Jupiter restorations.

[Forumadmin]

The South Island hoard of ringing crankshafts

[Srenner]

Good to see there are options out there. Being a member of the on-going International Jowett Spares Smuggling Team, I look forward to my next IJSST assignment, should I choose to accept it. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

[David Kemp]

Please smuggle one here, Jim

[Mike Allfrey]

Hello All,
I have been trying to compose a piece on Jupiter re-building, but have been bogged down with other club tasks lately. Will post it once completed.
Thanks,
Mike A.

[Keith Clements]

REBUILDING A JOWETT JUPITER
Introduction
This will, very likely, far exceed everybody’s attention span, but that is as may be.
There is a forum topic on the JowettTalk Website, in the Jowett Jupiter section, that was raised by David Kemp (JCCA, Queensland) who has taken on the ‘restoration’ of what appears to be two Jupiters. The topic now runs to nine Web Forum pages, thus it is quite a topic. Along with a couple of other local Jupiter folk, I was asked to contribute my thoughts to the conversation. I seem to be much too busy these days, to be spending much time browsing Internet forums, which means that I rarely ‘login’ and join such discussions. At a nudge from Keith Clements, I did join in with this topic, wrote a lengthy My Thoughts piece which promptly disappeared after clicking on the ‘Submit’ button. Obviously, like most other things, I did something wrong. So, here are some of my quickly assembled thoughts on this perplexing but very important subject, just a tiny part of the thousand-plus years’ worth of Jupiter enthusiasts’ total experience that is out there – somewhere. Think about it!
First Steps
It is very likely that the first step to take before re-building a Jowett Jupiter, and immediately after the project’s purchase, is to become a full member of the following specialist clubs:
The Jowett Car Club (1923) – The British club for all Jowett enthusiasts. This is the oldest one-make car club in the world, and it is thriving. Within that club there is a vast amount of knowledge.
The Jupiter Owners Auto Club – Another British club that caters mainly for Jupiter owners. This club has become heavily involved with the manufacture of unique to Jupiter spare parts.
The Jowett Car Club of Australia Inc. Created in 1957, primarily established due to a shortage of spare parts.
The Jowett Car Club of New Zealand Inc., a good source of technical information.
Contact with the above clubs can be made via the Internet.
Next Step – Very Important
Fully understand your limits of technical knowledge and what types of motor vehicle repair skills are within your capacity. Be prepared for a long-term vehicle rebuild, A full rebuild can take many years, maybe even twenty to fifty years, this can be influenced by numerous situations such as family activities, availability of funds and the will to continue.
Never ‘bite off more than you can chew’, can be good advice. Keep working away within your capabilities and do not become distracted by the desirability of ‘restoring’ another marque – stick with your Jupiter project, alone.
Should a Jupiter rebuilder require specialist work, such as bodywork, engine or gearbox, research through local club members who to approach and who understands the needs of a Jupiter that is being rebuilt.
Is A Jowett Jupiter Reliable And Worth The Effort?
Here in Melbourne, back in 1968 Jupiters were regarded by the JCCA as being cars that broke down and were never used. This attitude really irritated Sue during the first general meeting of the club that we attended, she took up the sword and set out to prove a few points!
From my point of view, a Jowett Jupiter (or Javelin for that matter) is a supremely reliable motor car with just one rather important proviso – that it is maintained properly at all times. My Jupiter came to me in what I call a resoundingly scruffy condition. It cost, in 1963, just £35 sterling. Its previous owner was obviously colour-blind, because the bodywork, what was left of it, was all shades of red, with a few more in between – commonly known as rust. The crankshaft had ¼” of end float and the oil pressure gauge’s indicator needle started to move at 40 m.p.h., at low idle the warning lamp mostly glowed. However, once up on song, it flew and the experience for both of us was exhilarating but, something had to be done! The engine was cobbled together with new main bearings and heavily built-up thrust flanges at the rear main. After a quick running-in session, we set off for a holiday touring Scotland. That tour was reliable until we reached Contin, where the clutch disc’s centre was torn out. After a new friction disc was fitted, the tour continued with total reliability. Hence my faith in Jowetts, and yes, well worth the effort.
To Restore Or Re-build?
