The WSR Blog

2012-02-07T14:41:00.000Z

PROJECT: EMMA (ROVER P5B Coupe)

The restoration of this car took a back seat at the end of last year at time and opportunity to further this project were in very short supply. However, since late January the area around Emily has been a hive of activity with something changing almost on a daily basis. The photographs below are a record of the latest work.

First job was to take a look at the front scuttle area below the driver's side of the front windscreen. We had known that there was a lot of filler here and the owner had already supplied us with a pre-made repair section to use so it was obvious that the owner suspected trouble here as well.

First job was to locate the various spot welds and old mig welds left bey previous repairers so that they could be freed off so that the panel could be released.

As can be seen the state of the bodywork underneath was not a pretty sight! The only thing to do was to take notes and photographs and then start further dissecting the car. Once the corrosion had been removed, the surrounding good steel was cleaned up.

After a protective layer of anti rust paint. the new inner panels were welded in and the repair section trial fitted.

The biggest problem was that the hand made repair panel war the wrong profile and a real step between the end of the bonnet and the panel was obvious. The only solution was to modify the repair panel until it looked right and the lead load the panel in to blend the repairs. I had to add a fair amount of lead to the area where the windscreen rubber will sit because the profile was still not right but eventually I arrived at a point where I could put a layer of protective paint on and move along to the next stage.

Surprisingly the other side of the windscreen scuttle panel was in much better order requiring only a clean up and re-fit of the existing panel.

Before leaving this area a new windscreen pillar panel was fabricated to replace the rather moth eaten original one.

Attention then turned at the end of January to the rear window channel:

Work now re-focused on the repairs to the driver's side doors which had been previously repaired and were due new repair sections.

Finally two dents were uncovered in the tail ends of the rear wings. These seem to have happened within a few years of the car being made and no one knows why they are there. After welding in new steel and leading, you'd never know that there was a problem.

Currently ( 7th Feb 2012) that's where we are. Next phase later on this month will be the final welding of the doors and the painting.

2012-02-07T13:17:00.000Z

The varied work carries on at WSR Ltd. At the moment we have eighteen projects under way from minor repairs on an Austin 1300 to a full scale restoration of a Rover P5B Coupe. The photograph below is of the newly re-fitted head for a Lotus Elan that's currently being re-commissioned after many years off road.

As the new year gets under way, we are beginning to see more and more enquiries for the sort of work that we do here. Space is limited so If you were planning to get your car in for an MOT for the spring started or possibly contemplating a full restoration, now is the time to act.

2012-01-01T18:58:00.000Z

This 1300 GT is in generally good order but there are some welding projects and various repairs to be made before the car leaves us.

These cars are as simple to work on as the classic Minis but with the added advantage of more space. The example that we have in is a slightly modified example with a later engine but it’s a lively performer and otherwise completely standard.

There’s some corrosion around the engine bay- in particular on the bonnet hinge mounting points wher stress and corrosion have weakened the panel and so some careful repairs will be needed.

Austin Mini Cooper

2012-01-01T18:32:00.000Z

As with many projects, the Mini Cooper photographed here looked quite the business when it arrived. However, a previous inspection had shown that the car required quite a fair amount of bodywork at the front- end .

The inital list of work included two new front wings, two A-post panels,font panel ( radiator grill panel) and a door skin replacement .For this the glass and much of the trim had to be removed before we started. The old panels were then cut out in the usual way.

As is usual for older cars, the more panel work removed the more complicated things became.First problem was the discovery that the front inner wings had corroded and were also suffering from Stress cracking. Initially we had intended to replace these items with new panles but the sheer additional cost of doing this coupled with problems with availability for the late panel required meant that in the end we opted for restoration of the existing panels.

As can be seen, this car is now ready to move onto the painting stage.

Closed for Christmas. Back up and running on January the 3rd 2012

2012-01-01T16:30:00.000Z

The workshop has been closed for the Christmas break as I’m taking what I'd like to think of as a well earned rest . Activity will resume on January the 3rd 2012 when there will be plenty to report.

Work already planned is as diverse as taking this Aston Martin DBS for cavity waxing to painting a Triumph Herald saloon.

new service

2011-09-28T21:08:00.000+01:00

The great news this week is that we have moved into transportation in association with SJS Vehicle Transportation. We have been using the services of the company's owner Steve Sharp for some years now but have decided to work more closely with him.

SJS Vehicle Transportation is an idependant company that undertakes to move all types of classic vehicles from armored cars right through to the last mortal remains of classic Messerchmitt kr bubble cars ( see below to understand what I mean) from anywhere to anywhere in the country ( except inner London- but then who wants to drive a truck there anyway?).

BMW M1. Highly collectable

One of the things that we have always liked about Sjs Vehicle recovery is that all the vehicles that he recovers are properly insured as either classics or specialist cars. This means that unlike some transportation outfits, if the worst were to happen- you're properly covered.

