Fan belt, wheel, wires, and more!

This week’s operations concentrated on finishing or solving last week’s problems. After taking a break for a day to settle down, I went back at it.

First, the fan belt situation was taken care of. The one that I received was two inches too long. John happened to have an old spare belt from one of his motors. Instead of ordering another one, paying the shipping and waiting, I took John’s belt to my local auto parts store. They happened to have one hanging up …love to see them use their grapple hook to get it down! The price was a wash. The top shroud was removed, old belt off, new belt on, tightened the generator, and viola…done! Shroud was re-installed after this picture was taken.

I moved on to getting the drive shaft through the passenger (right) side wheel hub. I had to pound on it with a hammer and block of wood far enough for the castle nut to thread on at least one thread. After that, I just screwed the castle nut on and it pulled the shaft the rest of the way through…viola…done!

My main goal this week was to install the new distributor cap and plug wire set. It involved lots of measuring and patience but it was quite fun.

After all the plug sockets were screwed onto the wires and the wires were secured into the distributor cap, I moved on to the coil wire. The hardest part was trying to stretch the rubber coil cover onto the coil. I soaked it in hot water to make it pliable and (with a tiny bit of coaxing) it slid right on!

After putting the cover on and screwing the coil in place on the generator, I secured the coil wire into the distributor cap…viola…done! I just hope I did it right. I suppose we will find out when we go to start it up.

Here is the previous rat’s nest of misfitting wires and incorrect distributor cap. Glad it is gone!

Next, I have to concentrate on getting the universal joints installed. After that, Old Biddy can finally get her front tires put on. I also ordered a set of NOS radiator hoses, which may come in this week.

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

The week of "almosts"

This has been a week of “almosts” as will be explained. Time was very limited this week so things could only be done in half hour intervals. I would like to get as many parts installed as I could before I start to concentrate on each individual "system" (brake, clutch, hydraulic, cooling, etc....).

First, the horns and the overflow tank were installed…well, almost. The bolt on the right on the overflow bracket still needs to be tightened since a regular wrench will not fit in the space provided to hold the nut. Once it is tightened, it will be done.

The battery tray was installed. Not a big deal but at least it is something to smile about! 

Next, the dynamo (generator) was on the list. But, I had no lower adjustment bracket for it. Once again, I called on John, who supplied me with one.

For some reason, after bolting the generator and mounting bracket on the motor, the fan belt was not tightening. Come to find out, the belt was too long! Thanks again Moss Motors for sending me yet another wrong part!! So the generator is at least “in place” for now. Looks like I will be playing with the fan belt this week.

John also came over to help figure out the flange and brake rotor situation. We ended up taking both back up to his house. The holes in the flange were drilled out 1/32” larger in order to line the bolts up properly. That worked great! I brought it back home and installed it on the drive shaft…well, almost. Looks like the shaft will have to be pounded out another inch before it is correctly installed. Notice that there is no castle nut on the end. Although it will have to be taken off when I pound out the shaft, the brake caliper was also put on (to get it out of its tattered box).

But to end on a happy note, the radiator blanking caps finally arrived from Leacy Classics in England! They are both beautiful NOS parts! I put this one on and have the other one for a spare.

This coming week will entail “fixing” the problems from this past week. Hopefully I can at least have enough time to install the coil, new correct distributor cap, and wires.  

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

Various parts finally get installed on the motor!

"Loosen, disassemble, re-assemble, torque.

Loosen, disassemble, re-assemble, torque."

…My mantra for most of this week as all the sub-frame and motor mount bolts were properly secured with washers, lock washers, and nuts. Not a big deal, just tedious and time consuming.

Now the fun can begin!! I started by installing the NOS clutch slave cylinder and spring.

This application requires two 3/8” x 16 x ¾” (and 3/8” washers and lock washers). When I ordered the hardware from Moss Motors in my last big order, they sent these tiny bolts, which are not even close to the correct size (which are the top ones)!! And yes, I did give them the correct parts number.