This subject gets kind of personal, but the choice was very easy for me. There are, however, many arguments in favour of one option or the other. Put simply, my Jupiter has never been restored, it has, though, been rebuilt three times in our ownership. The doors open, shut and do not rattle, the bonnet opens and shuts as it always has, the same with the spare wheel door – but they are not perfect fits and that does not worry me.
There are cases where motor cars have, in my view, been made to be so perfect that owners are afraid to drive them on our roads. Vast sums of money have been spent on achieving perfect gaps between body panels, even to the extent where there may have been much agonising over a door gap being 0·005” wider at the top than at the bottom. This does not only relate to Jowetts; Austin-Healey, Allard, A.C., M.G., Triumph, even Corvettes and Mustangs and others were assembled to get them off the end of the assembly line as quickly as possible. Jensen built bodies for A-H and it is known that the most skilled fellow on the line was the one who wielded the biggest mallet!
Correcting those perceived flaws is what I call ‘over-restoration’.
In 1966 the JCC (UK) organised the first National Jowett Rally in the Bradford area on a rain and wind swept vacant block. A good number of Jupiters were there, my car was parked the wrong way around because the driver’s door had no window glass. I soon noticed that very few Jupiters were identical, mostly in front bonnet shape and in panel fit-up areas. Very quickly, I came to the conclusion that my car had, by a country mile, the nicest bonnet of the lot. I resolved at that time to keep it that way, because rampant subframe rust was demanding attention. Thus, I elected to re-build, rather than restore. Basically the car was good as it was.
The decision to restore or over-restore is entirely up to the individual. I dislike, intensely, comments by ‘knowledgeable ones’ that a manufacturer’s workmanship is dreadful. Such just do not understand! Also, it is likely that an ‘over-restoration’ can take twenty or thirty years to accomplish and achieve the be-all and end-all of perfection. In addition, he or she may be too old when the huge task is completed, to enjoy the fruits of all that hard work.
So, Where To Start?
A very good question. It probably depends on four reasonable points:
1. The overall condition of the Jupiter.
2. The restorer’s skills with respect to various areas of the car – body, chassis, mechanicals and the biggest dread of all for most, the Jupiter’s electrical system.
3. The restorer’s attitude to British cars. In Australia, this attitude is that the Pommies got nothing right. Such an attitude can result, eventually, in a Jupiter that is no longer a proper Jupiter.
This relates mostly to the steering column mounted gear-change mechanism and the bench seat. A number of Jupiters in Australia have been converted to two ‘bucket’ seats and fitted with a commonly available gearbox with a floor-mounted shift mechanism. I did try similar changes, but quickly came to the conclusion that the original concept was very right for the times when the car was built. The concept was brilliant for courting your future wife as well.
4. Be prepared to spend money during the rebuild project. There is a sad trend among Jowett (and Rover) owners that fosters the belief that parts – new, new old-stock and second hand (tenth) hand – should cost next to nothing. Realistically, such are living in cuckoo-land. The manufacture of new parts costs money and that investment needs to be covered. The suppliers of Jowett spare parts do not have vast profit margins, but they do have costs that do need to be amortised reasonably quickly – that is only fair.
That means, do not be a constant moaner about costs – that can be the utterly depressing aspect of a Jupiter rebuild, and it strongly puts off those who are trying to assist you.
These decisions are entirely up to the Jupiter’s owner. There is one proviso though, and that is to stick to one area until it is completed. Another stipulation is that, should the restorer have bitten off more than they can chew by trying to restore two Jupiters at once, then the parts must not be mixed up!
A good starting point is to have a large shed/workshop with a sound, level concrete floor and really good lighting and ventilation. You will find that you will probably not have enough room for storing Jupiter ‘stuff’. There have been some remarkable car rebuilds carried out in small home garages. Modern houses tend to have two-car garages which, in reality, can only accommodate one, in such a way that car doors can be opened.
If your Jupiter is completely dismantled, be certain that components are stored in plastic tubs, ensuring that unpainted parts are protected by oil-based fluids such as Shell Ensis Fluid, or similar from other producers, shown at right. The fluid, that can be either brushed or sprayed onto surfaces, forms a protective skin and prevents rust etc. It also protects rust that is already present!

