Recommissioning 1929 long two

[BarryCambs]

Hi Tony

I thought it made sense that the pedals would be the same height, as it felt very awkward as it was. I'm not sure why the slot was cut in the floor to allow the brake pedal to come back so far. I don't really see how it was driven, but it obviously was, as these are old modification.

I live in Cambridge, but you are right that the car was in Daventry! It was driven from Kent to my Great Uncles house in Newmarket in 1974 when the then owner died. By that stage, the wiring had given up and there was then a small fire. It sat in Newmarket until the house was sold and then moved by trailer to my cousins house in Daventry. When I spoke to Ian Priestly, it was on the register under my cousins name and I assume Ian updated the information for the car after I joined the club?

I am still a member and I should be listed under the East Anglia Section, my surname being Widmer.

I'm not sure if I can make the AGM, but I am aiming to make the National Rally in May. I'm very keen to have some experts have a proper look over it and also have a look at some of its contemporaries to see the the upholstery should be like. The dicky has no lining panels at all, so the frame is exposed. I would have imagined it should have something? The door panels have just been crudely made with hardboard at some time.

[richard turner]

The accelerator on my 35 van is central and a very peculiar shape! Would prove difficult to replicate. It clanks about all over the place and rubs in all sorts of places, but so far has proved reliable. Rich

[Tony Fearn]

Hello Barry.
I'm sorry, I'd forgotten about your surname.
I've attached three photos as promised which might help (in a Yuri Geller way) in the bending and shaping of the throttle linkage.
I'm booked in for the National Rally at Daventry, so I'll be glad to meet up with you.
Tony.

P.S. Note the engine mounting position and shape in th 3rd photo.

[BarryCambs]

Thanks Tony - that's perfect!

The photos also remind me I'd like to replace the rubber fuel pipe with copper at some stage. I took the fuel pump off to overhaul it, but then realised it was probably a bit of an over complication given I have a scuttle tank above the level of the carb, so I left it off and put a blanking plate on.

[BarryCambs]

With the kids at school and he promise of sunshine, I took the day off to fashion my new throttle rod.

Sadly I fell at the last post when the box I was told had Whitworth dies in turned out to be unf, so I just need to cut the thread for the actual pedal, but still another bit of progress and the pedals are all now level.

I also managed to do a quick compression test. On a cold engine which, hasn't been run for a month, so probably has dry rings, I'm getting 50psi one side and 45 the other. Low I think, but at least similar.

[Tony Fearn]

Hi Barry.
Throttle rod looks spot on.
Choke cable might just need a bit of fettling to get a simple straight pull.
My suggestion below.
Tony.

[BarryCambs]

Thanks Tony

The choke cable's just hung temporarily at the moment, so I do need to sort it sometime. At least it's a single cable now and not 3 spliced together. Just waiting on some new corks for the fuel tap and then hopefully I'm ready for a test drive.

Barry

[BarryCambs]

Another day off yesterday and I was hoping for a test drive. The engine starts after a fashion and then idles beautifully, but struggles to pick up off tick over, popping and banging and generally very unhappy. Rechecking the timing showed it way out and when I removed the distributor cap, it was clear the advance and retard was jammed. I'd previously given the distributor to my father to clean, check and fit new points and condenser and he suddenly remembered he did think there was a problem with the fly weights!

On strip down, it was clear the weights have been in a vice at sometime and look to have hacksaw and file marks on them. Once the central spindle screw is tightened, the cam fouls them, clamping them to the plate underneath. At fully retarded, the springs are loose and the rotor arm has no spring and just flops around on top of the spindle. Strangely though, it's about the only distributor I've ever seen with no discernible play in the bushes or cam spindle.

I spoke to a very friendly chap called Martin at the "Distributor Doctor" who managed to guess what car it was off form the numbers and Immediately told me what I was holding in my hand is half a DJ2 and half something else, grafted/bodged together. He's on the case to sort me the parts I need to rebuild the distributor and then surely I can at least have a drive around the block!

Apart from the timing problems, it also has a very weak spark which is probably what's causing the misfiring. It has new coil, HT leads, points, condenser, plugs and plug caps and the distributor cap looks good. I have a lovely spark at the coil, so I'm hoping it's the rotor arm that's casing the problem there.

[george garside]

presumably you've checked the carbon brush and its spring in the distributor cap?
g

[BarryCambs]

Hi George. I did later check and it was too short, possibly due to it being a 4 cylinder cap someone had used? Martin at Distributor Doctor took a look at my photos and has sent me the correct weights, springs, rotor arm and a second hand 2 cylinder cap. He said he has reproduction caps, but they are proving problematic, so would rather supply good second hand, which in fairness, looks pretty much like new and a whole lot smarter than the other one. Hopefully I can find time tomorrow for another try.

He didn't have a set of reference springs, so has sent what he thinks is right. There is currently a 6 week wait if I send it to him for calibration. The distributor is marked as 16 degrees, which he tells me is actually 32 at the crank, so I was going to mark the flywheel using a timing disc so I can reassure myself I'm not doing any damage with a dangerous amount of advance!

[george garside]

if you think it may be over advanced start it on the handle rather than the starter. That way you will only break your arm rather than the bellhousing where the starter is mounted!

george

[Tony Fearn]

Don't you just love George's sense of humour - peppered with words of wisdom.

A.J.

[BarryCambs]

George, you may mock me all you like, but have a look at this first:

https://youtu.be/OugNe_lkjYo

With apologies for the exhaust blow! The new Y piece from Jowett Spares is just touching the cross shaft, I guess due to the engine sitting so low.

[george garside]

Barry , Definitely a day to be remembered!

george

[BarryCambs]

I went once round the square to see how it was and then took my youngest for a circuit. By the time we got back, another couple of kids had appeared. With each circuit, more and more kids were waiting and I eventually spent most of the afternoon driving round and round the block with them and various neighbours!

After an hour or so of running, it's still showing plenty of oil pressure and the gearbox, diff etc seem fine. Luckily (or not), I spent time in the 80s working with British built lorries, so the 1920s driving experience is all to familiar, though the right hand brake pedal arrangement does keep you on your toes.

There's a way to go before she's ready to venture further than the square, but its given me a boost having a drivable car to improve on, rather than something looking sad in the garage. The old girl was obviously enjoying being out and about again too and was running better all the time.

I need to sort the exhaust before it does any damage. It only needs to come up 1/2" one side and I have a friend with heavy duty pipe benders, so we can hopefully tweak it easily enough. There also seems to be a slight carburation problem. It's not idling so well and the mixture screw seems to make little difference. it hesitates to pick up from idle and once under way, seems to respond better to harder acceleration than gentle. I really need to sort the exhaust and the small matter of the 4 stripped wheel studs so I can take it out for a proper run to see what's happening. I'm slightly worried that on the parts list that came with it, someone has written notes on jet sizes which doesn't bode well.

I removed the "Econonmiser" you identified, but can't think would alter the carburation? I have a very free flowing exhaust fitted too. The new Y piece is bigger bore than the original and the silencer is big bore too. It came from Jowett Spares and was one of a batch made up in stainless as a trial run. Apparently, the saloon car owners returned theirs saying they were too loud, but Ian Preistly said that would suit the character of mine and sold me one for 20 quid! I'm just hoping someone hasn't been fiddling with jet sizes to try and correct issues that weren't fuel related.