What did you do today?

[Fareham GT]

Hi Ian,

At least you have sent a note otherwise we would of had to have fined you!

Keep at it

Brian

[R_D_Olivaw]

Everything was ready for last night, when I realised it's next week, when I'm away.

I will try to make it a bit more pretty by next month.

[R_D_Olivaw]

I have now well and truly put the disappointment of the other week behind me, having met up with Peter Ryan and his friends over the weekend.

Having dropped my family off at the airport (not in the Gilbern) on Saturday afternoon, I headed home to prepare Casper (my Mk3) for his journey to Cardiff. This consisted of:
1. Wiring in a cigarette lighter and two USB ports so I could run my phone, dash cam and sat nav. The dashboard looked like it was spewing wires, but it did work.
2. Putting the top of the dash back on.
3. Filling the boot with just about every tool I had.

So at 10 p.m I set off for Cardiff, and generally speaking it was an uneventful trip. I did have one small moment when the car went into stealth mode (I didn't know it had one either). I was travelling along an unlit section of the M4 with about three cars behind me and none in front, when the lights all switched off. For those behind it must have looked like I'd disappeared . A quick off and on of the switch and the lights were back on and all was good.

On the Sunday evening I headed up to Llantwit Fadre with a friend so I could find the blue sign on the old Gilbern Cars factory. Whilst parked outside the wrong factory (I should have gone to the Lloyds Bank up the road) a very nice chap called Ian pulled up in his Golf to check if everything was okay. Having explained that the bonnet was up to cool the engine he then went on to tell me about a good friend of his called Peter Ryan who had several Gilberns. Skip forward to the next morning and I'm back in Llantwit Fadre with a cup of tea in my hand discussing cars with Peter and his friends. It's amazing what people hide behind old garage doors.

In front of the Gilbern Cars last factory
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m1419n6u511ynbh/IMG_1996.JPG?dl=0

Behind Lloyds Bank
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4nfwk08yq0xuozg/IMG_2008.JPG?dl=0

A pair of beauties
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vcqtngc9e0r8m8a/IMG_1989.JPG?dl=0

I also saw a very nice Darrian and Lotus Sunbean rally car, but mum's the word on those ones.

I must say a big thanks to Peter's friend Ian, who helped make my Monday morning quite special.

Overall the car performed reasonably well. The light issue was only a minor inconvenience and breaking down on Culverhouse Cross roundabout was a surprise, but it's amazing how quickly you can remove the top off the dash and push a wire back in place when you need to. Having said that I was stuck in a two mile traffic jam in temperatures of around 25 degrees for about 20-30 minutes and the car didn't overheat. I saw the odd wisp of steam from the wheel arch, but it just kept going. It probably helps that my temperature gauge doesn't work so I can't tell how hot it really was.

On the way home, thanks to an episode of Top Gear I'd been watching earlier in the day I found a new use for the Brynglas Tunnels. With the hi-fi off and the windows down I dropped the car into third and accelerated up to seventy so I could hear the exhaust reverberate along the walls. It was a special moment, and one that will be repeated many times I hope.

[R_D_Olivaw]

I managed to get a few little jobs done today, some that needed doing and one that didn't, but I'll get to that later.

The first job was to repair the boot lid that had split due to the steel plate that had been inserted inside to strengthen it rusting, expanding and consequently splitting the lid.

So it was a case of out with the old and in with the new. I've fibre glasssed it in, and now need to tidy it up before covering it up.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/upqvyfakp6sg1q8/IMG_2028.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mp5zsmq4ncyq40i/IMG_2029.JPG?dl=0

The next job was to figure out why my instrument lights were not working. The dashboards lights worked and I knew the instrument lights had been working, so I got my volt meter out and started testing everything. Needless to say there was no power getting to the bulbs. At that point, and having replaced all the bulbs, because they were old and needed it, I decided to trace the wires back to the dashboard light switch.

I'm sure some of you are already ahead of me on this one. My car has two switches, one for the dashboard and one for the instruments, and the instruments one was not switched on. Driving to Cardiff the other week would have been a lot easier if I'd realised.

I've been scratching my head as to why Gilbern decided to have a dashboard light switch in the first place, but to have one for the instruments too, seems a little odd to put it mildly. It is what is is and I've learnt something else. As the instrument lights aren't very good I've installed a small strip of LED lights just above the main clusters and I'll see how I get on with those. They can't been seen, and they do a good job of illuminating the dash.

Last night I started fibre glassing in my new door mirrors. To say fibre glassing up side down was hard is an under statement as it kept falling off until I found a way to keep it all in place (I didn't want to remove the doors to do it). Everything looks to have gone fine, and I just need to re-attach my new modernish door mirrors, which for the record enable you to see everything that's behind you . Even the passenger side one works well. At some point I'll wire in the electrics on them.

