What did you do today?

[R_D_Olivaw]

This weekend was a good weekend, and my to do list just shrank a little.

1. Fitted new Holley carburetor and car started first time.
2. Fitted a new choke, mine had disappeared some years back.
3. Took car out for a test drive
4. Figured out why the car pulls to the right under heavy braking. Turned out there wasn't air in the system. When I removed the wheel I found one of the seals in the left side brake caliper was leaking. I guess I'd better put that on my to do list. I guess I am going to learn how to remove a brake caliper.

All the best,

Ian

[JayeM]

Well done, Ian!

Removing the caliper & replacing the seals isn't too hard - if you don't yet have one the Haynes Cortina MkIII workshop manual does a good job of taking you through it. If you're not confident rebuilding the calipers, there are good places which will recondition them for you (or sell you replacement recon ones), but it's not difficult if the calipers aren't corroded. If you do them yourself, source & fit stainless steel pistons then you shouldn't have to do them again!!
These are a couple of places I've used:
http://www.pastparts.co.uk/index.php?ro ... ath=61_435
http://www.classicarautomotive.co.uk/
They also come up on Ebay new from a company called BiggRed (Biggred4U).

ps - is your Holley on a Swaymar manifold?

keep going!
John

[R_D_Olivaw]

Thanks John.

Biggred was the company that Phil Ivimey had pointed me at. They're not refurbishing calipers at the moment as their works is going through a refurbishment, but I was planning on giving them a call about parts. I've never tried it, but was thinking of giving it a go. Other than the leak the calipers appear to be functioning extremely well. Maybe I'll dismantle one first to see what it's like before deciding what to do next.

Other than knowing the car doesn't have the original manifold I don't know what it is. I'll check the paperwork to see if there is a receipt for it and get back to you. I'll also checkout those other links you gave me.

All the best,

Ian

[R_D_Olivaw]

Something's wrong, I just haven't figured out what yet, but I'm sure the test drive will help me work it out.

Today I decided to replace the seals on my front brake caliper. Biggred were charging £215 for a complete refurb (for two), so I thought spending £21 and just doing the seals seemed like a good place to start. If it went wrong I could always send them the parts.

I guess I should point out that I've never so much as changed the pads on car yet alone attempted something like this,

The caliper came off relatively easily as it was only held on by two bolts.
Next I removed the brake pipe by loosening it and then turning the caliper round and round.

With the caliper safely removed I decided to break it in two so I could give it a good clean, thought later I put it back together having watched a video on YouTube and realised that would be essential.

The tricky part was removing the pistons, especially one in particular that was quite stuck. To cut a long story short I used a foot pump, some clamps and some bits of wood in order pressurise the caliper until the pistons came out.

I then spent a copious amount of time removing all the dirt from around the old seals and cleaning up the pistons. The pistons look like they could do with replacing, but I'll see how they get on before making any decisions.

Having cleaned everything as best I could I put in the new seals, re-inserted the pistons and put it all back together. Tomorrow I'll put it back on, if I'm allowed, but since it's my wedding anniversary it may have to wait.

Everything went too smoothly, which is why I suspect something maybe wrong, but I'm more than happy to be proved wrong.

If the weather had been better I would have painted them, but that's just going to have to wait for another day.

[Tony Hayward]

Ian

You shouldn't have split the caliper without replacing the O ring that sits between the halves. You should also have torqued and Loctited the halves back together. Normally the caliper doesn't need splitting to eject the pistons. The caliper should be torqued back onto the upright and best to Loctite also. You shouldn't neeed to spin the caliperto remove the brake pipe, the fitting should rotate.
Otherwise continue.

Tony

[R_D_Olivaw]

Hi Tony,

So now I know what was wrong. Thanks for the feedback.

I'll get some locklite and find out what the correct torque setting is for the Austin Princess calipers. I've yet to put them back on, so no problem following your advice. The bolts don't look to have been locktited on and came off relatively easily.

There were four O rings on my calipers, probably because there is a spacer and I replaced two of them as the kit only came with four and I wanted to refurbish the other caliper as well. Knowing that I don't need to dismantle the other caliper I'll use all four on the one I have taken apart.

Update: The Capri looks to have a similar config and the calipers are reattached with a 45 to 50 lb/ft torque setting.

All the best,

Ian

[lennyb72]

Very productive day today. Made a bracket to fix the new windscreen washer pump along with the new piping i bought at the Wessex Classic Car show a few weeks ago.I then drained and flushed the radiator, fitted all new 5/8" hoses and clips then filled the system with antifreeze. The snow in Bristol has almost melted so ERP 80K was taken out for a blast !!! Kevin.

[R_D_Olivaw]

A good day, but I didn't manage to get everything sorted as I need it.

1. Re-assembled brake caliper with new seals. Not quite sure I should have painted it orange/red. May not be a bit problem as it's very hard to see through the MiniLite wheel.
2. Put caliper back on car and bled brakes with the help of my daughter. I've never done this before but it seemed remarkably simple. I'll take it out tomorrow to make sure it's done the job.
3. Carried on my work with the carburettor. The problem I have is the air filter sits so high on the Holley that I can't close the bonnet. I've made some subtle modifications, but I still need a little bit more clearance and I'm not sure how much wiggle room I have to do it. I'll have to give it a little more thought.

I also need to figure out the location of the new bonnet catches and how they're going to be fitted as I needed to remove the original one due to the carburettor. I found a dual setup on e-bay from a 5 series BMW which I hope to locate to the left and right of the old one. Also need to finish my work on the door locks. Neither work and the passenger door handle has been removed because the lock has jammed.

All the best,

Ian

[R_D_Olivaw]

Gave the car a quick clean then took it out for a spin to see if I'd fixed the braking issue.

