Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Penman]

Hi
Bitumen Boy.

Try here https://www.polyvine.com/index.php/en/2-uncategorised/352-contact-container
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Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10

[peter scott]

[Bitumen Boy]

[Vulgalour]

Wiper investigation today. First item to address was the play in the wiper mechanism which was causing one of the mechanism arms to chafe against the back of the dashboard. The electric wiper motor has a drive shaft that comes out of the back and connects to a central piece on the dashboard. This central piece then connects via a shorter arm to the passenger side wiper box, and then by a longer arm to the driver's side wiper box.






The problem is the longer arm which flops about too much. By removing the split pin and inserting a very thin washer it removed what play could be removed and still allow the split pin to be installed. The other issue is that the motor doesn't seem particularly strong and really struggled to move if the wipers were actually against the screen. Grease in the gearbox of the wiper motor was the main suspicion here and, on opening it up, the grease inside looked and felt for all the world like window putty.




I don't have any suitable grease at the moment, but when I do this will be cleaned out and regreased accordingly which will hopefully restore proper functionality. Did a bit more video experimenting too today, and braved putting myself on camera. Be kind.

https://youtu.be/elC4SqzsG8M

[Peter_L]

Nice to see who we have been following these last months. Peter Scott mentioned loss of magnetism on permanent magnet motors. It is possible to increase this.

https://www.nutsvolts.com/questions-and-answers/motor-remagnetizer

Rare Earth magnets are very powerful and via flee-bay, they are available from the far east at a reasonable cost..

The reduction gearing is quite large, so the motor doesn't require much current. Back in the day, current was not in abundance on these vehicles so the more result for the minimum effort was a must.

On my grain of rice is written, in triplicate, everything I know about upholstery, but maybe the seats would benefit from a modern increase in support to prevent any more "oh dear" moments. Great Stuff, love it, stay safe....

[Vulgalour]

We got a little further on the Lanchester today so here is an update for you. First task was to try and install the dashboard for which the steering wheel had to be removed. We're both used to cars where you pop off the centre and undo the big nut behind so when we popped the horn button off the Lanchester and found two brass screws behind it we weren't entirely sure how to proceed. We did the seemingly sensible thing and attempted to undo the screws, one of which did, and one of which decided that the brass it was made of had about the same tensile strength as butter.


After careful application of a drill, we removed the head from the screw and got the contact plate removed to reveal... another brass screw. Similarly this one appeared to be made of butter so it was time for the drill again. It was also time for that sinking feeling that we weren't doing this correctly and were now too far in to go back since the first screw we removed the head from would not come out. Neither would the second screw, they both just spin and spin.


It wasn't any clearer at this point and we're pretty sure this isn't how you do it. Of course, now we have to remove all of this anyway to replace the brass/butter screws to stand any chance of removing the steering wheel and are no closer to getting the dashboard installed. We made careful note of the order of components removed and have put them aside safely. If nothing else, all of these components will at least receive a thorough clean and fresh grease before reassembly.


We suspect a puller of some sort is required. There's no sign of a grub screw or pin or similar anywhere on the steering wheel, and no sign of other fixings inside the steering wheel hub, so our current working theory based on what info we could find is that the central boss for the trafficator mechanism is a push fit onto a spline and behind it will be a large nut that holds the steering wheel on its own splined mechanism. Dropping the steering column isn't exactly straightforward, it looks like a good amount of the preselector mechanism also needs to be disconnected to do it and we may even need to disconnect the steering box. Rather than make things any worse, we've left this alone for now to do some research and the dashboard is on the back seat awaiting instalation. I suppose that means we've technically put the dashboard in the car, just not the way Lanchester and Barker intended.

We had rather more success with the new jigsaw for cutting out the new door cards. We're just waiting on the bifurcated rivets arriving so that we can put the door cards back together properly and they should be a fairly simple thing to refit, we hope.




For a more in depth look at how the door cards are constructed, and to hear a very loud plane we couldn't identify, there is another video.
https://youtu.be/h49Izbwxf74

[peter scott]

I suspect that you need to remove the whole manette to reveal the steering wheel nut. You will need to disconnect the wiring at the front of the steering box and undo the little clamp (17 & 18 ) down there. This will let you pull out the assembly that the horn button and trafficator switch are attached to and the stator tube that runs down the middle of the steering column. See: http://ld10.awardspace.co.uk/manuals/bsheet015.htm

Attach a pilot wire onto the wiring before you pull the stator tube out and that will make it easier when you refit it.

All the parts lists and diagrams are here: http://ld10.awardspace.co.uk/manuals/Barker.htm

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

[MVPeters]

The dashboard came out, so it will go back in!
Will it go in via the open windscreen?

Oh, by the way, when you overhaul the wipers, leave a tiny bit of slack in the various joints.
_________________
Mike - MVPeters at comcast.net
2002 MINI Cooper 'S'

[Peter_L]

[Vulgalour]

Things got a little sidetracked when the Princess decided to blow the head gasket a few weeks ago, then of course the weather took a turn for the wetter and, well, it just hasn't been possible to get on with things.

It looks like the dashboard refitting requires us to disconnect the steering column from the steering box, and probably drain the steering box, and pull the old wiring through the column... so that's fun. The Barker cars don't have an opening windscreen like the Briggs ones do. Also, now that the horn push has been partially dismantled, the only way to put it back together is pulling the wheel off.

However, even though we have all the bits now to put the interior back in, the weather is mostly thwarting our efforts since we need to do most of the next bit outdoors when it's dry. We ordered a new folding engine stand and engine crane so they stood a chance of fitting in the available space, reorganised the garage as much as we could, and have successfully blocked the Lanchester in until such a time as the Princess engine is sorted out.

Unfortunately, the Princess engine has blown the headgasket and I'd like to get to the bottom of the oil consumption it's always had. I've also got to replace the sump gasket, and I want to repaint the block, so an engine out job is a must. Again, waiting on dry weather now I've got all the tools and parts together, and hoping that we don't find any nasty issues inside the bottom end when we get into it.



We'll get back on the Lanchester jobs as soon as we can, we've just been a little waylaid.

[Peter_L]

Hi Vulgalor... Good to hear from you...... OCC can be like an old Aunt that worried if you don't write... Do I see some very serious Engine maneuvering and mounting hardware in the garage............. Temperatures here are dropping too, time for two pair of shoe laces to keep the feet warm.... Stay Safe...

[Sid]

[badhuis]

[Vulgalour]

It's been all quiet here lately on the Lanchester front, and is set to be for a while longer yet. Working hours and the weather are putting paid to any sort of progress. Additionally, the garage roof failed after a particularly heavy downpour.



We were aware that the roof wasn't the best job and it's been on the long term list since we moved in last December. We had hoped to replace it by now, but with Covid that put everything back further than we would have liked. We just wanted one more winter out of the roof so we could comfortably afford to replace it. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and we had to call in a favour to get it sorted promptly.


Luckily, we had a favour we could call in and we found a local roofing company who could come out and fit a new roof very quickly for us. They also repaired the damage the previous roof fitter had caused, and the damage the weather had done, before fitting a nice new roof, better supporting beams (in addition to the original beams), new pointing, reseated the capping tiles, and of course a complete flat felt roof with a 15 year guarantee. They managed to do all that in just four hours and when they left, with the exception of the new roof, you'd never know they'd even been.






Unfortunately it does mean there isn't any money to spend on the cars for a while now and with our working schedules and the weather being what they are, we may not be able to make any progress on the interior or other jobs on the Lanchester for quite some time now.

[badhuis]

Good to have that done. A decent and water tight garage is a big help in owning and maintaining a classic.
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment