Project “will it go again..?” 1961 Austin Seven Deluxe Restoration

[mk1]

Veery nice. Good to see lead going in, not just glop.

M

[gs.davies]

I've been busy cleaning up various bits and pieces from the rear suspension to get them off for blasting and I've looked a the hydraulics.

My car is still on and will remain on single leading shoe brakes. The rear cylinders are knackered (as I suspect are the fronts) though of course, they're available. I measured the rears and they're 0.75", and before ordering up new, I thought I'd better also check the master cylinder. Turns out it's also the original with the 0.75" bore and its in pretty poor shape, both cosmetically and functionally. I can get a rebuild kit but I'm not sure the bore is OK, got a bit of a wear lip in it, nor will it relinquish it's grasp on the return spring under the blind cap seal..

This version of the cylinder is NLA, but the 0.7" cylinder is suggested as a replacement. What effect will this have on the braking? Do I need to compensate for for the different pressure by changing the rear cylinders to suit? I doubt I can do anything about the front cylinders as there's only the one size as far I know.

Thoughts anyone?

[gs.davies]

A bit of paint stripping has been done. Very pleased to find a completely sound roof skin and boot lid. About time something was straightforward!

[minimissions]

Awesome work this little mk1 is really starting to take shape

[gs.davies]

Crikey. This Resto has been dormant much longer than I’d thought!

[gs.davies]

I started the project back in 2014 but life got in the way of progress until this year when the restoration shop doing the bodywork wanted the space back and or a large slab of cash to complete it (which I just don't have anymore..)

I'll get some pictures up shortly, but basically the shell has had new everything and the paint is now being finished by a chap from my local mini club. I've long gone past hankering for a concours resto, just want the car back in one piece so I can drive and enjoy it again!

First up though, I have to get the shell rolling. I've decided to go with 7 inch discs instead of the single leading shoes as the engine will be a mildly breathed on 1098 and I don't want the extra track width associated with Cooper S discs. I've acquired a set of good used 998 calipers and drive flanges but they need a refurb before I build up the front subframe and so I've got a couple of questions;

- Are there any recommended suppliers for overhauling and refinishing the calipers as I don't much fancy splitting them myself and making a mess of the job
- What master cylinder, rear compensator and rear cylinders are required to get the best out of this set up? I want to retain the under bonnet appearance of an 850, so servos/intensifier etc is out of the question.

Cheers.
Gary

[gs.davies]

Paint is taking it's time but is making progress nonetheless.

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[gs.davies]

The 1098 build is shelved for the time being - too many variables to work through with brakes, gearbox, ignition etc.

Thanks to Tim Ward, I now have a serviceable 850 which will get me up and running. Just needs a clean, clutch housing, flywheel and clutch. Head, carbs ancillaries to come across from the car's original engine.

Was also planning a retrim, but for now, the old stuff will have to do. Given that it's had this 'custom' interior since some time in 1993, I think it's fair to keep it. Ford XR3i Mk4 cloth I think it is. Also keeping the traffic light pedal rubbers

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[Van13]

This build inspired us to start the restoration on one of our vans and gave us loads of visual photos of how things should fit nice to see it coming together

[gs.davies]

This build inspired us to start the restoration on one of our vans and gave us loads of visual photos of how things should fit nice to see it coming together

That’s great to hear. Stick with it, I’ve come close to throwing in the towel a few times on it for various reasons but I always end up coming back to it eventually.

[Van13]

This build inspired us to start the restoration on one of our vans and gave us loads of visual photos of how things should fit nice to see it coming together

That’s great to hear. Stick with it, I’ve come close to throwing in the towel a few times on it for various reasons but I always end up coming back to it eventually.

That’s the secret to good work walk away when you have had enough

[gs.davies]

After reading various methods to replacing the bearings in the flywheel housing, I've obtained an oven for the garage. Free from the local facebook sales, plugs into a 13a socket.

Hoping the replacement bearings are arriving shortly. Also should have a blind bearing puller of the expanding collet type arriving tomorrow.

I think I read somewhere that a quick blast in the oven an 150c for about half hour does the trick, is that right?

[gs.davies]

Some progress in a couple of different areas and some snags found quite by ‘accident’...

Paint continues to find its way onto panels and I’m hopeful the shell will be Tartan Red top to bottom very soon. Here’s the last pics the paint guy sent.

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I also got the front subframe back from the blasters and I’ve been painting it, ready to take cleaned up and repainted original components. I hadn’t realised just how many nooks and crannies there are and whilst I’m daibitn paint in as best I can, I suppose a good blast with Waxoyl will be a good idea prior to refitting to the car.

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I salvaged the clutch disc from the old coil spring clutch. This had been in service for a short while after I fitted it in the winter of 1994. I think it’ll go again.

