Post by grumpynorthener on Mar 17, 2024 8:03:18 GMT
Range Rover rim had the silver basecoat applied followed by a couple of clearcoats
I needed to cure the 2 pack clear coat quickly
Thankfully paint technology has moved on from sitting around & waiting - Accelerators have now been in the market for a number of years - it meant that the rim could have the tyre fitted 45 minutes after the clear coat had been applied
My tyre fitters latest machine - fully automatic leaver less tyre fitter - works on laser guidance - even has a side lift for lifting the wheel off the stand
We both help each other out on occasions so the tyre came at the cost price to me - Its still been a £300 puncture with the cost of the rim + paint materials but it could have been significantly more
Post by grumpynorthener on Mar 28, 2024 8:32:52 GMT
Having absolutely no luck with the Range Rover daily / tow vehicle currently on the tyre front and on Tuesday morning after returning from the NEC Restoration Show found this on the offside rear
Had a screw in the treads - probably from the NEC halls - at least the tyre was repairable this time
Again?! Sorry to hear, have you checked for magnets in those rims?!
Its just been one of those months - although I cant recall another one like it - the score so far is:
1 x Repairable puncture
1 x Non repairable puncture leading to a run flat dead tyre
1 x Cracked / dead alloy as a result of the above
2 x Front windscreens
Yesterday I managed to drop the trailer keys down the side of the drivers seat and they took over an hour to recover but at least I manged to access them
Some maintenance issues that I need to address over the next few weeks - Brake pads are well down back & front and require replacement - I have them in stock but just need to find the time to fit them
I still have a water ingress leak into the nearside front footwell - I've checked all the usual suspected areas but to no avail - I'm going to have the remove the passenger seat and take the carpets out to trace it
The plastic outer shroud of the trailer socket has started to fall apart and requires replacement
You might know this but if you need to find an elusive leak then buy or borrow a smoke machine, like the ones they use in a nightclub. Run a mains cable through a window, tape the gap up and switch it on with all the doors and vents closed. The car fills with smoke pretty fast and you can usually see where the leak is because you get a nice plume of smoke leaving the car where the holes are.
Obviously it won't work on a Jowett but on modern stuff it's very effective. Once you open the doors the smoke and smell clear quite fast or you can switch on the hazard lights / radio and have a party.
You might know this but if you need to find an elusive leak then buy or borrow a smoke machine, like the ones they use in a nightclub. Run a mains cable through a window, tape the gap up and switch it on with all the doors and vents closed. The car fills with smoke pretty fast and you can usually see where the leak is because you get a nice plume of smoke leaving the car where the holes are.
Obviously it won't work on a Jowett but on modern stuff it's very effective. Once you open the doors the smoke and smell clear quite fast or you can switch on the hazard lights / radio and have a party.
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 2, 2024 9:09:43 GMT
I didn't have access to a smoke machine so I went down the usual route
I had already removed some of the side trims in attempt to identify the point of ingress
The one piece carpet is sponge backed with the sponge doing what sponges do best - I must have mopped up well over a few litres of water out of the footwell - the passenger seat had been removed to allow access
Very difficult to determine where the actual point of ingress was with the carpet / sponge dripping water everywhere - ideally the carpet needed to be removed to allow access but also to dry it out
The problem being is that the carpet is one piece across the width of the car - I removed the centre console which is a pretty major strip down of switch gear / controls / trim etc
Quite a lot of the dashboard would have to be removed along with the drivers seat etc to release the complete front section carpet
Has the centre section of the carpet is hidden from view by the centre console I made an executive decision and cut the carpet down the centre to remove the nearside section - this I could now hang up to dry out
Then went water ingress / leak hunting again - it took over an hour to show up but once it started it was a steady trickle into the cab
Coming down the inside flitch panel / A post hidden by the mass wiring harness
Along with the main fuse panel
I replaced the centre console / switch gear / trim & passenger seat and tested everything that I had apart for operation - this includes the electronic handbrake switch & gear selection modules - which in turn returned the vehicle to a drivable condition - Most important has Mrs GN required dropping off at the train station - I'll leave the carpet out for now whilst it dries
The following day I removed the road wheel along with the wheelarch liner
Then removed the front wing - Checked all flanges & seals adjacent to the A post / bulkhead / flitch panel etc
The only logical point of ingress that I could find is this pull through blanking grommet
Which I've applied seam sealer around - refitted the wing & wheel arch liner - Water ingress leaks are sometimes a matter of elimination and I'm not sure if I've found the exact root cause yet - I'll keep monitoring the situation and see where I get to
Meanwhile whilst the wheel was off it made sense to change the brake pads that I've had in stock for a few weeks
I think I've had my value for money out the old ones
The only logical point of ingress that I could find is this pull through blanking grommet
Chris, if this is the same as mine, this is usually the bottom of the sunroof drain tube if fitted. albeit that's a better design as the D3 ones look like this
You can guess what happens, so the fix is to snip the ends to prevent build up and run a rod or coated wire through from the front of the sunroof as they back up then run down the pillar helpfully right into the fuse box. Good old LR engineering
The other common leak point is the cabin/pollen filter housing. The air recirculation flap is behind there and if sticky/gets muick in it can stick slightly open so maybe worth checking that it's operating ok.