Also needed are the right tools and equipment for the tasks in hand. A Jupiter is, mostly, held together with hardware (bolts, setscrews, screws, studs and nuts) of the British Standard Fine (B.S.F.) and British Standard Whitworth (B.S.W.) thread forms. This means that the correct size spanners must be used. The adjustable spanner is not at all acceptable. As a restoration progresses, other tools and equipment can be added as their need becomes apparent.
It should be well understood that, on a Jupiter, there are some American Standard (SAE) type threads in the braking system and the rear axle assembly (Salisbury) mostly of the Unified National Fine (UNF) thread form. This hardware must not be confused with other hardware on the car. There are also British Association (BA) threads in electrical and instrument components. BA threads are mostly of diameter smaller than 3/16”.
It is well worthwhile getting hold of a good quality set of taps and dies for thread restorations. These can be purchased as needed, but opt for quality at all times. ‘Die-nuts’ can also be useful for cleaning up damaged threads. Other handy tools are a bench grinder, an electric motor powered wire brush wheel and a polishing cotton wheel to go with it. At the upper end of the tools scale are a small lathe, a good quality milling machine and a MIG welding machine (ESAB).
It is good policy to not lend your tools to others, they are all personal, but we do it anyway – to assist the cause.
Prepare a Jupiter Rebuild Schedule
This is not at all easy, and a time frame should be kept well away from the schedule. A decision needs to be made to avoid scenarios such as:
1. The instance where an engine was the first item tackled. Twenty-five years later on start-up, there was a garage full of oil smoke – the piston rings had frozen and broken. This sort of doubled the engine task.
2. A ‘restorer’ decided to finish off the braking system, then went on to carry out an immaculate paint job on the car’s road wheels. The braking system’s hydraulic components had been assembled dry and forty years later, after filling the brake reservoir with fluid, all wheel cylinder seals leaked profusely overnight and the result was ruined then-new brake linings and the paint on the wheels was ruined – more work.
3. Glass blasting aluminium components to make them look pretty. Then, later when an aluminium part requires TIG welding, the job is impossible due to silicates embedded in the parent metal. Oh dear!
So, preparing a schedule can be difficult, it may also be required to fit in your lifestyle. At this time a Jupiter rebuilder should stand back and take stock, work out his/her schedule that suits best and – stick to it. Do not be tempted to drop a task so that something else on the car can be tackled, and then, some time later, return to the original task and find that the rebuild process has lost its original plan. This can make the rebuild unnecessarily difficult and time consuming.
A Jupiter, because it was virtually hand built (like a Peerless or a TVR) and, therefore, can have different fit-ups from side to side of the vehicle. In rebuilding a Jupiter, there is little room for assumption.
The Skills Required
Again, the skills requirement can be difficult to assess . It is very easy to completely dismantle a Jowett Jupiter, but rebuilding components and assembling the whole entity back into a Jupiter can be quite daunting. A fair amount of mechanical, and craft, knowledge is definitely required. Here are just two examples of proper knowledge being really necessary to understand before taking on a task:
1. The Car’s Steering Adjustments
A Jupiter’s steering system requires an only true method for setting up correct front wheel alignment. Procedural knowledge is vital, the Jowett Javelin and Jupiter Maintenance Manual covers this topic in great detail, however, there is a definite sequence to proper alignment and, the Jupiter rebuilder needs to know the differences between the alignments at the front wheels – the Jupiter’s road wheels are steered from behind the kingpin axis, those on the Javelin are steered from the front. The steering and front suspension sections in the Maintenance Manual must be carefully studied, understood and adopted. There is only one way.
2. Front Hubs And Their Set-up
The Jowett method of securing the hub/brake drum to the stub axle is different from the majority of other motor cars, the design is such that the outer front wheel bearing (on full-hydraulic braked cars) is secured in the front hub with a pegged locking ring. The inner bearing is relatively free to ‘float’ within its bore, and there is a steel spacer between the bearings’ inner races. The whole assembly is mounted on the stub axle and the axle nut and washer are installed. The castle type axle nut must be tightened dead tight. Should the axle’s split pin hole not align with slots in the nut, then the nut should be tightened further to align so that a good quality split pin can be installed. The nut must not be backed off at all to gain pin alignment. Properly installed and maintained, Jowett front wheel bearings will easily outlive the car’s rebuilder.
