Vintage at Goodwood 13-16th August

[Forumadmin]

Preparation for this event is going a pace.

Jenny's Javelin is one of the chosen ten cars to be displayed in the Vintage 1940's section. So we are giving it some TLC after many years of taxiing.

I removed the rear wings, dug out the rust and welded up the holes. Then derusted with phosphoric acid. Chris prepared them with some judicious panel beating and rubbed them down, then painted. One is back on, the other awaits refittment. One captive nut decide to break free. I had to loosen the fibreboard in the boot to get at it to apply some mole grips and chisel to make it captive again.

Also fixed the exhaust rattle by welding up a broken mount, and sticking the rubber isolators back together with impact adhesive. I found it better to work from the rear fowards, adjusting clearance of the petrol tank/spare wheel carrier via the rear mount, then centralise through chassis by adjusting the mount over the rear axle, and finally positioning the middle mount under the door so there was no strain on the rubbers.

Next is replacing the steering box as the refurbished wheel is on a splined shaft and the one fitted is a Morse taper. By the way, getting that off was easy with a bit of heat from a blow torch, just enogh not to scorch the paint.

Tent is ordered. Hope to see some of you there. See the Goodwood website for details.

[Jack]

Keith fails to mention that the tent he has ordered specially for the weekend has a carpet.

Personally, if it has a carpet, then you've just moved house into a field. That's not camping, that's living in a tent

Keith, are you planning to do the steering work before Vintage? I'll be round a little later once I've had my dinner to assist with car stuff.

Jack.

[Chris Spencer]

Inbetween attempting get Jens Jav shiney - (the bodywork is responding well so far with a G3 compound, T cut then a careful touch up of paint chips prior to a double coat of wax) - I am attempting to return my own fast classic to the road (Rover V8) which is also invited to Vintage at Goodwood along with Jens Jav. The complex brake system has been rebuilt and the car has passed it's MOT but problems are still crawling out from the corners. The brakes now have a mind of themselves and now start to slow the car without pressing the pedal - looks like the servo is playing up and just has I was loosing hope this morning after getting lead times of 14 - 21 days quoted for it's rebuild from several suppliers - Bury St Edmunds based Past Parts checked stock and called me back - they did not have an exchange unit in stock - but had all the parts to build one and would have it complete and shipped within the day. Looks like GAD (part of the Rovers registration index) shall be going to the ball after all.

[Forumadmin]

Tent has arrived, with carpet and two flock mattresses.

[Forumadmin]

The Javelin had a lot of attention over the weekend having a reconditioned steering box fitted. This was prompted by the need to put the refurbed steering wheel on, which itself was prompted by the steering column not having a horn wire inside it.

I started to follow the manual, but in the end did my own thing. Typical Jowett engineering, the accelerator pedal must be removed to extract the column. This is a 7/16 bolt onto which you cannot get a socket!

IMG_0565 (768x1024).jpg (347 KiB) Viewed 277 times

IMG_0561 (768x1024).jpg (188.07 KiB) Viewed 277 times

The bolt holding the gear column needs to be removed and then the three screws holding the column can be removed by taking out the U bolt securing to the facia. By careful with the horn brush assembly, it is delicate. It is worth noting the position of the eccentric bush slots and the shims, in case you are going to replace without adjusting. On replacement, you also need to manoevre the boss past the rod that holds the accelerator pedal spring (in case you are wondering why the column is not going right down).

IMG_0559 (768x1024).jpg (290.31 KiB) Viewed 277 times

With road wheel removed, the lower shock absorber bolt and lower bolt in the king pin were removed. steering was put on full lock to expose the steering arm. The tab washer was knocked back, lock nut on the steering arm coming out of the box was removed, followed by the tab washer and hemispherical joint were removed.

IMG_0567 (1024x416).jpg (135.52 KiB) Viewed 277 times

The upper wishbone was held with a stool or similar lifting device and the track rod was held clear with wire so as to give as much space as possible to pull back the steering box. One bolt and nut at the bottom and one set screw at the top hold the box in. You need to get a socket with extension to hold the nut on the bottom bolt and fight your way underneath the car through clutch operating rod and other obstacles. Then with much jiggling you should be able to extract the box. It was two man job to get the replacement box back in past the gear column and narrow rectangular opening which was filled with foam cushion as a draft excluder.

