all round then eh!? There's something very satisfying about having a brand new set of tyres on a car I find.

RJ
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I fabricated a new clutch actuator rod in Stainless steel to replace the worn out rusty original item.
Just noticed that the chassis looks really rusty in the pic. Its actually in very good condition but I sprayed it with thick brown protective waxy gloop which makes it look rusty.

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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 8:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ive spent a very satisfying t last few days.
I had a couple of small holes in the bottom rear corners, both side of the cab so I have cut them off and tig welded in some new corners that I fabricated.
After sanding off the welds I surprised myself with how well the lead loading went considering it was on a vertical surface.
A bit of filing with the dreadnought file and they hardly need any more work.
Unfortunately Im not clever enough to get a butt welded "metal" finish like the pro's with no added lead or filler.
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6283
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are using a Tig welder. Is there an advantage over using a Mig welder?
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Probably not Ray.
I think body shops all use mig, They are probably quicker and easier to use than a tig but I don't own one.
Tig is nice when you are sitting comfortably (preferably in a chair) at a bench joining metal. You can get you head up close to observe what's going on and manouvere the torch accurately. This is difficult lying on my back under a car in my tiny garage.
Tig is also pretty hopeless outside in any sort of wind.
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The other day I had the the float bowl off my carb and I noticed a fair bit of sediment in the bottom.
I decided to have a look in the mechanical fuel pump on the side of the engine and was rather alarmed to discover that the top chamber was almost completely full of muck from the fuel tank even though Ive had the tank off and thought I had got it clean. I certainly got loads of flaky old crap out.
Last time I looked in there was about 7 months ago. Ive since done just over 3000 miles.
So, while the epoxy primer on my welded repairs was hardening (it takes a while) I decided to fit a fuel filter to protect the carb. I will sort out the fuel tank later.
After reading about Vulgalours problem with a stripped thread on his Lanchester, which has the same carb as my Austin, I decided to make up an alloy fitting for the banjo bolt to screw into to save wear on the thread on the carb. See second pic.


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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6283
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now THAT is a neat idea. Well done.!
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My truck has a rod that stretches from just in front of the front bulkhead to the back axle that actuates the hand brake.
On mine the end of the threaded portion had been sawn off for some reason and the adjusting nut was right on the very end.
This gave me an excuse to fabricate a new rod from my favourite metal, stainless steel. While i was at it I made a new swinging link with clevis pins as the old one was a bit ratty too. S/S split pins to finish the job.



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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6283
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It keeps getting better and better!
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2021 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very nice work!
Miken wrote:
my favourite metal, stainless steel.

For these applications it may work well.
However my pet hate using SS bolts and screws is that they have the tendency to snap quite early. At least it is much easier to break SS compared to mild steel.
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2021 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

badhuis wrote:
Very nice work!
Miken wrote:
my favourite metal, stainless steel.

For these applications it may work well.
However my pet hate using SS bolts and screws is that they have the tendency to snap quite early. At least it is much easier to break SS compared to mild steel.


I'm surprised to hear that.
Over the years I've used countless stainless nuts and bolts on various motorbikes I've owned. I've made loads of wheel spindles, girder fork spindles engine/gearbox mounting studs and brake rods for myself and friends old bikes and never had any problems.
Although I draw the line at cylinder head studs!
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