Once that was taken care of, the plunger rod and spring were attached. The new hose will be installed later.

The starter was re-installed as we had to remove it to mount the motor.

And for kicks (although it will be coming off again soon), the restored air filter canister was put in place.

And also, the driver’s side brake caliper is on. It just needs the brake pads and hose installed.

Lastly, the radiator and shroud were installed. I assembled everything in the house first to make sure I had all the hardware fasteners and to fit it together.

Getting this installed felt like a big accomplishment! New hoses and clamps need to get ordered, and the blanking cap has STILL not been delivered from England.

Next week two things really need to get done. The passenger side wheel flange and brake rotor still need attention. And, the dynamo (generator) and coil need to be mounted. After that the new wires, plugs and correct distributor cap can be installed. Things are really happening now!

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

The motor gets mounted!

Every now and then, a momentous occasion happens in one's life that marks a change in direction or starts a new chapter in their life. A moment such as that happened last night when we finally installed Old Biddy’s motor into her engine bay!

After last week’s mishap, I decided that it would be easier to install the sub-frame into the body without the motor attached. This way we would only have to worry about getting the sub-frame and suspension assembly lined up and it would be much lighter. So we attached the crane, hoisted the car body up and slid the sub-frame underneath.

That operation went rather fast and smooth. After everything was secured, we removed the angle iron lifting bracket as it was no longer needed.

Then the motor was hoisted up and placed into the engine bay.

We had a hard time getting the motor to align. After a couple hours of trying, we started to get tired and grouchy. John went home and I went in the house to watch the Super Bowl. (Good game, not so good outcome, just like our effort.)

John came back Monday evening. With fresh minds and smiles, we gave it another try. The motor was installed in about an hour and a half.

After moving Old Biddy back to her parking space, I could not help but smile to see the suspension parts in the driver’s side (left front) wheel well!

Next, I have to spend a couple uninterrupted hours putting washers on and then torqueing in all of the thirty two sub-frame and motor mount bolts. Then, finally, I can get to work putting the rest of the motor together. Time for an Old Speckled Hen to celebrate!!

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

Universal joints and sub-frame mounts

The main objective this week was to prepare and organize everything for re-installing the sub-frame and motor. I tried to install the engine into the sub-frame by myself on Tuesday. Not a pleasant site! I decided not to document my mishap as it was really ugly!! No big damage…except for some scraped paint and a bruised ego.

Instead, I concentrated on the universal joints (or couplings) since they are one of the first parts to install after the motor is put in. ADO16 universal joints are a unique part because the original couplings were rubber. Numerous people have gone on record saying that the rubber ones were unreliable and I should invest in the better parts instead. But if I were to buy a new set, it would cost $112! Chris, who rebuilt the motor, figured that if I were to take the plastic “cups” off the ends and clean them, they could be reused on another set of joints. He did some research and found that the joints are the same ones used in Triumph TR6s.

So I punched out the ends...

...cleaned them up and inspected them. Yes, there should be eight. After taking this picture, I found another one and John also has one.

I may be able to reuse the original u-bolts, which will only need new nuts and washers. I will have to make that decision soon.

Then my order was made to Moss Motors for another set of various parts. Ordering TR6 joints saved me $65! The cups just have to be pressed onto the ends.

Amongst the various parts I ordered, I am disappointed that Moss Motors' rubber coil cover does not quite fit an LA12 coil. Maybe some modifying will be in order.

The tedious chore of securing all the sub-frame mounts with new hardware turned out to be a nightmare! There were more hardware fasteners missing (or rusted beyond recognition) than I first thought and it got complicated. After taking three trips to the hardware store, everything should finally be ready to go!! It even involved getting my wife, Andrea, to help with some wrenchin’.

I hope I am all set for John to come tomorrow to help re-install the sub-frame and then the engine. After Tuesday’s bloodbath, we will have to go with Plan B and not the way I originally intended to do it. In vein of the Super Bowl (Go Patriots!!), we are going for the field goal rather than the touchdown.

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy