Post by curtis on May 27, 2010 7:23:28 GMT 10
I have always liked Morris cars - my Grandfather had one (1948 Series "M", my Father always had at least one. Actually he bought my Grandfathers car when he first learned to drive and just never sold it. I did a body resto job on it when I was 17 and was hooked. So about 10 years ago - quite some time after I restored my Fathers car - we came across our first Morris. A 1947 Series "M", in bright yellow. Apparently the previous owner - who did the restoration - liked yellow.
Both the Series "M" cars can be seen there on a run we did to Queanbeyan (just next to the ACT) a few years back. It is a long drive from Melbourne in a little car.
Anyway a 1150cc 4 cylinder motor in a Morris 10 (yes this does mean horse power, but it is an RAC rating for English registration - you pay per horse power) just is not big enough for a family of 5 and so we embarked on a search for something more suitable. Eventually we came across a 1936 Morris 25. This car has a much bigger 3.5 litre 6 cylinder motor and plenty of room for 5 people.
This example however was completely unrestored and its motor was seized. The car was complete except for the fog light that should be on the front bumper adjacent to the horn.
So to the restoration.
The first rule of restoration is that the original purchase price of the car will be insignificant to the amount spent restoring the car - even if you do it yourself.
The second rule is that the restoration will always be bigger than you first thought and take much longer.
There are several other rules that deal with frustration and swearing and delays etc, but the first two are well worth considering........I know this now. ;D ;D ;D
Here are a series of progress pics........
I took some snaps before I puller her apart so I can remember what she looked like - might need these when I put her back together.
I found a fog light!! They are about a rare as rocking horse poo, but you never know your luck in a big city. ;D ;D ;D
The spare tyre mounted on the back like this is not a common thing in these cars. Ours has a "RUSKIN" built (Australian) body and all the other Ruskin bodies I have seen have the spare in the bottom of the boot. So far as I can tell this is the only one still existing with this set up.
Gotta love the tow bar - apparently a previous owner used to tow a caravan with it, around Queensland. I think we might fit something a bit more discrete.
It was about at this point when I stood back and said to myself
"Self" I said, "What have you done and how will you ever put that back together?"
Anyway I decided that I would not strip the chassis bare of everything all at once so I tacked the rear end first and left the font completely alone.
So out came the rear axle, springs, fuel tank, brake lines etc. The chassis got a good scraping (70 years old means a lot of goo was inside the box sections - this was not a nice job. I fitted new bronze bushes to the spring shackles, cleaned out and refitted the fuel tank, and then set to work on the rear axle.
This is after I spent several hours with a scraper and wire brush cleaning the accumulated grease and dirt off....
Unfortunately when I looked inside the diff I found that the pinion has 5 of its 11 teeth broken. Not happy Jan
Luckily for me I have picked up a NOS crown wheel and pinion at the Bendigo swap a couple of weeks earlier. I wondered at the time if I should get it but very glad I did, and for only $75.
Anyway I dropped the diff off to Victoria Differentials (I would recommend this guy) with my crown wheel and pinion and a set of new bearings from AA Bearings. All good until he calls me and says that he needs an oil seal for the input shaft. It is made from leather.
I then set about trying to find a new seal, but with no luck. The diff man says he can machine out the housing and maybe fit a modern seal, but he couldn't guarantee me that it would work properly as the neoprene would probably wear the shaft much faster that the leather.
So there is only one option when you can't find the bit you need - you make it!
Here is the original seal
And the input shaft
So I made a jig to hep me press a new seal.
Used some very heavy leather, soaked in linseed oil for a day or so, and just stretched it over the shaft. (It did take a couple of goes to get the cuts right)
I clamped it in to place for a day.
Hey presto - new seal. The diff man said it was great and he put it straight in.
So now with the diff done I sent the rear brakes for machining and a re-sleeve of the wheel cylinders. This all went back together quite easily, and the wheel bearings were in great shape so no issue there thankfully.
After about 9 months of mucking about the 25 was back on her own wheels.
I even allowed myself a moment or 2 to dream. Actually I sat there for quite some time.... ;D ;D ;D
Then it was on to the front end and that very large very seized engine...
So out came the motor and I pull it to bits. I am still to this day not sure why it was seized, I found nothing substantial at all. I reckon it may have just been that it was sitting for so long it got stuck....
Anyway it all came apart quite easily and off it went to the re conditioners. Turns out the motor was still in good shape - for its age. It still had its original pistons. The reconditioning consisted of:
Re bore +0.030
New pistons
Crank grind and balance
New main bearings - hand made white metal
New big end bearings - hand made white metal
Valve grind (kept all the original vales, seats and guides)
Machine block and head
Cam shaft re-profile - should make it go a bit better
Replace cam followers with more modern equivalent
New timing chain and crankshaft gear
- The gear caused some grief, but eventually I found a blank with the right teeth on it and was able to have it machined to the right shaft size
So the time to put the engine back together.
Newly balanced and reground crank. (Note the lack of counter balance)
Pistons going in
Bottom end complete.
So a bit more cleaning of parts, making of gaskets and tightening of bolts and there you have it - short motor.