The truck that SJS uses is practically a classic in it's self but as the owner Steve is a fully qualified mechanic it never lets him down which is more than can be said for some of the modern trucks around . This is another reason that our customers like Steve: as a qualified mechanic he can give you an opinion on what's wrong with your car even before it get's to your destination!

It doesn't seem to matter if the car in question is a open sports car like the Hemmi head Dax Cobra above or one of the Daimler limosines below, you'll recieve sthe same level of care and concideration as the vehicle is loaded and unloaded. Unlike experiences with other truck drivers we have never had even a scratch on a vehicle that SJS Vehicle recover have moved.

All we need to give you a fixed quote for shifting your cherrished car is the address and post code of where the car is, an address and post code of where the car is going to and a brief description of what the car is. Oh, and don't forget to mention any important facts like the car has no wheels or your neighbour has the keys just in case!

Silver DeLorean

Real E-Type

Pretend E-Type- actually a very nice Triumph GT6 MK 3

DeLorean's aren't usually red but it looks good on this one

Mercedes 250

Messerschmitt KR after being exhumed from a barn. Did you accidentally drive your truck over it Steve?

Altough we are a classic restorer, we are a firm believer that there's plenty of room for other classic car companies. Many of the vehicles above did not come to us to be restored. This is no problem and you'll still recieve the same level of service regardless of the destination of your car. Why not email or call us for a quotation today!

Autumn

2011-09-21T07:59:00.000+01:00

Now that we are well into September, we are starting to see a slight shift in the sort of enquiries that we have in. Up untill this point it's mostly restoration and re-spray enquireies but as the weather turns the question of winter servicing and cavity waxing become issues.

Already the cavity waxing bay has a month long que for customers wishing to get their cars treated. With prices as low as from £28 plus parts and materials for an oil change the servicing appointments are filling up now as well. Although the weather is still quite mild, now is the time to start looking at getting a full service done on your classic if you intend to use it through the winter.Why not send us an email for a price for servicing your car?

Snowdrop the vintage Rover 10HP (1934)

2011-09-09T15:27:00.000+01:00

Things are happening around our 1934 rover 10HP again.

After spending some time carefully restoring the Luvax automatic lubrication system on his car, Chris discovered that Bentley restorers Feinnes Restoration (www.feinnesrestoration.com) have been re-producing the system for their cars.

It has to be said that the Rover system at the time that our Rover was made was slightly more advanced being fully automatic but the fittings are very similar- just a different thread on the unions. On the basis that new parts are possibly going to be more reliable, Chris ordered a set in.

The Quality of the fittings is spot on and together with some absolutely right new brass thin tubing form the same supplier the "kit has been fitted to Snowdrop in a little over a morning.

Elsewhere by co-incidence the restoration of the bodywork resumed and I was caught in the act of fabricating one of the outer wheel arch to rear seat pan support panels when Chris came in. The job isn't totally finished because I can't remove the old panels until I have a tool to accurately measure the positions of all the old panel work.We don't want a wobbly back seat do we?

Lotus update

2011-09-06T17:07:00.000+01:00

Before I went away on holiday, the decision to remove the Head from the Lotus Elan had been made. The simple reason for this was that one of the threaded spark plug ports had at some point been stripped ( soft aluminium head- these things happen).

At some point the new helicoil insert that had been fitted had come adrift and so come out with the spark plug. Although for a trial start up we were able to screw the plug and insert combination back in, we were unable to separate the two and the only solution was to remove the head and get a new insert fitted. Whilst the head was in it made good sense to get it looked over and any other work done at the same time.

On the last day before I went away the head was dropped off at the engineers and by co-incidence, we received a call yesterday to say that it was ready for collection.

Sadie had noticed that there was evidence that the head gasket was blowing when she stripped it down so it's not surprising that one of the jobs done was to skim the head flat. As well as this and the new insert, the valves were cleaned up and the seats re-cut. The engineers had also given the combustion chamber a de-coke. Valve clearances were also shimmed and ,due to previous slightly dubious repairs, new exhaust studs were fitted ( two originals snapped on the way out apparently ).

The head is now ready to go back in later on this week.

Triumph Herald 1200 saloon update

2011-09-06T16:31:00.001+01:00

Just before I went away for my holiday I had just enough time to open a box of parts that had been delivered to the workshop. In it were a vast array of goodies for the little 1200 Herald that we have in.

One of the jobs that I had asked the guys in the workshop to do whilst I was away was to fit the new outrigger assemblies to the chassis. These parts can be fitted to the car with the main body tub on but it is nigh on impossible to get all the way around the new components with the welder . It's also an uncomfortable experience grinding off all the old metal whilst lying under the car.

Chassis exposed.

As I had gone by the time the work started Beau and Sadie were left to make the decision to leave the body on the chassis or to remove it to gain access. This is one of those times when the right decision could be either choice but the removal of the body was the option taken.

You can just about make out a repair welded to this chassis section. The photograph makes it look worse than it is but it's still worth replacing while we can do it easily.

This does make changing outriggers easier and allows us to check the chassis more fully which is always good. However on an old car like this every securing bolt can be totally rusted in and it can take many hours to split the body from the chassis.

Damaged outrigger with previously concealed rust hole. Replacements are fortunately cheap.

Fortunately the right choice had been made and the body has been lifted successfully from the chassis and placed on a trolley. Lucky for us that this was done because we can now see that the car has had a light rear end shunt at some point that we can now put right.

Some of the outriggers that we had classed as sound have now been revealed to have been repaired in the past and we hope to take advantage while we can to easily replace these cheap parts and give the chassis a good clean up and paint while we are at it.

Happily, the main chassis backbone assembly is as good as I had thought so we're still onto a winner.

First day back.

2011-09-06T15:51:00.000+01:00

The first day back from your holidays is always the worst. Anyone who runs a small business will be familiar with the irrational fear of what you might find when you roll up the shutters. Will the workshop still be there? will there be hundreds of emails to answer, will the bank be chasing payment for something?

Triumph Herald body shell removed from Chassis.

The answer was that everything was fine this morning, the workshop was tidy and work had already begun when I got in. Thanks to Sadie and Beau for doing such a good job. In fact several key jobs seem to have been completed and we even have some new bookings which is great.

One decision made was to remove the body shell from the chassis of the Triumph Herald in order to repair the chassis. This I fully support as it makes the job so much more efficient

. Perhaps I should go off on holiday more often!

2011-08-22T09:07:00.000+01:00

Here at WSR we have a full week ahead. Well some of us do, some of us are away for two weeks in the sun and I have to say that I can't wait! Whilst I'm away, Sadie and Beau will be looking after the business for me and should be able to answer most questions that you ask.

With the somewhat disastrous performance of our gas supplier last week and the long delays in getting spares out to me from some suppliers there's quite a back log of work waiting to be done. This should keep Sadie and beau busy for at least a week.

Work scheduled include:

Completing the re-wire of the TR6

Re-wiring the Lotus Elan plus removing the head for engineering work ( if the manual ordered turns up ).

A full suspension rebuild on the Triumph Herald ( parts due in from Wins international who is rarely late with his supplies at least).

Welding to two Dolomites, The Herald, The Spitfire mk3 and our Rover collection.

A universal joint change and MOT on a Spitfire 1500

And that's just what I can recall while I'm sitting here! Sadie and Beau won't be updating the web site while I'm away so customers wishing to know what's happening should call in. A full update will appear around the 6-7th of September.

In the meantime, there's an update on the blog for last week.

In A&E again!

2011-08-22T08:40:00.000+01:00

It was an odd day on Friday. For most of the day I was waiting for supplies of gas to arrive and parts for cars apparently missing in the post. What work I could do consisted mainly of grinding down welds and making repair sections up. Whilst doing a spot of grinding down welds I managed to get a spark in my eye despite wearing face protection.

Welds dressed back ready for sealing and painting on Friday.

Beau was in but was doing some private work on a day off- the smart red Mini Cooper on the home page had failed it's mot on welding and then a ball joint and this was keeping him busy ( to get the welding done he'd borrowed a small mig welder from Sadie and bought a disposable cylinder of gas from Machine mart).

Plenty of projects in the workshop on friday but no progress. Almost all projects were on stop due to parts on order or no gas being available for welding.

By the time I got home, the grit in my eye had started to become irritating and by bed time it was obvious that I needed to go to the hospital to get it sorted out. My wife Natasha gave me a lift in and we booked in at 10.30. We then waited until around 4.00 am to be told by a new doctor that he couldn't do this job and we had to make a further run down into Brighton to the eye hospital.

I have to say that the Hospital in Brighton was brilliant and we were out by 5 and home by 5.30 on Saturday morning- the time I'm usually going out to work. No rest for the wicked though as we then had to dig my Father's Triumph Stag out and clean it up for a classic car show in Capel.

Getting bits in our eyes, burns cuts and bruises are an occupational hazard for anyone who works on old cars. Knowing how much accidents hurt, it amazes me how many people I see working on cars with absolutely no safety equipment what so ever. I realise that it can be a real pain to keep putting the safety specs on and taking them off as you work but it has to be better that a whole night spent sitting on a hard seat in the casualty department!

It's a gas- well, it's not actually.

2011-08-18T08:02:00.000+01:00

Yesterday in some respects was a bit of a wash out for me. A big part of the business here is bodywork- in particular welding. Last week we ran out of gas and so called our supplier to get a delivery. It's now Thursday and still no gas....

This has caused quite a few projects to become delayed and messed the flow of work through the workshop up quite badly- very annoying. To make up for this will mean doing some long hours later on. Fingers crossed for today.

One of the vehicles currently held up is Snowdrop our vintage Rover project- after a long break, the bodywork was supposed to begin on Monday- Fingers crossed for a delivery today.

Obviously this photograph was taken on a misty morning.

