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.