What did I do this weekend ?

[jeans_old_man]

During the cold weather I thought I would tackle the upholtery. The seat covers were not too bad but something was stirring inside.

Mesh-top spring bases are still made but a new custom one was going to be too expensive, so I set about repairing what I had.

Garden string stabilised the springs and Spiral Wrap (for tyding cables) protected the edges. An old sack provided the hesian covering:

before a layer of felt followed by calico and finally, the original (1970's) cover.

Pleased with the result. Seat base next....

[darcy]

A quick question as I am about to start my seat coverings. From the photos and the way the flutes curve over the top of the back seat, it appears there was very little if any padding in the flutes , any obervations as you re-attached your seat cover?

[jeans_old_man]

Hi Darcy,

There is a photo of an original seat elsewhere on this forum. From memory (I re-covered the seat in 1970's) the original used wadding between the leather flutes and a hesian backing. The wadding (a bit like the Duraglit that we used to clean brass with) was thinner where it folded over the frame. I used thin felt about 1/8" thick but I think if I was to make new covers I would go for the wadding. This is still available - try Martrim or Woolies.

I will be interested to see how you get on. Brian

[jeans_old_man]

Finished the interior. Next up - the roof!

I kept the 1976 seat covers as they looked more substantial than the rather fine-looking leather available from Martrim.
Sadly, I had to ditch the original latex cushions - the rear squab just disintegrated!

With a bit of luck I will be ready for SND!

[jeans_old_man]

A big thank you to my wife for buying me another Singer longtail. Hopefully, this is us on our way to SND next month. Thank you Jean!

[ColinB]

happy birthday Brian! What a lovely cake - how can you bring yourself to cut it?

[jeans_old_man]

Thanks for your kind words. It will be difficult to cut into it - made a little easier now that one of the wheels has fallen off. I hope that is not an omen!

[jeans_old_man]

I finally got my new cam and installed it in the the 'Semi-Hemi' head. This was the head that appeared in 1935 and was used on the Speed models with a high lift cam and special rockers. The 4-seater Le Mans didn't have the high lift cam and I opted for the standard lobes. A quick run up the lane showed a marked improvement in performance over the spare 'bathtub' head and I suspect that this is due to the bigger inlet valves and higher compression ratio.

I did a lot of experimenting with a solid copper gasket. In the past I have used red Hermatite and had very little trouble, but my first attempt with Permatex copper spray was a complete failure. Blue Hylomar faired little better. I resorted to a used composite gasket without any sealant and that seems to have done the trick.

Some final parts returned from the platers - just waiting for the 'original style' windscreen wipers now and we are ready for the Lustrum.

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[ColinB]

Looking seriously good Brian.

[jeans_old_man]

Yes, it's only taken 40 years! I took the radiator out to replace the bottom connection with a part from Dave Hardwick and it turned into a complete rebuild. In between times I have moved house three times and had to store some of the body panels (wings, bonnet) in my mother-in-law's spare bedroom. I am surprised that I managed to find all the parts and delighted to have been able to replace the original style hydraulic jack that was stolen in the 1960's with one from the internet - even if it did cost me an arm and a leg!

Looking forwards to some serious driving once the lockdown is over. Brian

[Phillip]

What lovely car Brian. A beautiful job!

That colour scheme looks really lovely on a long-tail.

Hope all this gloom and darkness is over soon and that you can take er out for a drive and enjoy it!

[jeans_old_man]

Thanks Phillip. The car was covered with white 'orange peel' paint when I got it and the wheels were painted red. The hood (roof) was vinyl and had been adapted from a roadster. When the tyres were removed it was obvious that the wheels were originally green and underneath the orange peel was black. The rear seat still had some original green leather on it. It seemed natural to return the car to its original colours when I embarked on the resoration in 1974.

[Dentman]

As the weekends now roll into week days. I have removed the gearbox to sort out the 1st gear. So while the interior was partially striped I took the opportunity to remove the rest. It had got severly faded in its time in Singapore. So I removed the rest and will prep and colour change to match the car.

While the trim were off I autoglymed the chrome. The chrome on a few of the spokes has detiorated is there any to paint or improve the appearance ad I dont want to strip the wheel ?

[ColinB]

The chrome spray you can get online is pretty good David and definitely with a try.

[Phillip]

I'd echo Colin's suggestion also. A chrome spray over a first coat of flat black should do a good job.

That's a nice original 'wobbly spoke' Ashby Brooklands steering wheel. The spokes are unfortunately steel, unlike the Blumels version which has stainless steel spokes. Blumels licensed the Ashby design, and, ironically, the Blumels have survived in much larger numbers than the original Ashby because of their better quality construction. A lot of the Ashbys had a rubber rim which decomposed as well.