Christmas Lights

Getting a decent Christmas photo is harder than it seems!! Best I could do.. OK a good excuse for a bit of a run around to air Amy whilst she is being left out. There may be no rain, but there is a lot of moisture around and she is quite wet. So hoping for a warmer day in the coming week so she can dry out and put back under cover.

Or maybe now is the time to put her away for winter..

In front of Tudor House in town - the idea was to get the Merry Christmas sign in clearly, but you can't really stop where you;d need to safely to get a decent picture. Also a shot in front of the house in it's Christmas finery!

Boxing day jaunt - Wokingham Town Hall photo opportunity

After Christmas excess, and frankly typical Christmas Day weather, it was nice to wake up to blue skies and sunshine. Supposed to be nice for a while now - all the way into the New Year. So Amy's been under wraps for too long and I wanted to get a few miles in the sun to shake both of our cobwebs out!

Being Boxing Day, I had hoped it would be quiet to give me an opportunity to get a Wokingham town centre picture done - couldnt normally park up where I did. Just got up and out early-ish to get a few miles clocked up and as hoped, town was dead quiet.

A few interested glances at the same time!

Five minutes of "fame" - Brooklands Website

Just looking ahead to the Brooklands Austin Morris day next year to check what day it is on and looked at the website. And what car do I see on one of the headline images? That was our visit from 2015 😀

Clocking up miles - Work and at Parents

The miles gradually increase with a journey here and there. Went to work again today and visited parents over lunch time then home of course. Overall just another 15 miles or so, nothing much but keeps creeping towards the magic 40,000 on the speedo.

And haven't pictured her outside my parents current house before so just for posterity.

She'll go to bed in the garage a bit later, but just a quick stop today.

Rain forecasted for the first time in a little while, so back under cover for now

Just some miles and the takeaway run!

I wasn't happy just starting Amy and not driving her the other day. It's warmed up now, and still dry so I treated her (myself?!) to a drive. Through town, out into the country a bit then back through town and home.

Nothing spectacular, just a nice little jaunt around 15 miles or so for no reason whatsoever, then in he evening we haven't done the Friday takeaway collection in her for ages, so figured why not?!

Put her to bed actually at Christmas maybe. We'll see, but doing a few functional journeys like the old days is kind of nice.

Frosty -4°!!! - Just a start and warm up

I don't often start Amy up and not drive her anywhere, over all the time I have had her I've only done it very rarely.

I don't really see the point, some people do it to keep their classics ticking over, but if she's started - why not drive her somewhere is my motto!

But today, hmmm it's MINUS 4°. A lovely day but too cold to bother, just for the sake of it.

Having said that, the last time she drove in such conditions was a couple of years ago when I took her to Reading in Dec 2014.

So today I just wanted to see if all would still be OK at such cold temperatures.

Easy!! No problem, she started an absolute dream and warmed up, revved and ticked over nicely. I just left her long enough to see the water temp come up and all the frost to melt on the bonnet and left it at that.

Austin - you CAN depend on it!!





She sure looks pretty, with Christmassy frost on the windows! :

Keep her driving - Work today and few more drives

In this really bad spell of weather, it's hard to make sure I keep Amy running. A classic car's worst enemy is inaction, especially when kept outside on the driveway as Amy is.

I don't want to put her away for her Winter sleep in my parents garage just yet, but with wind and rain having been prevalent since the last journey, it means I haven't had her out for a spin since then, over two weeks.

Today is slated to be nice, so out she comes for a work trip. I never just drive straight to work anymore, it's only 2 and a half miles, no where near enough of a journey, always drive a big loop to get there!! (Although that's still only 5 miles!!)

She always takes a while to start after sitting for that length of time, but it is only pulling fuel through, once it comes through, she fires easily and purrs .. The long time Somerset owner I know has exactly the same issue with his, and he's had it since 1960!!! So it's just nature of the beast. I had wondered if the new fuel line setup would solve this and stop the fuel dropping back, but it's just the way it is designed means this is just normal. I guess replacing the mechanical fuel pump with an electric one would work around the issue, cos it'd start whirring away as soon as the ignition was switched on and more quickly pull the fuel up, but it's a non issue really, So I wont be doing anything about that. Not a new issue, she's always done it after a long rest and it just seems worse in cold weather, cos the engine turns over more slowly when trying to start!