On a more positive note, both the Gold Capri that you can just make out here and the bright yellow Rover have been completed and are due to go home now.My thanks to Sadie and Beau who have continued to show such dedication to getting the work done on time, often working late into the evening to see that this happens.

Also just visible is the back end of the Lotus Elan which is about to have the head taken off the engine for repair and the wiring loom changed after our electrician condemned the original ( also, new manual ordered- Amazon is just fantastic for that sort of thing).

The open boot lid belongs to the TR6 which is still waiting for the wiring loom to arrive and right down the bottom on the right, that's Emily ( rover P5B) who now has a project page ready to be updated.

A typical maintanace project.

2011-08-17T14:41:00.000+01:00

We regularly update our facebook page through the day with everything that's happening in the workshop. It gives customers peace of mind when they can see their car from the office and allows us to relay on photographs to them of problems encountered as we go.

It also has a following in general on the internet. Not all cars get featured as we really are incredibly busy at the moment and by and large this Rover P6 is one that hasn't featured much.

The car came in just under two weeks ago for work to the rear brakes. There was a problem with one of the flexible hoses and it was thought that the collapse of this hose might have been causing poor brake performance. Rover P6 owners are usually only too aware of the difficulties of maintaining the rear inboard braking system so It tends to be ignored for as long as possible

With the car in our care, the first thing to do was to test drive the car ( very carefully). A test drive can throw up all sorts of problems not noticed and is a valuable start to this sort of job. Apart from wandering slightly and the brakes not being completely right the car was declared safe and lifted up.

A visual inspection next revealed that the faulty flexible hose was actually unpealing underneath allowing the cotton cords to show through. This does not mean that the pipe is about to burst but exposed re-enforcing will rot and then the pipe really can let go. The second hose in the rear system was just as old and past it's sell by date as well so this was earmarked for replacement and a new one ordered.

A chance drip of brake fluid in the eye ( not nice!) drew our attention to the rear callipers , one of which appeared seized and weeping. Access is very poor on these cars here and rather than groveling under the car with our hands feeling their way out of sight we decided it would ultimately be safer and quicker just to simply lower the differential away from the car.

A burnt brake pad- a sure sign that the callipers have been sticking on.

At this point both rear callipers were removed relatively easily and placed on the bench for inspection. The partially seized handbrake linkage was also removed and cleaned up and freed off on the bench. Once cleaned up, the nearside calliper was checked re set and put back on with new pads.

Leaking sized calliper

New calliper in position
The off side calliper was seized and weeping fluid. Luckily the owner had a spare in the rear foot well ( like you do) and this was again set up and fitted. The whole assembly was then re-fitted and lifted back up into the car, cables re-connected, linkages still on the car cleaned and lubricated, hydraulic unions tightened up and bled through to remove air and old stale brake fluid.

You can really see why we wanted to drop the rear axle for this job- access is awful- how would you know if a mistake has been made?

The hand brake was then set up and with the new brake pads in, a final check was made before the car was lowered to the ground . Here we were looking for potential problems for the owner to be aware of such as leaking shock absorbers etc.

As we now had given the rear brakes and suspension a clean bill of health, we lifted the front end to make sure that all was well here- just a free check. The only problem found was a slightly worn track control arm ( still serviceable though). With an oil and filter change, the car was ready for a final test drive and is now ready for collection.

2011-08-17T10:03:00.000+01:00

Yet again this morning, the lap top has crashed just as I was completing my blog so this is my second attempt of the day. Most annoying.

Out from under wraps? If all goes well today, the restoration of the bodywork for Snowdrop the 1934 10 HP Rover resumes today. Due to other commitments in the workshop it won't be the only vehicle being worked on at the moment but any progress is good.

Yesterday, I decided to come in later than usual and use the home computer for my update. When I arrived, still earlier than 9 Sadie and Chris were waiting for me to open up. Rather infuriatingly, the delivery driver from BOC had been and gone without delivering our much needed gas supply.-apart from mine, how many other businesses are open at 7 in the morning? To make matters worse- no-one from the company contacted me to say that they'd been and left me waiting most of the day for them to arrive.

As a consequence of having no gas, no body repairs could take place. Instead Sadie finished off the work on the Capri

Beau continued with the mechanical work on the Triumph Herald. With the latest batch of parts now fitted, the owner is ordering up the next stage of parts – including an new rear axle and spring set ( see blog from yesterday).

The Capri work went fairly well yesterday, the car is booked in for it's MOT this morning but there is still a problem. The famously (bad) '70's Ford auto choke is jammed on and the car will never pass it's emissions test like that. Because the Webber Carburettor that the car has happily seems to pour neat fuel into the engine any way ( she can't do much more than 25 to the gallon if you're gentle) we think that the car will cold start anyway so we will try disabling the unit for the time being. Later on we will need to deicide if we want to repair/replace or convert to manual choke.

Another new arrival has appeared. Yesterday evening this rather smart Mini Cooper S appeared in the work shop.

In the winter, the owner plans to bring the car back for more serious work including front wings and scuttle panel as rust bubbles are starting to appear here and there.