Unfortunately it's still pulling to the right, so when I get time this week I'll.
1. Take the wheel off to see if there is still a leak.
2. Bleed the brakes again if I don't see anything.

My gut feeling is it's still leaking which probably means I'll need to replace the pistons in the caliper. They weren't in the greatest condition even after I'd cleaned them up.

Other than the brakes the car is running well however the stuff that comes out of the exhaust looks like it came from a mine, which I guess you could say is quite fitting as they were only a few miles from Llantwit Fadre. I'm hoping this will improve with more use and a good tune.

Having the choke makes a big difference and the car didn't want to keep cutting out all the time.

All the best,

Ian

[R_D_Olivaw]

Despite the snow this weekend, I still managed to get a few jobs done.

1. The passenger door lock is no longer jammed. I had thought it was the barrel of the lock that was the problem, but on removing the door handle I soon realised it was the mechanism in the door that was the problem. Oddly enough I had the same problem on the driver's door this weekend, which makes me think it might be a known issue.
2. I finished the alternations to the air filter and it looks like the bonnet will now close, though the weather strip seems to be keeping it a little high at one point, so that will need further investigation and I still need to work on attaching the new bonnet release mechanism.
3. I think I have narrowed the failure of the driver's electric window to the carbon brushes that seem very worn. I've ordered some off ebay to see if that resolves the problem.
4. Having taken the door catch apart on the driver's door and thoroughly cleaned it before re-assembly I'm still none the wiser as to why the door does not lock. Looks like I'll have to completely dismantle it all to figure out what's going wrong.
5. Yesterday's test drive appears to have confirmed that my work on the brake caliper was a success, but when the roads are drier I'll give it another test, just to make sure. The one thing that did worry me a little was how much the front of the car drops under braking. I think I may need to look at the suspension at some point.
6. Removed the door mirror and trial fitted one of the replacements I purchased off ebay. I have decided not to go down the traditional chrome route, and instead went for something more modern which I think is in keeping with the car, though not its age. The advantages of the replacement ones are:
1. You can see what's coming up behind you, including the passenger one which normally only helps the passenger
2. Can be electrically operated and defrosted.
I'll need to get the correct plug/wiring loom, but I'm not anticipating any issues.

The more I do the no nearer the end I seem to be!

All the best,

Ian

[lennyb72]

Not what i did today but more what i have done over the last week on the evening`s after work and a few hours on Saturday! Removed the radiator and soldiered in a boss to accept the new fan switch,while the radiator was out i cleaned up and painted the chassis.I then painted the radiator and refitted it with a longer bottom hose, 1.5" further forward to make room for the new 14" hi powered puller fan.Fitted a bigger battery tray ( baking tray ), bigger Varta battery, new leads and holding down bracket. The snow returned to Bristol Saturday night so she`s stuck in the garage till next weekend DAM!!!
Kevin.

[Tony Hayward]

Ian

1) The door lock-the fault probaby lies in the door handle; look inside will turning the key to see if that is operating the linkage; also the interior handle has a rod which works on the same linkage.

2) I had to move the bonnet catch 15 years age when I fitted a Holley; I moved it to the end of the square tube that (no longer) runs across the heater intake. You will probably need to modify the bonnet to incorporate this, or use bonnet pins.

3) Nose droop under braking-they all do this, there is no anti dive in the front suspension, the only partial answer is stronger front springs, which will have other effects.

4) I agree with using different mirrors, I have had electric door mirrors for 30years, they are very useful, although I may soon change them for Fiesta mirrors which have powerfold, puddle lights and indicators built in. The main problem is using the correct 4 way switch, plus lots of wiring.

Tony

[R_D_Olivaw]

Hi Tony,

1. Locking the door from the inside works, but when turning the key, the mechanism doesn't move enough which can be seen by looking at the inside door handle that isn't fully in the locked position. When the key is turned back to remove it, the mechanism moves back and unlocks the door. I think I'll take the door catch off to see what the mechanism is doing behind it. I assume it's just pivoting, but maybe it's gone rusty. I greased the rod to make sure it moves smoothly, but that didn't help.

2. I intend to do something similar, which the exception that I'll have two catches. The BMW 5 series comes with two catches and I'm hoping the ones I bought will do the job. I just need to find someone to make me some brackets that can be attached to the cross member. I may try making a template out of aluminium to see if the idea works.

3. Point taken. Maybe not so urgent.

4. I did consider the Fiesta door mirrors, but wanted something a little more angular. I went for the 2004 Hyundai Coupé door mirrors, which are a lot cheaper and I think suit the car well.

All the best,

Ian

[R_D_Olivaw]

I know understand how the door lock mechanism and am amazed that it works, and for that matter hasn't had bit snap off it over the years due to stress fatigue. That aside I now have a functioning driver's door lock. Does anyone know if it's possible to still get the metal/plastic ends that are on the rods in the door and help then stay in place.

I started on the onerous task of putting a new door rubber around the window frame of the drivers door, and after 30 minutes managed to achieve about 12" of it. This is going to be a long job and one I'll probably end up doing again at some point if I re-chrome the window frame.

My carbon brushes for the electric window motor arrived today and I'm hoping they'll fit and fix the problem, though I have a sneaky feeling they maybe too narrow. Update : It's still broken.

[Tony Hayward]

Ian

Try www.bresco.com, for the metal/plastic rod ends. They come in different sizes for different rod thicknesses.

The way the lock and key works is a wonder, but as you have found, can be made to work correctly.

The window motor can be overhauled and repaired, if necessary; if the club does'nt have spares.
There are companies that can restore any electric motor (at a price!). Try different brushes first, that will be cheaper.

Tony