I also found out why my heater wasn't pumping out cold air on my trip to Cardiff, in last weekend's 28 degree temperatures. The fan was sucking and not blowing. This I admit may have been my fault . Anyway it's fixed now.

Hopefully I'll get the boot tidied up tomorrow and back in place so I can take it for another test drive.

[Tony Hayward]

Ian

Glad to hear you are getting there. Someone should have told you about the two dasboard switches!!! The switch for the fairy lights also puts on two on the console.

Just a thought, the fairy lights along the top edge of the dashboard could be replaced with brighter LEDs, check this out: http://www.bettercarlighting.co.uk/inde ... ductId=538

Tony

[R_D_Olivaw]

Thanks Tony.

The new bulbs are noticeably brighter than the old ones, and now the dials illuminate I should be good, especially with the row of 10 LEDs above the speedo and rev counter. I think I paid about £2.99 on e-bay for two strips.

[R_D_Olivaw]

Quite a good day today as I managed to rewire the driver's side electric window that had stopped working due to a short somewhere along the white/red wire. Also created a temporary fix to allow me to move the wiper switch and screen wash switch back to the dash, as they had been moved down near the gear stick.

On the lighting front, I glued in the LEDs above the main dials, and started on positioning the others LEDs I have to replace the bulbs above the smaller dials. The old bulbs will remain, but I won't use them.

I am trying to clean up the wiring behind the centre console which looks like it was hit with a bowl of spaghetti.

[R_D_Olivaw]

Back again with this week's exciting instalment of "What have I found this week".

This week I've been concentrating on the electrics, though I did manage to go off on bit of a tangent when I decided to install an earth cable. The passenger side carpeting was looking a bit messy and bits of it were hanging down from under the dashboard and getting in the way of my earthing point. So to remedy the situation I ended up removing the passenger side seat (you know how these little jobs lead to another one and so on) and removed all the carpet from the passenger side.

The end result looks good, but I did manage to find another 3 CMs thick of carpet, some of which looked like it came from someone's front room.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ssqmy7o6192uiei/IMG_2048.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3yrqem9eqg9s7v9/IMG_2047.JPG?dl=0

The passenger side is looking a lot better, but I'm feeling a bit itchy. Removing the hemp or whatever it is, is a messy job and the wire brush attachment I have on my electric drill tends to throw the stuff everywhere, which is why I wear a face mask when using it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y51ealhpoxfwa5t/IMG_2053.JPG?dl=0

I'm interested to know where the three cables I found go. They were attached to a small black box behind the centre dash that was no longer wired into anything. All of the insulation, bar the tunnel has now gone, but I forgot to take a photo.

The pièce de résistance this week has been the movement of the windscreen wiper switches from just in front of the gear stick back to the dash. A trip computer had been added to the dash at some point in the past and the switches had been moved and the cigarette lighter lost. As a temporary solution I asked my local fabricator to make up a plate for me to insert the switches into. Temporary will be until I get the dash re-veneered, so it could be there a long time. The plate is made from stainless steel and they used a plasma cutter to cut the holes. I'm very pleased with how it came out.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9mu0kgvkncc4x0y/IMG_2055.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/78fpq4cde83wfmj/IMG_2037.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/10fkdib5njxpb7u/IMG_2036.JPG?dl=0

For the eagle eyed amongst you I corrected the orientation of the switch before wiring it up and painted the chipped one.

To the right of the switches is a dual USB port and a cigarette lighter for the Sat Nav.

Having put my new earth point in, which will eventually be connected to a busbar, I then spent a bit of time trying to properly wire in my radio. With the exception of new speaker wire I think it's finished, but I have to test it properly. The whole objective of the weekend was to tidy up the spaghetti behind the centre console. With the movement of the switches several no longer pass through it, and with the removal of the little black box that wasn't wired in, several more went. It's now starting to look a lot more manageable.

I did spend some time working on my passenger side door mirror which I realised wasn't positioned in exactly the same place as the driver's one, but I didn't have time to finish it as I needed to order some more brushes for fibre glassing.

When I removed the passenger seat I noticed it was a little oiling underneath the car and it looks like I have a leak near the rear of the gearbox plus the differential. I'm assuming the differential can be topped up, but what about the gearbox?

Until next time.

[Tony Hayward]

Ian

The gearbox can be topped up-there is a level/filler plug up the side; EP90 if I remember correctly.

The gearbox leak could be the rear oil seal, this can be changed insitu, once the propshaft is removed.If you do, jack the rear of the car more than the front, removing the propshaft can allow the oil to run out.
Differentials seem to have a tendency to leak, just top it up (also EP90 I think) if not excessive, and don't worry.
I have changed the rear cover and gasket a few times, and it still weeps slightly.

Carry on the good work!!

Tony

[R_D_Olivaw]

Thanks Tony.

I shall take a look when my wife is not looking.

She seems to think I have a mistress in the garage and she's starting to forget what I look like.

[JayeM]

You're really making progress, Ian - keep up the good work!

