Unkel Kunkel
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Posts posted by Unkel Kunkel
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For an impoverished teenager in the sixties ,tools like sockets and spanners were very expensive.
The alternatives were to try and find a shop selling ex Gov tools (which were really good Britool,Eagle Bedford ,Footprint etc coated in wax and special brown paper stuff with a gov bench mark arrow and a date such 1945 ) or buy some really cheap rubbish made of something little stronger than cheese with "foreign" , 'empire made' or some really poor stuff with no makers name but 'made in Germany' which bent /snapped very easily.I think I can still find the scars....
Later ,better German stuff appeared -Elora ,Stahlville then the Taiwanese Kamassa.
Now it seems ,there is some really nice stuff in Halfords and even B&Q and it all seems tough ,well made and remarkably cheap and very, very shiny.
I have a mixture of the ancient: -two tools made by my Grandad which he stamped "1909" as an apprentice, the old : model T Truck spanner and various exGov spanners British,as mentioned , USA usually Ford ,and some Stahlville, Kamassa and some attractive very shiny Halfords Professional stuff.
I have quite a strong attachment to the old stuff .It certainly doesn't shine, but then it hasn't worn out yet either and ,(this may sound rather nerdish ),each has distinct associated memories - and so far, none have ever caused me any injury.
Time will tell about the new shiny stuff.
- if I hang around long enough, that is....
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The use of the word "nipple" seems to be causing undue titillation- stop that giggling at the back at once!
The Americans, I notice tend to use the term "zerk" (s)or more rarely Alemite(s)
This is not because of any prudery or that there , err .. nipples are called " Zerks" but after Mr Oscar U Zerk who invented a one way valve for grease points - spring loaded ball bearing valve , patenting it for the Alemite company in the 1920's.
The design has remained effectively unchanged since.
He had also invented oilers for steam engines and railway axle bearings.
Reluctant to enter the "The Great Oil or Grease Trunnion Debate' , viewing it as a spectator sport.
However:
1 I would only say that the Wanner 315 grease gun never fails or leaks for me.
2 ... here goes,.. I humbly offer the suggestion of using EP90 GL4 but with Molyslip gear box oil additive so getting perhaps the best of both worlds -best that oil can offer with the added back up of the molybdenum disulphide for it's 'dry' use ability.
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This what I was I had in mind
btw Happy Birthday ,Colin !
Andrew
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Apologies - I have posted this under" bodywork" rather than" chassis" .... fairly close..
I can see your point, Colin, regarding weight on a large scale boxing in but I am thinking here about short piece of say 28 mm dia tube - weight I would guess about 100gm max - plus filling in the other two small holes.
I was wondering if they were holes that assisted in the manufacturing process somehow and now rather redundant.
The outrigger I am about to replace was really rotted through - mid way along on its lower surface.
A drain hole there would have been useful.
- I intend to put one in on the replacement part
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I am about to replace Spitfire outrigger/s
Question, please:
Are the holes-the three holes in the vertical anterior face - largish one inboard( through which on nearside the brake pipe travels and two smaller outer ones
What is their function (apart from the routing the nside b pipe )?
- Is it a reasonable plan, before fitting new one ,to "tube" the larger and close the smaller ones to prevent debris ingress and lessen rust progress ?
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This IT stuff.... sailing on an uncharted sea for me !
I have yet learn how to post a picture.....
So, here goes - I will have a try
- with a pic of my Spitfire off-chassis on its Heath Robinson mobile frame for the first time in yesterday's sunshine.
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My first car,a 1937 Ford with transverse leaf springs was greased via a grease nipple on the central bolt which was hollow and had openings to allow grease to come out between the leaves.I don't think later ones had this.
(Squeaking leaf springs in dry weather and the whine of low gears - sounds of motoring's past)
I do remember that some folk painted their springs with old engine oil.I did -once.
Other cars have / had plastic between the leaves.
The old car fraternity in the US seems to favour dry lubricants like graphite suspension
There is "Slip Plate" is an aerosol spray - dries after being sprayed on (graphite and maybe some molybdenum disulphide I think)
so does not attract grit /dust
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Really can't see any bargains here , Dave.
Does make you realise to hang on to bits rather than bin them when you're restoring though.
- even the false horizon gauge,(should one feel the need) available on Ebay much cheaper
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The bore size is more related to volume than pressure ,Doug - pressure = force/area so if you want high pressure from same force reduce the bore size not increase.
I haven't seen the club oiler.
The easiest gun to use for grease or oil I found is the pistol grip Swiss made Wanner 315
It is also the easiest quickest and least messy to fill with either grease or oil and if filled with oil,doesn't leak oil everywhere.
