AND IN OTHER NEWS...
JAGUAR E-TYPE
Progress! Barry Bishop has retrieved Boo from the mechanic’s place and it’s back in his workshop, complete with engine and ’box. Unfortunately, the heater pipes Barry reasonably assumed were behind the bulkhead were not there, so, having got the heater working after 41 years, he now has to fit something to connect it to. GC
TRIUMPH 2500TC
With the world opening up, I’ve suddenly realised that I’ve let myself go over the past 18 months, and the Triumph isn’t much better. The thought of going for a jog is too much to bear in this heat, so I decided to spend a bit of time and money getting the car ready for what I hope will be a summer of shows, events and trips to the pub. GM
FORD MUSTANG
We all know that if you don’t use your classic you’ll get problems, but when you do you find some anyway. Nothing showstopping, but an overdramatic outpouring of steam and an underbonnet rattle have set the grey matter working – and when the latter was ‘fixed,’ it seems that wasn’t the only problem. Still, it’s great to be out in the car. LP
VOLKSWAGEN TYPE 3
Huge frustration has finally got the better of me after countless delays getting my VW back together. The only solution was to buy another car. Obviously. Coinciding with the hottest day of the year, I predictably narrowed it down to a convertible and promptly bought a mint BMW Z4. Look out for its debut soon. DC
RUN BY Martin Port OWNED SINCE March 2011 PREVIOUS REPORT April
With outstanding parts from the pre-christmas spree delivered, I had no more excuses not to crack on.
The remaining door repair panel was shipped out to my brother-inlaw, Pat Richards (Also in my garage, July 2019), so he could exercise his superior welding skills and, having already replaced the oil seal, I set about fitting a new flywheel and clutch.to get the required torque setting on the flywheel bolt I had to be rather cunning: I had been working on the engine on a motorcycle stand so I could adjust the height, securing it with a ratchet strap to stop it from tilting. I then found a length of angle iron that I could bolt across the flywheel and into the engine casing before then lowering the stand so that the iron was braced against the garage floor. Finally, I asked Mrs P to essentially lie across the top of the engine – the combination of all three resulting in the all-important clicks on the torque wrench.
Although in the past I’d used everything from a broomhandle to a fat finger or an old input shaft to centre the clutch, this time I spent a few quid on a genuine EMPI tool. With the new clutch plate aligned, I offered up the pressure plate only to find that the bolt holes didn’t match those on the flywheel. Heritage Parts Centre confirmed there had been a mismatch in what had been sent out and, in my haste to fit it, I hadn’t even noticed the rather obvious differences. While the clutch was okay, they couldn’t offer a suitable flywheel – the only option was to go back to my initial thought of having ours refaced.
As ever, it pays to be in the know.
Long-standing friend and car-builder extraordinaire Phil Cottrell said that he knew just the people, and offered to take the flywheel over to Classic and Modern Engine Services in Bracknell when he visited the following day to collect an engine. A couple of days and £70 later I had a lovely overhauled flywheel, which went straight back on with a repeat of the previous fitting procedure.
The new clutch assembly lined up beautifully and then I suffered every home mechanic’s worst nightmare: ‘last bolt failure’. That sinking feeling as the wrench suddenly goes slack on the final turn will have struck most of us at one time or another; off with the clutch and on with efforts to retrieve what was left of the bolt. Half an hour of carefully tacking a nut on to the millimetre sticking out was hit and miss, but ultimately it allowed me to unwind the bolt and set about fitting the clutch for what felt like the umpteenth time.
Next was to ‘dry’ fit the exhaust and heat exchangers. Last summer I’d picked up a pair of exchangers in good condition for a tenner each and both fitted nicely. The new exhaust loosely bolted on, but one exchanger was missing the lower pivot points for the operating lever – possibly having come out of a VW bus instead. After looking at possible modifications to make it work, I bought a new exchanger and everything was bolted in place.
And then I got distracted once again. A sudden urge to build a new home office in the garden took over and it was only when confronted by a slightly (and rightly) disgruntled Mrs P that I went back into the garage and bolted the rest of the engine bits back into place, in preparation for refitting.
The bargain ‘never fitted’ wings I’d also bought last summer went to nearby Professional Coatings Limited, the same firm that had stripped and powder-coated the wheels. The wings were blasted and given a coat of etch primer, having come up rust-free and without any need for work.
By that point, Pat had finished the door repairs and even found me a local paint chap to put everything in the right colour. I’d missed my spring deadline, but with luck the Beetle will be back on the road for some of the summer at least.
Next job? Refit the engine…