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I also recently obtained an 850 engine and box which I was hoping to install with minimal attention, was just going to give it a new oil pump (it needed a flywheel housing, transfer gears, flywheel and cover). So the fun started with an oil pump. Having Successfully taken up the slack in the primary gear I decided to crack on and fit the oil pump prior to trial fitting the flywheel housing and getting a dial gauge on the idler. The pump had a crack in the backplate rendering it useless. Can’t fault MiniSpares service though, no quibble in replacing it.

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Then whilst fitting up a few other little missing bits from the front of the engine I realised I’d not put the distributor drive in. Having not installed one of these in over 20 years I forgot to screw a long bolt into it. And as I remembered about that the moment of no return came and went and the drive was now inside the gearbox....

I had some reservations about the gearbox anyway; input gear had loads of slop in it, probably a bearing on its last legs. Of course, there’s no way to retrieve the dizzy drive other than to split the engine and box and so the screws were pulled and the block and box separated.

I discovered a loose mainshaft pinion, albeit tab bent over bit loose nonetheless. Add to that a loose first motion nut too... typical three sync wear on the first gear too. I don’t know what damage is likely to have been incurred as the box was run like this but I’m not going to chase an answer on it. Move on.

I can’t complain, it was a gamble really, bought unseen and untested and some you win, some you lose. I know it ran for the previous owner and I doubt they knew about it. It wasn’t going to be a long term gearbox anyway, just something to get the car running under its own power more simply than the upgrades and extra engineering and extra expense the 1098 conversion will bring. That is to be a later (probably much later!) development.

I’ll now dive into the four sync 846 box the car came with. It was ok in service, baulk rings knackered but otherwise good. I also have a four sync rod box (a series) that came with the 1098 donor engine to raid for parts so the next instalment will involve cursing while I strip both four sync boxes to make one good one from the parts.

The 1098 box seems to be in good shape so far with no wear on the lay shaft, and the bearings seems tight with little play in them. Hoping to get away with laygear needle rollers and a set of baulk rings and simply transfer into the 846 case. In the event this doesn’t work out and I find some technical reason why it won’t work, I’ve got a colourful set of expletives to hurl at it. I’ve not got involved in gearboxes yet so I’m sure there’s lot to learn.

Anyway, that’s pretty much it for now. More painting tomorrow. Black for the front subframe hopefully

[gs.davies]

Here’s something I was beginning to think I’d never see, for more than one reason; my shell, top to toe in red paint.

Now the fun stuff can really start.

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[gs.davies]

Right, paint’s now done. Painter finishing off the cutting back and he’ll hang the doors for me and deliver it back. Should be home by next weekend.

Next steps, flood it with cavity wax and start fitting it up.

I’ve got all the bits lined up for the front suspension, gearbox and engine, got a reamer for the radius arms, so plenty to be getting on with.

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[Gary Schulz]

Looks great! Now the fun part begins.

[gs.davies]

Today’s travails..

I had my wheels blasted at the beginning of the week. Later the same day I met with Mark Roles to drop a wheel he’d bought from me and he kindly offered me a set of five ten inch standard wheels already done. Unfortunately the shot blasting place I use had already done the wheels and so I was already invested in my original wheels. Sod’s law; if I’d begged on bended knee and on pain of death for a same day job I’d have got laughed out of town..

Anyway, they came up nicely, I went with OEW instead of the more correct Ivory - I found the Ivory to be too creamy.

I’ve not sprayed paint before and so this is a learning curve for me (I’ve also been refinishing one of my Fender Stratocasters this week) and so I seem to be improving as I go.

I also tackled the fuel tank; a rub down, high build primer and a couple of coats of satin and it looks ok again.

This week I hope to work my way through all the little black bits, door latches, gearstick, column etc etc and have a go at the OEW switch panel.

Hoping the shell will be delivered back next week so I can finally start reassembling it.

Feels like proper progress.

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[gs.davies]

Few more bits done this morning before putting feet up with beer.

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[gs.davies]

Finally after nearly seven years away from home, the shell arrived back at the weekend in a fresh coat of Tartan Red. It's an acceptable finish to me, given the significant difficulties I've experienced over the past few years and frankly, I'm just happy that I've got a solid shell that I can now work with. Yes, it's not quite the factory perfect concours car I perhaps set out to achieve, but it'll be a car that I hopefully can enjoy tinkering with and driving.

Here's some pictures from when it was delivered back to me.





And the slow process of working out how it all goes back together begins. First snag hit about ten minutes in when the doors won't accept the standard 10-32 screw, so out with the dremel (separate thread on this topic in the Technical Section)




(yes, I slipped with the dremel tool scratching the paintwork... )

And still it doesn't fit, so a 10-32 tap is on order. Seems that the captive nuts are closer in size to a Number 8 screw. I'll try the tap, try a number 8 screw and decide if I want to re-tap if it's the wrong size.