Those are just two examples of skills required that are, most likely, Jowett specific. In the case of front hub bearings, a number of rebuilders have, because of not understanding the principles, resorted to creating taper roller bearing con-versions that take time and are not necessary. Ignore the assertions that the car has better free-running characteristics and lower petrol consumption.
Another skill that may be required, mainly with respect to body components, and that is being able to visualise what a finished part should look like after making it. Another aspect of this skill is to be able to sketch an item, apply required dimensions and be able to work from that. During the last rebuild of my Jupiter, the entire floor subframe and side sills was fabricated from rudimentary sketches drawn after carefully measuring another Jupiter’s subframe that had not rusted mostly away. At the time, three extra subframes were fabricated for other Jupiter rebuild projects.
Understanding Jupiter Bodywork
It is quite possible that every Jupiter body is different – from personal experience, that is a true fact. In 1966, while working on my first rebuild, and learning a great deal along the way, I was lucky enough to buy a second Jupiter for spare parts (£18), That turned out to be a mistake – the doors on the second car were in slightly better condition than those on my car. In complete ignorance, those were the ones I chose to repair. When it came to installing them om the car, they were 5/16” too long on one side and ¼” on the other. Time was wasted before repairing the originals.
Each body panel has a number stamped int its flange – in the case of my Jupiter the number is ‘6’, and, the same number was pencilled on the underside faces of the door capping timbers, and on the forward face of the dashboard. However, the vehicle identification plate states that the Body Number 7. To add confusion, one door capping is secured by four screws, the other by three!
Should all paint be removed from the aluminium body panels, a rebuilder could be forgiven for thinking that the Jupiter had, at some stage, been in a ‘total’ accident and not very well repaired. As an example, the centre part of the bonnet assembly (on my Jupiter) is fabricated from seven pieces of sheet welded together – all hand butt-welded in those days. It is reputed that the sheet aluminium came from wartime aircraft manufacturing surplus and is believed to be pure.
A careful study should be made of the Service Bulletins issued by Jowett cars Limited. In there, are details of how to modify the main body mountings and how to brace the scuttle dash to eliminate the dreaded ‘shake’ resulting from our rough roads of today. The scuttle bracing I fabricated for my Jupiter, used aluminium instead of steel bar, the St. Andrew’s cross being a welded assembly. The vastly lighter bracing has, so far, survived for twenty-two years.
Rebuilding a Jupiter’s body requires skill, but certainly not the amount of skill required for a similar period Bristol 402.
The Mechanical Bits
In relation to this subject there are a number of very pertinent rules:
1. The Chassis
After stripping all running gear from the chassis, the weld assembly should be carefully inspected for cracks and broken away pieces. The most common areas for cracking are at the front cross member tube where it attaches to the chassis longerons, mainly through past attempts at towing the car or, even due to using the outriggers as jacking points. Incorrect front bonnet support can accelerate cracks in this area. In my case, I fabricated a new crossmember using 12 S.W.G. wall thickness seamless tube. A small hole was drilled in one end so that fish-oil could be sprayed in after welding in place. A rubber bung seals the hole.
The next area to thoroughly inspect is where the longerons reduce in diameter for the engine to sit within. Usually the cracks emerge at the point where the smaller tube is welded into its support disc (big washer), mostly in the top of the circumference area. My repair involves fabricating a concave gusset that tapers forward from the large diameter longerons towards the smaller tube. Care needs to be taken here, it is best to install a bare crankcase in its home position, so that suitable clearance can be catered for at the underside of the crankcase. The front end of the gusset was flattened and shaped to fit snugly around the engine bearer tube. A slot was drilled and filed at the front, about ½” from the gusset’s front edge. The gusset was then plug welded at the front, with no welding at its front edge, which would only have moved the crack forming point further forward.
There are several threaded holes in the chassis which should have an appropriate thread tap run through them. If the chassis is to be sand blasted, screw scrap setscrews into these holes so that the threads are not worn away and the tubes are not ballast filled.
2. The Engine