While I had the carpet off in my passenger footwell, I cut a hole level with the gearbox filler plug and filled it with a grommet which fits through the carpet.
Makes topping or filling the gearbox much easier!

Also, hopefully someone WON'T have sheared off your diff filler plug the way the someone has mine
I'm still working out a way to fix that without taking the axle apart......

Cheers, John

[R_D_Olivaw]

Now that is a clever idea, and now I have a good idea where it is.

[R_D_Olivaw]

Back again with this week's exciting instalment of "What have I found this week".

I know I'm reusing this line, but it seemed quite appropriate.

It's been an interesting weekend spurred on by the advice given on this forum. Whilst I didn't get everything done, here's what I got up to:
1. Started fibre glassing the hole where the aerial used to live.
2. Re-fibre glassed the mount for the passenger side door.
3. Continued my carpet removal.
4. Tried to top up the gearbox oil and topped up the diff oil.

I'll skip the first two points as there's not much to tell, so on with point 3. This wasn't the most pleasant of jobs as the hemp seemed to be glued on a little firmer, the foam had turned to dust in place, I couldn't remove all the seat belts and in the words of my neighbour I looked like a Cyberman. I'm not sure it was the white CSI overall I was wearing or the face mask. At least I know what I'm wearing to my next fancy dress party.

Here are a few interesting pictures:

This became more apparent once the carpets had been removed because the light was shining through it. It appears that the arches were cut away at some point in the past and fibre glassed back in, though it does appear that it was only fibre glassed on one side. Another little job for me at some point.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/13ct0ieq1qq9mwj/IMG_2110.JPG?dl=0

Some general shots of the interior to give you an idea what was lurking behind the carpets and cards.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8s22y22w48p9ssn/IMG_2106.JPG?dl=0

I haven't looked, but suspect it's an access port to the shock absorber mount as there are two of them. Some interesting fibre glass on display.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0gq1dlpve2fd3ms/IMG_2104.JPG?dl=0

I think the carpet in the foreground is the last remnant of carpeting. Interestingly the car is starting to smell a little different now. Not perfect, but heading in the right direction.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7k07hptu57q7908/IMG_2113.JPG?dl=0

I keep coming across some very odd glue, a bit like tar and more sticky than solid.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h1eauj8jdzbp5i8/IMG_2108.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7999j1elr84jxka/IMG_2107.JPG?dl=0

As you can see from the pictures there's still more work to do, but the bulk of the carpet removal is behind me.

Topping up the gearbox didn't quite go to plan. I had assumed that due to the oil drips below the car the gearbox was low on oil, but that proved not to be the case and it turned out I didn't need any. Unfortunately there is a leak, but I think the oil's coming from the overdrive, but I'd appreciate people's opinions based on the pictures I took.

This is the reburbed overdrive unit.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i5k5l8buu32h6ns/IMG_2119.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/emlu5xdox30dq7b/IMG_2126.JPG?dl=0

The oil appears to be dripping down on the the cross member below the overdrive and then onto the exhaust, which maybe one reason why the car smells so bad when I park it up in the garage. I've put a small plate in place under the overdrive to see if I can divert the oil away from the exhaust until I figure out what needs to be done. Not the easiest job without a pit.

The differential was a completely different story. Relatively easy to do, but it did need 1/2 litre of oil. Could someone confirm that the rear diff is from a Cortina Mk3 and is it possible to buy the rear cover as mine has been jacked up so many times on the diff that's it's deformed at the bottom.

On Tuesday I'll be heading off to see Tom Airey to get the car tuned. It's certainly running rich, so fingers crossed he can give me a few more HP and get rid of some of the smell.

[Tony Hayward]

Ian

As regards the gearbox leak, this could be the rear oil seal. This can be replaced insitu, remove the propshaft first with the car jacked at the rear, more than the front(stops the oil running out). Prise out the seal and bang a new one in.

The differentail cover can be bought reasonably readily; Demon Tweeks may have one, Burton ditto, Gartrac definitely. Make sure to get the heavy duty gasket with it, the cover will be around £59+vat (Gartrac). It is an Atlas axle.

Tony

[Tony Hayward]

Ian

Further to your missive, image 2024 shows (as you said) access points to the shock absorber top bolts, there should be another two in the front wall of the boot-the other end of the bolts. This is the only way that the top bolts can be removed. Gilbern obviously put the shock absorbers on the chassis before the body was fitted. Your other images showing cuts around the wheelarch are where sections of the body have been removed to repair the chassis; again this is quite common, I believe that access to 95% of the chassis can be obtained by cutting various bits inside the car.
If you grovel in the rear wheelarchs, you can get near eneough to the top seatbelt bolts to soak them in freeing oil, similarly if the bottom of the sills are detachable, the lower bolts can be soaked. The centre ones are in the transmission tunnel (up the sides), and hopefully, the oil there will have kept them free.

Hope this helps your quest!!

Tony