Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[roverdriver]

My wife and I tend to give some of our cars names. Our recently acquired 1950 Rover 75 has the center headlamp of the marque, and these cars are often referred to as the 'Cyclops' model. Polythemeus was the cyclops in The Iliad, so the 75 has been dubbed 'Polly'.

The Rover P4 Driver's Guild was holding an event at Kyabram, a bit over 340 K's (210 miles) from us, and it would be the first opportunity for us to attend an event by the Guild. Preparations were made for setting off at 7.30 on Friday morning. The car was clean and polished.



The boot was packed.



And so we set off. Polly ran well, then, about 20 minutes from home, as a truck passed us there was an unexpected 'bang'. I checked gauges, and saw that the water temperature was rising alarmingly. By the time I was able to bring Polly to a halt the radiator was boiling.

An under-bonnet check revealed that the fan belt had broken. Fortunately we have become members of the RACV, so called them. After some wait, a car arrived, and after an explanation the driver set off in search of a replacement belt for us. A while later he telephoned to say that he could not get one, and was dispatching a truck to take us home.



So Polly was duly loaded, and home we went, with my wife and myself feeling not to happy about the car's behavior for the morning.



Once unloaded, and driven carefully to the house, I set off in another car to buy a new fan belt. Returned home, and started the fitting thereof. For those not familiar with the Rover P4, this is not an easy task. First one has to remove the oil-bath air cleaner, and then work in a very confined space to release the generator bracket. It was then that I discovered the cause of Polly's malaise.



That piece of strapping steel was caught in there, and must have been flicked up by the passing truck. It had come up under the car, and sliced through the belt. Imagine what other damage that it might have inflicted! So the breakdown was not really Polly's fault, she had been attacked by an unseen assassin.

Strangely enough, I found that the generator was set as close to the motor as possible- i.e., at minimum 'stretch' of the belt. The replacement 36' belt had to go over the fan- no problem, then over the harmonic balancer, and here I struck major problems. There was no way I could manage that. Off into town again, and bought a 37" belt. After some struggling, I managed to get it over all three pulleys. It was then that I discovered that the thread on the bolt that provides tension was stripped- this mind you after much fiddling and trying to tighten it, all by feel as the bolt is under the generator.

At this point we were beginning to think that we would have to abandon the trip, but there is always a way out of a problem if one thinks it through. A short piece of 2" x 1" wood, carefully positioned and jammed between the generator and engine block gave the belt the desired tension. A quick cleaning of greasy hands and arms, change back into travelling clothes, a very quick lunch, and we set off again at about 12.30- just five hours later than planned.

After an initial false start, Polly excelled herself running extremely well through the countryside towards Melbourne. The drive through the metropolitan area was somewhat difficult, as the driver hates city driving, and the gearing of the car is not ideal for the circumstances. Once through the city, though, again allowed to stretch her legs a good steady 100 KPH was maintained (Most of Victoria has a 100 KPH speed limit on the open road). Incidentally, probably because of the radial tyres, Polly's speedo needs to indicate 70 mph to achieve that 100 K's.

Knowing that we were running behind time, we did not stop apart from necessities until we reached Seymour at 4.33 p.m., where both car, driver and passenger (wife) definitely needed a break.



Seymour has several claims to fame, one of which is a memorial walk commemorating Australian involvement in the Vietnam War.











The break was important for all three of us. The weather temperature was about 33 degrees (90F), and at home, yesterday, it managed only about 22. In spite of the warm conditions, the not-quite-Roverlike repair kept enough tension on the fan belt so that the car's water temperature stayed at around 80C for the whole run.

Somewhat refreshed, we set off again, finding that our slightly aged, pre-GPS equivalent, was a little inadequate due to a new freeway having been built since it was printed. We did, however, get onto the right road, and driving towards the low Westering sun, reached Kyabram at 6.57, where we located members at the designated restaurant, reported in, quickly went to our caravan park accommodation for a freshen up, before returning. When we finally got back to the restaurant, we were given a wonderfully friendly greeting by all present and immediately felt part of the 'family'.

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The continuation- part 2 can be found here-

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=122488#122488
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Roger-hatchy]

Hi RD

Is it OK if I post this over to another web site?.

The members are all Ex Military and we have members / ex pats around the globe.

A few members post stories and videos about their countries.

Have a look in if you wish

http://exmilitarylincs.myfineforum.org/index.php?sid=fd05c3a92e90438e58e8b2cf8623b884

[roverdriver]

That's O.K. Roger. I'm happy for everyone to read this, and any other of my stories.
I would certainly be interested in any comments or questions from that Forum.

Dane.

P.S. Just looked at that Forum, and it looks quite interesting.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.