In other news, what was originally going to be a straightforward 850 replacement has turned into something a little more involved. After receiving Tim's engine and box from DPU and having to split the box from the engine after I managed to drop the distributor drive inside ( ) I ended up recommissioning the box that had been fitted to LFF when I acquired it; an 846 four sync box with the early wand housing at the back. I presume it's not original.

I carefully cleaned up the bearings, finding the original main to be in reusable condition, just replacing the first motion with a good second hand item from Guess-works. New layshaft and bearings were fitted and after some to-ing and fro-ing with the first replacement shaft I managed to get the box built up.

Because I've now got a nicely cleaned up box, it did seem somewhat silly to put a worn, though serviceable engine on top of it, particularly as the plan has long been to fit a 1098 and all the machining is done. Apart from an oil pump and some core plugs, I have all the bits ready to assemble the 1098, 997 profile camshaft, 295, twin carbs etc etc.. Brakes will be 998 Cooper spec though I am baulking at the price of the discs being double that of the S set up!

Because of the engine spec, I've also decided to fit a taller FD to LFF given that I imagine most of the driving I will do in it will involve A Roads, Dual Carriageways and Motorways and that I'm planning a tour of the Highlands as soon as possible in this car, so the box will have to come back apart to fit a 3.2:1 diff. I'll also have to get the bearing retainer machined to accept the new pinion.

For now, tasks this week include;

this rancid job;



Getting some rubber on these;



dealing with the door latches as mentioned above and completing the build of the rear subframe. I've decided to leave one of the radius arms well alone as the pin, bush and bearing are serviceable but I will have to deal with replacing the pin, bushes and bearings on the other one, as well as drill out the remainder of the broken brake pipe studs (or move it slightly). If I feel brave, I may even try Peter Laidler's modifications to the shaft to improve lubrication..

I also dropped the damaged section of the rear seat to a local trimmer for a repair. The car has seats covered in a Ford XR3 cloth (front seat shown below - I didn't photograph the damaged rear section) and this will have to do for now until I can afford something else (I still like the idea of Newton recliners in Tartan/Fleck..). The XR3 cloth covered parcel shelf will be sacrificed to repair damage to the seat back and I've fitted a Newton fleck parcel shelf in it's place. As is becoming the mantra with the project 'what will go again and what's a pragmatic solution'



That's all for now.

[gs.davies]

Crikey, nearly a year since updates. As usual life gets in the way and while I'd been making good progress up to the summer things unfortunately stalled again. Anyway, since the last update, things that have been done:

Gearbox

- was reassembled with replacement baulk rings with clearances checked, couple of new bearings and checked over for serviceability. Replaced the bushes that control the 'smoking pipe' so the gear lever is now much less sloppy that it was. The gearbox was OK in service when I last used the car save for failing baulk rings on 2nd and 3rd
- Main pinion locating plate was machined out to accept a pinion from a 3.2:1 FD to better support the kind of driving I suspect the car will see
- Crownwheel changed to 3.2:1
- Output shafts changed to suit pot joints
- New diff pin
- Speedo drive ratio adjusted to suit ten inch wheels, the taller FD ratio and a standard 850 speedo. Aiming to see 70 mph at around 4000 RPM

Engine

- 1098 was built up with +10 overbore and NOS pistons
- Camshaft installed and timed in (despite lots of checking, it didn't need an offset key..) - camshaft is a 997 profile MiniSport CA2
- New followers
- Rocker shaft dismantled and replaced with a used but unworn item
- Valves lapped in and machining records checked to see overall skim, and head measured
- CR Calculated to be at 9.3:1

Engine and Box put together painted, and placed into the front subframe on a dolly, and new engine mounts installed, engine and subframe now bolted together

Front Suspension

- Top arms appeared to have been rebuilt not long before I got the car and the grease was clean and fresh so these were cleaned, painted and reassembled with new dust covers and reattached to the subframe
- Lower arms - new bushes, lubed with red rubber grease and refitted
- One new tie rod, one reused original, new bushes fitted
- Just trying to find the metric fitting for my cone compressor and then I can refit the trumpets and new knuckle joints
- Bump stops and rebound buffers renewed

Brakes

- In the process of cleaning up, painting and replacing seals and pistons on a pair of 998 calipers
- Disc hubs require cleaning up, wheel bearing and ball joint replacement, the, painting before refitting with new pipes, hoses and discs
- Rear brakes have had backplates cleaned, painted and will be refitted with standard shoes and standard track minifins.

Aiming to have the car back on it's wheels by the end of May.. this year hopefully

There's a whole load of pics to follow once I've uploaded them somewhere.