Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[lolly_loisides]

Morris 8s are great little cars, although a trifle underpowered for day to day driving. I'd say buy it and drive it and, if you decide you need more poke under the bonnet, you can always replace the Morris 8 engine with the 1275cc engine and gearbox from a 60's MG Midget or Austin Healey Sprite for a bit more oomph.

That's good advice, thank you Rathdown. I mostly use my car for short journeys & rarely go on highways so fast speeds aren't really an issue. My current car doesn't go faster than 100kmph, so 90 kmph isn't too bad.
Funnily enough (actually it isn't funny really) my current car died today so I really do need to buy a new car. I'll call the owner of the Morris & have a look on the weekend, but as long as it's mechanically ok it looks like I'll be the proud owner of a classic british car. I'll keep you informed.

 

[1930artdeco]

Lolly,

the nice thing about the older cars is that you can work on them yourself! as long as you can get parts it should be fairly easy to keep running-barring something catostrophic.

Mike

 

[Talbot]

That's good advice, thank you Rathdown. I mostly use my car for short journeys & rarely go on highways so fast speeds aren't really an issue. My current car doesn't go faster than 100kmph, so 90 kmph isn't too bad.
Funnily enough (actually it isn't funny really) my current car died today so I really do need to buy a new car. I'll call the owner of the Morris & have a look on the weekend, but as long as it's mechanically ok it looks like I'll be the proud owner of a classic british car. I'll keep you informed.

Lolly,

Sorry to hear about your car woes. A popular upgrade for driveability is engine and drivetrain from Mazda rotary.

It's not for purists, but worth knowing.

Be aware also that electricals on British cars of the era are renowned for reliability issues

http://www.mez.co.uk/lucas.html

 

[Talbot]

For those poor souls that have referred to Haynes manuals:

The REAL meaning of the Haynes instructions
Haynes: Rotate anticlockwise.
Translation: Clamp with molegrips then beat repeatedly with hammer anticlockwise. You do know which way is anticlockwise, don't you?

Haynes: Should remove easily.
Translation: Will be corroded into place ... clamp with adjustable spanner then beat repeatedly with a hammer.

Haynes: This is a snug fit.
Translation: You will skin your knuckles! ... Clamp with adjustable spanner then beat repeatedly with hammer.


Haynes: This is a tight fit.
Translation: Not a hope in hell matey! ... Clamp with adjustable spanner then beat repeatedly with hammer.

Haynes: As described in Chapter 7...
Translation: That'll teach you not to read through before you start, now you are looking at scary photos of the inside of a gearbox.

Haynes: Pry...
Translation: Hammer a screwdriver into...

Haynes: Undo...
Translation: Go buy a tin of WD40 (industrial size).

Haynes: Ease ...
Translation: Apply superhuman strength to ...

Haynes: Retain tiny spring...
Translation: "Crikey what was that, it nearly had my eye out"!

Haynes: Press and rotate to remove bulb...
Translation: OK - that's the glass bit off, now fetch some good pliers to dig out the bayonet part and remaining glass shards.

Haynes: Lightly...
Translation: Start off lightly and build up till the veins on your forehead are throbbing then re-check the manual because what you are doing now cannot be considered "lightly".

Haynes: Weekly checks...
Translation: If it isn't broken don't fix it!

Haynes: Routine maintenance...
Translation: If it isn't broken... it's about to be!

Haynes: One spanner rating (simple).
Translation: Your Mum could do this... so how did you manage to botch it up?

Haynes: Two spanner rating.
Translation: Now you may think that you can do this because two is a low, tiny, ikkle number... but you also thought that the wiring diagram was a map of the Tokyo underground (in fact that would have been more use to you).

Haynes: Three spanner rating (intermediate).
Translation: Make sure you won't need your car for a couple of days and that your AA cover includes Home Start.

Haynes: Four spanner rating.
Translation: You are seriously considering this aren't you, you pleb!

Haynes: Five spanner rating (expert).
Translation: OK - but don't expect us to ride it afterwards!!!
Translation #2: Don't ever carry your loved ones in it again and don't mention it to your insurance company.


