Tipidave

I may have messed up! I have a lovely replacement wooden dash for my 1967 herald 1200… and have only just noticed that the holes for the control knobs are recessed, whereas the original is flat. I have since read that the recessed dash if from an earlier herald. Are the controls the same and interchangeable? The original dash has had two additional holes where a temp gauge and oil pressure gauge were fitted. Any ideas or comment gratefully received before I commit to removing the original.

Yes I have been experimenting with weights at various distances… what I meant was to recalibrate the tool so that is reads correctly. One of my torque wrenches looks like this should be possible

Blimey that’s not how you want it to look! Sure I can find a way. Probably remove the starter. Plan to drive for a while first (with lots of checking) at least I seem to have fixed the oil leak😀👍have also been researching how to recalibrate my torque wrench… it may be a bit Heath Robinson but reckon it should be doable.

Thanks for the tip… I will go and take a look!

Interesting to find that two of my three torque wrenches are way out of calibration! They are used infrequently and always stored with the spring relaxed. Thanks for the suggestion… at least now I know 😀👍

Fascinating place… still v busy. . I really appreciated the friendly and efficient way in which they dealt with me both on the phone and once the job was with them.

I thought I would share my recent experience with fitting a newly restored leaf spring to my herald 1200. I used a company called Jones Springs in Wednesbury to re-temper and overhaul a second hand unit purchased from fleabay. The company did a fantastic job of it and were a pleasure to deal with… all for what I thought to be a very reasonable price (visiting the factory felt a bit like being on car SOS) During fitting (other than being a bit of a pig of a job) the only stumbling block was that the locating pin on the bottom of the new spring was 0.3 mm larger than the original. It turns out that this was sufficient to prevent it from seating properly. I am guessing the the new pin was a “close“ metric equivalent to the original . I write this in the hope that it may help someone else in future. The issue was relatively easily sorted by substituting the original pin to the new spring. Even then it was very close to being an interference fit. But alls well that ends well…other than looking a bit like a jacked up hot rod when first lowered it soon settled, looks much better and handling is transformed.

I really didn’t do anything other than ensure that the car was in gear and well chocked with handbrake applied. I incrementally increased the torque (starting at around 40ftlb )until such time as I judged it was putting strain on the transmission line. I did it slowly and carefully and got as far as the 80ftlb setting. That said, it is a hefty torque wrench left over from my Land Rover days… it has been well treated but of course there is no real way of knowing how calibrated it is. Nonetheless I think I am best off just enjoying the car and keeping an eye on it. 😀👍

As luck would have it I took a look at the torque wrench used to tighten the nut and I hadn’t relaxed the spring from when I used it (bad workshop practice I know!) and found it was set to 80ftlb. Given that it is closer to the 90-100ftlb mentioned for a similar nut on the vitesse I feel happier to leave it all alone and just observe it over the next hundred miles or so. No sign of any oil leak from the new seal which is a relief. Thanks for all of the helpful replies. It is great fully appreciated😀👍

Hmmm… looks like I will need to have the radiator out again and have another go at it! strange that it isn’t mentioned in the manuals!

Having successfully removed the crank pulley nut and replaced the oil seal I find that I cannot find reference for the correct torque setting upon re-tightening. I could only achieve approx 70 ft lb and have marked it with a white line so I can inspect for movement. Is this sufficient? Does anyone know what it should be torqued to? Thanks again. For any assistance

Great… I will stop fretting and get on with ordering all the other bits that will inevitably need renewing 👍👍😀

So I guess the second part of my post is on my mind… if I am unable to get a 1 7/16 impact socket… would a 37mm be a satisfactory substitute? Would the .5mm oversize be significant when using an impact driver?

Hi all i am about to replace the timing cover oil seal and wonder if anyone can confirm the crank nut size… does 1 7/16 inch sound correct? If so this is 36.5mm would a 37mm impact socket be to big? I am having difficulty getting hold of the imperial socket. Thanks in anticipation of replies david

Interestingly the depth of fuel in the bowl is critical to the correct fuel supply to the main jet. The ‘head ‘ of fuel determines how much low pressure created by the venturi is need to draw fuel into the main jet. A matter of a mm is sufficient to notice an effect. I would suggest that since you have changed the height of fuel in the bowl it is now either flooding or lean during the transition from idle circuit to main jet. Once established at higher revs it becomes less of an issue as the low pressure draw on the fuel increases. it may be that you need to make a further adjustment to the height of fuel in the bowl and or … assuming it is momentarily too rich in transition from idle to main circuit lean the idle a bit.

Thanks for all the replies… I cannot for the life of me get the pipe to fit … so as suggested tomorrow I will be buying a new pipe and a t piece to replace the banjo fitting. Thanks for the observations and suggestions 😀👍

I have recently added a stainless steel radio mount beneath the dash that has provision for two smiths gauges. I have relocated the temperature and pressure gauges from the dash to this new position as a precursor to replacing the wooden dash. There is a was a drip of oil from the pressure gauge and it is not giving a steady reading now. I note that the fairly rigid plastic oil feed to the gauge is simply pushed into place onto short tube protruding from the brass fitting and thence onto the threaded fitting on the gauge. There is nothing other than friction to hold it in place. I have re-cut a new end to the tube and have pushed it on as far as I can but there is about a 5 mm 'gap' and a small red fibre washer is still able to move. I used a pair of long nosed pliers to push the plastic feed tube further on and now there is the merest hint of a weep. Does this simply need to be pushed on further? It doesn't seem to want to go any further and I don't want to damage the fitting. Any tips or advice gratefully received... I just have visions of an extensive oil leak into the cockpit at high revs!

Hi all, Having returned from a great trip to Le Mans with the herald, the oil leak from the crank/ timing cover is now leaking quite badly. Having searched around I see that two different seals are available. A rubber only one as supplied with the timing chain kits and a metal encapsulated one (NA329). Which is correct? or are they interchangeable? Is one better than the other? Also, I intend to take the opportunity to replace the Chain and tensioner but would prefer at this stage not to muck about with the sprockets. The engine will need a rebuild in the not too distant future but cannot be tackled now due to lack of funds... Other than visual inspection for asymmetry on the teeth is there any other way to appraise the condition of the sprockets? What else should I be looking for before inserting the new seal? Thanks again for all the help and advice Regard David

thanks Josef. It makes sense … I think I am going to assemble it on the bench when I install a new dash. Should be able to get it good and secure and then just take care not to bend/ stress the dash as it goes in. 😀👍

Thanks Jonny, I will have a fiddle and see how it works. When I get back from a trip with the car at the end of the month I am planning to replace the wooden dash and intend to fit the speedo on the bench which should be much easier than grovelling around with hands and wrists contorted

I have a metal ring that I am guessing is used to prevent the speedometer clamps from damaging the back of the wooden dash… but it is already a tight fit to get the instrument back in… can anyone suggest how and where this is fitted?

Hi Pete the end of the cable was damaged hence decision to recut the end😀👍thanks for reply again

So… having said I will wait until after my Le Mans trip… I have made some progress. I ground a few mm off the cable at the gearbox end and having checked a “spare speedometer” on the bench also removed a couple of mm from the speedo end. The good news is that the spare unit seems to work correctly (although my be slightly off in speed) when it it just dangling in the car and not fitted… that’s the next job. But before I do I need to remove the bezel and clean the glass on both sides. the bezel has already been attacked in a previous life and could do with a replacement. so does anyone know where I can get a replacement bezel at reasonable cost?

Thanks for the detailed description. Very useful 😀👍

Will do thanks…. Going to wait until return from Le Mans classic at end of month for fear of breaking it before the trip!!!