British Railways stuff

Jan 2016

Since deciding to finish my van with a 'Blood and Custard' British railways livery I have been on the look out for BR hardware to add to the interior, once the exterior is finally done!

So far have collected and restored a number of items, including the following:-.

Porters sack truck (made by W. GOODYEAR & SONS Dudley)

Cleaned painted and added 'British Railways' signage.

Signal lamps- One with a wick that probably pre-dates 1960 by some time and a second , Bardic, battery operated, that I suspect is a little later than 1960. Both with B.R. raised lettering.  Some railway buff will no doubt  put me right on the dates.!

Have also accumulated a number of smaller items including books, magazines, timetables etc.

Then made a display bookcase to house some of these. Hope to hang this in the van ..somewhere.

If you have any British Railway related items, circa 1960, such as wooden boxes, sacks, luggage, packaging or anything else that you may want to part with...please get in touch.

Minor Mods

Jan 2016

Here a few small things I have done, some old ,some recent, that are not in the workshop manual or parts list!

1. Battery switch.

Added this some time ago to isolate the battery more easily when working on the electrics. It sits inside the drivers seat box with its connections made under the floor.

2. Power socket.

Added this to provide a source of power for accessories and a means to trickle charge the battery. Positioned in the drivers foot well.

3.Rear door stays

Fashioned some rear door stays to hold the doors just past the 90 degree position. Used a hinge, steel strip (20 x 3 mm) , a pin from a shackle, bits and pieces and a strong magnet.

The magnet holds the loose arm to the body panel when not in use.

4. Panel bracing

The lower side panels, both sides, have been replaced sometime in the past and seemed a bit flimsy...they also moved quite a bit when pressed. Decided to add some bracing  to the area that sits behind the inner door panels. Added two braces per side with a strip of pipe lagging between the brace and the panel. To ensure the brace fastening at the door opening did not clash with the door sealing strip the fastening screw passes through about a one inch length of tube and screws directly into the spar. (6 mm tapped hole) This allows for the door seal to clear the brace. The spars where tweaked by hand to give some tension on to the panel.

5. Gear lever gaiter

Added a gear lever gaiter and securing ring from an MG-B sports car. (I used to have one of these...MGB GT that is). The gaiter is a good to tight fit on the lever shaft and the retaining ring will just fit in the space available.

6. Ashtray

I can't believe an ashtray was not part of the essential 1960's standard kit...so I have added one. It bolts on to the drivers tray and swivels away when not wanted... told it was from a Morris Minor van originally...so it could have been part of the options list? 

A tale of two carbs!

Jan 2016

And the saga continues into 2016....the year I hope to get my 'George' back on the road!

A little while age I bought a 'new' Solex 30 AHG carb from Ebay. As you may have done as a number were on sale.  At just £50 it seemed an offer not to miss and would do for spares if nothing else. When it arrived it was clearly new and unused and I was very pleased with it.

However comparing the jet sizes with the Solex leaflet I had for the JB van there were some clear differences. Three of the jet sizes were not as the leaflet and the choke tube was larger than the 21 m/m stated. Otherwise outwardly the carb look identical to the leaflet and to the one already fitted to my van engine.

So I put it aside for later consideration.

Last week in an attempt to get the engine to run better I removed the old carb and stripped it down to give it a good clean. I did find quite a lot of dirt in the main jet which was probably the cause of the rough running.

While I had the carb apart I did compare all the jet sizes with the Solex leaflet and the 'new' carb I purchased.

To my surprise the old carb and the new carb were identical in all respects! All jet sizes and the choke tube match.

So I replaced old with new and all works fine.

Does anyone know why the jet /choke sizes are different to the leaflet? My engine is a gold seal replacement (48G55AD) 

See below for the actual size differences. 

So if you also recently purchased a 'new' Solex 30 AHG do check your old carb and not rely on the Solex leaflet. 

Different sizes shown in RED below