Jowett blog

[Keith Clements]

I seem to be doing so many different Jowett related jobs recently that I thought I would share with you.

On Monday I went to Chris's to get his Javelin going after checking out two distributors for him on the test rig.
On Wednesday I finished off refurbishing a couple of C1161M carbs for Bob Wall.

On Thursday I found and sourced a fan for Ian Carr who had received/ordered the wrong water pump spindle . This fan I checked out for straightness and fettled before sand blasting and painting. Ian and Susan came to collect and we went to the Saracens Head afterwards for a steak dinner.

On Friday we had another steering box rebuild session.
On Saturday Amy came around to test for vibrations on the SA that we had discovered on our trip to see Chris and Sharon on Monday. We went for a country drive, drink and meal in the SC in the evening.
On Sunday I completed fitting a new gearbox to the SA and fixed some loose rear drums as the tapers had worn and required stepped washers and some meat turned off the drum as it was rubbing on the back plate. I had tried to make a tool to reduce the protruding shoulder on the half shaft, but this was hard work so converted to the stepped washer idea.


Bill Lock has had a layshaft with a stripped first gear refurbished with a new gear welded on. The box has been rebuilt by Graeme and I have fitted it into the SA to test it out.

I decided to fit Bill's box as he was keen to test it out and after I noticed an oil leak from the rear of extension housing on the gearbox fitted a couple of months ago. This gearbox I think had been refurbished years ago by JCS as it was stamped JCS and still had its oiled paper protection on it . So this adds another box to the three awaiting rebuild.

[Keith Clements]

Amy and I found some wear on the front with one wheel bearing noisy and clunky and about 10 thou of play axially on the other side's king pin.

Simple job? Oh no! All attempts to remove the locking ring failed, two different extraction tools and the last resort, a punch and big hammer, failed. So I set up the four jaw chuck on the lathe with outside facing jaws and proceeded to bore out the offending ring. Even with most of the ring removed a punch still failed to shift it. Anyhow perseverance paid off in the end. I then cleaned up the threads with an internal threading tool manually turning the chuck and simulating an axial feed on the lathe.

The press was then used to push out the old bearings and new sealed for life ones installed. I use some bearing fit on them just to make sure they do not turn in the housing. The bearings had suffered the Latvian roads and had been in a few years.

On the other side, the top suspension arms were removed and the yoke at the top unscrewed and a 5 thou shim inserted. All put back and greased up. Did the steering rack and diff and all other greasing points at the same time.

Then adjusted the rods on the gearbox so I could find all gears and tested for vibrations. Seemed better, but really need Amy to operate the accelerator whilst I observe. I had reversed the bolts on the layrub so the nuts were on the layrub and not the two yokes. The washers were placed on the bolt head side to give more purchase for the ring spanners. Out for a test drive tomorrow.

[paul wilks]

Now I know this will be a really DAFT question to you, Keith but....
How did you remove the hub from the stub axle without first removing the Locking Ring?
I always thought you HAD to remove the Locking Ring first in order to screw in the hub puller!

Thanks for your patience
Paul

[Keith Clements]

Two copper mallets either side of the drum and it usually shifts the taper. I also have a puller that fits on the studs.

Today I found the oil and spin on filters for the Javelin and SC's oil change for their trip to Le Mans, rather than taking the SA for a test drive as it was raining. Torqued up the wheel nuts to 50 Newton Metres (40 lbs-ft) as I have high strength studs fitted. Marked the drum with 'No Grease' label and marked the wheels with 50 NM to remind any would be tyre fitters! The wheels are also marked with the balance weight in gms so that if one falls off they do not have to be balanced.

Then I had to fix the welding trolley's tyre as it had a puncture. Took me back to the days of mending bicycle punctures!

Cleared all the tools, gearboxes and other detritus that had accumulated on the lathe, milling machine and benches before finishing welding up the steering box leaks. Tested it for leaks, this time with water and one or two were persistent, so more welding. Finally panel wiped and primer filler applied. One down 7 to go.

I also had a call from Trevor Spero who has fitted the gearbox I rebuilt from him but he was wanting a stud in the crankcase for the engine mounting. We also got into a discussion on nuts and bolts as his local place had told him that Whitworth and UNC were the same. Although they will fit (except half inch) they are a different thread angle so will be a weak fixing and probably shake loose easily.

[Keith Clements]

SA out for a blast in the sunshine today. The Meadows box has better ratios for the overdrive than the Jowett one with a nice split between third, overdrive third and 4th.
Overdrive 2nd though is very close to third so not much use. I even tried starting in 1st but will give the box some time to bed in before really testing the 1st gear.