Then the next couple of days, although miserable, are supposed to be dry and clear, so she'll stay out and probably get a Saturday jaunt for the sake of it.

New place - The Lookout

Nice weather for an early November day, took the dog for a walk and decided to go to the Lookout havent taken a picture there before, even though it's on the doorstep and a very popular venue for walks!

Restored Austin badge fitted to A40 Somerset

Nice that a really small job turned out to be exactly that - a really small job! Too many of those turn into something more, but the two set screws undid easily. Nothing fell off, got lost or broke and the restored badge (albeit now non-original) was in place within 10 mins!

Comparison pic before refitting:

Amy's face lift, looking 50 years younger:

Finished repainting badge

It was a bit of a rainy day today so cracked on with repainting. Happy enough with the results. Will fit to Amy when weather clears.

Shhhhhh.. Nail varnish!!

Painted letters and "coat of arms"

First step, paint the "shiny parts" . I know I can't replicate the chrome effect of the original, so going for gold... Won't really know good it will look until finished, but it's looking OK so far I think.

Small off season project - Austin Badge

The badge at the top of my grille is in rather poor condition. Over 60 years old so what do you expect? The  plastic has loads of hairline cracks running all over it, so it is not even a case of trying to patch up the colours, the damage is irreparable.

You can get brand new repro ones, but that would probably look too perfect.

At the Sepctember ACCC meet I was kindly given an old one from the Somerset Coupe owner I know. He has a better one on his Coupe and this old one was also in poor shape, but unlike mine the only issue is the painting. The plastic hasnt got the same cracking that mine has.

So I have stripped it right back to start with:

 Need a keen eye, a steady hand and some silver, red and black paint...!! We'll see how it turns out. Hopefully a worthy replacememt for mine when I have finished.

MPG update - rough guess

Just trying to get a feel for MPG now that I have put the electronic ignition in.

It's a bit of guesswork at the moment, as I really need to fill up, run 200 miles or so and then re-fill to check properly.

But after emptying the tank and refitting, I know I have put in approx 12 gallons. She is on half full so that means 4 gallons left and that means I must have used around 8 gallons since re-fitting!!!

I re-set the trip meter after doing the head gasket and did approx 25 - 30 miles before taking the tank off. As of last night getting home, the trip meter is showing c. 220.

Taking off the 30 miles prior to the tank emptying, roughly speaking that means 190 miles on 8 gallons which is about.....

24 mpg

That's mid range of what I got before, so as a rough guide that tells me things must be in reasonable shape! (I never expected electronic ignition to suddenly give me 30 mpg!!!)

Just proves it must be in the right sort of area, and hopefully a bit of further tweaking will get me running smooth again and hopefully proper checking will give better results!

ACCC, Royal Oak, Pirbright

New location, scary drive though. Definitely chose the wrong route to go there as the last leg of the way I went was along a fast but windy, unlit single carriageway B-road. 

Haven't made enough adjustment yet so still getting hesitations on cruising enough so that my nerves were shot when I arrived! Despite having no real reason to expect to actually break down, I still had my heart in my mouth all along that dark stretch of road. Even though it was only around 4 miles!

But despite the un-enjoyable journey there, had a very pleasant evening and after a bit of consultation with more local members of the ACCC, went home a longer, but more sensible, way!

New location to be pictured at:

Catchup on Work Done

Missed documenting a couple of minor jobs in between, times. Nothing major but just to confirm. Fuel tank is now bolted back in place, had to drill out originals as they sheared so replaced with some SS M8 nuts and bolts. Bad photo, but just to give the gist.

The wire that is just visible was to get a guaranteed earth connection for the fuel gauge, because it was a bit temperamental, but actually once tightened up everything seems to work as it should without it, so will remove shortly, after I am sure. (Other end was under one of the sender set screws to give a direct earth, rather than via the tank.)

