Wolseley 18/89s gear shift mechanism fix

The old Wolseley used to have a so- called " Cable Change" mechanism to connect the gear lever to the gearbox. This worked fine, but at some point we changed the engine and gearbox to a late version. This later version uses a " Rod Change" .

This is the same system used on Mini's, Allegro's and Princesses. The one we use is a shortened version of the Princess system. This system has been working fine too, but after a while gearchange got a little sloppy. There is a small pin that keeps the gear lever in the correct position. I thought to exchange the whole unit as I keep a spare anyway, but I decided to just fix the pin in place with a little ring under the cap. This works well, but I added some extra security with a large hose clamp. The hose clamp has a dimple keeping the pin in place and a hole for the other pin, so the clamp can' t slip off. 

Quite nifty I think. Maybe I should have taken some more photo' s..
 

Austin Ten Conway oil change and brake service

It seemed the brakes on the Ten needed cleaning and adjustment. While up on the ramp I cleaned up the chassis a bit too after an oil change and a dirty session with the grease gun. 

Got a new top hose too. This seems to be a rather heavy duty item. I thought it didn't look entirely right, but the "correct" one I ordered looked a little bit flimsy, so I'll keep that as a spare for now. 

Mechanical brakes all cleaned and the linkages greased.

The ignition contact points needed cleaning and adjustment too. I'm still debating if I'll change to some form of electronic ignition or keep the classic points system. 

 

Angerse Midzomer rit 2021

A run with the local classic vehicle club. The Austin must have been the oldest car around. A great variety of vehicles turned up: cars, tractors, mopeds and motorcycles. 

 

Beaver and paddle day

A placid Summer day on the river. 

This beaver was swimming lazy circles around the kayak. It looked a bit small to me, but when it slapped the water with his flat tail, I was sure this was a beaver. While floating past some bushes I heard a few more, but they didn't show themselves. 

 

MGB GT service

The orange MGB was slightly overdue for a service. Because of the covid-restrictions the car had not been used much, but still I try to change the oil every two years, check the brakes and grease all lubrication points. Also it was another good reason to practice lifting skills. 

And of course there was a little mishap. I was checking if I had parked the mg correctly on the lift. I had not and gave it a little push, not realising the other side was already on the edge. No harm was done, the lift is very low, so the car just stood with the front wheels on the floor. I managed to jack up the car, put a thick board under the car and move the car back on the ramp. But hey, I'll make sure next time!      

Job done and everybody happy and safe. 
 

Austin Seven special broken dynamo bearing

I noticed a strange noise while driving the Seven. It seemed to emanate from the front of the engine. 

After removing the fanbelt I found that the itself was fine, but the dynamo definitely was difficult to turn and the front bearing seemed shot. I keep a spare dynamo with the Wolseley, so I decided to fit that. Of course the broken dynamo will be rebuilt, so I'll have a spare available.  

I must say I had forgotten how compact I had built the whole thing and it was a bit more involved to remove the dynamo. To reach the bolts I removed the exhaust pipe and I drained the water from the radiator and I removed the radiator, hoses and pipes to reach the front bolt.  

With the exhaust, waterhose and dynamo out. I could tilt the radiator and the headlights forward. 

It looks a bit strange, but now I can remove the broken dynamo. 

With the the new dynamo fitted, the belt would not fit. I had moved the dynamo forward a bit in an effort to improve alignment of the belt on the pulleys. 

I got a slightly longer belt and all seems to fit well now. There's only the water hose to refit.

It's all coming together again, but after start up the dynamo would not charge. The charging light just flickered on and off. Then I remembered the Wolseley has a positive earth system and this Seven has a negative earth system. I changed polarity on the dynamo by removing the wires and touching the Field connection with a positive wire from the battery. After reconnecting all wires the car stared up fine, the ignition light went off and the charging system worked correctly, so now we're ready to roll again. 

 

Mini Van universal drive boot change and service

Now, with a four post lift installed in the shed it should be easier to work on those low cars. The mini Van is the lowest of the bunch, so it seemed appropriate to start with a job that came up after the safety test. Yes it failed because the rubber boot on our five year old very low mileage universal joint had failed and the handbrake did not engage evenly on both sides.  Also for some reason the horn and rear lights stopped working. 

The lights were fixed by changing the bad fuse that looked fine but refused to pass any current. I also changed a rear number plate light that suddenly came apart and the horn was fixed by re-attaching the spade connector to the horn. 

I undid the ball joints and steering joint and removed the drive shaft from the differential so I could make a swing with the old hammer to remove the universal joint with the offending rubber boot. 

The joint still looks brand new of course. I peeled off the boot and replaced the whole assembly. Not a difficult task, but rather greasy. 

After this it was mostly a regular service. The oil was changed and all the greasing points were lubricated. The brakes were also all serviced. One of the rear handbrake actuators had seized due to lack of use, so I took that one apart and reassembled with copper grease. After this everything was fine and the test was passed without more issues.  

Meander Monday

Suddenly it's summer after some dark and rainy weeks. 

 

Achterhoekse Oldtimer rit 2021

 

The first classic car event for our Wolseley 1500 turned out to be a beautiful day. The car behaved well and the run took us through some very scenic areas.