The embarrassing Herald restoration thread - let there be light... please!

[rlubikey]

18 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

thats an illuminating story      

Pete

You mean, Collin's project is, ahem, "Glowing Well"?

I'll get my coat...

Cheers, Richard

[Chris A]

1 hour ago, rlubikey said:

You mean, Collin's project is, ahem, "Glowing Well"?

I'll get my coat...

Cheers, Richard

Yes, he's making light work of it . . .

[Graham C]

He just lights up the room

Graham

[Colin Lindsay]

Love the comments, guys, I'm a bit of a narcissus or whatever that plant is. In any case the Herald is now behaving and I can mark the electrics as complete so off the 'to-do' list.

                              

What do you mean 'no side lights' ????? That was just a dislodged connection at the front of the bonnet, one bullet connector squeezed together later and on they came. Simples! If only everything else was as simple.

First major step was replacing the broken oil pump; in a way that was a blessing as I was able to examine the pump, which has been in the engine for years and was replaced when the engine was rebuilt. I did think maybe that was corner-cutting, as a new one would maybe be better, but as has been commented I've read the scare stories of the new reproduction pumps and decided that the original might be better. The tests showed everything still well within tolerances, so why not? Well, metal fatigue for one thing. I decided to check around suppliers and found a guy selling uprated and modified pumps under the name 'Shacktune' which came highly recommended, so as it was only about £40 more expensive than an unknown quantity of repro pump, I decided the outlay may be worth it.

                                                                      .

Pump arrived, looking great, although a 'strainer' type intake rather than the long straight pipe of the Herald pump. Still, no big deal as long as it works. Aha! There's the rub! In order to work it has to fit, and this pump didn't. The body is much bigger than the measly 1147 pump and consequently hit against the central crank bearing housing, and wouldn't slide into place without gentle force and a bit of abrasion which seemed to me to be pushing it off-centre.

                                     

I just couldn't take the chance, not with oil, in a newly rebuilt engine. I'd have liked the extra flow, plus the knowledge that it was all new and free from age-related defects, but by the time the sump is back on and the engine running it's a bit to late to find that that little bit of misfit is causing problems that only become apparent when the green engine oil light comes on. It may have been my fault - after all I'm under the car working upwards - but it just didn't seem to seat to my satisfaction and having broken one I was not going to break another. The ad says Mk2 Spitfire which is 1147, but unless there are smaller bearings or other block changes that I'm unaware of it won't fit my 1147 Herald engine. 

Best solution then was to take a spare pump from an idle engine and use that. Easily done, just unbolt the sump from a spare block and remove the pump, which may have sat idle for the last four years or so - maybe more than that - but actually looks to be in better condition that the one I was intending to use. Broken pump on left, replacement on right below.

                                

That one has now been cleaned up and refitted; the marks on the face are just from the cleaning cloth and not in the actual metal. A lot cleaner and a lot shinier, so in it goes after a quick smoothover with a sheet of glass. I've since primed it and refitted the distributor drive once TDC was worked out, and again in the dark distant past I've put timing marks on the pulley as the Heralds don't actually have any, just a hole in the actual pulley, so i'd like to think that the timing is close if not spot-on.  

The sump was also a headscratcher; my Estate engine is a GA232 or thereabouts, and the spare engine from which the pump was taken is a GA161, so a few years between them. Triumph cost-cutting is evident in later production, and the early sump has this lovely strainer inside, set into a metal 'floor' through which the pump intake fits.

 

The later sumps are just a simple metal bowl with no innards. I was tempted to use the earlier sump but again, as with the oil pump, I can't guarantee that things haven't changed inside the block so that when the engine starts up, there'll be a few rattles and bangs as metal meets metal. I'll just have to go with the later sump, new gasket and plenty of sealant to ensure that there's no oil leakage - the estate engine does tend to drop a lot and that's not even running yet, and I still suspect the threads on the drain aperture which none of my numerous drain plugs seal against sufficiently to stop drips. Pump and sump are now back in place, TDC determined, distributor cap and leads back on, but no startup. Smoke coming from the carb, one slight pop on cranking, but no start. There's a spark at the plugs so I suspect fuel; pump seems okay, maybe not 100% so worth a check later on but for now, strip the carb down and inspect.

Now, first inspection:

                                                                    

That's where the float valve sits. The metal is a thread from the alloy housing that has been stripped in the past, before being recut by me, but obviously not cleaned out very well. I've now cleaned out all the jets and float chamber, but need a replacement gasket before rebuilding. I've no idea how much that sliver affected the running but obviously can't startup again until the Postman brings the gaskets. Lucky thing, too; I happened to look at the top radiator hose whilst working on the ignition leads. This is a Kevlar-reinforced hose, bought by me around 2020 and fitted to the engine just last year. Antifreeze has been in the system but it's never been started. Seriously cracked and split, at both ends, and worse when squeezed.

  

Luckily I saw that and luckily I have a new hose, bought only last week to make up the numbers of a parcel that was going to cost postage up to a certain weight, so may as well fill it with assorted service parts. The new hose is a Bastuck brand and hopefully longer-lasting.

I had to MOT one of the moderns during the week, so rolled the Herald out into the light of day to get access to the ramp. It looks well, especially since I polished it. Here's a tip: never lift a rotating polisher off a car while it's still rotating. Clothes, walls, paintwork, tools... all covered in polish splatters. At least they'll not rust.

                                                        

We are looking very well, though, despite the lack of sills and wheeltrims. The sills will be the last piece of the puzzle, a sort of full stop along with the bumper ends, and as for wheel trims, I know I have a few stored away. The estate used the slot-type trim, as opposed to the round style of the saloon or convertible and the same as the GT6 Mk1, so I knew I had a few. more than a few, in fact.

              

I actually have eight full sets, including an aftermarket set, one saloon set, and six Estate sets, some of which are original Stanpart. As with hub caps, these used to appear on eBay for pennies back in the day, so were all picked up very cheaply, and I have five sets of NOS hubcaps as well none of which cost me more that £20. Not that I like to boast but if you've got 'em, flaunt 'em. I once took my Gt6 for MOT and on the way, one of the hubcaps overtook me like a frisbee. I never found it, either. When I got home I found another missing from the opposite side, so bought a few spares as they came up for sale. It becomes a habit... which is why I have about ten 948 or 1200 speedos too, I like them and they only cost about a fiver, even the NOS ones if you look hard enough. I also had a habit of mangling the trims everytime I had to take a wheel off, so again it was handy to buy a few spares. I just never realised how many!

My friend's 1200 convertible is also coming along nicely; the bodytub I gave  him is now blasted, welded, and in primer waiting for the green top coat. It's a lot of very dusty preparation but will be worth it in the end. I never want to see 1200 wet and dry ever again. I never thought that the tub would turn out so well, but it cleaned up amazingly and with the unsightly welding repaired or tidied up it has come on in leaps and bounds. It's not going to be a Triumph Green, but it's his car and he picked the colour. He also wants - covets! - a tan interior but mine is staying put in my convertible. It will be nice to have another one on the road so must plan a few outings.

  

And as they used to say on Tales of the Riverbank: there we must leave them. Or was that the Woodentops? Until next time...

 

 

 

 

[Pete Lewis]

too much stuff    in   store 

sorry on 3 glasses of rum  following a court case with grotty daughter 

success today so the bottle   of rm got hammered         Hic 

and a  post code lotterty win      followed by a rainbow          over the house 

where is the pot  of gold then

Peter

Edited Thursday at 11:42 by Pete Lewis