Haynes: If not, you can fabricate your own special tool like this...
Translation: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Haynes: Compress...
Translation: Squeeze with all your might, jump up and down on, swear at, throw at the garage wall, then search for it in the dark corner of the garage whilst muttering "******" repeatedly under your breath.

Haynes: Inspect...
Translation: Squint at really hard and pretend you know what you are looking at, then declare in a loud knowing voice to your wife "Yep, as I thought, it's going to need a new one"!

Haynes: Carefully...
Translation: You are about to cut yourself!

Haynes: Retaining nut...
Translation: Yes, that's it, that big spherical blob of rust.

Haynes: Get an assistant...
Translation: Prepare to humiliate yourself in front of someone you know.

Haynes: Refitting is the reverse sequence to removal.
Translation: But you swear in different places.

Haynes: Prise away plastic locating pegs...
Translation: Snap off...

Haynes: Using a suitable drift or pin-punch...
Translation: The biggest nail in your tool box isn't a suitable drift!

Haynes: Everyday toolkit
Translation: Ensure you have an RAC Card & Mobile Phone

Haynes: Apply moderate heat...
Translation: Placing your mouth near it and huffing isn't moderate heat.
Translation #2: Heat up until glowing red, if it still doesn't come undone use a hacksaw.

Haynes: Apply moderate heat...
Translation: Unless you have a blast furnace, don't bother. Clamp with adjustable spanner then beat repeatedly with hammer.

Haynes: Index
Translation: List of all the things in the book bar the thing you want to do!

Haynes: Remove oil filter using an oil filter chain spanner or length of bicycle chain.
Translation: Stick a screwdriver through it and beat handle repeatedly with a hammer.

Haynes: Replace old gasket with a new one.
Translation: I know I've got a tube of Krazy Glue around here somewhere.

Haynes: Grease well before refitting.
Translation: Spend an hour searching for your tub of grease before chancing upon a bottle of washing-up liquid. Wipe some congealed washing up liquid from the dispenser nozzle and use that since it's got a similar texture and will probably get you to Halfords to buy some Castrol grease.

Haynes: See illustration for details
Translation: None of the illustrations notes will match the pictured exploded, numbered parts. The unit illustrated is from a previous or variant model.

 

[Talbot]

HAYNES GUIDE TO TOOLS OF THE TRADE
HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer is nowadays used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting holes just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

MOLE-GRIPS/ADJUSTABLE spanner: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETELENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your garage on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside a brake-drum you're trying to get the bearing race out of.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2 socket you've been searching for for the last 15 minutes.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls in about the time it takes you to say, "F...."

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering car to the ground after you have installed your new front disk brake setup, trapping the jack handle firmly under the front wing.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X4: Used for levering a car upward off a hydraulic jack.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbour to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.

SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog-doo off your boot.

BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is ten times harder than any known drill bit.

TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating grease buildup.

TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength of ground straps and brake lines you may have forgotten to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the handle.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

INSPECTION LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate as 105-mm howitzer shells during the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style paper- and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; can also be used, as the name implies, to round off Phillips screw heads.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a fossil-fuel burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a pneumatic impact spanner that grips rusty bolts last tightened 30 years ago by someone in Dagenham, and rounds them off.

PRY (CROW) BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 pence part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.

 

[John in Covina]

The remarkable thing is Haynes manuals are better than most others when it comes to novices. Also you are most likely writing about English cars and Lucas Lighting. Lucas Prince of Darkenss.

 

[this one guy]

HAYNES GUIDE TO TOOLS OF THE TRADE ...

I really enjoyed reading this.
You know, in the animal kingdom, the ability to use "tools" is considered a sign of advanced intelligence. We humans are blessed with more ways to round off screw and bolt heads than any other species. lollollollol

 

[Stearmen]

Also you are most likely writing about English cars and Lucas Lighting. Lucas Prince of Darkenss.

