Carpets fixed!

Another tiny niggle sorted. Carpets in reasonable shape, just weren't fixed down, despite there being two existing screws in the floor pan that looked like they were probably for that exact job. So it was only a few minutes job, again just like a lot of other small cosmetic things, I just had bigger things to worry about, so again, nice to focus on such bits and pieces!















And a little nice pop out to the shops :-)

MPG

Measured for the first time in ages. 24½ miles to the gallon approx. Based on only 130 miles. Better than before. Not quite as good as hoped, but certainly better, and maybe what I should expect?

Dynamo Oiled

Already done. And my dad's generic 50's car manuals from back in the day confirm that I have the "Modern type" of Dynamo bearing. I injected oil there !!! :

Document revisions 1950's style - Dynamo

My service manual is a November 1954 one. Austin obviously hadn't really figured out what to say about Dynamo lubrication, even after production of the Somerset had finished!! I spent at least 15 minutes looking for that wick until I saw the footnote. At least I didn't look for page XX..!

 

Footnote : there IS a page XX!! Regular Attentions section. Anyway There is a hole through which I simply squirt thin oil... Duh..... That will supplement the WD40 at the weekend then!

Long standing niggle solved - was simple!

Since around December, Amy would OCCASIONALLY give out a low pitched whine / growl on startup. Pretty random as to when it would and would not occur and would last varying, short, amounts of time before simply going away. So it was impossible to diagnose and only a slight worry. As of the weekend just gone, it became constant. On every startup. And would take a lot longer to go away. And for the first time, would  occasionally RECCUR whilst idling. So it pushed the problem right up my issues list, with the feeling that I should stop driving her until I knew what the problem was and had fixed it. The slightly good news about it no longer being intermittent was that at least I could video it to be able to ask for remote advice.

 

 



So anyway, I posted my video to Youtube and emailed the local ACCC folks, at the same time posted onto the Austin & Morris Facebook page.

 

The great news was, that despite the noise by now being pretty horrendous and me having read internet articles about possible timing chain issues, the issue was pretty simple. Dynamo bearings dry, quick spray of WD40 and the noise had gone. Apparently older versions of the Dynamo in an A40 engine had a lubricating wick, later ones didn't. So a random spray of lubricant is required from time to time. Next lesson learned! And phew....!

800 up!

Just coincidence that, as I rolled onto the driveway today, the trip meter was showing bang on 800 miles. That is a few more steps towards the magic 999!! The 37045 total(?) miles showing is approx. 2000 miles done since I got her. 2 and a half TIMES more than she did in the whole 6 YEARS prior to that!! Clearly she laid pretty dormant between 2009 and 2013. TEN times more miles that compared to that 4 year period.

3rd Brooklands ACCC Meeting - Mixed bag

Funny really.. no pictures this time - it was raining cats and dogs and a relatively miserable evening weather-wise. But to the point, I don't drive Amy in the rain, certainly not heavy rain. Taking her out is driven quite obsessively around the weather report!! Yesterday was marred by heavy showers which were supposed to die out mid-evening. I had decided that if the rain eased then I would go, if it showed no signs of stoppping then I probably wouldn't.

Initiate sods law.... Rain duly died back and stopped by around 7.45. Off I went, filled up with petrol and off to Brooklands. By around Ascot the rain had started again. By Virginia Water it was tipping down! Bit of a bugger, but no big deal really. Until Byfleet .... driver side windscreen wiper just stopped working, couldn't see much, tentatively crawled the last couple of miles to Brooklands with my nose up to the windscreen!!

Once there, of course plenty of folks to ask about my new windscreen wiper issue. And how simple! Discovered that the wipers are on a plain spindle with a "compression joint" type arrangement holding on the wiper arms. Just a case of re-positioning and tightening!! Fixed.

And the rain stopped .. so didn't care!!

On the flip side, I spanked her on the way home, main road route, fair amount of dual carriageway. Extended runs of 50mph plus. All good, running very smooth. Feel I need to open her up a bit before I can really lay the head gasket issue to rest. 50 - 55 is definitely top speed, but that's reasonable.

And sounds like I should be able to get my seats fitted in Sept, been introduced to a chap that is happy to do that for me, so looking forward to that, because that will bring the interior up to snuff!

Somerset at work - 8!!

Haven't done one of these for a while... Captures the beautiful weather we are having too..

700 Miles... !!

Yawn.. nothing much to say, which is great. 700 miles just turned over on the clock. Just the short drive into the Bracknell office, early start, in the car park by just before 8.00am!! Worth even noting, probably not. Without wanting to tempt fate, I think I'll probably stop worrying about the head gasket when she's flipped round past 999 on the tripometer. Then I can perhaps try to work out mpg again.

Was doing roughly 22mpg back in Winter, but after discovering (and fixing) the brakes issue, then I am hoping for something more reasonable now. (after all, I was in effect driving around with the brakes slightly on all of the time, so that clearly would have contributed to the poor performance!!)

Hoping for the 28mpg mark, will see.