5 years on!

July 2016
Thought I had better post a few photos to show that George still exists, as its some time since I made any significant progress! I am now actively seeking quotes for having the paint work done.
All my efforts on the body are over despite the two side panels, rear of the doors still not being perfectly straight. 
Masking tape indicates line of two tone colour split.
All other bits and pieces are waiting for the paint job and then the final rebuild.

 

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

Austin 101 Parts list & JB Workshop Manual

Dec 2015

Recently managed to buy both an Austin 101 parts list and a Morris JB/101 workshop manual from our old friend Mr E.Bay. Both are in pretty good condition considering they are closing in on 60 years old.

Click on the links below to see full content :

Austin 101 parts list in two parts 

AUSTIN 101 Parts List -Part 1

AUSTIN 101 Parts List -Part 2


Morris JB/101 Workshop Manual 

Workshop Manual- Part 1-Introduction-Engine-Ignition-Cooling-Fuel System-Clutch
Workshop Manual Part 1

Workshop Manual- Part 2-Gearbox-Prop Shaft-Steering-Rear axle-Steering-Front axle
                              - Road springs & dampers.
Workshop Manual Part 2  

Workshop Manual- Part 3-Brakes-Electrics-Wheels & tyres-Lubrication-Chassis-Body-
                              - Specialized equipment-Lubrication chart.
Workshop Manual Part 3


                 Photos only

More bits and pieces!!

Nov 2015

Grill fastener

Have been searching for a missing grill fastener every since I took ownership of my van.
At last I have found a source for the Dzus fastener, AJ6-1/2-60, that holds the grill in place. 
These are to be found at www.lasaero.com . There is a small minimum order charge and postage...but for around £10 I bought a quantity of seven.

Screw Jack

Decided to identify and try and get a suitable period car jack for the van. Service parts list identified the Jack as '97H751'. This is the same part called out for the Morris Minor van. 

www.mgaroadster.co.uk site identifies Shelley jack LJ31 as used on the Morris Minor 1/4 ton van. :www.mgaroadster.co.uk/shelley_jacks_2.htm.

This triple screw jack has a closed height of just over 5 inches (125mm)  and a fully extended height of 13.75 inches (349mm).

Managed to get one, including handle, off Ebay. After a couple of hours of cleaning and repainting it now looks like this:-

When in use at the rear axle it does lift sufficiently for the tyre to clear the ground...but only by a couple of inches. At the front it is small enough to fit under the axle beam quite easily.

Will probably use a wooden spread board, say 13mm (1/2 inch) for use on soft ground and to give a bit more lift at the rear.

For reference Shelley jack LJ32 is very similar but will give a few more inches lift.

More body work!

Going through a period of learning how best to get the exterior body work straight and smooth. Currently taking several attempts on each section to get close!
Here are my efforts to date on the front cab. Just got the two lower rear side panels to go.

Tyres and other things.......

Sept 2015

Blogger Tech note: Blogger does not work well with Windows Edge browser in Windows 10. Photos cause a freeze when adding from select page... after a few hours of frustration my cure was to install Google Chrome as the default browser...all works fine...at the moment.

Tyres Firstly a tale about tyres.....ordered a set of 5 tyres plus tubes, rims a bit pitted, over the net from a well know vintage tyre supplier...order acknowledged and invoice received...waited a few days but no tyres...phoned supplier only to be told they were out of stock and not expecting supplies until 2016!   So much for believing what you read on the net!
Next a  phone call to a different supplier to be told the same story that the tyres I wanted where not available for several weeks....so I went for a more expensive set of Excelsior 6.70 x15. These arrived within 24 hours and I duly took the tyres, tubes and wheels to a local garage to have them fitted.  However they had never fitted tubes to tyres and didn't know how to! Luckily they knew who did and I popped across the road to ATS. They had an 'agricultural man' who was skilled in fitting tubes, so I left the tyres with them. However a few hours later I had a call to say there was a problem.....I needed some 'grommets' to take up the gap between the wheel rim hole and the much smaller tube valve! Luckily when I got back in touch with the tyre supplier, North Hants Tyre, they had 'grommets' and posted a set to me FOC.
Back to ATS with the grommets and all is now done.
So when ordering tyres...check first with the supplier, If you need tubes fitted find an 'agricultural' tyre fitter and don't forget the 'grommets'!

Rubber Flooring
Took the plunge and sent for some 6 mm ribbed rubber matting...made a paper template of whole floor and managed to cut it out into just three pieces to fit the lot.
Sprayed over edge of template, on reverse with can of paint, to get a clear cutting edge...fitted aluminium edging to make tidy the edges.

paper template on reverse of rubber matting

Internal Rails (Raves as Harvey P calls them)
At last managed to get a full set from 'J' owner Bill in Swindon. Thanks Bill.
 After removing a few layers of old paint and then adding a few more of new have fitted them and the internal panels finally in place.

Finally the lights.
Temporarily ran all the wiring to the front and rear lights and flashing indicators. All seemed fine except the indicators. While they flashed at the right time I couldn't stop the indicator light on the switch from flashing, even in the central off position! After trying all the wiring combinations nothing solved this problem. After discussing the issue with Alan from Reddiparts, Redditch he suggested and lent me a 4 pin flasher unit to try, suitable for hooking up a trailer, in place of the 3 pin one I was using. After a few wiring combinations I hit on the one that worked! Thank you Alan.

Indicator 'block' bolted to instrument housing

4 pin trailer flasher mounted under drivers tray.