16th August 2011

2011-08-16T08:22:00.000+01:00

I did sit down last night after work to prepare a blog for this morning. I'd got as far as spell checking my work when the lap top crashed. Typical! So now I'm sitting in the office at home aided by my side-kick Mr Woodruff who keeps telling me he needs to go out ( to make sure that the chickens don't need rounding up).

Today we are expecting a Mini invasion. Beau is our resident Mini Expert so he will be doing most of the work. Here's a few shots of some of his work.

Beau's own green Mini van.

New project.

Completed project ( from three years ago).

Yesterday saw a verity of different projects being worked on throughout the day. Beau spent most of his day working on the front end of the Triumph Herald 1200 saloon.

These great little cars make fantastic every day vehicles as well as good club cars. We are gradually working through problems induced by a combination of old age and long term storage. The braking system overhaul is now well under way. A problem encountered yesterday was that we were trying to fit new callipers and brake pads to the car but the original brake discs had completely had it ( see below).

Luckily we had a set of new discs ordered by mistake and these were just right for the Herald. What impressed us with this car is that from the appearance of the under-bonnet area you'd think that every nut and bolt would be seized solid and require time-consuming removal with a hack saw. But no, someone ( presumably the current owner, who has owned the car for years) has greased every bolt before fitting. The upshot is that a job like stripping the front suspension that can take all day, can take a few hours, saving hundreds of pounds.

With the new front hubs in the vice, it didn't take long to get the old discs off and into the re-cycling bin.

We do plan to re-visit this area soon as we feel that the suspension bushes should be renewed- and some black paint would not go amiss either. Moving to the rear of the car, Beau has managed to run new brake lines and fuel lines along the chassis. He reports that the old fuel line wasn't even clipped on any more because the clips had all rusted away. We are hoping that the owner will allow us to do something with the rear suspension whilst we are here.

Although in general use the rear suspension system used on this car is more than adequate, it does contain a nasty sting in it's tail. When this car came out in 1959, the all-round independent suspension was something of a success for the small Triumph, however, whilst the front suspension system was highly stable, the rear system has the alarming tendency when cornering to at first under steer and then over steer when pushed hard .
As the idea is to breathe life into this car, we hope that the owner will allow us to fit the similar but more stable 1500 Spitfire type "swing-spring" suspension, incorporating new wider track rear axles and a new leaf spring that should pin down the Herald wayward antics when cornering hard.
What's the problem with the current system? Well in a nut shell, the spring allows 21 degrees of movement in an arc up and down which allows the wheels to either tuck up under the arch or try to hide under the car depending on what the driver is doing. Although in skilled hands it's amazing how far you can push your luck, The tuck-under below isn't funny when you have two children and the weeks shopping in the back of the car.

Negative camber like this is relatively easy to induce on a Triumph Herald - particularly if you follow a modern car into a tight bend at speed- swapping the suspension system is an easy effective mod.

Elsewhere, Sadie was doing battle with the Ford 3.0 Litre MK3 Capri. This car is a complete time warp but it's time off of the road has lead to a few issues. The plan was to MOT the car yesterday but due to the usual seized components Sadie had a fight on her hands. Eventually she managed to get the braking system overhauled but as she was getting tired, she decided to leave the bleeding of the brakes and checking for leaks till the morning- very sensible.

The main problems so far encountered were, the drums not coming off, the hand brake cable being drum-tight and the rear brake line fixings being corroded into the rear wheel cylinders that we were trying to change. In the case of the last point, the most effective solution was to drain the system of fluid and snap the old lines off , then get some replacement ones made up and this is what we did.
Sadie has also replaced the front callipers and discs. The tyres are a sticking point at the moment. The original Goodyear Grand Prix S tyres are still on this low mileage car ( remember those?).
They look great on the car and have loads of tread left but must be as hard as nails. As the owner is well aware of the Capri's unfortunate tendency for the back end of the car to overtake the front and obviously looks after the car, the chances of the owner ending up in a ditch are greatly reduced. In the end, we have decided to let the MOT man take a look and make the decision first.

The Triumph Spitfire MK 3 received some attention yesterday. This car has an appointment with the painter but at the moment, the more I look the more I find to do. Yesterday, the hard top was stripped back.

I already knew that there was some corrosion in the roof. I hadn't realised how far it has spread. This will take some time to fix.

As the painter quite rightly wants to paint the whole car in one go, a delay will be needed. A cheaper, quicker option would be to find a better one, however they all seem to rust in the same places.

Monday 15th August 2011

2011-08-15T08:40:00.000+01:00

In the workshop last week we had two cars due to leave. I must finally learn my lesson and not arrange for two cars to leave on the same day. Even two in the came week can lead to late nights and frayed tempers as we struggle to overcome the inevitable last minute problems.