"A gentalman does not motor about after Dark!" Sir Joseph Lucas

 

[jamespowers]

"A gentalman does not motor about after Dark!" Sir Joseph Lucas

That quote source makes sense.
Years ago, after Ford Acquired Jaguar for a time, The Ford engineers threw up a wiring diagram of the Jaguar on the overhead. They marveled at how ridiculously the car was wired! There was two times more wiring than was needed and still it didn't work right. lol lol A friend of mine owned one produced before the fix and he had junction boxes in all four corners of the car! It was insane! To replace a fuse was an excercise in hide an seek. lol lol

 

[Talbot]

I can recall working on a Jaguar trying to get the fuel guage sender units working in both left and right hand side fuel tanks - nightmare job.

 

[Rathdown]

Funny as the 'Prince of Darkness' line is, I always thought Lucas got a more or less bad rap. The problems generally seem to be down to poorly installed wiring; Lucas parts, per se, don't seem to fail more often than parts by other manufacturers.

 

[jamespowers]

Funny as the 'Prince of Darkness' line is, I always thought Lucas got a more or less bad rap. The problems generally seem to be down to poorly installed wiring; Lucas parts, per se, don't seem to fail more often than parts by other manufacturers.

True it was the wiring as you can tell if you have ever taken apart a British car or motorcycle. They over engineered that part for sure. lol

 

[David Conwill]

In my hunt for a '50s convertible, I've come across dozens and dozens of MG T-types, most of which look like they've been sitting unused for quite some time. I've always suspected it was the electricals. A GM alternator and a Painless wiring kit and you could be back on the road pretty quickly, I'd think.

And if you attached the GM alternator to a 283" V8, you'd have quite the fun little machine.

 

[Rathdown]

True enough about switching to an alternator; on my last two Morgan rebuilds ('63 +4 and a '59 4/4) I up graded to alternators, something I would suggest to anyone planning on anything more than the occasional Sunday drive.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Funny as the 'Prince of Darkness' line is, I always thought Lucas got a more or less bad rap. The problems generally seem to be down to poorly installed wiring; Lucas parts, per se, don't seem to fail more often than parts by other manufacturers.

I put it down to them using positive ground electrical systems long after everyone else went to negative ground. I have owned quite a few English cars and motorcycles, most of them had the wiring butchered especially the motorcycles. A previous owner put the battery in backwards then wondering why nothing worked, and tried to fix it by cutting wires and rerouting them.

When everything was as the factory intended I found them reasonably reliable. Not as good as Delco or Bosch but as good as most European cars.

 

[Stearmen]

Funny as the 'Prince of Darkness' line is, I always thought Lucas got a more or less bad rap. The problems generally seem to be down to poorly installed wiring; Lucas parts, per se, don't seem to fail more often than parts by other manufacturers.

A Treatise on the Importance of Smoke
by Joseph Lucas

Positive ground depends on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing. For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable!

The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterward.

Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they consumed large quantities of
smoke, requiring very unsightly large wires.

It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than their Bosch, Japanese or American counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers, hydraulic forks and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and British Intelligence leaks national defence secrets. Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable.

In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of electrical components - especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd.

"A gentleman does not motor about after dark."

Joseph Lucas (1842 - 1903)

 

[jamespowers]

A Treatise on the Importance of Smoke
by Joseph Lucas

Positive ground depends on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing. For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable!

The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterward.

Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they consumed large quantities of
smoke, requiring very unsightly large wires.

It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than their Bosch, Japanese or American counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers, hydraulic forks and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and British Intelligence leaks national defence secrets. Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable.

In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of electrical components - especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd.

"A gentleman does not motor about after dark."

Joseph Lucas (1842 - 1903)

:rofl:

 

[AtomicEraTom]

The best of the GM small blocks, if you ask me. Probably their best engine, ever.

And if you attached the GM alternator to a 283" V8, you'd have quite the fun little machine.

 

[jamespowers]

The best of the GM small blocks, if you ask me. Probably their best engine, ever.

And they just kept building on it. They were even still using the 265 a while back.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Yup, all those small block V8's come from that 265 platform from 1955.

And they just kept building on it. They were even still using the 265 a while back.