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51 Austin 10cwt Countryman

107K views 1K replies 37 participants last post by  budetta 
#1 · (Edited)

just started to rebuid my (devon)countryman for the 3rd time ,only had it for 35years but its that old story .took it of the road in 99 to freashen it up and fit the sills of my drag car ,by the time the sills and bulkhead were cut there wasant much holding the floor pan in so its now channeled 3inches.main reason was chassis to ground clearance !!!!!as already slamed by fitting MGB wishbones and shocks.Anyway got put to one side (long boring story)but now have the space to work on it,as I am between jobs atthe mo (anyone need a MOT Tester Malvern area?) had time to strip the doner Vaux Omega .Last 2 weeks fitted the engine and box and just set up diff mounts.So for those that like to know its 30L v6 manual,omega diff,omega hubs made into Dedion rearaxle,front hubs on scratch built arms(this is to keep abs & traction control) with airbags .Plan is for rear clam doors to be remade using VW Type 2 (bay) rear doors as the originals are naff and have no seals.will see if I can post some pics of how it was .
 
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#346 ·
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.
 
#351 ·
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.


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#352 ·
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.
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#353 ·
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!!!
 
#354 ·
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.
 
#355 ·
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!
 
#356 ·
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.
 
#358 ·
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.
 
#359 ·
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.
 
#360 ·
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.
 
#363 ·
Opened my box of ingenuity this morning, needed some tube about 31/2 or 4 ins dia to make a new front crossmember/ steering rack mounting. So I had just the right length of 6ins wide 3mm steel , borrowed the press and found a round block of steel that my cousin uses for bearings . It was just perfect to press in the bed to give me a 1/2 round shape, a little bit of finishing in the big vice worked well. Had to cut out more of the front crossmember than I wanted to, welded a bit of box across chassis to keep it lined up . Next is to cut the old mounting out of the original crossmember, in fact found that the original was starting to split in the middle. It will be a lot stronger this time, pics to follow when I have fettled some more.
 
#364 ·
So thats the rack mounting welded in "tube" and tacked into place in chassis, there will be some 2x2 box fitted between wishbone mountings and a 1x1 box across the top . Need some more plate to close the top off and fill in some bits. Tested the steering for bump and rod stays parallel with wishbone , will need a support bearing in column , 3 u/js to miss starter . Good job I have an assortment of new U/Js and shafts
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#365 ·
Had this bit of shaped box from the Astra that donated its Watts linkage, its nicely shaped to clear steering u/j and almost looks like it could be factory. Made column sections and fo
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und a bearing to use as support but cant find any tube the right size to press it into, bit of exhaust tube would do as it will be welded inside some box.
 
#366 ·
For all those wondering why I am using odds and ends its due to total lack of money having been on U/C and sick pay for the last year and waiting for my pension payments to start in 2 weeks time . Good job I have lots of bits acquired over the last 40 odd years . It would be nice to make new bottom wishbones out of tube and things like that but the old MGB ones work , tempted to cut the spring seats out .
 
#367 ·
made the plates to go on chassis, gussets and ends of box section to rack "tube" all welded in. Started making the column support bearing, found some tube to fit the bearing I found in my box of wonders (its a sealed one) and tomorrow will make the bracket . Its tight to starter motor and will have to scallop the engine mounting bracket . Pics if anyone is bothered when done.
 
#368 ·
Top marks to you for continuing to progress your build, not letting lack of funds prevent you. Shows it can be done, less money sometimes just means more reliance on ingenuity, and makes it an even bigger challenge.
 
#369 ·
Yes not one for buying stuff if I can make/adapt it, the only thing I have spent out on apart from air ride, fuel tank, front wheels and things like steering lock and column switches is tools. There are some purchases needed soon though or I will be grinding to a halt. Roll over hoop, front wheel adaptors, front tyres, then will have a load of jobs to keep me going.
Still not worked out how to remove body safely and support it to finish welding and then paint /stone chip and seal under side. Then its finish weld chassis, rear suspension, shorten 1/2 shafts , paint chassis, plumb brake and fuel lines , exhaust ---------------------the list goes on!!!!
 
#370 ·
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bearing carrier fitted, took me nearly an hour to grind the clearance in engine mounting bracket. Compressor useless ,well it wont keep up with die grinder. Shaft was notchy but it was the end of upper shaft catching on u/j due to tight angle so a bit more die grinder action. Tidied up the ends of steering rack "tube" and some welds then thought shall I try track rod ends in to see if they fit. Measuring taper with calliper the MGB one is a nats smaller than the Omega one, gave it a whack into place and it felt okay. Will save me changing tie rods if it works.
 
#371 ·
Well yesterday was a bust, nothing went the way I wanted . Cant weld the plate I made for grommet for steering shaft to bulkhead till its straitened out , tried to get centre console sitting level and it now looks worse . Still the MGB TREs will fit the Omega hubs !!! just sit a bit deeper in the taper so might thin it down a tad , well they are a lot thicker than the MGB ones . Fitted the Golf light switches in console below air ride switches , plan today is finish the rear of console then back on the dash with demist vents and fuse box mount to make.
 
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