Nuts!!!
 |
| photo source: bigstockimage.com There's only five there, I need eight! |
That's what I get for trying to be cute!
I don't mean cute as in being childishly good looking, I mean cute as trying to be clever! Sometimes I will make some imaginary "connection" between two things and will be confident that I'll remember that connection later. That doesn't always work out as anticipated.
When I say "nuts" I actually mean nuts, the fasteners that we thread onto bolts.
Progress has actually been being made on the Mark VII. The surface rust has been chemically and physically removed from the top surfaces of the car. These areas have been spray bombed with Rustoleum's Rust Reformer paint. This is kind of like a junior POR 15 product, it will bond with the remainder of the rust and protect the surface from further interaction with moisture.
The next phase is to clean up the carbs, re install them, and prepare the car for ignition!
I started going through the car looking for the carb assemblies that I had removed and set aside. I found those where I had left them in a box on the back seat. I couldn't find all the nuts used to attach the carbs, eight were needed. I found three.
I had wanted to replace those nuts and washers with new hardware and just assumed that they must be metric thread, I mean if it isn't American factional inch, then it must be metric, right?
Wrong!
 |
| photo source:123rf.com Maybe some of these are Whitworth. |
There is a range of fasteners that is uniquely British, the Whitworth thread system.
Now many fractional inch as well as metric wrenches will fit these nuts and bolts. The carb mounting nuts could be removed with a 1/2 '' or 13 mm socket, no problem. However the nuts do not interchange with those other systems. The threads are completely different.
Now where could I find replacements? Maybe a British car or motorcycle repair shop. I had read magazine articles in the distant past about the need for Whitworth tools when working on Triumph motorcycles.
There is actually a British car shop/ garage nearby in Campbell that I used to drive by every time I took my daughter to work. I even stopped in once long ago asking about key blanks for my XJS. Maybe the guy was having a bad day, I asked my question about the blanks, which he did not have in stock. Then I started asking about shop manuals and describing the problems that I was having with my car. I was trying to establish a level of rapport and trying to create a channel of communication.
He wasn't having any of that, he asked if I needed anything else, told me he was busy, and had to return to his task. It wasn't so much what he said but his brusque tone. So I left, somewhat puzzled. Why wouldn't a business owner try to establish a connection with a new customer and develop some enthusiasm for their project. If I was going to have to spend some money in the future, why not at his shop?
I haven't been back since, and it's been almost five years, though I was feeling desperate enough to try him again!
For some reason when I removed the carbs I didn't thread the nuts back on the studs, my usual practice. Instead I put them in a plastic bag and placed them in a drawer of my roll away tool box. I was going to try to find some replacements, but moved onto fooling with the brake system. That was over three years ago!
I knew that they were somewhere in my tool box, but which one?
I spent almost an hour looking through my "newer" tall box with negative results.
Why didn't I keep the nuts with the carbs inside the car itself?
I figured that I'd be clever, and keep them where I could find them when I wanted to look for replacements.
So Today I started to look through my original short roll away, Luckily there they were, in the back of a drawer reserved for "seldom used" automotive tools.
How funny that a handful of nuts could be made from "un-obtainium." I mean they're just nuts. But they are 70 year old British nuts. Those don't grow on trees! Obviously.
It just reinforces the need to disassemble every component with care, keeping all the bits and fasteners together, and not to get ahead of myself with the process. Replacements for any item might be difficult to source. Even old gaskets should be saved to use for patterns.
There's also no need to take something apart if I'm not ready to deal with it.
That's why I didn't remove any of the chrome trim on the hood- yet. I plan on doing that later before I deliver the car to the body shop. Just like I don't plan on trying to remove the windshield or rear glass. The rubbers are dried and cracking but mostly intact. Luckily the channels don't look rusty like on my old Rivieras. so I'm just going to seal around the windows a bit more until I'm ready to deal with them. Truthfully, the car won't be driven in the rain, or washed with a hose, and will be covered with a tarp. I'm keeping as much water away from the car as possible.
Just like the seats and door panels, no need to mess with them yet.
What I have been doing is trying to get to know how the car works. How the accessories are switched on. Things like the light switches, heater switches and all those ventilator flaps!
There is a cowl vent that directs outside air to the heater, combined with two under scuttle vents that allow heated air into the interior from under the dash, There are two scuttle vents in the front fenders to channel outside air into the footwells.
The heater has only one position for heat; on or off, The fan has only one speed. While reading a contemporary road test the writers weren't too impressed by the action of the heaters. However there were photos of the car running through snow covered areas in two Mote Carlo rallies.
The car does have huge alternatives for ventilation. There are wind wings in the front doors, ventilator paynes in the rear doors, a sunshine roof, as well as those scuttle vents. I imagine that the air will really flow through this car!
I spent some time lubricating and freeing up their action.
My Wife came outside and caught me playing inside the car. She asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was trying to develop a relationship with the car. You should have seen the look on her face!
If you've ever bought an old car, or even a well used modern car for that matter, you know that the car displays a lot of evidence of it's past owner and their past life. Besides wear and tear, there is often is also dirt and grime, sometimes even filth. There can be trash left under the seats and in the trunk, along with some unusual and unpleasant smells!
There is often an underlying pervasive feeling of mild disgust with a "new" acquisition. It takes some airing out, thorough cleaning, and acclimation.
Abandoned, derelict, barn and field cars can also have evidence of critter infestation. Insect, as well as small mammal, and occasionally reptilian. Snakes!
 |
| photo source:USU Extension .com At least these little guys are cute. |
This can lead to them being considered as being quite disgusting to non enthusiasts, especially our spouses and family members. Sometimes they can be quite disgusting, even to us! This can present a real health hazard and the interior will need to be disinfected before work can begin.
Luckily my car has never been a habitat for vermin, but it was nasty enough after sitting for thirty years!
A good cleaning of the car is the first step in clearing out the previous life. Airing it out helps quite a bit.
The best way to develop a bond with a new acquisition is to use and drive it. As you become familiar with how the car car operates and feels, it gradually becomes "your" car.
It's harder to do that with a non running vehicle.
No comments:
Post a Comment