Cabin fever
Peerless interior now secure from the engine bay!
Last month’s tackling of the heater box came to a satisfying conclusion this month when the painted and rebuilt assembly was fitted to the bulkhead. This also means a big hole has been filled that otherwise chucks engine heat and noise into the interior. Before it was fitted though, I wanted to use the idea of adding a simple V-shaped diverter to the footwell outlets. It’s an idea stolen from the heater box of the customer Peerless I’m restoring. It’s not an original addition but the benefits are clear. Having made the V out of aluminium in a matter of minutes, I began toying with diverting the airflow more accurately away from the top of the gearbox cover. I made an extended version first but then came up with the idea of deepening the outlets so they reach further across either side, directing airflow to the feet where its readily felt. To do this I made a template in cereal box cardboard and then worked out how to create the shape from one piece of aluminium. After a session of snipping and drawing lines I had the improved version in metal. This was then carefully drilled and self-tappers used to fix it to the heater via new holes drilled away from the matrix. The assembly was then fitted to the bulkhead and secured. A separate hole
for the inlet flap operating rod was drilled and the rod reattached. I have no idea what type of knob screws onto the rod, but I’ll find something suitable. Since the heater box has been fitted, I’ve also developed my heater bypass idea meaning coolant flow from the back of the cylinder head will be a constant, regardless of the heater valve being open or closed. The original valve is the manual tap type that I had replaced with a TR4-6 type, the only difference being a cable to operate it from the dashboard. But neither allows constant flow when the heater valve is closed and hotspots at No.4 cylinder are a known malady.
The footwell closing panels were also cut to size and shape using a jigsaw. I used 1.8mm galvanised steel for these, adding more solidity and less drumming. To that end, I rounded up all the straggly bits of Dynamat I could find and
‘Footwell closing panels now fitted, the difference is day and night’
fitted them in a mosaic pattern to both panels on their outer sides. As expected, the difference is day and night. Self-tappers were used to secure each panel. My method is to drill all the panel holes slightly oversize for the screws being used, then drill smaller pilot holes for the self-tappers in the chassis rails, one at a time. As each screw is fitted to each new hole, the panel’s position doesn’t change and the heavy panel will always refit easily. I now have a fully panelled bulkhead.
Revved up, again
Not happy with just finishing there, I also fitted yet another new rev counter cable. Two have already sheared off at the distributor drive end, meaning the lack of rotation was at the gauge end. I had no other option but to remove the gauge and strip it down for testing. I had already done this and it did work for a while, so what would I find? To be honest, not a lot. Nothing broken internally. The main drive was stuck but freed up easily with gentle hand pressure in an anti-clockwise position. The broken cable was cut short and mounted in a drill, allowing me to run the gauge beyond 4000rpm. It was then reassembled and refitted. While there, I tested the speedometer in situ using the same shortened cable and it worked fine.
Using your head
The control head is the circular black module in the centre of the steering wheel. It operates the horn from the central push button and the indicators from the chrome switch. Its best feature though, is it remains stationary when you turn the wheel. As with many cars from this period and earlier, it’s a key part of the Peerless driving experience – when it works! The control head is attached to a long hollow tube that carries the wiring to the front of the car, through the centre of the steering box. Having fitted the wiring, tube and head delicately into position, the control head was fixed in position. At the steering box end a clamping nut tightens an olive down onto the hollow tube creating the fixed position of the control head. Except mine kept rotating. After faffing about it occurred to me there must be an olive or similar being tightened onto the hollow tube as the nut is tightened on the steering box.
As if by appointment, Mr Cluley, our PWOR registrar, telephoned me regarding another Peerless query. He confirmed that the special split olive was required and is often missing. My customer’s steering box has neither the nut nor the olive too, so they are now on order for both cars. And finally, the cardboard template for the gear lever gaiter housing extension was developed into a fully-fitted aluminium version. It fits well and is an improvement on the lower position of the original. MOT next month? ■ practicalclassics@bauermedia.co.uk