First out on Friday was one of the Rover P5B's. This car is in superb order but there's always something to do. In this visit we:

Fitted a brand new distributor from H&H Ignition Solutions ( with electronic ignition inside and quality leads)
Fitted an up-rated radiator
detailed the engine bay
Fitted new brake shoes
Checked the car over for any problems ( a few identified)
Overhauled the rear wheel cylinders ( one of the faults identified)
Fitted a new ball joint ( the other fault identified)
Tried to improve the door alignment and filling ( failed on that one but the alignment isn't bad for this sort of car)
Tried to un-wrinkle the interior trim ( failed - using heat we could flatten the trim but the vinyl keeps reverting back to it's former state as it cooled
Re fitted saggy trim ( with a little Velcro)
Investigated electrical problems.
Ordered up new rad hoses and a conversion to manual choke kit which has not arrived to date.

Typically, the radiator for the car only arrived the same day as collection so we were already struggling to fit this when the steering rack for the E-type arrived. We have had this steering rack on and off of the Jag so many times lately you'd think that we could do it blindfold but the usual complications and access problems ensued and we were still working lat into the night to get the car fit to go.

Happily the owner of both cars showed great tolerance and gave us enough space to get the work done. The result this morning ( Monday ) is a lovely clear workshop.

More new parts arrived last week for the Rover 10 HP ( Snowdrop). The first headlamp stay was fabricated for us some time ago but we now have the full batch of four - for two cars. The original two seen here have rusted badly. The chromed one is a steel replica- well made but still rusting. The others have been made as exact replicas in brass and should last an age, They've been made from thick brass so shouldn't fracture or of course, rust.

The hope is that the welding to the main body tub will re-start this week-updates should appear later in the week on facebook and here.

ROVER 10HP Gallery

2011-08-11T20:07:00.000+01:00

Here's a selection of recent photographs of Chris's Rover 10hp.

I'll try to add some comments to the photographs later on.

I'm obviously not a morning person any more

2011-08-11T19:45:00.000+01:00

Yet again I started my day by getting out of bed on the wrong side. Yesterday I was busy demolishing the Capri. Today it was the turn of my wife's MK1 Spitfire. I like driving the Spitfire, it's easy to drive and economic compared to my cars.

This morning I ran out of petrol on the drive way. I was so sure that there was fuel in it, In the end I had to use my own car to get petrol for the Spitfire. Once the tank had petrol in it I lifted the bonnet to prime the engine and found out where the petrol had gone. It seems that the ethanol in petrol has struck again and a pool of petrol below the fuel pump revealed yet another prematurely perished fuel line.

I do wonder if the EEC who has decided that we should have ethanol in our petrol is ready to pay out for the insurance claims when classic cars start catching fire.

Another new visitor to the workshop is this P6. We don't get many P6's in. The owner calls this the flying banana but I think that Fifes would be a good name. It's in for minor maintenance work around the rear braking system, a service and then it will be off home. I hope that we will see it again from time to time.

Another recent Visitor was this Triumph Vitesse. This is just about the best one I've ever seen and it drives beautifully. The owner is seriously thinking of selling it if you're interested.

The Dolomite Sprint restoration is now in full swing after a long gap. The front wing was welded into place this afternoon and it's really starting to take shape now.

A busy day!

2011-08-10T20:16:00.000+01:00

The Morning started Badly. Pulling my Capri Convertible out of the workshop I noticed an ominous scraping noise. It turned out that last time I parked my car in the garage I must have got the registration plate hooked over the numberplate and so ripped the thing off on the way out.

I was supposed to be doing and early morning assessment of a rather nice 1959 Lancia Appia Vingale ( the rare four seater version) restoration project. A detour to the workshop had to be made first to make new 'plate mounting brackets. When I got in there was Mr Linton Washer our auto electrician waiting for the workshop to open so that he could take a look at GEAK the Rover P5B ( number 5) . By the time he was done I was running very late- not a good start with a prospective customer. I have to say that they were very good about it

Once back in the workshop, things settled down. Beau had another great day on Emily ( Rover P5B4). Apart from detailing and door skin repairs the drivers side has been finished and very good it looks too. Most of the panels came from JRWadham and they went on with a minimum of fuss.

Beau is champing at the bit to do the other side but for a short time I need to transfer him over to the Triumphs. The automatic Dolomite Sprint is progressing equally well with repair section for the inner wing being fabricated and fitted one by one. With any luck the final repair can be done tomorrow and then the front wing can go on.

The Triumph Spitfire project was definitely fighting back today. The driver's door post was looking slightly tatty but as usual this was nothing compared to what was hiding underneath the surface. We still have a frame of angle iron welded in when the car first came in. This allows me to remove panels without fretting too much over weakened panels shifting whilst being repaired.

Once the outer A post panel was cut off, the inner panels could be seen to be in a bit of a state. Repair sections were made in the usual way with patterns cut from cardboard first and offered up. It took three attempts to get the right shape before tracing the shape out onto a sheet of 16 gauge steel.

By now I'd had enough of repair panels and needed a break so Beau took over the job and welded the new sections into place whilst I did some odd jobs on one of the Rovers.

Elsewhere, my Fathers Stag has been sent away for cavity waxing. This is what it came in for over six weeks ago but being a typical stag it then proceeded to chew up it's own gearbox which resulted in plenty of conversations with the reconditioners who re-built it less than 12 months ago. I have to say they've been most co-operative.

We're still waiting for the Wiring loom for the TR6 after we were sent a left hand drive version. It had Sadie going for about an hour when she tried to fit it. Like wise the E-type steering rack is still not in with only two days to go before collection.No sign either of our chassis outrigger for the Aston Martin or the manual choke conversion kit for rover P5B 5

The vintage Rover Luvax system.

Chris has taken full advantage of his knowledge of the Luvax lubrication system as fitted as standard to his 1934 Rover. For those unfamiliar with the system, a reservoir situated in the engine bay is filled with oil. The oil is pumped along a set of thin bore brass tubes to various lubrication points on the chassis.

The pump for this is powered via the vacuum from the engine inlet manifold. As the oil enters the various points it's filtered by a tiny filter in the last union which also administers the correct amount of oil.

Ingenious really.

Sadly the system regularly failed in service because mechanics would try to pump grease into the thin bore pipes and before long the whole system would be clogged. Chris spent some time heating the tubes up to liquefy the congealed mess and clear the pipes. The unions were cleared by gently tapping them on a bench ( you can't poke them with anything for fear of damaging the tiny filters).

Since completing the job, Chris has located a Bentley garage that still supplies the parts for this self lubricating system. Apparently the Bentley had a slightly inferior version....

Today Chris was in applying the final touches. He's added some later connections to the system not used on a 10HP rover of this year. The extra pipes feed the water pump and one of the brake unions to the rear of the car. You'd be hard pushed to realise that this was non-standard- even if you know your Rovers as Chris has taken pains to use the right clips screws and washers for the job. It all looks very authentic.

Next week the welding on the main chassis tub resumes.

New projects

2011-08-09T08:22:00.000+01:00

We have had several new projects recently and I hope to find the time to show them here in due course.

Probably on of the more impressive visitors is this Aston Martin DBS. Initially, it was in for cavity waxing but the first disaster was when the exhaust grounded badly on the owners trailer and one half of the system became badly damaged.

A quick look through Beaus custom car mag located a supplier who can send us the perfect replacement for the damaged section and of course knowing how obsessive custom car owners can be it will be of the highest quality possible.

The second disaster was slightly more serious. A call from the cavity waxing bay " did you know that you can see the carpet from underneath the car?" brought the vehicle back from the bay.Once the carpets were out it all looked pretty nasty but in localised areas. Repairs are under way now.

The usual process is being used: make a template from a cereal packet, trying to ensure that the pattern is as close to the original part, cut out the rust as far as good metal and make all the edges as clean as possible, fabricate the repair in steel and weld in.

For the indentations in the floor, I used a blunt drift and a hammer and with the repair locked into a vice ,carefully worked the punch around a pre-drawn line forming the shape. By adding these details you make a "realistic" copy and avoid the popping you get when hot steel has buckled whilst welding.

Once the floor had been lifted, the outrigger could be seen underneath. This was full of rust and had been patched up. The owner has very sensibly decided to opt for a complete replacement which is now on order.

Another impressive new visitor is this Ford Capri 3.0l Ghia. It's a rare one as most of them are 2.8 litre cologne engine jobs rather than the old Essex one. When we learned that the car had been laid up for some years we were expecting something rather less impressive than this time-warp! I can't see it needing much for the MOT- just a super-service and minor brake work.

Updated at last!

2011-08-08T09:13:00.000+01:00

For the last two months we have been completely snowed under with work and I've barely had time to get my work done let alone enter any updates here. Together with this, various issues have left me with at times a skeleton staff to work with ( namely me doing 90 hours per week to keep going) Luckily for the company the work has continued to pour in and staff service is returning to normal, which thankfully has meant shorter hours for me.

I badly need to do some updating of work done since my last comments but I still don't have the time so for the moment I'll concentrate on what we are doing right now.

For some weeks now we have had this E-type in our workshop. The planned work included adjusting the brake bands on the auto gearbox that should be done every 21,000 miles and restoring the power steering rack. All was going so well until at almost the last minute, the steering rack failed and promptly threw all it's transmission fluid on the floor.

What had gone wrong? At first we suspected that the problem was that the 'rack was just so worn that the new seals could not work properly. The owner ordered a new one from a company working on eBay. When it arrived, the plot thickened. The new rack was definitely right for an E-type Jaguar but was completely different from ours.

The Original fits like a glove, the new one is nowhere close. The re-conditioners think that this is an aftermarket conversion- which it might be but both the owner and I have our doubts as the old one just looks right. Either way, the jag seals kit that we used on the steering rack was probably the wrong one for our unit. The re-conditioners are going to collect the old one this morning and do a one off overhaul for us using their stock of seals.-

Elsewhere, one of our Rover P5's was due home on Friday last week but due to staff problems and availability of certain specialists last week, collection was delayed. This week, the radiator is going away to be reconditioned and the electrical system will be under scrutiny. See facebook this week for updates.