New fuel sender gasket also fitted. Should not get leaks when filling up (it dripped a bit). Fill needed to test the theory, don't see why there should be any issue, the prior gasket was paper & almost non-existent. The dribble was faint then, so with this one all should be fine!

Thatcham Classic Car Show 2016

Today was important, because it was the last show of the year at Thatcham and shows have been thin on the ground in 2016 for one reason or another.

Weather was a bit iffy but a 50 mile round trip and a fair sized turnout made it extremely worthwhile,  especially satisfying considering all the work I've needed to do and the last show at Littlewick Green was a bit of a mixed bag due to breakdowns.

Nice run there and back, some good pics, great day! Nice.

3 years on - Car at work 11 (not Broken down!)

I kind of promised myself not to do these abut two years ago!! But the last month or so has been quite trying  with one thing and another, and I am back to just being very pleased to be able to look down from the same office window at the car park view. Same as three years ago after early dramas when first getting Amy then.

Must realise that it is still quite an achievement, especially since I am doing everything myself so far with only moral support and advice. I have certainly gone beyond what I thought was my capability.

Looking good and similar weather to that date three years ago too!

Fuel Gauge working again

The terminal bolt on the sender just span around when trying to undo it, so originally I just pulled the wire off to get the tank out. Didnt think too much of it at the time, but that had screwed up the insulation inside the instrument, causing it to short and give no reading (well.. show full all of the time) I was lucky I didnt spin it arond too much and break the coil wiring, that would have been a difficult repair.

As it happens all I had to do was strip it down, re-insulate the terminal bolt and re-install.

All works fine. Getting an earth is tricky at the moment as I have to drill out the tank bolts to fix it back in properly, and the earth relies on that. Coil to gauge body, gauge body to fuel tank, fuel tank to car body and back to earth. So temporarily I have a wire going from the sender body direct to the main car body, just to bypass any niggles.

Will remove that later when I can. But I know how much petrol I have in the car again!! Actually down at the same amount that was in there when all the breakdowns started happening, so had better fill up now. (and see if the Fuel Sender leaks.. I confess I used a bit of Hylomar to try to ensure not.. more bodge juice!)

Another 15 non stop - tweaks, last steps.

Adjusted timing a little, a bit further advanced. That has made an improvement. Tickover now very nice, acceleration solid, cruising smoother.

Did 15 non-stop, trouble free miles again, just aimlessly around and about. Lots of bitty twisting and turning, but also some nice straight runs to open her up a bit.

Seeming OK so far, ordered a new set of plugs. Shame not to replace them seeing as everything else ignition wise has been replaced. Pop them in this week.

Now I just need to bolt the tank back in and fix the fuel sender so my gauge works again and we are back to normal!! As much as suggestions about further tank cleaning and sealing have been made, I have lost the inclination to do anything more than I have. Hopefully all good, certainly I've done as much if not more than some folks I have talked to would bother with, keep my fingers crossed on that front!

First 25 miles - OK

Relatively uneventful. So far so good! A 10 mile round and round and a couple of slightly shorter round and about.

Cleaned out the carburetor a bit too, tightened manifold bolts. 50 more miles before I need to re-torque the head. Electronic ignition seems fine.

So much done over the past month, almost forgot what has been changed!!

Hoping for the best, why not?!

Amy's history

I applied to the DVLA a few weeks ago to find out where Amy had been. Got some really interesting stuff. Not everything, because they only had centralised records from mid 70's. But it gave me some good info. I have to contact Middlesex if I want older info.

But it was still really interesting. It has enabled me to update some of the info on the About Amy page.

Supporting the restoration date that I had guessed at from an old newspaper I found under the spare wheel, the paperwork confirmed that she was originally Sandringham Fawn and resprayed Green in 1995. So still partially assuming the respray was one of the final acts of a restoration, but 20 years ago seems a fair estimation of when it was done.

Good timing as I was only thinking about that a day or so ago in relation to my fuel blockage issues. Even if the petrol tank was cleaned out then, that's still a while and since the gauze was still in there, then maybe not.

First drive to petrol station - Slosh? Nah....

