Jowett Kestrel Rebuild & Restoration

[julian]

Interesting thought, Ian

I'll have to have a look at the all the brake rods and see what condition they are in. The front ones I've looked at so have had some brazing repairs but look OK.

I am still exploring the repair/remanufacture options, but like you I want to keep as much original material as possible. I am able to get hold of steel rod, bar, tubing etc from a company about 25 miles from my location and they are happy to sell you as much or as little as you need.

Which brings me round to the radiator repair: I decided to have a go at replacing the lower pipes which were completely corroded. I wanted to used copper pipes, but having had trouble getting hold of the right size I found my steel supplier had just the size I needed and the ones I am replacing were steel (not sure what they would have been originally). Anyway I managed with a lot of cleaning, fluxing and careful heating around the area and using a traditional soldering iron to fix the new tubes in place. It remains to be seen if they are water-tight and indeed whether the core is leaking or not! Watch this space.

[ian Howell]

Julian: -

Yes the original tubes were steel (that's why they rusted away). Copper would have been OK as there are a lot of dissimilar metals in the cooling system and copper should not create any additional problems, especially if you use modern anti-freeze/corrosion inhibiter.

Leaks on the outlets shouldn't be a problem as you simply re-solder them (using Baker's Fluid flux on the steel parts) until they are gone. I used an old-fashioned soldering iron (Well, copper really innit?) when I worked on my Bradford rad when I was at college. Leaks in the core are different depending on the cause. The odd small hole MAY be sealed with a commercial sealant. Slightly bigger leaks, such as a small group next to each other due to stone damage etc, may be closed up with material such as Araldite but that leaves a very obvious 'fix'.

The correct (and expensive) answer (as I am sure someone will tell us) is to have the rad re-cored.

Anyway, it is great to see progress being made - more please!

[julian]

Thanks, Ian. We'll see how it goes - soon , I hope!

I have a few things on the go at the moment so I need to focus - you know how it is - you see something that needs work and can't resist...

Current jobs on the go:

Clutch pedal linkage refurb/replacement
Front spring shackle refurb
Front bearing replacement
Re-instate mechanical fuel pump and adjust pipes & fittings to suit
Install strangler cable
Exhaust- cut ,modify & mount Morris Minor system to new Y-pipe

My aim in the next few days is to get the engine running for longer than a few seconds and have a good check around the oil & cooling system. If this works out OK I'll make a short video and post a link.

Another major step towards getting the car on the road under its original registration AEL 217 was completed this week with the arrival of the V5C from DVLA A great New Year's present - many thanks to Geoff & Tony for their advice & assistance with documentation.

Julian

[ian Howell]

Exhaust - cut and shut etc.

Yep! That's exactly what I did, used a Morris Minor pipe. The 'hump' over the back axle needs a bit of fiddling - I tilted it a bit to the nearside but be careful where the end points to and make sure you miss the shock absorber. I adjusted the bends by heating short lengths to about red heat with an ordinary gas blowtorch and bending a little at a time. I actually made my 'Y' pipes too, although I managed to salvage the original? cylinder flanges.

At the first attempt I found that the exhaust was pointing directly at the spare wheel, which is carried in a cradle at the back. It is surprising how hot the gases are even after 10 or so feet of pipe!

I think the original pipes were a bit smaller in diameter (the remains of the one on my car when I got it seemed to be about 1" diameter but may not have been correct).

Anyway, the exhaust note is quite nice, especially when working hard(ish!).

I recall Tony's comment of seeing a pipe 'about the size of a Bic pen' but I don't remember whether this was 'right', authentic or just a pragmatic solution.

Tony?

[george garside]

If making ones own Y pipe it can help to weld about 6'' or so of flexi into the (offside I think) branch to provide a bit of 'leeway' for lining up to the cylinder flanges.

george

[julian]

Thanks for the tips on the exhaust. The "hump" is asymmetrical & the wrong way round for the Jowett. That is the longest distance from the pipe to the peak is near the front and the shortest near the back. This places the pipe too low down to meet up with the "Y" pipe. I was considering cutting out this section, reversing it and then using sleeves to re-connect.

The other idea, which I have tried, is to turn the full system through 90 degrees ("hump" horizontal) and run the straight pipe under the back axle - the first part of the hump then runs out at an angle at the back of the car. I still need to check whether this will be a problem when the axle moves downwards when travelling over bumps. Also the pipe would need a bit of bending to line up correctly with the Y-pipe, but this should be relatively easy with the blow lamp as Ian describes.

