Colin

That's a great way to deal with it! I'll need more room to store a 30 gall drum! Best, C.

Ah ha! Well, I thrash around Hernia Bay a bit and up and down the Gannet Way . . . but no, none of those sensibly listed! 20W60 sounds interesting. Thanks All. Interesting! Best, C.

Hi Colin, I guess I've never seen 30 grade because I've never looked for it! The 20/50W I buy from the Club, to support it. Is 30 grade synthetic? Maybe the Club could stock it? Surely most of our engines are getting on a bit and need that extra protection? Does 30 grade show as 30W? C.

Hey Clive. Thanks for answering that. So that begs the question - what grade synthetic?? For my aged, tiny 1147??!? Best, Colin

Iain SpitFire6; The problem with 20/50W is?? 🤔

Gents! All good advice. I shouldn't havd driven, oil warning light on . . . but somehow I could tell it wasn't the engine failing. Cold engine - ignition switched on 5 mins ago. Oil warning light 'On'. Didn't worry about starting her. My drive earlier with no light showing was good enough for me. Checked oil filter, oil pressure valve and oil pressure switch for tightness before coming in tonight. All good!! Thanks again to all. Best, C.

Pete Lewis - great advice. Thanks once more.

Indeed! Engine vibrations and . . . everything else. My last comment on that is that they are allegedly to build some roads in and around Hernia Bay!! (Yes, I did say Hernia! 😉. I can see all the joint bushes needing replacement because of the above!

Dear All Chaps; Thank you all SO much for the continuing help & support and common sense. I have successfully 'disappeared' the dash light, previously either on temporarily or as yesterday, full-time, warning me of alleged low oil pressure. Achieved, by your very helpful advices to change the oil pressure switch! Lucky I'd considered to buy one previously (meaning for a long time to have changed it, actually). I know why I didn't change it - the old - and I think, original - oil pressure switch - was a devil to shift. I can remember trying to shift it previously and being puzzled by just how tight it was. So gave up for a while until this hiatus. Access to the nut to the rear of the unit was limited (from the top of the engine bay) and it was damned tight. I cannot (& my records do not show) that I have ever changed that switch. So I guess 50 years is not a bad stint of service! I've thrown it away now, but I wonder could I merely have cleaned it out with clean fuel and replaced to see if that had cured its action? Should have saved it, cut it in half to see what's what, really! I had to remove the oil filter to gain decent enough access for removal. I changed the switch and re-fitted the 'old' (but really new) oil filter on the basis that I eliminate only one element of the offending possibilities at a time - as per the advices given. The replacement switch is of a different design - attached here - and really only slightly easier to get a spanner or socket on (from the topside). Test driven, no oil pressure light came on at all. Very pleased about this. Quite a weight off one's mind. Thanks again for all the suggestions and assistances. I hope this will assist others. No doubt the more experienced members out there have helped many others - so thanks for the repetition required and patience shown. Pic of my car, renovated 2020-21 also. Cheers and massive thanks, everyone. Best, Colin.

Pete:- Ha, ha! Yes - understood. Many thanks. Commencing soon and will report back. All continuing thoughts still welcomed! Best, C.

All - the old OPR Valve Seems to have a shiny area on the bell-end (sorry!) Views on it welcomed!

All:- I won't try to 'engineer' the result I want (i.e. to get the warning light to go out)! But I have no great desire to be clambering under it to change what I don't know is faulty. I don't understand an oil filter change preventing the oil pump from priming. If it has, I've covered 50 odd miles risking wearing the engine severely! I'll try the switch first - again, not sure why this should fail. If not, I'll simply change the filter and hope the replacements I have are not a bad batch (Club supplied & didn't know these could fail . . ) Any answers to these , my comments are welcome! Best, C.

Pete - everything's in situ, so I have no good line of sight:- could I have mis-positioned the spring & valve on replacement? As I said, I didn't clean out the end 'cup', or whatever it sits in that I can't see . . . Should I do that, clean it out/off, replace the valve, spring and end cap ? Will still change the switch, too btw . . . Cheers, C.

But I will change the switch first! 😃

Thanks again, All. I've never heard of the oil filter stopping the pump priming . . and certainly not ever experienced it! Does this mean the filter is faulty? Is it like an air-lock? Could I not release it and re-tighten? Is the ONLY solution to change the filter? Best, C.

As an aside, Clive - if you're thinking I have an oil filter with built-in pressure relief (that I think som earlier 1147's had), you'd be wrong. If so, I could see where you are coming from. It's a spin-on, spin-off type. Cheers, C.

Pete - that's next on my list - thanks - (why could/would it 'suddenly' start to give false readings??)

All:- Forgot to mention; the old OPRValve spring was spot on in terms of length and so hadn't weakened, or become faulty (to the eye, anyway). C.

