New Project

[Phillip]

A Merry Christmas indeed, Colin...congratulations!

[cdk84]

Merry Christmas and Happiest of New Years!

I know I'm out of synch, but Gracious! Colin, your wife's wood work is exquisite. You lot are, for talent, like my/our beloved Esmé is for cuteness: she goes to sleep and awakens even Cuter than she was when she goes to sleep.

Is there any limit to what you all can do? --Don't answer: I know the sky's the limit. That drum table your wife made looks absolutely phenomenal. So Very nicely done!

Very Best for 2021 One and All!

[ColinB]

Very generous David - my wife deserves the praise but I just muddle along and keep on trying until I get something half decent!

I hope you are enjoying life and have a really lovely 2021!

[jeans_old_man]

It's been a while Colin, what progress on the Six?

[ColinB]

Hello Brian. Progress stalled on the Six for quite a while largely through lockdown as I was unable to get the glass cut and thus couldn't fit the door cards which I have already made. Also as you know the trimmer has let me down and I may look for another. however I also realise that the odd spoiled hide while I learn how to do it is a lot cheaper then paying someone so I may have a go at it. Rob Roan is making a front windscreen surround to fit but i suspect he has been focused on keeping his business going during the pandemic so that is yet to arrive. The biggest problem I had was that she wouldn't start, and what with the other issues outlined above I lost heart for a while and worked on the MG TD instead (which is going very well).
On the starting issue I thought I would just check whether I was getting full voltage to the starter and coil as the starter was a bit sluggish. To my surprise I was only getting 10v even though the battery was fully charged. I ran a jump lead from the negative terminal to a nut on the head after which the starter whirred with increased energy and she fired straight up. So as ever its a poor earth problem (I should have guessed earlier). So I'm going to make up a lead from the battery to a bolt on the bell housing as the main earth and then add a second earth from there to the chassis for the lights. Now fired up with renewed enthusiasm I'll be going to King's Lynn this week to take my glass templates into Anglia Glass.

[ColinB]

PS I hope your leg is getting better!

[jeans_old_man]

Thanks for the update. Glad you are 'fired up' again. The leg is ever so slowly getting better but frustratingly I am reduced to looking at the dismantled car from my crutches. At least I have had a chance to plan the work ahead and have even managed to source some very rare parts. Unfortunately, many of the parts are the same as those fitted to Lagondas and Bentleys (e.g. LBD165S headlamps) and the prices reflect this.

[ColinB]

Finally restarted on the Six after quite a long break. Door glass in and door cards going on together with the original wood trim that I have refinished in silk varnish. After that the remaining jobs will be the windscreen surround (Rob Roan has been too busy during lockdown to make mine plus another two for his and Colin Borley's Seniors) and the seats.

I will have a go at the seat covering myself as I have the leather and an industrial sewing machine, even though I have never done it before. I'll practice on some scraps to see if I'm up to it!

I could have done better with lining the screws up on the door cards but there you are..

[ColinB]

Just one other strange challenge I had with the Six: it has always been nearly impossible to get her into gear and if I managed it there was always an awful crunch. She hasn't been on the road yet so that was only moving her between sheds around in the garden. In an attempt to solve the problem I took the footboards out to have a look and discovered that there was a lot more clutch pedal travel available which was blocked by the footboards. Fortunately the connection between the pedal plate and the clutch lever is a 7/17" BSF stud. I was able to source a longer stud from a stationery engine supplier and, having fitted it suddenly all the noise has gone and she slips in and out of gear very happily. You can see how much longer the new stud is compared to the old one in the photo.

[ColinB]

I recovered my windscreen parts from Rob as he is too busy even to work on his own car and given them to my friend Dick who is coming over on Sunday to measure up. So hopefully that might rekindle my flagging enthusiasm given the long hiatus on completing the old girl. I have been keeping myself amused with a variety of other stuff including restoring an MG TD but this week in a rush of blood I have started dismantling the O/H valve Six engine I acquired a couple of years ago. It is completely seized and has not responded to soaking in penetrating oil, so I have decided to take out the crank giving me the chance to work on freeing each piston individually.

The worst part so far has been removing the split pins, but all the nuts are off from the big ends and bearings. I am stalled until a 38mm socket I have ordered arrives to take out the starter handle dog. I'm not really sure why I'm doing this (probably because it keeps me out of the pub!) as I'm not going to be able to get it started as the club member I bought it from gave away the dynamo and distributor fitting to the buyer of his Kaye Don and I suspect finding another will be next to impossible (please correct me if I'm wrong). I'm marking all the parts for location and orientation so I and put them back into the right places.

[mikeyr]

WELCOME BACK !!! this place has been dead the last few weeks (months?). I was actually worried it might never get another post until after the first of the year when I get to work on my car after I am back from a holiday trip.

I don't have anything to report for my car, I have bought stuff, I have prepped for work but nothing worth posting about. Doing honeydo projects around the house for the wife, then France for Xmas and then my car.

good luck on your parts hunt !

[telco.2]

That's an interesting oil filter in the last pic Colin. I have never see one with such a coarse mesh before!!! Bill

[ColinB]

Definitely original but I'm not sure how much debris it would catch!

[ColinB]

I managed to get the chain case cover off without breaking it and the crank is out. It doesn't look as bad as I had feared in there. I'm hoping I can loosen each piston individually which will be much more likely to succeed than my efforts to date. I broke a piece off the cast fan belt pully while removing it but everything else is in one piece.

[telco.2]

That's one intriguing engine Colin. It looks so different from other Singer sixes that I've had (ohc and sv including a 14/34}