Sears/Craftsman Whitworth Tool Set

[Jim C.]

I spent a lot of time today cleaning the interior. It’s much easier to do without the seats in the car.

Jim C.

[d42jeep]

It’s coming along well and looking great!
-Don

[Jim C.]

Thanks Don!  I need to fine tune the SU carburetors, get the last few body panels and bumper installed, buff the paint and I think I’m about done.  I left the right side fender, etc. off the car so I can get at those carbs.  Once that fender and side panel are bolted on, access to the carbs becomes a lot more difficult.  There’s not too much elbow room under the hood once those fenders and side panels are in place.

Jim C.

[Bill Houghton]

Very nice.  I notice it's got the James Bond Optional Wall-Crawler suspension that allows it to drive along vertical walls...unless your top picture is sideways...

That's going to be a sweet ride.  I note the battery is labeled "Perfect Start."  Is that an attempt to exorcise the Prince of Darkness, aka Lucas electrics?

I hope your adjustment on the SU carbs goes well; there seems to be a lot of dark art there, too.  My son's first Volvo had SU carbs, and I remain amazed that I was able to rebuild them and have the car running when I was done.  They're interesting devices because there appears to be only slightly more there than you would find on a motorcycle carburetor, yet they are in fact far more sophisticated than your basic Solex (or simple versions of the Amal) carb; and thus trickier.

[Jim C.]

Hi Bill,

I'm not sure why that photo posted sideways.  What’s interesting is that when you click on the picture, it enlarges and is correctly oriented.  Who knows why?  As for the battery, well, that’s what was mounted in the box when I bought the car from my uncle.  I can’t say that I particularly care for the way it looks, but it’ll be okay for now.  It gets the job done.  I’d rather have something a little more vintage correct looking.  (There’s a surprise, right?) I certainly don’t want to jinx things particularly as they relate to Lucas electrical components.  Everything seems to work at the moment.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  I’m really more concerned about oil leaks! You might recall that I started this project because the engine was leaking oil badly.  So far, everything looks good.  I am very hopeful that nothing changes!  ......... The carburetors!  I can’t claim any expertise regarding SU carburetors but I’m learning.  I think I’ve watched every online video there is regarding SU carbs.  Some of the videos are better than others, but they’ve all helped to demystify these carbs.  I’m actually excited to dig in and get more familiar with them.  I’ll keep you posted.

Jim C.

[amecks]

Usually you can get those battery stickers off easily.  A heat gun will make it even easier.  That would help it look a little more vintage.  Are the alloy engine parts standard? (Valve cover, tappet cover, etc.?).

[Jim C.]

Hey Al,

Thanks for the tip!  I might give that a try.  As for the valve and tappet covers, the answer is “No.”  The originals were a little less “bright.”  I included a photo depicting what the original parts and factory finishes looked like.  When the engine rebuild was underway, I considered tracking down original parts and replacing those aftermarket covers.  When I bought the car, I did ask my uncle if he had the originals.  His response was, “I never got them from Bob.”  Bob was the first owner of the car.  Bob bought the car new in 1955 and sold it to my uncle in 1959.  My uncle owned the car until 2019.  That’s 60 years!!!  So what I’m saying is that those aftermarket covers were probably installed by Bob, and my uncle left them on the motor for another six decades.  When I thought about it in those terms, the decision whether to replace them with original parts, or not, was pretty easy to make.  The aftermarket covers are part of the car, more so than any originals would be at this point in the car’s life.  So that’s that.

When I bought the car, both covers were grungy.  I spent some time and elbow grease cleaning them up.  Once clean, they were inspected and determined to be sound and reusable.  Within the recessed section of MG emblem on the valve cover there appeared to be remnants of black paint.  I cleaned the recess of all paint, etc, and carefully applied some tape to the raised sections of the emblem.  With a couple quick bursts of black paint, the emblem looks like new.  Twenty minutes of taping, ten seconds of painting!!

Jim C.

[amecks]

Very cool story!  I agree with keeping those covers.  Both on the fact that it was that way when your uncle bought it and the fact they are true "period accessories" dating from the era when the car was "new".  I have several alloy period accessories on my '69 Triumph cycle - oil cooler/filter, finned rocker feed, tappet covers and points cover and slightly modified alloy exhaust clamps.

[Jim C.]

Hey Al,

Pictures are always welcome!

Jim C.

[papadan]

Uh....Umm....Jim old buddy, hate to put you on the spot, but why didn't you use the red on the cover emblem?  ;-()

[Jim C.]

................Within the recessed section of MG emblem on the valve cover there appeared to be remnants of black paint.........

Hi Dan,

Like I was saying, there were clearly remnants of black paint in the emblem’s recess.  While the valve cover itself is not an original MG factory part, it has been a part of the car for more than 60 years.  When I started the project, the main objective was to bring the car back to absolute mechanical perfection.  I wanted everything to work as designed.  Everything else was purposely left untouched in an effort to save the car’s originality. Anything that came off the car was evaluated, and either reused or replaced.  Very, very few parts were replaced.  Parts going back on the car were cleaned, rebuilt if necessary, and refinished/repainted to match their original look.  I’ll admit that there was a split decision around the shop whether to paint the valve cover emblem recess “engine red” or “original black.”  Ultimately, I decided to remain faithful to originality.......which was black.

Jim C.

[Jim C.]

Dan,

Just to follow up on that whole originality thing, well, the factory installed oil dipstick has the same MG recessed emblem on it. As far as I know, the recess was never painted.  After I painted the valve cover emblem black, the thought was to paint the dip stick emblem black to match.  Well, like I said, the dip stick wasn’t painted and it still isn’t.   

Jim C.

[amecks]

Okay.  I have pictures on postimage already, so...
The '69 Triumph Bonneville engine showing the period accessories, HC Coolfilter (behind/under carbs), Webco finned rocker box oil manifold and tappet covers, modified exhaust clamps.  I was mistaken in that I had replaced the finned points cover with original chrome cover (just visible lower right).  But that finned cover will be used on Project 39-1/2.

The exhaust clamps  as made are gaudy.  I call them "clown collars" because they look like the puffy collars on european costume clowns.  I reshaped these by bolting them to a fixture and running them through the table saw fitted with a non ferrous cutting disc.  Had to make a pass, then turn the clamp one fin, make another pass, etc.

[Jim C.]

Wow Al!!  I really like all the “bling!”  And you said those parts are all period correct aftermarket add ons?  Pretty cool.  Very nice job on the “clown collar” clamp.  If you hadn’t said you altered it, I would have never known.  I can see why your restoration is going slow.  From the looks of things, you take your time and you do things right.  I like that.  Keep posting as your project progresses.

Jim C.

[Bill Houghton]

Very nice.  I hope you'll be using period correct safety wire on the fasteners 

I had a friend with a BSA, and borrowed it a couple of times - boy, was that thing a paint shaker!

What was that bumper sticker from the 1950s?  "The bits falling off this car/motorcycle are Genuine British Parts!"

But, back to my first, short sentence: that's a beautiful job.  British bikes of that period are lovely.