ETA: the sunroof tubes can also split, not impossible to remove and change, I've a set here ready to go on if needed. It may be worth dropping the front headliner panel to put something on the end of the sunroof tube to see if that is the cause
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 3, 2024 7:42:21 GMT
Sam - Many thanks - yes it has a factory sunroof and I had already previously rodded the drain tubes and flow tested them
I left a packed wad of tissue just below the A post as a test area but also to prevent any water that did ingress from running down the floor pan swage to the rear of the car
It rained fairly heavily through early evening / overnight - A check this morning and the tissue is dry - the combined carpet / sponge / sound deadening is still drying out and I'm happy to leave the car on extended water test for now rather than refitting all the trim only to find out that water is still finding its way in somewhere - but so far so good
Waterleaks can be very testing. I've had lots over the years. As you've seen - bulkhead ones are very tricky to track down as they seem so unlikely. Once you think you've fixed it, remember to leave it parked in the rain at a few different angles, before putting it all back together
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 6, 2024 6:22:39 GMT
Hope that I'm not ushering these words too soon but it would appear that the water ingress leak is cured - Its rained several times since the last round of interventions and the footwell has remained dry - On the strength of that it was given a good wash yesterday afternoon and its still dry - Hopefully I can now get around to refitting the trim that I've left out of the nearside - Its amazing how much noisier the car is without the sound deadening & carpet fitted in the front footwell
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 7, 2024 9:02:59 GMT
A club committee meeting in Leicester yesterday involved a diversion to collect the last of a Jowett parts hoard from a late members garage - Its not all Jowett parts some of it is loose sundries / autojumble along with some tools & equipment - It included a powered bandsaw that the team in Jowett Spares can make good use of
These were separated after the committee meeting with Jowett parts along with any tools / equipment that our spares department could use heading off to Yorkshire with our parts team - the remaining stuff coming back with me - This is then separated in autojumble lots and sold off at the NEC shows (and anywhere else that we attend) This in turn funds our stand costs at the large shows
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 11, 2024 7:23:48 GMT
I was contacted by a solicitor introducing himself and assuring me that I had nothing to worry about - My heckles raised immediately as the title 'solicitor' was spoken, my immediate thoughts leaping to the conclusion that the local village idiot pot stirrers were once again employing yet another childish game of stupid antics. But no nothing like that, he'd contacted me on recommendation of the Jowett Car Club and was dealing with the estate of a late member, there was a vintage Jowett involved and could I assist in the sale of it - He advised that he'd be back in touch once probate was issued - I then heard nothing for a few years. A few weeks ago he was back in touch and advised that there was a reasonable collection of Jowett related spares at the property too, could I also assist with removing / recovering these. I briefly explained how the club worked and held / ran its own parts department by voluntary members on behalf of the members. I offered to waive my expenses on recovering & selling the vintage Jowett in exchange for the spares which in turn I would directly donate to the club. The late owner had been a club member since the 1960's but died without a will - The solicitor thought that the parts being donated was the best possible outcome given the circumstances - At this stage I hadn't seen the car / spares / property - fast forward and I left with the trailer yesterday to collect the car & parts from deep Essex.