I managed to complete the work needed to start-up the engine & this has been reasonably successful. After fixing one or two problems with the petrol pipes and pump gasket, & filling up with water, the engine fired-up quite well and ran for a good 10 minutes. It's far from perfect and water is seeping out around the inlet manifold and cylinder heads, but all fixable. My solder joints on the bottom pipes seem to be OK, although there is a small leak from the core.

I made a short video of the running engine which can be viewed by following this link:

http://youtu.be/zYarLkIZtCk

Julian

[Jack]

Hi Julian,

On the Y pipe, have you tried JCS/Michael KO? It might be something that they have a used spare, I would imagine an old but servicable original would save you a good bit of time making one. How much difference is there between the Kestrel and Bradford? If similar, might be worth modifying Bradford pipe instead of building from scratch. Just ideas, I have no idea how feasible this is

Great to see progress being made.

Jack.

[julian]

Thanks Jack

I bought the Y-pipe from Jowett Car Spares so I'm OK with that - the main work is in adapting the Morris Minor exhaust system. This is supplied as an 11' long single item. I've already chopped off the end that would have connected to the exhaust manifold & the rest of the system then slots nicely inside the Y-pipe (Y-pipe is 1 3/8" o/d & Morris Minor system is 1 1/4" o/d).

This is how it was setup when I had the engine running and it sounds OK so I just need to set it up properly now!

Julian

[Keith Clements]

Now Jack, restrain yourself from converting Julian to a Cherry Bomb exhaust!

[julian]

I managed to find a local welder who has been very helpful and I have now made some progress with the clutch pedal. I decided to have the link rods built up with weld and turn new pins for the clutch pedal.

Here are the new parts (including pivot pin I made earlier)

..and here fitted to the clutch pedal.

..and with the refurbish linkage rods - not perfect, I know, but takes up most of the slack & if it lasts another 80 years, I won't be complaining!

Another problem which I had been pondering was the pedal return spring which had broken off at the point it located on the mounting bracket. In the end it turned out to be a quick fix - I clamped the whole spring in the vice and heated up the end to cherry red and bent it over with a pair of pliers. I assembled everything today and it seems to be holding OK.

Just on this point I've located the hooked end over the top pivot - can anyone advise if this is correct, or should it be the bottom pivot - it might reach at a push!!

[ian Howell]

Pedal return spring? Aha!

I have been worried about my clutch operating toggle levers and the 1/16" clearance quoted in the literature.

Because the actual toggle levers are themselves spring-loaded, there is no clearance unless I lift up the clutch pedal. I have adjusted them to give the 1/16" clearance, but of course as soon as I let go of the pedal . . .

I have looked at the Jowett drawings and I cannot see any sign of a return spring for the clutch pedal and certainly none was fitted when I bought the remains of the car (Although the mechanical bits were all assembled).

Am I short of a return spring? Where was/should it be fitted?

[richard turner]

Bradford and pre-war clutch return springs look similar but are wound in different directions. This may be the problem!

[Tony Fearn]

I have looked at the Jowett drawings and I cannot see any sign of a return spring for the clutch pedal. Am I short of a return spring? Where was/should it be fitted?

Ian/Julian,
I've been across to a very cold garage, and it started to rain so I didn't pull the car out, but lying awkwardly, on the floor, under the front wing I have managed to take a couple of rather weary photos of the clutch return spring on the 1934 saloon.
I didn't realise it was such a mess under there!
You'll have to look through the grease, oil and road-dirt, and imagine the set-up, but it's the best I can do at the moment.
If necessary, when it's warmer and drier, I'll clean it all up with paraffin and re-photo.
It would be better to have removed the front seats, carpet and floor board, and photographed it from above, but that's a bigger job.

Tony.

[george garside]

its just a coil spring round the clutch pedal shaft that hooks onto the pedal arm at one end. Bradford could well be thhe same spring or it should be possible to make one out of fairly thick piano wire. The spring is very important as it keeps the thrust race clear of the toggle leavers .

george

[ian Howell]

Thanks Tony - That's all I needed.

George says: -

"it keeps the thrust race clear of the toggle leavers ".

Precisely! Now all I need to do is make up a spring. Shouldn't be too hard - perhaps one from a foot operated tyre pump might be adapted? We shall see . . .