Generates up to 5000 psi (not that is relevant for the trunnions)
They seem to last for ever.Ihave had mine for over forty years.
I don't now if they still make them.
They crop up on eBay for as little as a tenner
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NASA not very impressed by spring washers either, Pete:
( You can't pull up on the hard shoulder to fix things up there can you?)
"Fastener Design Manual" NASA ;March 1990 NASA reference publication no. 1228,
Author Richard Barnett discussing spring washers:
"In summary, a lock washer of this type is useless"
Andrew
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How much is it worth?
Well it depends-
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Price of any "thing" is simply whatever the market will stand for that "thing"
If someone will pay £200- then that is what it worth ( at least to the to the seller)
Someone might fall in love with it, take it home and build a stunning machine- many have with worse.
To me, it is worth nothing - I would walk away( breaking into a run perhaps))
Even if the chassis has survived.,there will not be a single panel anywhere that does not need repair or replacing
This vehicle has not recived devoted atentionEvery mechanical part that still remains will be be well knackered
There is no such thing as a cheap car
only expensive cars that can be bought cheaply but need a lot of money/and/or time spending on them thereby making them expensive again
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Yes,see your point
That would be sensible
I defer to your wise counsel,Pete
I was a bit too quick recycling the bits of my Mk1 DIY Heath -Robinson braces... the bits are in something else now.
I will just mig weld some box section tube across (since the gaps are ok and adjustment not needed now)
Andrew
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I have just finished replacing my Spitfire's lower A posts ,inner sills, middle sills and outer sills, both floors ,lower B posts, inner rear wings and outer wings.(On the chassis with door gaps braced).
it wasn't really a case of bracing the door gaps to maintain positions as in it's" previous life" repairs had not maintained these- it was more having adjustable braces to improve /restore the door gaps as welding proceeded
It's all done and rigid now with fairly reasonable (well, better) door gaps
I intend to lift the body off the chassis by eye bolts through suitable locations in the floor, suspending it by my engine crane whilst I tackle some chassis work , tilting by adjusting the supporting chains to allow a tidy up of the underside of the body.
Finally....The question......
Will the door gaps still need bracing prior to lifting after all the new panels? -it does seems pretty solid
Andrew
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Garage would have to have a very low roof for it to be a problem, I think
I'm sure someone will give you the exact figures but if this is any help, I see In an old Autotest review of the "new" Spitfire1500 which will be the same dimensions I would think for practical purposes, the scale drawing shows the open bonnet at just under 6ft
(It also shows a "standard garage" being 16ft x8ft 6")
Overall length car 12ft 5"
width 4ft 10"
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Going back to the original questions
Yes change Dot 4 every 2 years or so -and the clutch fluid
Yes , change fluid by following usual bleeding sequence which is very straight forward as long as the bleed nipples aren't seized and you keep watching the fluid resevoir is well topped up during the proceedure or you'll get air into the system and end up going round again at least once to bleed it.
As for the silicone\dot 4 religious debate Both are fine - it really depends on what you want from the brake fluid:
=If you want a brake fluid that is perfectly satisfactory(and much better than that available when these cars were designed then Dot 4 is fine) but change it every 2 years or so.
=If you store the car for years between doing jobs on it or using it and want everything to be uncorroded and unsieized ( ie regard it as having a preservative function) so that things working next time and/or are worried about fluid stripping the bulkhead paint then go for the silicone fluid.
I went for silicone over 10 years ago and I find it fine for my requirements
As long as you don't furiously pump the brake pedal when your bleeding it won't produce little bubbles.
Hazards
: as stated Dot 4 is a good paint stripper. It stings like ***** if you get it in a cut( or in your eyes -don't ask)
it is flammable.
-Silicone is pretty inert stuff and doesn't strip paint -even polishes quite well.
Main hazard I found was that if you spill it on floor it is very slippery.....
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I was having similar thoughts, dougbgt6
but most impressively, Pete has answered my question before I asked it !
Andrew
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How frustrating!
Observations :
1) The plugs are "dry"
After (I suspect!) some prolonged cranking on choke I would expect them to be dripping.
2) you consider is there some lack of vacuum
Also consider again dougbgt6 's observation re the pipe work.:
On engines after KE 10,000 the crankcase ventilation was revised:
-The Smith's emission valve was no longer used.
-The central manifold tapping previously used for the emission vac tube was now used for the servo vac connection.
Now each carb had a vac tube which ,after merging at a T tube led to the rocker cover.
Looking at your pics,I can see the servo connection to the central portion of the inlet manifold - that's what one would expect.
and I can see a vac pipe coming off the rear carb (I cant see where it goes for sure but I suspect it leads to the rocker cover)
However,
1)I can't see a front carb vac. tube
2)I can't see a T piece
If the front carb vac connection is simply open this certainly will be an inlet leak. If the rear is unconnected this would further aggravate the situation compounded by stale fuel..
