Snag list

Mon.06.10.08. It has been decided to use the original wheels and tyres during the weighting and road teats. To make them more acceptable they have deserved a thorough clean. Given that they have stood in a damp garage for the past eighteen years they are in a remarkably good state. The paint is reasonably fresh; the alloy is not pitted or crusty. A power wash down at the local petrol station has brought most of the heavy soil and dirt off which was then followed by 80’s wet and dry and a vigorous ‘T’ cut. Further polishing with a graded wax should see them adequate for the trial purposes. By checking the balance of the wheels will also indicate whether or not the steel radial core has been damaged by storage, as such they could be dangerous or inaccurate for the trial period.

The seat runners have received several layers of satin black to hide the re-welding that was necessary after the modifications to the ride height. New bolts for the pancake filters were collected from Brabbin and Rudd along with various fibre, copper and galvanised washers for the dashboard fixing, the oil feed to the rear of the block and the filters. 

I have heard the engine for the first time. It sounds superb.

Tues.07.10.08. The wheels have polished up reasonably well to display an old fashioned patina reminiscent of veteran vehicles. Nevertheless they are totally unsuitable aesthetically for the car but can bee used as winter treads, more importantly they will offer ‘test’ facilities together with ride height specifications. The seat runners are ready to be bolted to the body tub after which the seats can be attached. By the time I had finished both of these tasks it was quite late in the day. Meanwhile, I had not realised the endeavour that had taken place up at the workshop. When I arrived I was presented with the ‘ups and downs’ of an unusual day.

Dick has spent another day at Westmead to iron out some of the niggling faults that are appearing on a daily basis ever since the engine had been fired up consequently also engaging all of the ancillaries. The starter motor purchased simply because of the brand ‘Lucas’ boldly displayed on the packaging, is a poorly constructed obscenity. It seems that the manufacturers who claim to have reconditioned the piece have merely painted the external casing to then, only replace the matrix. 

The interior exhibits signs of having never been checked. Two out of the four bushes were seized making no contact with the magnetron, a plastic sheath was also broken, there was evidence that the internal mechanisms had never been ‘touched’ since the unit was first manufactured. This has been yet another example of having naïve faith with ‘brand leaders’ but sadly realising that many of these items have never seen the parent company being retailed under very dubious, fraudulent circumstances.

The electrical fault that has caused the most concern revealed itself once more threatening to torch the entire car within seconds. But Dick, lugubrious as he is, moved athletically to pull off the battery terminal to speedily subdue the effect of the conflagration. The problem brought into doubt much of the stability of the wiring. “If it happens with this switch, what about the rest?” questioned puzzled Dick. The defect was not logical since when the dashboard was removed to expose the connectors each proved to be correctly coupled, encouragingly lacking current at the precise moment when the problem occurred. Dick suggested that the reason for this sudden surge of power was due to the faulty control which was located directly to the overdrive mechanism on the gearbox. To examine this area would entail removing the exhaust system, disconnecting the prop shaft and dropping the box: the prospect of which sent Chris into an immediate spiral of depression. 

“There must be something we have missed?” thought Chris, conveniently filing away any thoughts of stripping the car down. Luckily Chris noticed that Dick, when fastening the dash to the scuttle, leaned rather heavily on the three way overdrive toggle switch thus engaging the obsolete third position. The spades that were laid bare, because they were superfluous to the operation of the unit, were the direct cause of the ‘fire’. They were responsible for the ‘short’ completing the circuit purely by accident. If the toggle engaged the third position it would create an instant and very dangerous circuit. Once this had been discovered it was a simple matter to remove the offending connectors and also to further prevent any other contact a rubber bandage was applied to the guilty section. 

Slowly but now thoughtfully most of the ‘snag list’ has been addressed. The leaks have been sealed, hoses tightened, suitable washers added. The car functions properly, starts every time and sounds wonderful.