My local Motor factor sells straight classic oils but I was alarmed to see recommended oil changes with it every 600 miles. The same brand 20/50w has oil change every 2-3000 miles which is more satisfactory. Compared to my Octavia which has oil change that can go up to 20000km on the variable service interval if you are doing long journeys. Mind you with the amount of oil Jowetts use you would probably have 3 or 4 oil changes anyway with that distance.

[BarryCambs]

If this is the brand I am thinking of, I looked at this a while ago and was suprised by the recommended change period. I also noticed one classic oil suppier doesn't recommend it any more and research showed their straight oils have a rather alarming API rating of SA , as complared SB for Castrol XL and SD for Morris Oils Golden Film.

http://www.pqiamerica.com/apiserviceclass.htm

I've used Morris Oils in motorbikes for years and it does have the advantage you can order it via our local Agricultrual Engineers, a 25 litre drum of Golden Film SAE30 coming in at £79 I'm hoping if I can fix the oil leak on the pump 25 litres will last a couple of years,as opposed to probably a couple of weeks at the current flow rate.

[Keith Clements]

The Jowetts were all swapped around with the Javelin taken to the lift to sort out a list of issues and give it a service for Le Mans.
First was the oil filter, and engine oil change followed by fluids-water, brake, gearbox , diff, suspension arms and steering box. Then the 17 grease nipples.
Then to fix the head lights which went out on dip. After a circuit check on the dip switch and the bulb holder I found BOTH halogen bulbs had blown!
Whilst the headlight units were out I Hammerited the rusty bits.

Then the second gear which was dropping out of second on compression going downhill. Hopefully the adjustment I have made shortening the actuating rod will cure it. Otherwise it is another gearbox for the re-assembly line.

Then it will be a spanner check on all the nuts and bolts and torqueing the wheel nuts, only 40 NM for these as they are original studs.
Next is the issue of getting the new radial tyre on the spare wheel into the carrier. Actually that is not the problem , it is getting it out again as it is a tight fit.
Finally I gave the refurbished steering box a top coat.

[Keith Clements]

After a great 36 hrs in Lyon celebrating Saracens winning the European cup, I picked up the challenge of getting the spare wheel to fit in its Javelin carrier. After sand blasting the assembly, the power saw was used to cut all around the carrier, 1.5cm below the flange. I then cut and bent 4 angle pieces to reattach the front supports and the 'L' section around the rear where they were cut. These were then clamped in place and welded in with the MIG to leave a 1 cm gap.


Then a 2.5 cm band was cut from sheet with the air nibbler and this was clamped and tack welded whilst being pushed with some steel tube to close the gap. The seams were then sealed with seam sealer.

[Keith Clements]

The expanded carrier was sprayed with zinc phosphate primer and then chassis black.

Whilst the paint was drying I cut my and Amy's lawns as rain was imminent.

Then it was installed using the three clevis pins and split pins. Two new rubber vibration stops were fitted to the top and the screw given some white grease.



The Javelin was then taken for a test drive to see if I had cured the jumping out of second gear. I had not. So we will live with that on the way to Le Mans as I am unlikely to find time for further investigation.

I also fitted the halogen headlight bulbs obtained from Auto Electric Supplies Limited.
P36d (Double Contact) British Pre-Focus - 131405 12 Volts, 60/55 Watts, Double Filament, Halogen (414) for £10.26
These are much brighter than the original 50/40w filament bulbs.

The SC Jupiter is now on the lift with a similar list of things to do.

I woke at 5 this morning and thought I would make a list of spares to take on the trip from LA to Coldfoot, Alaska in a couple of weeks but also as a reminder to pull similar together for the Jowett Weekend and Le Mans trips. Duly sent to Neil and Scott for their thoughts. Not long to go now guys!

[Keith Clements]

The SC also has a list of things as long as my arm to do on it. Some that never got done in the rebuild and some that have developed along the way.
First the service of all fluids and greasing points.

The image shows a strap wrench being used to unscrew the spin on filter. The drain bolt had been unscrewed but did not seem to drain the filter.

Then to tackle the spare wheel carrier that would not take the wheels fitted to the car. The carrier was dropped by putting it below rather than on top of the struts protruding from the rear chassis tube and 7mm of the flange supporting the rear of the boot was cut away.


Next was fitting the oil temperature sender into the sump. A union from an old rad was unsoldered and this fitted the oil drain plug and the sender fitting. I had expected to make one on the lathe. The longest job was un burying the rad from the shed!
The capillary is a bit exposed--- so no rally driving Amy!


Scott had noticed a crack on a wheel at Goodwood so this was welded up. The wheel had previously had the zig zag weld that should stop the cracks so either the crack was there prior to this welding or there was a break in weld allowing the crack to develop. We will keep an eye on the repair.