The internal Slosh sealant arrived today, BUT it is plastered with warnings that preparation is absolutely paramount, the tank needed to be ABSOLUTELY clean and perfectly dry, otherwise the Slosh will fail and need to be stripped out again. The inside of the tank is certainly far better than it was and drying it out is no problem:

First a whole load of sludge came out
When dry, all loads of flakes of rust and stuff came out
The clogged gauze has all but been removed
Then lots of washing out has been done, including with the Tank Kleen that came with the Slosh.

BUT...

It still looks far from clean, very worried that the "Sloshing" would be doomed to failure and would create even more work.

I am in a far better position that previously, so figured that I'd like to avoid it after all.

The upside of that is that the tank is back in, reconnected and with a petrol can full of fresh fuel, I drove her to the petrol station to put in a few more gallons. Just about 3/4 full

Not bolted back in, just held in place by the spare wheel for now.

Will see if any leaks appear (and whether she runs ok now). If not then I will leave it at that. No reason why just a good clean out shouldn't do the trick for a fair few years. That MAY have been the first clean out EVER, or certain since she was originally restored which was at least 10 years ago, probably longer. There was an old newspaper in the boot from 1995, so I'd say over 20 years ago.

Preparing the outside of the tank

Lashings of red oxide primer!

The remaining underseal was on solid and it was all shiny under what came off, so decided to leave it put.

There was a small rust hole, which I soldered. Can just see the small lump slightly in from the bottom left hand corner as viewed.

Soldered - no leak

Not the neatest job, but no leak any more. Clean, seal, refit next. Running by weekend? 😎

Gauze mostly out

Another poor quality scope picture, but it shows that the feed pipe is now clear.

Also part of what was left of the gauze is photographed here. Totally clogged what was left. Below is the feed pipe coming down vertically above where the drain plug is.

Fuel Tank options and ACCC Barn Day

Cleaning out to one side, this is the issue I have with the tank now:

So I have a number of options to consider.

1) Clean out and repair the existing one I have
2) Buy a replacement one from ebay (there are some available)
3) Get a replacement from the ACCC "Barn"

The third option was put to me on a club night and seemed like a good idea.

I spent a day at the "Barn" with other like minded folks, basically tearing a Somerset apart! But the point being was that I was able to get another tank if I so desired. But the other advantage of being at the day was that there was a lot of experience there. This persuaded me that just repairing the drain plug on mine was relatively easy, they are soldered in, no need for re-welding.

So as it happens the other fuel tanks were just as bad (if not worse) than mine, so I came away empty handed, but with my mind filled with the way to fix my situation.

On that same day the cheap little endoscope camera I had ordered arrived, and i was able to look inside my tank to see what was going on. It confirmed that the outlet pipe gauze was clogged and doing more harm than good. (the camera wasn't very good at pictures though - this is the best I could get:

So cleaning out, re-soldering the drain plug seam, refit tank into car, see what happens..!

That's next. Hopefully fit that in this week, whilst a bit of evening daylight left.

Fuel tank off!!

Not much else to say! I decided that I need to fix at source and clear the tank. Tried to drain first, using the drain plug, but that was seized and just ended up turning and splitting away. So still need to get it cleaned out but also now needs repairing or source a replacement. So first step - remove from car!

Fuel line completely replaced

So I did that job yesterday evening. There is clear reinforced UPVC fuel line in one run from back to front. The old copper line is left in place, no real good reason to remove it, it may prove to not be the problem at all and will possibly go back to it. It worked for years after all, so it's only a possibly contributor to the problem, not the actual cause, I have to accept that.

The trickiest thing was where to run the PVC line. couldnt follow the copper line as too close to the exhaust. Had to be careful following the chassis due to constant movement of the axle and potential for snagging or even crushing under extreme tilt. (although unlikely, had to consider it)

Ended up like this:



















ACCC night tonight, but no trust to undertake such a journey in the dark even if I get a test drive in earlier in the evening. So I'll be driving Roly and use the opportunity to get some advice if I can. A guy in the club with an A70 Hampshire had exactly this trouble a couple of years ago, so I want to talk it through. Cant remember if he had the tank out in the end or not, that may still be the inevitable answer and I am in denial! Is it such a big job? Not really, it's just having all that petrol sloshing around that makes it a pain.