Once the garage was opened - Very sound 1927 Jowett Short 2 - stored for the last 4 years
Both axles up on jacks - vintage jacks too
Shares its stable with a 1967 Morris Minor 2 door which is pretty sound
Someone else is dealing with finding a home for the Minor which just requires a straight forward light recommissioning
Jowett rolled out of the garage & loaded to the trailer
Post by grumpynorthener on Apr 12, 2024 9:13:52 GMT
Spares then - well I found some in the garage but not a overwrought amount - I did check with the solicitor that any equipment that were dedicated Jowett tools / special tooling could be sorted & donated
This included Whitworth / BSF spanners & sockets - which Jowett used on every model and is now getting quite difficult / expensive to source
I also agreed to separate any Morris Minor spares & tooling and box them as I progressed - some of the toolboxes / chests were empty others were crammed full - I was fairly selective and didn't take / remove things just for the sake that were there for the taking - Its sad enough going through the possessions of a late member but I wanted to ensure that everything that I removed went to good homes / found another life
Slowly a small pile started to build - it became obvious that only essential items that were required in the garage were kept there due to the compact nature of the building which was just of a concrete sectional type with tin pent roof
There were items that were non make / model related which I again separated - I was asked if I could rehome it - good autojumble stuff is always welcome when donated to the club and is sold to assist / fund the clubs attendance at the large NEC shows which has become quite expensive
The late owner had installed an DIY alarm system to the garage which consisted of a manually pre wound spring operated large fire bell - when the side personnel door was opened a cable operated the catch mechanism
So if the parts weren't in the garage where were they stored
Rear bedroom then - proper mixture of Jowett / Morris / Autojumble - I worked my way through and separated the parts into boxes - they were 4 of these metal upright office type lockers along with 2 double wardrobes - some filled with other interests
Some parts were already separated into tin storage chests like these rubber parts - some completely useless due to the age of it but still very useful for patterns etc
Others also ready sorted - All new old stock Jowett - everything from piston sets to valve spring sets to gaskets to cosmetic trim - some still labelled with original part numbers
I continued to fill boxes followed by more boxes and yet more boxes
And found yet more old tin luggage chests full of yet more parts
Then there was 2 lookers full of literature - everything from books to magazines to original workshop manuals, spares catalogues, showroom brochures on a varied amount of different subjects - clearly our departed friend held certain interests apart from Jowett & Morris - which included windmills & watermills, railways, stationary engines, motorcycles & scooters, bicycles along with gramophones (I moved over 10 of them to gain access to the lockers)
Much relevant Jowett literature boxed up & moved
And in moving things around the room to access other areas within the room this was uncovered
1959 Norman Cyclemotor
Last run in 1976 before being heaved up the stairs to be stored in the bedroom
I filled the Range Rover to the brim along with the dicky (boot space) on the Short 2 with what had come out of the garage and the rear bedroom - I had been there since 10:00 and its now just creeping past 18:00 hours and I have a 2 hour tow journey home
Places like that are why I'd be useless if my job was doing house clearances - I'd want to just keep all of it, regardless of whether it would be any use to me. But, like the recent TV series, it's a reminder as to why I should tidy some stuff up instead of having as it is.
1. I know this is increasingly a reality for many. Certain clubs I belong to are now regularly announcing the death of members. A fellow I know locally had 100+ cars in the back of his property and a transport trailer full of parts - they all went to the crusher when he moved, not because he died but he couldn't be bothered to even sort them anymore.
2. There is a mythical (Probably real) two trailers full of NSU parts and cars about 2 hours from here that when the owner dies will just go to the crusher because he won't part with anything and no one knows what it is.
3. Before Covid we had a guy who had immigrated from England with 2-3 containers of parts - most of which were irelevant as they were for cars generally unavailable here. Plus he charged too much plus he had a terrible reputation for not sending what you paid for or not returning what he sent wrong. At any rate he died and they auctioned off everything - a three day auction in one day. I attended and basically nothing was any use to me though I now very much regret the number of NOS grilles that were sold for $20-30 dollars that could have adorned my garage walls.
4. I do think there are those who prefer accumulating parts more than the actual restoration. I suspect the original owner of my Vauxhall was that.
5. It's later than we think - don't do this to your family (says the guy with four cars and a garage full of unsorted parts)