JAN 2014 PT2

Ok well given the problems with the slave cylinders I have opted for a new set of Lockheed ones for the front. I have ordered then from the UK last week and they have arrived today! I am now going to bite the bullet and buy a new set of front pads form a Minor specialist here in Melbourne as a close side by side comparison between the new pads I bought in the UK and the old ones from the car highlight that there is not only a difference in the actual amount of pad bonded to the shoe but that the shoe itself is a slight bit longer. Maybe I have been sent the 8in shoes for the later car rather than the 7in ones that I require for a 1955 SII? Don’t know, not sure, but to get around that problems I am having I have decided to just get a whole new lot (as it is actually cheaper than rebuilding and sleeving the old slaves and re-bonding the old shoes too so I am advised by a local brake specialist).

 Now it is just a matter of getting down the road to the local Morris specialist to get the shoes/pads and then booking another flight to go and visit the car and install the new, new items. I am certainly hopeful that this time there will be no problems and they will just go in as they are supposed to. I have to say that I have not had this problem with it before (though it was 20 or so years ago) as when I changed them all last time it just all went together without a hassle, surely that is not too much to expect!

 I have also received the new radiator hoses and the copper water pipe (which is for the later cars that goes between the sections of heater hose and mounts on the head bolts) which means that I should be able to get the cooling system all reinstalled too. The old radiator was totally shot (well it was the original one!) and the side walls of the top tank were leaking through tiny stress fractures. The new replacement radiator is unfortunately not the tall top tank variety and it also does not have the drain tap or the blanking plug on the lower tank. This all means that I can no longer bolt the brass hose adapter into the blanking plug spot and run the heater hose from there, as such I have had to implement the copper pipe and the lower hose from the later cars so that I can keep the heater in the car, bit or stuffing about but you get that I guess. The radiator is slightly narrower in width to the original as well which means that as I tighten the mounting bolts the radiator is pulling the mounts in towards the radiator and as such they are sliding the whole lower edge backwards into the engine bay as they tighten. Obviously this isn’t the best outcome as it is putting the lower edge of the radiator about 1mm from the standard fan blade, thus if it was mounted and the engine started and revved had then the fan would probably flex enough to go through the new radiator, not ideal really. That is where I had to leave things during the last brief visit, so in addition to finishing off installing the new, new brakes and bleeding the system (hopefully the new master cylinder will vent and all will be good), I will have to pack out the radiator and get a washer or two between it and the mount bracket so that is stays where it is put. To safeguard the radiator and maybe free things up a bit I am going to take the engine driven fan off the car and install a thermo fan instead, specifically so that I have maximum cooling when I need it and not only when I am travelling fast. With a new radiator installed and all coolant being new etc I am presuming that really I probably won’t need a fan at all, but given that this is Australia and it is hot in some places, even in the winter, I would like to just make sure. I know that it is not “original” but really the car will have the later heater pipes and radiator hoses to keep the electronic ignition module (from a Mitsubishi Sigma!) feeding the 1.3 Rover Mini distributor, the new wiring and relays for the halogen headlights and auxiliary fuse box , the Mini heater, etc to keep the thermo fan company.

 I know people get upset with others making changes to the originality of the car, but really it is my car and if I want to change it to make it more usable and comfortable and safer then why the heck shouldn’t I be able to. Anything I have done to mine is easily reversible, I have almost all of the parts and I can change it back to original any time I like (granted there may be a few additional small holes from mounting things), so I guess that counts for something. Mind I have no problem with anyone doing whatever they like to their cars, some folk make some amazing modifications that I would never even have imagined, I might not ever want to do anything similar to my car and be happier that I know I can easily change it back to original anytime but I certainly can appreciate the modified vehicles.

Almost antique electronic ignition module

JAN 2014

Hi there to anyone who may be reading this and "Happy New Year" (somewhat late but better then not at all).

Well it has been a slow start to the year car wise as, naturally, everything has been closed over the "silly" season for the holidays and as such it was just yesterday that someone was very kindly able to come and have a look at the current front brake problem (see Dec 2013). He has determined that he new slave cylinders are actually wrong for the car or have been cast incorrectly and as such are holding the pads/shoes in the wrong place, thus causing the drums not to fit back onto the car. This is somewhat frustrating as I thought  had bought the correct Lockheed parts for the car and it looks like they are actually somewhat rubbish pattern parts instead. Now it is to decide to get new actual Lockheed parts or to have the old cylinders rebuilt and refit those, quite possibly the latter. The trouble is that I am a 27 hour drive away from the car at the moment and my poor Dad is stuck with trying to sort it for me instead, which is exceptionally good of him to do for me. Oh well nothing to do but sort it and get it together again, after all it's now 2014 and it has to be registered and back on the road for a June departure!

Guess the main point here is to make sure to read the fine print about the parts you're buying to make sure you're getting what you think your paying for!!

Oh and looks like I am going to get the count transported down to Melbourne. I would much prefer to drive it and I have blind faith in it that it would make it, but accepting others point of view of the car actually hasn't been driven for over 11 years now, so it would probably be more sensible to be able to have shorter runs out and back from home to give it a "shake down" period before the long trip as opposed to jumping in and driving 27 hours straight up. Probably makes more sense, though I don't think so ;)