OK - Fuel line still a problem - but clear to see

A few more miles today, mainly to get the engine get warmed up again to give the head gasket a re-torque. But had a couple of errands to run at the same time, so made it a useful journey. Confidence growing in the Electronic ignition, and why not really? If it's working its working.

BUT on the way home suffered a breakdown again. It wasn't the electrics!!!! Although disappointing, the great thing is that now I CAN SEE the problem. The run of clear flexible fuel line showed it was mostly air in the line. When pumping through manually you could see the fuel trying to come through but not managing to keep up.

Blowing back up the fuel line is also easier, and after I did that you could see a "cloud" of dark stuff come back up with the fuel when re-priming manually.

So good news is that it was relatively easy to get going again and CLEAR cause. Bad news is that I am still suffering from intermittent fuel blockage.

Clearly the source of the crud is the tank and I am down to a third full tank and I said I would keep her full. But the run of copper pipe is convoluted and up and down with some sharpish bends, so I will still try the full run of clear line from front to back before I resign myself to needing the tank off. Just in case it is mostly the fuel line getting the occasional block and not from the tank itself. (petrol always seems to flow freely from the outlet... )

I have to laugh when I look back at the day I thought my problem was the spark plugs being loose!! Oh such naive optimism!

Most tentative 2 miles!! - Electronic Ignition in. After over 2 1/2 years!!

Finally, Amy is powered by electronic ignition!! (Originally planned this upgrade in Jan 2014!!)

Took the plunge this morning. It was made rather more complicated by the fact that rotor arm was mounted 180 degrees opposite to the original and the distributor cap is also at 90 degrees to it.

Bottom line was that I had to ignore the instructions to a certain extent and add my own thought process to the HT leads order etc... Only really had to be careful to get no 1 right and then follow the firing order, but nevertheless it hurt my brain at 9.00 this morning!

But after huffing and puffing, it's in and running. Warming up the engine was scary cos it invloved a lot of backfiring to start with, until it was warm then I could take off the choke, do some finer adjustment and then finally around the block. Runs very nicely, although it;s not this magic eureka moment.  But certain aspects are smoother.

I think I'll ask for some help in getting it finer tuned this time from some friends in the club.

There is still hesitation on cruising just like she has pretty much always had. With such a major change of ignition system then it has GOT to be in relation to fuel/carb/mixture or something.

But all good so far!!!

Did another 8 or so miles later on, took a picture, on an  old road near town, whilst meeting up with the family and walking the dog.

Apart from the modern vehicles, it kinda looks old-school as my phone is refusing to focus!! So gave the colouring a bit of a retro feel.






Hopefully can get back to normal now. Will be measuring the miles since these repairs and 20 done so far !! And next milestone is that 40,000 is 500 miles away!

Will refurbish the old distrubutior anyway, I have all the parts to make it good as new. Then I'll carry all of that around with me as my "repair" option!!

First 10 miles!!

This is back to the old days with this blog!! Except no mention of thermostats.

Discovered also that the Distributor was LOOSE, able to move relatively easily. Perhaps it got shoved around when the RAC guy was working on things or when I was doing the head gasket. But it wont help things either and needed to re-set it. Did that visually from old photos. Got her running relatively well and did a drive, gotta start somewhere. Some hesitations depending on speed, but other than that, seems fine.

Haven't replaced any components yet, beyond the condenser that was fitted by the RAC guy.

That's next. Probably take the distributor out to do that and give it a clean up at the same time. Buy wont try to fiddle with the finer timing adjustment until then, no point (!) I don't think.

Pondering the electronic ignition again...! That's only be nearly 3 years after buying it!

Onwards and updwards!

Fuel issues possibly identified and fixed

Fuel starvation was definitely one of my issues, wasn't sure the exact cause, but am reluctant to take the tank out when it may not  be needed. I spotted two things that could have contributed (and explained why I could almost always clear it) The metal braided flexible hose that connected the fuel line to the fuel pump was perished inside and sucking air. Didn't notice before. Also the flexible hose at the rear end that I replaced around a year ago I guess had shrink slightly and had worked itself a little loose and was leaking (so could also suck air)

Originally I was concerned that the fuel line was blocked somehow and I was going to replace the copper line with a straight run of clear reinforced hose, but to start with I am just going to see how things go with this setup:

Shock horror to the purists, I have done away with the braided hose with the Banjo union completely and just connected direct. Surely I'm not the only one to have ever done that bodge??!!

So she's running fine again now, but the ignition system yet to be overhauled. New points, coil, condensor, rotor arm, dizzy cap arrived from the owners club, so bit by bit....!!

Head gasket 4 done. Reset the Clock!

Refitted the head gasket after work. Making use of the long evenings like I used to the last time I had something major to do.

Started around 5.00pm, All done and drove around the block at about 7.30pm.

About an hour prep, checking the head and cleaning up. All looking fine on that front.

Then about an hour actuallt fitting the head, connecting up hoses etc..

The Hylomar red didnt hurt last time so used it again!

Then 30 minutes torquing, warming up the engine and re-torquing.

Still got other issues to look at, but a basic functioning engine helps!!

And to round off the day - Head Gasket 4!!

Well, at the time of doing the last head gasket, I didnt expect it to last and it was a bog standard one, so to cap off all my niggles, I confirmed that the head gasket has also gone.

Some of the misbehaving I hadn't mentioned on the journey home was some rough running, and a bit noisy. (over and above actually breaking down there was also poorer than normal acceleration and a background noise that I couldn't put my finger on at the time)

For some reason it was nagging at me so I checked compression. 2 & 3 ZERO compression. Head Gasket failure strikes again!!!

Took me about an hour to tear down the top end. Bit of clean up and refit with the reinforced head gasket that I have had laying around waiting to be used for nearly 2 and a half years.. so wont complain too much. Roughly 3,500 miles since the last one and combination of other issues plus really hot weather just got too much I guess.

So -

1. Head gasket is easy, will probably have that done during the evenings this week
2. Some electrical spares needed, no problem. 
3. Still seems like I have poor fuel flow  to fix
   (may mean removing the fuel tank)

Littlewick Green Show 2016 - Not all Roses

Well... We were all ready to go and set off with show pass in place.

Usual light buff to make her as shiny as possible and set off at 9.00am so as to arrive on time.

Hmpfff... well so much for the having fixed the problem.

Half way to the above mentioned show Amy coasted to another gentle stop and refused to start agan.

No visible spark, DEFINATELY!!.

So we sat by the side of the road for an hour, teasingly facing the way we wanted to go, but unable to do so.

Maybe I did have multiple intermittent electrical problems as well as fuel problems.  As of typing this entry, the breakdown man was coming waiting to see what he could do

RAC was man fab. Short story is that he spent 3 hours fixing Amy and I was able to progress. Points were iffy - he did a job on them to clean them up. (I should have done that) Still nothing, changed coil back for old one, still nothing. Changed condensor - she fired. Re-fitted the new coil, nothing. Put the old coil back on she ran!! Hurrah. So the theory is that the condenosr was breaking down, which was knackering the points and causing my coil to fail. The new coil masked that for a while but then gave up the ghost. The points being bad would probably not have caused a breakdown on their own, but put the whole sorry mess together and well.. That;s where we are at. I now have a shopping list. New coil (again), new spare condensor and two new sets of points. One to replace the old ones, one spare.

Anyway set off again for the show, stopped half way in Waltham St Lawrence for a nice picture.


Finally got to Littlewick Green Show 4 hours later that intended!!

Some show shots, including, WOW another Somerset Coupe. They are pretty rare and I know one guy with one, well now I know another!!

Finally, I NEARLY bought one of these. Happy with the Somerset, I am sure I would have been equally so if I had got a Cambrige. This was the same year as my Somerset, so one of the first Cambridges.







Postscript: Broke down AGAIN on way home, back to a FUEL issue, fuel line blocked AGAIN, cleared it AGAIN, got home. But all in all a slightly frustrating day, albeit, nice to get a show under our belt!! Work still to be done.