Hope it helps,
Andrew
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OK ,Let's take that you've got a good spark and that it is happening at the right time
This is also supported by the fact that it fires up briefly on your carb. cleaner ( Bradex Easy Start best)
This suggests not enough petrol reaching cylinders.
So,1) is it reaching carbs ?
Test this - detach fuel line from fuel pump and point it into a jar, away from any sources of spark ie detached plug leads and spin engine over ( I presume still has the mechanical fuel pump -should get a good spurt of fuel.
If not, then given fuel in tank ,have a look at the fuel pump- they can hold an extraordinary amount of debris even blocking the filter screen.
Having ascertained it is getting to the carbs
2) is it getting into into the carbs?
for this your best dismantling and cleaning everything out especially the needle valves (with any carb cleaner you have left)
Fuel
a)It is quite possible that the carbs will be fouled up with residue especially if laid up long time.
b)Fuel is very "old" at 9 months.You used to be able to get away with this but recently it goes off/stale quite quickly and the ethanol in it absorbs water and can speed corrosion -a real issue with garden machinery where the advice is anything over thirty days old can be seen as suspect.It also gums up forming a sticky jelly like residue ,or a varnish ,or jelly with gritty white corroded bits in it ( I had to strip down a carb on a mower yesterday which I put away in November without bothering to drain the fuel and it was quite impossible to start until new fuel and carb. fully cleaned out...)
Good Luck!
Andrew
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That graphically makes the point, JohnD !
That impact stud remover looks the job, Pete- I didn't know there was such a thing.I learn something every time I look on here.
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It's going to be yer studs - the head is going to be "stuck" because of one or more of the studs being rusted in the head.The gasket doesn't stick to this extent.
So,as per Pete's advice, removing the studs will be the logical route to follow even if this may require stud remover ,double nuts on the stud (if there is room) ,welding a nut to the stud, patiently drilling out stud remnants but it is ultimately the least likely to cause damage.
Other things worth trying are the spinning engine on starter with plugs in.
I have head of someone running an engine (wasn't a triumph however ) with cyl. h nuts removed over several cycles from cold to hot
Heard advocated penetrating oil down the threads made from 50% acetone and 50%ATF
Never tried the oil in cylinder or the "rope trick" for, perhaps unwarranted ,fear of hydraulic damage- or the rope equivalent certainly I would only turn the engine by hand not spin it on the starter.
Finally,I heard of an unusual proceedure to prevent rusting of studs in aluminium heads which involved boiling the studs in linseed oil before use!
Good Luck!
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-it ain't no Triumph, bruv
No idea- DIY electronics with display unit -rev counter? speedo? decades away from most Triumphs .
Daily Mail will run a story about it being left by a time traveller
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Can't recall what a Herald's cleaner normally looks like.
This one reminds me of the sort of air cleaner used to see on quite a few sixties cars ? Mk 1 Cortina ,?Hillman's etc
It looks like someone has added a short pipe and extended the original inlet pipe (why?)
-I seem to remember that the advice on some cars like the old 105e ford was to simply turn the air cleaner around so the inlet pipe faced rewards in winter to get warmer air from exhaust manifold.
By the way, what's that silver vertical cylindrical" thingy" in the angle between the engine side valance and the rad?
Looks a bit like old Pyrene fire extinguisher or is it something else? ( If extinguisher perhaps not the easiest to reach if engine/carb fire) or is it a bespoke rad overflow bottle or ...
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Pochin probably best in the tea
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I use some stuff called "Shell Advanced fuel system protector" comes in little 50ml bottles
The idea being to put a bottle or two in the fuel tank ,run the engine so it gets into carbs then the fuel doesn't go off and gum up in storage. .
As it seems to be Its used by motorcycle enthusiasts round here who lay up their bikes for many of the months of the year I thought I would try it.Seems to work OK.
I get it from a Sthil agent ( sold to for garden machinery use -put it in chain saw engine tanks etc)
I also put it in the for the lawn mower over winter and a very infrequently used little petrol driven generator
Engine hoist loan (or buy)
in Tools
Posted
I bought a one ton crane few months ago.
From Foxhunters online via Ebay
It was only £109 something and carraige free for UK (I paid extra carraige as I live off shore)
You would be most welcome to borrow it but the logistics would be impractical!
It is really good quality.
Even folds up -so takes up very little room
It has helped lift spitfire body off chassis and then used to lift and tilt chassis for outrigger replacement -
so no need to buy ir make a "rotisserie"
Andrew