Since the Javelin/Jupiter engines were put into production, Jowett Cars Limited were, almost immediately, placed on a very steep learning curve. This learning curve was taken up by Jowett Engineering Limited, and that has been very successfully extended by enthusiasts in the various Jowett car clubs. There is a vast amount of information out there and on the Internet. We also have to note well that our engines are now, basically, over seventy years old and, in most cases, we have no idea who has been there before. Very likely, it is best for us to not know!
There are some basic rules though – first the MUST NOT DO rules:
● Never bead blast the crankcase set, the front timing cover, the rear timing cover and the flywheel housing.
● Never machine skim the joint faces of the crankcase set. There are dowels front and rear which, if out of position due to machining, can affect the fit-up of the assembly – usually realised far too late.
● Never machine the cylinder head gasket faces at the crankcase set. This can remove the nip lip at the balance pipe which should have 0·012” protrusion for an effective vacuum seal – this is important.
● Never, if at all possible, mix major components. Each half of the crankcase set must have the same-set identification number stamped into their front faces. If those numbers are not the same, keep well away from that set. Overall, the front timing cover, crankcase set and flywheel housing are a matched set.
● Never use an extensively weld repaired crankcase set.
● Never use the earlier stepped-cap connecting rods – always use serrated cap connecting rods with stiffening support bolstering at the short end of the serrated cap’s female thread area. All connecting rods must have identical letter codes stamped into rod and cap – Examples: ‘VN’, ‘CB’, ‘XW’ and ‘ZY’ would make up a set.
● Never use Silastic type silicone sealant for engine joints.
● Never apply sealant at the crankcase set joint, there is one exception, use a very sparing smear of Loctite 518 at the top joint face.
● Never assemble an engine under a leaking roof, not only can the presence of water damage the engine’s vital parts, it can be uncomfortable too – especially if your wife is holding something for you to attend to.
Now to the MUST DO rules:
● Always ensure a clean work area.
● Always use a substantial metal framed with wooden work surface free-standing work bench. The wooden surface should have holes drilled through a spare cylinder head or an old head gasket so that the crankcase half can sit on its gasket face, with the cylinder head studs passing through the wood.
● Always ensure that good lighting is provided in work areas.
● Always ensure a copious supply of clean, dry compressed air.
● Always ensure a copious supply of clean dry wipe rags.
● Always wear eye protection, suitable gloves, clothing and foot wear.
● Always thoroughly clean away gasket sealant residue.
● Always ensure that the crankcase set joint faces have no burrs, such should be carefully cleaned-up with an oiled fine cutting flat stone.
● Always install an extended cylinder head stud that passes through the coolant inlets. See Technical Notes Series Part XII for details.
● Always employ the New Zealand modifications to Main Bearings, crankshaft Thrust Bearings (separate).
● Always, when setting up a crankcase set for separate thrust bearings, ensure that the crankshaft big end journals align with the cylinder bores.
● Always employ, for non-Series III crankcase sets, NZ modifications to oil galleries and oil feed pipe from pump.
● Always employ NZ modifications at the oil pump.
● Always ensure that the above three points are carried out together. They are separate here for clarity.
● Always install a spin-on engine oil filter kit, and with that -, use a filter canister that features an anti-drain valve.
● Always have connecting rods crack tested and balanced (weight equalised).
● Always, when having a crankshaft reground, be totally emphatic that all of the journal fillets have a 0·100” radius (minimum), this is most important for preserving crankshafts.
● Always be sure to thoroughly clean away any residual Loctite product after tightening hardware.
● Always be aware that Loctite products expand as they cure.
● Always be sure to wipe joint faces with methylated spirit. This slows the cure rate of Loctite sealant. Using Loctite Primer 7471 accelerates the curing process.
● Always use gaskets where they are meant to be used.
● Always make sure that the starter ring gear is secure on the flywheel rim, if loose, use four countersunk Allen socket head screws, equally spaced, as scotch keys to make secure.
The above items are just initial pointers to look out for. Engine machining and assembly practices, properly adopted are vital for engine reliability and a long service life.
3. Clutch And Gearbox
A Jupiter uses a different clutch from that used in a Javelin. The pressure plate springs are different, as are the cushion springs in the friction disc.
The Jupiter gearbox was known as the ‘wrist watch’ of automotive gearboxes. There are two points to watch out for, firstly, when filling the gearbox with oil, the level comes up very quickly. Secondly, should there be oil leakage, the oil level will drop quickly as well.
The best gearbox to use is an earlier Meadows manufactured gearbox. The ‘J’ gearboxes are a little bit cruder in matching of parts. Wear does take place at the selector rails and selector rivets can loosen, It can be fairly common for the gearbox to jump out of first and second gears. This can be due to several reasons, mostly in the selector area or, in the case of first gear, worn gear teeth on third motion shaft gear, or on the second motion gear, due, most probably to being run with low oil level or a collapsed layshaft rear bearing. Installing a new layshaft and a set of full length roller bearings can resolve this problem.
A major problem can be the break up of the thin thrust washer, there are two thick and one thin thrust washers on the third motion shaft. There is an Australian modification that converts the cluster to three thick thrust washers. It does require delicate machining though.
The large ball bearings at front and rear of the gearbox, the ones retained by a circlip located in a groove in the outer race, are no longer available. New bearings are still available, but a circlip groove needs to be accurately ground into the outer race. The bearings should have chip shields fitted.
The standard gear shift assembly is excellent, with good feel and very precise action as it is operated. At the steering wheel end of the outer column, the two lugs in which the gear lever pivots in, can break away. The cause of this concern is looseness of the lever pivot retaining machine screw.
Overall, the gearbox assembly makes the Jupiter a great pleasure to drive.
4. Rear Axle
The Salisbury hypoid rear axle is just about indestructible. Rear hub bearings and axle shaft seals may require replacing.
5. Suspension
The suspension is essentially the same as for the Javelin. One point to watch out for is that the Panhard rod is shorter on hydro-mechanical brake equipped Jupiters is shorter than the same item for full-hydraulic brake system.
At the front, it is very important to keep the lower spring arm trunnion retaining hardware dead tight.
Front and rear torsion bars are the same, however, after use they become ‘handed’ due to their twisting action. It is wise to clearly label torsion bars as they are removed – ‘LH Rear RH end’ and so on. Torsion bars must be very carefully protected from weld spatter that could damage them. Small spatters of weld material will cause breakage. Torsion bars must not be cleaned up with emery tape, sand blasting or severe wire brushing. They do, however, seem to cope very well with light rust.
6. Steering System
The rack and pinion steering system can benefit from the fitment of a well engineered universal joint conversion. There are numerous suitable universal joints that can be used. Such a modification could require an Engineer’s Report to satisfy a road-worthiness check. In normal use, the steering is light to use. The rack and pinion set and their housing may require specialist repair work. Rack and pinion sets are available from UK ¬seen to be expensive by some, but . . .
7. Electrical System
Some rebuilders see this area on a Jupiter as being the most dreaded. If the wiring harness has obviously been attended to by those who do not know, a complete new harness is the only option. A new harness is available from the JOAC spares officer. The quality and type is not known by myself. For my recent rebuild a complete hew harness was ordered from Vintage Wiring Harness (UK) and it arrived complete with five-socket sub loom connector that is located under the bonnet, and the colour coded braided wiring was all present and correct. The harness came with incorporated wiring for flashing direction indicators, front and rear. When I had the scuttle dash rebuilt, I made the decision to have the trafficator arm openings filled in. The prime reason for this action was to stop rain water getting in and rusting out the ‘A’ pillar box section.
Installing the wiring harness was the most enjoyable and satisfying aspect of the rebuild.
8. Interior Trim And Hood
With the help of a club member, I made up a complete bench seat. The seat is mounted on propriety runners and has used locally made hinges. A complete hide was used by a local trimmer and the rest of the trim is in matching Vinyl which has worked well. The same trimmer also made the hood, using the ‘material that BMW use for their convertibles. Nuff said!
Conclusion
Basically, a Jupiter rebuild/restoration is what the owner wants or desires. One point, if the rebuild be what you want and it performs reliably – there is wonderful driving pleasure. For me, that pleasure is at best when out on a quiet country road at night, with headlamps on high beam, the view over that beautiful bonnet is extremely satisfying. Another Jupiter pleasure is climbing a long steep hill on full ‘song’ in third gear is also satisfying. Another must experience is having the hood down at all times, wearing the correct cap pf course!
Is it worth the effort? Most definitely indeed.
Mike Allfrey.
JCC, JOAC and JCCA – Along with the ABCCC Inc.

