Jowett Kestrel Rebuild & Restoration

[julian]

As you may have seen on the November For Sale forum I recently acquired a 1934 Jowett Kestrel which I plan to fully restore back to it's former glory. I am hoping to retain the original registration AEL 217 (Bournmouth) and paperwork is being prepared to send to DVLA. I've spent the week since it was delivered cleaning & looking over what I've got. As you will see from the photo below the bonnet and front wings had been removed, but most parts seem to be there, although the wings have been cut into 2 pieces.

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The next photo shows the car in the garage with bonnet & wings loosely positioned.

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.. and then with the bonnet, wings and radiator removed.

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I'm now looking over the engine. So far oil has been drained & no metal pieces have been found in the sump plug which is encouraging. I've removed the oil filter and cleaned it out and removed some of the sludge from the sump. I've also carried out a bit of basic wiring and installed a battery to check out the ignition system and have had the plugs sparking!

(Much) more to follow.

[george garside]

It looks good enough to sympatheticaly 'conserve' as an 'oily rag' original(ish) car rather than going up the newer than new concours restoration route!


george

[julian]

Yes I agree, George. I always prefer to repair where possible. I think this approach will work on the mechanics, but some of the bodywork, particularly the internal panels will need renewing. The front wings may not be the right ones - a section has been cut off and the holes don't line up with the mounting brackets. I also found a reference to the car for sale back in January and it states there that the wings are not the right ones. Well that's for much later - on with the engine today.

[richard turner]

Hi Julian.
The wings look original to me although hard to tell from the pictures. There may have been some cutting to the lower inner edges which were joined by a valence panel. The exact shape of the wings and the valance panel seem to vary on the surviving cars I've seen.
Rich

[george garside]

havings looked at several photo's of '34 Jowetts I am fairly certain that Julians front wings are not Jowett. 34 wings were less rounded, has smaller valances going down towards running boards and did not have the concave curve when viewed from ahead. They are not like the '35/6 wings either

george

[Tony Fearn]

Browsing JowettTalk I came across this post in January. Looks pretty much like the Kestrel now in my garage!!

http://jowett.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3169

Julian

This shows other photos of the car. The link was added in another thread.

Tony.

[richard turner]

Having looked at Tony's link I feel more certain they are the original wings! Can't understand why they've been chopped. The running board has been replaced at some point and is the wrong profile, but the rear wing profile will allow for the correct manufacture. Would be worth taking a look at John Follows car as his is very original.
Rich

[Tony Fearn]

Having looked at Tony's link I feel more certain they are the original wings.

I beg to differ from Richard's take on the front wings.

For one thing, 1934 wings did not have a valance at the back end, they were of the same edge profile from front to back. The hole shown on the middle photo of the wings in Julian's post of Saturday 15th November at the leading edge can not match up to the two vertical holes at the front end of the chassis shown in the bottom of the three photos.

The front of the wings are attached here, and there is a forged oval piece of metal to hold the bumper stays at the same place. Two bolts go through this fixture, and the front end of the wings in to the vertical holes.

Tony.

P.S. Julian - Looking at your photos of the same date, make sure you mark the end of the drop arm attached to the steering box before you dismantle the steering.

[julian]

I can confirm what Tony has stated in terms of hole alignment. Also the headlamp holes do not line up with the vertical support brackets. Sadly Jowett Spares don't have these wings so its either some clever cutting and mending (not my expertise) or buy some pattern parts at £300 a piece!

Noted about the steering drop arm.

I've made some progress with the engine & have completed the clean-up, replaced the oil filter & filled-up with oil. I then removed, cleaned-up & replaced the stater, Installed a battery, refurbished cables and was able to crank the engine giving 20 psi on the pressure gauge. Encouraged by this I moved on to wire up the coil and check the ignition - all worked OK with good sparks from the plugs. I mounted a temporary small petrol tank on the bulk head, cleaned out the carb and after a few cranks and spits & pops the engine burst into life - no exhaust so it was noisy and only ran for a few seconds, but very promising.

I need to get the radiator and exhaust installed before doing anything else - the radiator is in a poor state with the bottom pipes very corroded and some evidence of Radweld in the core. I'm getting a quote for a full refurb, but might have a go at the pipes myself and see if any, how bad the leaks are.

[BarryCambs]

I had a new core put in my radiator by CPA Radiators in Grantham, who specialise in classic/vintage and I can recommend them if you need another quote

Barry

[julian]

Thanks, I'll give them a try.

Photo of back of radiator..

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[Chris Spencer]

Julian - I would also contact Jowett Car Spares they can get radiators rebuilt to high standards at very reasonable prices

Chris

[george garside]

a very long shot, but looking through pre war photos the nearest I can find for those wings is 1935 Standard 12 or 1935 Singer 9. It might be worth getting in touch with the respective clubs as if the wings can be given an 'identity' they would be floggable to defray the cost of the correct Jowett items

I may of course be well off beam but has anybody else any ideas as to what they are off

george

[julian]

Good thought George. I've contacted Dave who posted the advert in January to see if he knows the origin of the front wings.

[julian]

I've now progressed to working on the front brakes, steering and general cleaning & painting the front section of the chassis.

Front wheels and drums have been removed and condition of the brake linings and drums looks good..

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The brake linkage & levers have been removed to assess condition and to give access for cleaning. All parts look OK & any bearing play is acceptable.

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The steering rod ball joints have been dismantled, cleaned, greased & re-assembled. One broken spring was found and replaced.