[budetta]

As Ivanhoew said if nobody adds a post how do we know if someone is looking at our thread? Would like some comments good or bad .
After saying its 20 years since the wings came off when I started to do a "quick" tidy up it made me think how long I have had the Austin , 43 years !! only things I have kept longer are my old DJ records and Custom Car mags

 

[mygasser]

the strut towers look much better now they're 'panelled' in fully. re the strut brace, can you reinforce the bulkhead and run 2 braces diagonally back from the strut tops to as close together as possible at the bulkhead? maybe even a brace between the 'a' posts inside under the dash and run the 2 strut brace bars through to that?
neil.

 

[budetta]

Body is rubber mounted so had thought of that but as there is room to put a cross bar in front of engine I will do that. It will have to bolt to brackets that fix to strut top bolts just to make it removable , need to work it out in my head . Thats where all my stuff comes from , no CAD here mate!!!! ( well some cardboard gets used)

 

[budetta]

Had to stay in Tues, my sinus was total blocked from the dust off that wing and it took most of the day to drain---------
Yesterday started to sort pedals and column mounting , had to move clutch pad over an inch as well as change angle . Found an old pedal that came out of the Austin from last build , MK1 Transit it was , and had the required bend . Cut and shut and it now lines up, bracket welded to lower column and a mounting made from pedal mounts to support it.
Did some measuring as body swage not lining up with n/s door and found B post is 1/2 inch to high , I blame that elastic rule !! So will have to undo welds and slip it down but at lest that explains why the body side didnt fit.

 

[budetta]

So looked and pondered on what to do today, could have finished pedals but couldn't be arsed . Did the n/s B post instead , it was not quite 1/2 ins but now it lines up spot on. Daft thing is it lines up with the floor on a weld that I cut through and repositioned --------
Header rail needed lifting and I see the roof bar is low as the 2 tiny tack welds (factory) are broken, job for the jack and a bit of wood as I don't have a body jack.
Wasted ages looking for the washer bottle due to the fact I put it "safe" and was buggered if I could remember where, anyways when it turned up I made a mounting bracket to weld to fire wall . Talking of which needs altering under pedals to give more travel for when sound deadening and carpet go in , something else to add to the to do list when body is removed.

 

[budetta]

T.hat didnt go to plan today, ran out of welding wire. So chopped out the lower bulkhead and still not enough clearance, cut around pedal mount panel and angled it down (prob a good job as brake fluid res very close to bonnet) .Tack welded mounting into place and ran out of wire, well at least that was secure enough to position pedals. That left me with a lot to chop about and now have to cut and shut pedals again. Still made the replacement lower panel and as soon as I have some wire on Monday it will be sorted.

 

[mygasser]

at least twice now you've ran out of wire, wouldn't it be a good idea to keep a spare reel and when you fit it order another? it's not that expensive and at least you don't need to stop halfway through a job.
neil.

 

[budetta]

I can get it delivered within the hour .

 

[mygasser]

I can get it delivered within the hour .

not in the evenings and sundays i guess. mind you that's a good excuse to pack up and go home, lol.

 

[budetta]

Day off to cook my mum a mothers day roast anyway

 

[budetta]

By the time I had sorted stuff out the wire turned up, panels welded in as far as I can at the moment. Cant finish the bulkhead to trans tunnel until engine is out of the way. Washer bottle mount fitted as well, pedals sorted at last and painted !! Yes have managed to finish a job (about time ) , found some insulated rubber mounts in my boxes of wonders so heater motor will get fitted tomorrow.

 

[budetta]

Started to make fan mounting but decided best to wait till I have the connecting hose to make sure it all lines up. So it was on with the o/s sill , took some making as the recess that the door sits in is a bugger to fold. Ended up beating the shape in on a 2ins x 1/8th flat bar held in vice and a heavy cross peen hammer . Well chuffed with the results, run out of steel for the other side now but have enough to make the end of sill to B post bit.

 

[budetta]

Well dear hearts I welded in both sill sections, have a bit to do when body sides come off to fix to B post. Fitted the fuel tank yesterday , had to mod the straps as almost impossible to get the front nuts on so now bolts through floor. Started to make the rear cubby tray that fits behind fuel tank (it will have a scissor jack and warning triangle and a can of get you home ) , well only had a bit of 20g left so did a flange and bend. Measured space it had to slide into, set it up in bender and it must have moved as the one end is too wide to go in space. What a bugger, will have to cut and make a new bit for the other side and only have 22g left so its time for the swagger/bead roller.
Had to fit a new front wheel bearing to mums car, when I fitted the lower arms the nut on CV joint galled and jammed . Thread file and a new nut sorted it out but took me best part of today. 3 trips to the unit for the press and tools ( I did it on her drive as bearing had so much play I didnt want to drive it) and ages with a thread file, still its sorted now just have to call in tomorrow as she cant release the hand brake!!!

 

[budetta]

Stuck for bits yesterday, need another tensioner pully to make power steering pump delete. So thought I would fit cambelt correctly, bloody fiddle on that quad cam V6. Cleaned up and painted pulleys as well and fitted belt cover. Once I have fitted sump with sealer and new filter and oil in will be able to spin it over, have to find out if it has any bent valves due to cambelt jumping when top roller bearing collapsed . Oil down the bores first , well its been sat aprox 18 years.

 

[Magman]

Unfortunately that is a common killer of those engines. They’re an interference engine that has ridiculously tight tolerances on the top end.
The other issue that crops up a lot is oil pump failure so it may be worth checking that when you spin it over to save tears in the future!

 

[budetta]

Yes it should have had a modified top roller but looks like it slipped the recall , might be as it was an old bill motor? Why are motor factors crap? rang this morning to get an auxiliary drive belt tensioner roller and got quoted £80 , got the part no of them and looked it up on the bay. It was the timing belt roller so rang back, we can only get a complete tensioner (muttering under breath now) so back to the bay and found one for £21 delivered and it should turn up Monday.

 

[mygasser]

don't they also crack the oil cooler in the middle of the 'v' and mix coolant and oil together? not a good combo.
neil.

 

[budetta]

Some thing I will be looking at, recon I should change all the oil seals as its been sat and they are bound to be hard.
Just had a look to see how many 48 to 51 Countryman's are registered , don't know how accurate the site I found is but it looks like 3 and one is mine !!!! Only one 51 model as well (mine) ! I have seen one other a 49 or 50 if I remember about 35 years ago at a Austin car show, it was from Scotland.

 

[mygasser]

are you going to try for a fire up before you do any more (seals etc) as it'd be a bugger to do a ton of work and it's got a load of bent valves. it'd be cheaper to get another engine and just swap the new timing belt etc over at that point surely?
neil.

 

[budetta]

Will do a compression test when I get some oil in it first, used belt on it at the moment just to test. Low mileage on engine , its only got 40 odd thousand on speedo and that's genuine. To much stuff to make before firing up , intake with airflow meter, EGR delete (needs a circuit making to fool ECU) and a few resistors for the same reason for air pump and manifold flap delete.