ntc Posted August 4, 2021 Report Share Posted August 4, 2021 (edited) Edit Edited August 4, 2021 by ntc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) The GB has had oil in it for three days now and looking underneath today there are no leaks. Some time very soon I shall take it for a long test drive and see what happens then. I think the front of the diff has a small leak and possibly the rear axle where they join the brake back plates. Should be able to finish the carpets today - Roger Edited June 9, 2023 by RogerH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelH Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 I made the "inner" wheel arches on the 4A cutting and gluing cardboard to get the right shape then I riveted the the plastic shapes on to the inner wings but also made short bars across the rear lower ends of the wheel arches to support the mudflaps not doing rallies now so removed the flaps but the residual inner arches reduce the mud/water thrown up behind the wheels into the body work The thing most people would pick up on would be the rivets through the wheel arch... not drilling the bodywork etc Michael Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) Hi Folks, quite an eventful today. The BlueRacer is gong for an MOT on Thursday so today I took it for its longest run yet. I was concerned that #3 plug may foul up as it usually does. I weakened the mixture slightly as I'm sure it it way too rich. It did about 10 miles and went very well. When I got home I weakened the mixture further and also slackened the rear brake by one click. I took it for another shorter run and it went a little better. Tomorrow I shall weaken it another flat and see what happens. Hopefully the brakes are bedding in. It ran very smoothly and due to its stiffer chassis didn't have the little squeaks and rattles that the 4A has. It is slowly coming together. The week before the IWE I ordered a set of wheel arch liners from Honeybourne. The chap on the phone said they would be two to three weeks as they are made to order. I explained that I needed them by the end of that week. He said he would see what he could do. They turned up on time but I simply couldn't fit them in time. So that is a job for October. Honeybourne are certainly customer orientated - very good. Roger Edited August 25, 2021 by RogerH typo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted August 24, 2021 Report Share Posted August 24, 2021 12 hours ago, RogerH said: The week before the IWE I ordered a set of wheel arch liners from Honeybourne. The chap on the phone said they would be two to three weeks as they are made to order. I explained that I needed them by the end of that week. He said he would see what he could do. They turned up on time but I simply couldn't fit them in time. So that is a job for October. Honeybourne are certainly customer orientated - very good. Roger Ive found them good to deal with too. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2021 Hi Folks, As mentioned above I found that the rear brakes were binding and so slackened then off one click on both sides. When I pushed the car into the garage last night with warm/hot brakes it was really a hard job. This morning when pulling it out it rolled quite easily. So a question - can heat affect the brake lining, their position etc. I shall undo them one more click and then take it for a drive. Also I have been fitting door mirrors. I fitted the Moss GAM1001. They look quite nice and reasonably easy to fit. Sadly Moss only stock the flat glass variety. These have quite a limited view. Today I googled Tex. They had a decent website and it had the convex mirror that I needed (M50101). They answered the phone immediately and the deal was done in a matter of minutes. Should be here tomorrow. - Excellent. This afternoon I shall be washing and polishing for the MOT tomorrow. This will be the first time that the MOT man has seen it 99% finished. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted August 25, 2021 Report Share Posted August 25, 2021 Heat will affect the clearances for the drums of course but it will also affect how the cylinders slide too so make sure they do. You didnt fancy the last mirrors I showed you then Roger? Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2021 Hi Stuart, I'll check the slaves to make sure they move OK. The last mirrors were a bit too flash Gordon for me. So I went for a basic Tex curved arm with round glass. They look about right and with the new mirrors turning up tomorrow they should be fine. I'll post some pics soon. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2021 Hi Folks, I have just spent 3, 4 hours trying to understand why my rear brakes are sticking on. And I think I have found the answer. When you apply the brakes (both foot and hand) one side of slave cylinder will push the shoe against the drum and the reaction will then push the other shoe against the drum - this requires the slave cylinder to slide back and forth. If it doesn't slide then the first shoe will stay in contact with the drum = binding brakes. About six years ago I took the car for an MOT. It failed due to a leaking slave cylinder. Instead of sorting the seals I bought two new cylinders. I changed one immediately and one after the other side failed the following year I am now of the understanding that the grooves in the sides of the cylinders are trooooooo narrow and making the three captive plates grip the cylinder too tight and stopping the sliding action. So, tomorrow I shall remove the cylinders and widen the Does anybody know what the correct width of these grooves should be? Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted August 26, 2021 Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 16 hours ago, RogerH said: Hi Folks, I have just spent 3, 4 hours trying to understand why my rear brakes are sticking on. And I think I have found the answer. When you apply the brakes (both foot and hand) one side of slave cylinder will push the shoe against the drum and the reaction will then push the other shoe against the drum - this requires the slave cylinder to slide back and forth. If it doesn't slide then the first shoe will stay in contact with the drum = binding brakes. About six years ago I took the car for an MOT. It failed due to a leaking slave cylinder. Instead of sorting the seals I bought two new cylinders. I changed one immediately and one after the other side failed the following year I am now of the understanding that the grooves in the sides of the cylinders are trooooooo narrow and making the three captive plates grip the cylinder too tight and stopping the sliding action. So, tomorrow I shall remove the cylinders and widen the Does anybody know what the correct width of these grooves should be? Roger 11.07 mm Roger. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 Hi Folks, I took the slave cylinder off this morning and found that the groove for the attachment plates was 0.196 on one side and 0.186 on the other. I opened them up to 0.230" and the plates went in a lot easier - still a battle though. The slave now has movement and the drum no longer binds. Thankfully the OSR drum does not bind. So, although the cylinders were bought at the same time there is some degree of variation within batches. These grooves are a cast finish not machined - may explain the variation. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted August 26, 2021 Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 Original cylinder slot is 5.03 mm Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2021 Hi Folks, today I had a breakthrough. I thought I had sorted the dragging brake drum but after Thursday evenings run put the drum was very hot. I double checked the slave cylinder and it moved OK. Pressing the brake pedal only produced a small amount of fluid. Odd I thought. Mistakenly I decided to have a look at the restrictor valve. This proved a waste of time. Eventually I took the flexible hose off that is near the rear axle. This was seriously blocked. Haven't a c;ue of its age but it could be from 1962. All other pipes and joints are clear . So Tuesday morning I shall buy and fit an new hose, bleed the system and then take for a test run - with a possible celebration. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Hi Folks, well, that was a battle. That rear flex hose put up a fight all the way. The replacement pipe is not and exact copy. However it will fit OK if you don;t panic too much. I replaced the front hoses as well They looked old but not the same vintage as the rear pipe. I tried to use a suction pump to bleed the brakes and no matter what I tried it din't want to play ball. So my wife Sue is still employed - and I doubled her wages = £0 x2 = not a lot. I hope tomorrow goes well at the MOT. I shall take it out for a test drive tonight and pray it all goes well. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bfg Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Well done Roger and Sue ..excellent and very worthwhile progress. My own car's flexi-pipes have just been replaced because of their indeterminate age but crusty rust around their end ferrules. I think I must be getting close to having replaced all the cooling, mechanical and safety important rubber bits of the car now. Sincerely hope your test drive this even went well and that the car breezes through its MOT tomorrow. Pete. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted August 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Hi Pete, the test drive went well. The brakes worked well and did not bind. After 30 minutes driving the wheel spinners were cold. The other day the NSR was very hot and the OSR was very warm. The MOT should be interesting. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bfg Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 (edited) Brilliant, worse case tomorrow is that you might learn something new &/or go home well-chuffed Edited May 19, 2022 by Bfg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted September 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2021 (edited) Hi Folks, Phew!! well it passed and did well. The brakes came up nice and even and well within spec. The tester did comment on a rubber pipe on the fuel run out of the tank - the rubber is starting to craze. So with the advent of E10 I shall replace in a couple of weeks with R14. I can now set about finishing off all the little twiddly things. Heater cables etc. Roger Edited September 1, 2021 by RogerH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted September 1, 2021 Report Share Posted September 1, 2021 Good news Roger! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted May 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 Doesn't time fly. I never did look at the crazed rubber fuel pipe. That is now on my 'to do 'list I was repairing another boot lid last month and needed to take the boot lid off the BlueRacer. I placed it on its side whilst offering up the repair lid. There was an awful clatter and the boot lid was lying on the block paving. Annoyingly the nice tidy shiny paint work had numerous scratches. Bugger. However this now allowed me to sort out the repaired inner rib that I never liked. It was always wrong form the moment that I fitted it. So off with the rib and a new one will go back on. And then I can replace the crazed pipe. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted May 19, 2022 Report Share Posted May 19, 2022 This rebuild is getting like the painting of the Forth road bridge now Roger Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted May 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2022 Once they finish the Forth bridge it will be fabulous. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter V W Posted May 19, 2022 Report Share Posted May 19, 2022 56 minutes ago, RogerH said: Once they finish the Forth bridge it will be fabulous. Forth bridge was last painted in 2002. when they used red oxide it was continuously painted. not anymore as modern paint lasts longer. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted June 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2023 (edited) .............anyway, a year later I didn't do a lot last year except damage the boot lid (dont ask.... stupidity to the 1st degree) My goal now it to sort the bootlid out. Apart from damaged paint the internal rib at the bottom flange was not made as well as I would like. So I replaced that last August and then found that the gap between boot botton lip and lower valence was a little wider than I would wish. So today I started to weld a 3mm welding rod to the bottom edge lip to fill the gap. Then the fun started. The 0.8mm mild steel wire in the MIG welder got jammed just after the power wheel. This involved taking the gun to pieces and unraveling the wire where it passed from the drive wheel into its tube up to the gun. This took about 30 minutes. It proceeded to do this 2 or 3 more times.. I go to Machine Mart to see if they have another wire feed tube. They have the standard plastic. Or a Teflon tube. Or a tube with a steel liner (like a curtain wire I decided to buy both theTeflon and the Wired tubed. At home I find that the wired tube is slightly bigger diameter than the original plastic tube - but I want to fit it But it doesn't want to fit (bu99er) In the end I dispense with the big fat outer casing for all the wires and pipes and keep them together with Spirwrap sleeving. Did it work ???? You bet your bippy it did. I think the springy steel inner liner will give a smoother flow for the welding wire. Tomorrow I shall give it a blast and hopefully progress the boot. Roger Edited June 10, 2023 by RogerH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted June 10, 2023 Report Share Posted June 10, 2023 15 hours ago, RogerH said: .............anyway, a year later I didn't do a lot last year except damage the boot lid (dont ask.... stupidity to the 1st degree) My goal now it to sort the bootlid out. Apart from damaged paint the internal rib at the bottom flange was not made as well as I would like. So I replaced that last August and then found that the gap between boot botton lip and lower valence was a little wider than I would wish. So today I started to weld a 3mm welding rod to the bottom edge lip to fill the gap. Then the fun started. The 0.8mm mild steel wire in the MIG welder got jammed just after the power wheel. This involved taking the gun to pieces and unraveling the wire where it passed from the drive wheel into its tube up to the gun. This took about 30 minutes. It proceeded to do this 2 or 3 more times.. I go to Machine Mart to see if they have another wire feed tube. They have the standard plastic. Or a Teflon tube. Or a tube with a steel liner (like a curtain wire I decided to buy both theTeflon and the Wired tubed. At home I find that the wired tube is slightly bigger diameter than the original plastic tube - but I want to fit it But it doesn't want to fit (bu99er) In the end I dispense with the big fat outer casing for all the wires and pipes and keep them together with Spirwrap sleeving. Did it work ???? You bet your bippy it did. I think the springy steel inner liner will give a smoother flow for the welding wire. Tomorrow I shall give it a blast and hopefully progress the boot. Roger Why don’t you lead fill the bottom edge of the boot lid, that’s what I do, much easier and a lot less grinding etc. Stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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