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1927 Morris Cowley Flatnose
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paul fairall wrote:
I reckon that block is shot and you should put a 2 litre Zetec and type 9 box in it. But let me know when it's done as I would love to see it on those wheels and tyres Very Happy

I think it would be wise to uprate the rod brakes before I go down that avenue Paul.
Now then:
Another potential point of egress for oil from the engine is around the magneto drive shaft.
This relies on a centrifugal oil thrower to keep the lube in (or not).
This arrangement is not suitable for an oil seal to run on so I needed to fit a smooth journal for it.
The first pic shows the shaft before the mod.
I dismantled a likely looking ball bearing so that I could use the outer track.
A friend had a bit ground off the width of it for me.
On the lathe I was able to turn a register for it to locate on.
This was quite difficult to do as the steel was very hard and I had to use a tip tool to cut through the case-hardened skin.
There is an outer ring part of the oil thrower that levers out of the cylinder block leaving a 48mm dia recess. This is perfect for the seal to locate in.
Seal dimensions are: 35 x 48 x 8mm.





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Paul fairall



Joined: 17 Nov 2016
Posts: 429
Location: North west Kent

PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 2:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's a great idea, there are those that would frown at changing from standard but provided the appearance is correct I'm happy to see improvements, especially if it keeps the oil off the drive.
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 9:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This piece of unpleasantness was my cars exhaust pipe.
Note the classy welding
I decided to see if I could improve on it.
A local pipe bending company put a 90 deg bend in a length of tube for me.
I have made a new clamping flange and formed the manifold end.








To form the end I first turned up an alloy bush
Split the bush.
Started forming the end using the ball end of the hammer and finished with the flat face.



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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When i rebuilt my cars gearbox I was pleased to discover, after clearing out decades of black gungy gloop, that it was in very good condition. All I did was fit 2 new ball bearings in it and reassembled it.
However the top cover that has the ball and socket joint for the gear lever is in a very bad state which resulted in lots of lost movement and play in the gear lever.
The socket has worn badly and the entire die casting is covered with lots of very deep cracks. The metal is also extremely brittle and crumbles very easily.
I decided to make a bronze insert for the ball joint that would fit the original casting.
But in the end I decided to fabricate an entire new cover as the old one is so bad and i can imagine it all falling to bits one day.
The new cover is assembled from several alloy components. A local company welded them together for me.
So here is the worn and cracked original.





I made the insert for the top with the intention of boring out the casting to accept it.


Then I decided to fabricate the whole lot.






The long through bore is for the handbrake lever shaft. Instead of the original 2 plain bearings I have made one long bronze bush. This will cure another potential oil leak.
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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 1950
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is just excellent work...thanks for sharing it with us.

Was the original casting a zinc-based casting , by any chance?

[Various zinc-based alloys have been known to 'rot' over time].....or is it simply a battered ally casting?

Were the cracks, surface cracks?
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alastairq wrote:

Was the original casting a zinc-based casting , by any chance?

[Various zinc-based alloys have been known to 'rot' over time].....or is it simply a battered ally casting?

Were the cracks, surface cracks?


Alistair,
I dont know if it is a zinc based alloy. It is a die-casting and looks to my untrained eye like the sort of stuff carburetors are made from (Hope that doesn't mean my carb's going to disintegrate).
Some of the cracks do appear to be all the way through. Others are both deep and shallow. But they are all over it and it appears generally, very fragile.
My guess is (as you imply), that is an age related phenomena.
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The instruments on a 27 Cowley are very nice silver faced items.
My ammeter was broken and I dont think you can buy replacement items, so i sent it off to a car instrument repairer.
2 months later they contacted me to say that they couldn't do anything with and it was beyond repair.
However, they did offer to fabricate a new replica for me for £480.00!!!.
This was a bit beyond what I could justify so I thought I would have a go at making my own using the working parts from another instrument.
The original silver Lucas dial face is quite well preserved ( it looks white in the photo).
The Lucas/Morris item fits a 2 1/4" dia hole. I couldn't find anything this size so I purchased a replica 2" Miller ammeter for classic motorcycles.
I dismantled the new ammeter, removed the insides and then made a new outer.
The main body was turned from a bit of bronze bar I found in my shed.
I made the bezel from stainless steel.
I didn't polish it too much so that hopefully it resembles the dull plating of the other instruments.
The 2 parts screw together and apart so if it breaks in the future |I can repair it.
The thread is 58mm dia x 32 tpi.
I made a new clamp strap from st/st and 2 knurled brass knobs to hold it to the dash.
Total cost £25.





Here is the finished ammeter. Note the dial looks white but is actually the original 90 year old silver item.




Here are all the bits left over from the 2 ammeters I used


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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 1950
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Masterful workmanship....super stuff. Nice to see someone who doesn't just reach for the chequebook at the first sign of difficulty.

Smile
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a long wait for my engine parts to come back from the reconditioners so I have been turning my attention to other areas of the car.
The windscreen currently fitted is incorrect, but will do while I renovate an original one..
I managed to purchase a correct item that has turned out to be in disappointingly bad condition.
The top rail of the frame is a brass extrusion that is completely rotten. It is covered all over in cracks and was bent. When I tried to straighten it it snapped.
I couldn't find a source for the "keyhole" section brass extrusion so I decided to see if I could fabricate something myself.
I obtained some 3/4" x 16swg brass tube and some "H" section brass extrusion.

Here is the original section:


Here is the horrible bit




Here is the H section extrusion I was able to buy.





I reduced it in height on the vertical mill and screwed it to the tube using 6ba csk brass screws.




Tomorrow i will attempt to silver solder the 2 parts permanently together.
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petelang



Joined: 21 May 2009
Posts: 442
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2017 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My word, is there nothing you can't make. I doff my hat to you sir. A master craftsman.
Peter
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petelang



Joined: 21 May 2009
Posts: 442
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2017 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My word, is there nothing you can't make. I doff my hat to you sir. A master craftsman.
Peter
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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2017 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you Peter.
Now, today i soldered it all together. First i had to construct a hearth in the back garden from fire bricks.
The length of steel angle was to support the assembly during the heating as i was concerned that the brass would sag and distort when it got hot.
It was a bit tricky to photograph it during the heating process but the the second image shows the finished job in the acid pickle keg being cleaned.
I use citric acid which takes a long time and the size of my keg means that I can only do half at a time.
Solder used was silverflo 55 with esyflo flux




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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The rail is now out of the acid and I have spent some time filing and sanding a few lumpy bits off.
Quite pleased with the result.
The slot I have milled is for a clamping wing nut to hold the windscreen in the open position.

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Miken



Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 544

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The windscreen is of the opening type.
It hinges from the top.
The original top rail was a rather unusual 13/16" or 20.6mm diameter.
The nearest brass tube that i could find was 3/4" or 19mm.
Because it is slightly smaller it means that the side pillers don fit any more.
To rectify this I had to saw off and drill out the old hinge pivots.
This revealed a square hole which i wasnt expecting.
Today i turned new pivots and milled the square ends .




here is how it fits together.
The next stage will be to silver solder the pivot pins into the side pilars



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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 1950
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Superb craftsmanship. Wish I had a fraction of that skill! Smile
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