Thanks to All for your thoughts:- The Oil Pressure light coming on and staying on is a relatively new phenomenon. Prior to recent events, she would only show the dash Warning light on start-up and it would reassuringly go out very quickly after start up and often didn't even need a quick throttle blip. This was happening before this very last and most recent oil change (so I thought I'd change the oil for new - it turns out, when I checked records later the 'old' was virtually new anyway - durr). Better safe than sorry. My other thought about the dash OPWarning Light coming on, but then going out after 4 or so miles was that, at the high mileage and there being 142k miles of natural wear, all aspect of the car's engine components having heated up properly may have 'sealed' any 'looseness'/wear that exists in its cold state?? Thus preventing oil flowing where it shouldn't, even when thenoil was hot - so maybe the engine is in decent condition despite the high mileage? As I said, no knocks, slaps, rattles or otherwise. Nice steady tick-over etc . . . I have a new pressure switch and seeing as I have changed the OPValve, may as well change this, too - but in all honesty l can't see how this item, with no wear or adjustment being integral to its being (?), could affect the situation (am I wrong about this switch's lack of adjustment/performance ??!?). Re-change of oil pump, big ends, anything I can get to renew from underneath, I know my Swiss chum has several (English) cars on stupidly high mileages, resulting from over-frequent oil changes and occasionally changing easy-to-reach main components. If I was going down the drop-the-sump route, how can I tell if the replacement oil pump measures up to being a good one? I usually stick to parts supplied by the main suspects in the market place, so one would hope they are the real deal . . . . Cheers again, C.

So . . . yet another of my mini sagas. New (club 20/50W) oil, new filter, engine flushed beforehand, using proprietary product. Following the heater and engine flushes shinannigans some may remember (heat now restored and probably as good as it will get), I have been running her around town. First couple of drives, straight after start-up, the oil pressure warning light came on. And stayed on for the 10 or so miles driven. Same for the next couple of drives. On a longer, 30 mile, drive, the warning light was on initially, but went off after 4 miles or so - and stayed off. The engine doesn't knock or rattle. It is 'tired' at 142k miles in so much as I can turn it by hand using (pulling/turning) the fan belt and fan blades, spark plugs in. But I have always made sure oil changes come far more regularly than they really needed to have been scheduled. The car has no oil pressure gauge (something I intend to remedy at some point!). Whislt trying to convince myself that the engine doesn't yet need a full Club rebuild, I idly wondered if the oil pressure relief valve spring may be tired. So looking at it as being a relatively quick job, replaced it. Tricky, as the filter was still on and I found the engine mount bracket getting in the way of withdrawing its cap - but it was just possible. I admit, I didn't, "clean the seat in the crankcase with a piece of hardwood" (Autobooks Manual recommendation), presumably running some petrol in to clean any gunk at the same time. So I have no idea if that action would have made any difference and whether the seat was/still is gunked up or not. Then, of course, I took her for a 10 mile run. The warning light was on all the way, this time! I don't really know what I'm asking of any of you reading this, but it'd be interesting to know of anyone else has had this experience - and if so, what their advice would be. A Swiss chum of mine posed the thought that the oil pump may be worn - could be at 142k miles? And that changing that could be a solution. I'm thinking that if I have to drop the sump and replace the oil pump (and big ends at the same time??), I may as well just lift the entire thing out and send it packing for the full Monty pro Club rebuild!! (must be getting old and lazy!) Thoughts please Gents. Back later to check on responses. Thanks. Best, Colin

Thanks, Chaps, Must do something about my memory (or, stop pushing the car out for work for months at a time . . . . !) Best. C.

I have an old oval, slightly embossed, enamel painted GB aluminium plate; AA manufactured with their logo, small, centred. I internet ordered a similar sized oval self-adhesive UK sticker, and stuck it on the back. I have manufactured a swivel mechanism from centre bottom of the sign and will rear 'parcel shelf' mount it. So, I can see from inside the car my lovely old vintage AA GB plate (and not have to mount it externally, risking having it nicked), whilst clearly displaying the now correct (I think!) UK sign to the external world, Rozzers, Flics et al !! But all from within the cabin! 🙂

Hi People; My memory is truly beginning to fail me . . . (!) I KNOW I can push the passenger's internal door handle forward - and lock that door. What I can't remember is if that feature is supposed to be available to the Driver's door??!!?? It certainly doesn't push forward at the moment (since being back from overall renovation) and I can't recall if it did BEFORE going away for works. There - see? The memory failed me . . . All knowledge gladly received!! Cheers, Colin

😄

Well Gents; Haven't been near the Herald for a while. She started well enough and I'm pleased to say (dash vent position selected) that a decent amount of warmth came up both vents (I know, right!! - after all my comment about driver's side not seeming to push as much up). 'Specially with fan on. Certainly enough to slowly demist a cold screen (was cool on this run). Still not sure it 'd keep me warm were she a soft top, hood down!! So next flush, Pete, it'll be the crystals! Cheers All. 😊