As for Workshop dog Woodruff? He's one year old now, huge and still growing. He still loved being at work but best of all he likes getting all grubby!

One in and one out. Turn over of work is increasing in the workshop.

2011-06-01T09:07:00.000+01:00

At the moment, the turn over of wrk has definately increased. This is in part due to a re-organisation of the way that we work.

The Hillman Minx below has been in for just over a week now. It had come in for fairly minor welding before going off to be tested. As usual things didn't quite go to plan and followers on Facebook sould see how a small hole in the sills turned into a major job taking over 30 man hours to put right. It was great at the end of it all to see t pass it's mot forst time yesterday and now the 45 year old car is going back into regular use.

The welding was initiated because there was an advisory not on the test certificate last year regarding the condition of the car. As the MOT man recently pointed out, we really should get these things done straight away rather that leaving them for a year and only doing the work if the problem causes the car to fail the test.

These are safety issues after all.

The next car in is this Jowett Javelin. We have seen this one before and it's just in for a little welding and MOT.

Big Update part one

2011-05-23T07:21:00.000+01:00

In the past few months we have been incredibly busy in the workshop with plenty of work being done but very little time for updates which is a shame.

Today I'm going to do my best to begin update as many of the projects as I can. To be honest this is not a sense of guilt that has inspired me- rather, it's that my gate pass has run out of power and I'm stuck at work until either someone lets me out or my wife slings me a sleeping bag over the gate.

It could be a long night!

One of our recent successful jobs was the E-Type Jaguar below. This car is in good original condition but it's owner is going through a detailed maintenance plan, renewing many of the old service items and any original part that look suspect. It's a good idea to get this done rather than just concentrate on making it look nice.

After going on a test drive in it I can confirm that it's a great car to drive. I like the colour too- very 1970's.

The work scheduled for this session included new handbrake pads , change of various other braking components, to grease the chassis, change out the rear shock absorbers, to change the gearbox oil and MOT the car. The only catch was that the work had to be done within seven days.

The first job was to visit our local long suffering MOT station. They were actually fairly impressed with the condition of the car but still failed it. It was a fair cop really as one handbrake calliper was not working at all. This isn't uncommon for e-types and the self adjusters seem to get all bound up with old grease and dirt and just stop working.

Most of the work was fairly straight forward but the hand brake has a justifiable reputation for being hard to work on and for the self adjuster to stop working. The parts came out fairly easily and as suspected the adjusters really needed an overhaul:

The owner ordered up an overhaul kit form SNG Barratt and using the manual as a guide, it was a fairly easy job to do. The work took slightly longer than anticipated because I decided to clean and paint the parts as I went- you may as well do the job properly. In cleaning the castings, it's a good time to look for any cracks or damage.

Of course doing one side at a time is also quite helpful as you can use the original for reference.

Getting the callipers back in was another kettle of fish altogether. Although it can be done with the rear sub frame in place, it's a horrible fiddly job. I don't think that Jaguar could have ever cleaned back any sharp edges on the metal work and after an hour of struggling to get the driver's side back in, I decided to call it a night and seek some advice. I'm glad that I did. There's a far easier way to get the callipers back in:: remove the shock absorbers ( on the list to replace anyway)and then simply lower the sub frame on one side by two inches. Suddenly yo have all the clearance you need. Sometimes what appears to be the long way around takes less time to do.

The only fly in the ointment were the bronze retractor plates. These forked plates act like a spring and push the brakes off when the hand brake is released. The owner of the car has sensibly supplied new plates but I hadn't realised how out of shape they were compared to the originals. The problem was only discovered when I made my final all over check and discovered that the fingers of the plates (tangs) had lifted from their locating holes as I had bolted them down. There was only one thing for it: drop the sub frame, remove the retractors and start all over again.

Luckily One of the original retractors was in re-usable condition. For the other side, I re-formed the replacement part and put it back. This time the retractors stayed put although the owner and I have agreed to find a better retractor to replace the new one next time it is in,

With the brakes done, and a test run completed, The car was sent in for another MOT which it passed easily. A final job to do was to replace the brake pads, flexi hoses and calliper bleed nipples.. An easy job but one I had put off until the mot had been passed as new pads don't have enough time to bed in before testing. This was easy but the problems came when bleeding the brakes. With an older car, the routine is to never press the peddle straight to the floor. The reason why is that the rubber seals can come into contact with crystallized sediment at the bottom of the run, which can tear them.

However even with fairly shallow pressing of the brakes, there was a problem and " squelching noises " were being made by the master cylinder, indicating that the master cylinder seals had given up. With only around six hours left on a Saturday to get the job done, I was very lucky that the owner was able to locate a new one and run it down to me. With the new cylinder on The job was just about completed on time, a good way to end the week.

Jaguar and Triumph ready to go home.