IMG_0560 (768x1024).jpg (149.49 KiB) Viewed 277 times

When replacing I noticed some play in the front hub which could not be adjusted out. So I fitted another hub. Brakes were a little tight, so a test drive bedded them in a bit, but may need to give them a few miles.

With the wheel off , I fitted a small fan to the oil cooler which is under the wheel arch. This may also help extrusion of air from the engine compartment. It was wired in to the relay that feeds the rad fan.

IMG_0568 (1024x768) (1024x768).jpg (231.56 KiB) Viewed 277 times

On Sunday Chris came to polish and touch up the Javelin bodywork and Sharon came to pattern the SC hood, whilst I polished the front grille and fitted the Centenary badge. I also cleaned the inside and boot. So just one evening this week and we should be all washed and polished for the show that should bring the Javelin in front of many new faces going to this fanatastic music and fashion festival.

[Forumadmin]

You can view some of Jenny's wardrobe for the Vintage at Goodwood here. TOPIC

[Forumadmin]

Windows cleaned, leather fed, bed.

[Chris Spencer]

We had a great weekend - I had a huge smile on my face after returning my Rover to the road - which is now transformed after the extensive brake overhall / new tyres / cosmetics to the engine bay / ceramic coating of the exhaust manifolds etc. It was also great to see Jen's Javelin back on the road and it was given pride of place at the entrance to ' The Torch Club ', Keith & Jen donned period 40's costume to go with the Jav whilst myself & Sharon had 70's costume for the Rover - no doubt Keith will add photos to the gallery when he gets chance. Hopefully next year we maybe able to convince the organizers to have a Jupiter on display.

[Forumadmin]

The Jowett Javelin - design, artistry and performance all in one package.
The Jowett Javelin was conceived in 1942 when Gerald Palmer (1911-1999) was brought in by Jowett Cars Limited to design a new car for after World War 2. Gerald went on to design virtually the whole car for manufacture in Bradford, Yorkshire. In keeping with Jowett tradition, a flat four horizontally opposed aluminium engine was designed which was short, thus affording good leg room in front and back of the six seat, well-appointed passenger compartment. Note the removable armrests, sprung seats, the hot and cold fresh-air ventilation system, the column shift and lack of transmission tunnel. It is very easy for the elderly and the ladies to alight through the wide doors. Smell those original leather seats!

Gerald rode in this example whilst doing a TV program and signed the glove box lid. Sir Stirling Moss also signed here on the way to his birthday party last year, when he and Lady Susie commented on the Javelin’s road holding and brakes. Look at the skinny cross-ply tyres!

Gerald, who was brought up in Rhodesia, used torsion bars to give a smooth ride on all surfaces and excellent road holding that enabled Jowetts to be successful in rallies and races. The strong box chassis and integral unitary body provided stiffness. Good positioning of engine, battery, spare wheel and petrol tank kept the centre of gravity below the centre of the wheels. The streamlined front and back gave an exceptional coefficient of drag of 0.39 for the period (and on into the seventies).

The Jowett brothers had produced a ‘Little Engine with the Big Pull’ since 1906, providing low speed torque to cope with the Yorkshire hills; similar to the Subaru with which it has often been compared. Even in 1953, nine years after the prototype, the ‘Motor’ magazine was still saying the Javelin was the fastest 1500cc saloon they had tested since the war.

The prototype was presented to the world press in 1946 and 23000 examples were made between then and 1953. The Jowett Jupiter sports car, which uses the same mechanicals as the Javelin, won the 1500cc class at Le Mans in 1950, 1951 and 1952. The owner’s husband navigated for the winner of the 1950 Tulip Rally, Count Hugo van Zuylen driving a Javelin , when Hugo relived his experience 50 years later on the same rally. Both driver and Javelin were going as though they were 50 years younger on snow and wet leaves, overtaking cars and drivers which were much younger!

This car has completed over 500,000 miles and Jenny, the current owner, is its second.

Visit http://jowett.org where you will learn how the oldest one-make car club in the world is supporting the marque that includes cars and vans from 1920 to 1954 with a superb spares scheme, monthly newsletter and very active Internet forum.

No sir, it is not air cooled, the radiator is behind the engine!
Oh, and its engine burble is music to your ears!
Enjoy this Vintage.

More pictures at TOPIC