[Mike Allfrey]

Thanks Keith,
That was quick! I hope it makes sense. We can only rely on our own experiences to advise those who need some advice.
With my Jupiter being a 'bitser' due to having been updated by the factory in about 1953 and first registered for the road in that year, but being a late 1950 car, maybe body construction methods changed on later cars?
Cheers,
Mike A.

[Forumadmin]

Just copy and paste then a few bbcode selections to bold or make large then a drag and drop to add picture.

Good summary. The hardest decision is deciding how long to be without the car for repair. Most Jowett owners never make that decision and keep the car on the road, never restoring but just patching, or worse keep it off the road broken, never to fix it up.

[Keith Clements]

The restorations already documented in JowettTalk do show some of the thought process.
The SC Rebuild was an obvious case of a complete restoration. This was performed by a non-professional team but took well over 30 years! OK there was a long gap and took approximately 4 years of work.
The SA Rebuild was a case of a reliable working car needing repair after a small fire that turned into a full bare metal restoration. The decision process was progressive as issues were discovered. It took a year of intensive full time work.
The Javelin restoration was initially a request for a respray with a few rattles to sort out on a car that was driven from Switzerland. It turned into a full bare metal restoration that took 5 years.
The Bradford restoration was a commissioned restoration but not a full one, but even so was extensive.
There are some other restorations that have been done over the years but very few that were complete with every component renewed. Unlike most other marques, the majority of components are not available newly manufactured although most are available from club spares. Renovation or replacement with non-standard components is therefore necessary.
It would be interesting to analyse the concours winners over the last 20 years to understand how many were bare metal restorations and how many of their components were those originally fitted to the car. As we know most Jowetts have already been heavily changed by the time they get around to a restoration with multiple replacements and bodges having already taken place.
There is probably no Jowett with all the original or exact type of components in place.

[Mike Allfrey]

Last Sunday I attended a local Old Car Display and one vintage car that did impress greatly was a 1920s Star, that is until I had a look at the engine. It sort of gets to me that a car that has been very well restored, should have modern multi-coloured crimp-on terminals at such as dynamo, control box and horns. A 1928 Buick nearby was even more jarring. The other item that really gets my back up is the now common blue high tension ignition leads with yellow end fittings. I am not an agonising purist, but such items can be camouflaged quite easily. The yellow fittings on high tension leads tend to show, in detail, oily finger prints. I pull the crimp terminals out of their coloured sheaves and use black shrink wrap on the eye terminal shanks

Also catching my eye, horizontally opposed engine cylinders and such, was a Velocette LE 'Noddy' motorcycle that had been over restored -- far too much chrome and three tone paintwork. The owner's information sheet told us that the example was a 1951 model, and its scale Bradford engine ran nicely once warmed up!

At the display I was very surprised when a fellow asked me how I kept the Jupiter's dash board in such good condition. I told him that I had found some walnut veneer sheet (not burr walnut) that had a coating of heat activated glue, ironed it in place on the repaired dashboard with Sue's electric iron, sanded it smooth and gave it a couple of coats of marine varnish. The veneer is now lifting in the slim areas between instruments, after just over twenty years exposure to heat, sun and freezing cold in the English Lake District during that memorable rally in Pitlochry.

Cheers,

Mike A.

[Forumadmin]

I have transported an article in the JCCA Javelin magazine to a Legacy section topic to show how some precious information buried in all our great magazines can be brought into the Jowett Library.

This article (and the rest of this edition ) makes a great read with loads of tips and modifications.

There are various ways of doing this but it only took me half an hour. First I copied the text from the pdf into a JT post. Then I added the images as attachments and placed them in line into the desired places in the text. Some of the text needed to be cut and pasted back into its correct place as when it was copied it was not in the correct reading order. This is because of the multi column pdf document. The headings were made larger using the BBCODE button. The tabular info needed a bit of repositioning with some ... and *.

You can save images in a pdf to a folder on your PC and then drag and drop them into the JT post as attachments. I used my ADobe ACrobat to do this for me for the whole pdf but you can do it individually on each image.

ENJOY!

[David Kemp]

Have had time off between Easter & ANZAC day, my daughter has the same time off from university,
so she has graciously helped me shim the front end, ready to put the front wheels back on.

[David Kemp]

Does anyone know where I can get new Jupiter steering rack rubber cushions? as pictured?

[Mike Allfrey]

Hello David,
Quite simple really.
Go to a Bearing Service Company shop or similar. Purchase a length of 'O' ring cord to suit, along with a small bottle of Loctite 406 adhesive. Use the steering rack housing end diameter for the inside diameter of your 'O' ring. Cut the cord cleanly for a snug fit over the rack housing. Clean the butt joint ends with Loctite 7471 cleaner/primer, apply a couple of drops of the Loctite 406 to one end and accurately align the ends to make the join. Methylated spirits (unsoiled) can be used for cleaning the surfaces, but the cure time will be longer.
Remember to keep the Loctite 406 in your refrigerator - Sue tolerates my bottle!
Such a procedure means that 'O' rings can be formed from cord that can hold securely in the majority of hydraulic systems.
Maybe, make a few extras and send them to Jim Scott?
I will get back to the disaster that is E1 SA 136's engine.
Mike Allfrey.

[David Kemp]

My hoard of rocking horse poo. Series three crankcases, oval crank & serrated conrods.
Thanks to all the club members involved, people from all over the country & globe contributed

[Mike Allfrey]

Hello David,
Is that the Series III crankcase? If so, the front timing cover is not the correct version to match.
Make sure that the rear timing cover is a good match as well.
Plenty of cleaning ahead,
Mike Allfrey.