Next it is on to the clutch. Back in the 20's 30's it was not uncommon to have a cork clutch that runs in oil. Actually this is a really great way to make a clutch, they never wear, they are so smooth on the take up, the only problem is they can slip a bit if the springs are a bit weak - but dry clutches can do that too.
The biggest problem is the time it take to fit the corks, all 79 of them.
Yes they are wine bottle corks and no I didn't drink that much wine. The problem with used corks is that they have had a cork screw drilled into them making them useless for a clutch - these are new corks.
The corks are naturally about 23mm diameter, and the holes in the plate about 18mm. You gotta push pretty hard to get them to go through the tapered tube and into the hole.
After that the plate goes into the lathe with a dremel attached and the corks are sanded down to be even and flat.
Well that is the progress thus far. I am hunting for a good way to make a head gasket at the moment so I can complete the engine. The front end and steering gear will be next, but I already know that the beam axle has a slight bend in it so it will need to be straightened..
Both the Series "M" cars can be seen there on a run we did to Queanbeyan (just next to the ACT) a few years back. It is a long drive from Melbourne in a little car.
Anyway a 1150cc 4 cylinder motor in a Morris 10 (yes this does mean horse power, but it is an RAC rating for English registration - you pay per horse power) just is not big enough for a family of 5 and so we embarked on a search for something more suitable. Eventually we came across a 1936 Morris 25. This car has a much bigger 3.5 litre 6 cylinder motor and plenty of room for 5 people.
This example however was completely unrestored and its motor was seized. The car was complete except for the fog light that should be on the front bumper adjacent to the horn.
So to the restoration.
The first rule of restoration is that the original purchase price of the car will be insignificant to the amount spent restoring the car - even if you do it yourself.
The second rule is that the restoration will always be bigger than you first thought and take much longer.
There are several other rules that deal with frustration and swearing and delays etc, but the first two are well worth considering........I know this now. ;D ;D ;D
Here are a series of progress pics........
I took some snaps before I puller her apart so I can remember what she looked like - might need these when I put her back together.
I found a fog light!! They are about a rare as rocking horse poo, but you never know your luck in a big city. ;D ;D ;D
The spare tyre mounted on the back like this is not a common thing in these cars. Ours has a "RUSKIN" built (Australian) body and all the other Ruskin bodies I have seen have the spare in the bottom of the boot. So far as I can tell this is the only one still existing with this set up.
Gotta love the tow bar - apparently a previous owner used to tow a caravan with it, around Queensland. I think we might fit something a bit more discrete.
It was about at this point when I stood back and said to myself
"Self" I said, "What have you done and how will you ever put that back together?"
Anyway I decided that I would not strip the chassis bare of everything all at once so I tacked the rear end first and left the font completely alone.
So out came the rear axle, springs, fuel tank, brake lines etc. The chassis got a good scraping (70 years old means a lot of goo was inside the box sections - this was not a nice job. I fitted new bronze bushes to the spring shackles, cleaned out and refitted the fuel tank, and then set to work on the rear axle.
This is after I spent several hours with a scraper and wire brush cleaning the accumulated grease and dirt off....
Unfortunately when I looked inside the diff I found that the pinion has 5 of its 11 teeth broken. Not happy Jan
Luckily for me I have picked up a NOS crown wheel and pinion at the Bendigo swap a couple of weeks earlier. I wondered at the time if I should get it but very glad I did, and for only $75.
Anyway I dropped the diff off to Victoria Differentials (I would recommend this guy) with my crown wheel and pinion and a set of new bearings from AA Bearings. All good until he calls me and says that he needs an oil seal for the input shaft. It is made from leather.
I then set about trying to find a new seal, but with no luck. The diff man says he can machine out the housing and maybe fit a modern seal, but he couldn't guarantee me that it would work properly as the neoprene would probably wear the shaft much faster that the leather.
So there is only one option when you can't find the bit you need - you make it!
Here is the original seal
And the input shaft
So I made a jig to hep me press a new seal.
Used some very heavy leather, soaked in linseed oil for a day or so, and just stretched it over the shaft. (It did take a couple of goes to get the cuts right)
I clamped it in to place for a day.
Hey presto - new seal. The diff man said it was great and he put it straight in.
So now with the diff done I sent the rear brakes for machining and a re-sleeve of the wheel cylinders. This all went back together quite easily, and the wheel bearings were in great shape so no issue there thankfully.
After about 9 months of mucking about the 25 was back on her own wheels.
I even allowed myself a moment or 2 to dream. Actually I sat there for quite some time.... ;D ;D ;D
Then it was on to the front end and that very large very seized engine...
So out came the motor and I pull it to bits. I am still to this day not sure why it was seized, I found nothing substantial at all. I reckon it may have just been that it was sitting for so long it got stuck....
Anyway it all came apart quite easily and off it went to the re conditioners. Turns out the motor was still in good shape - for its age. It still had its original pistons. The reconditioning consisted of:
Re bore +0.030
New pistons
Crank grind and balance
New main bearings - hand made white metal
New big end bearings - hand made white metal
Valve grind (kept all the original vales, seats and guides)
Machine block and head
Cam shaft re-profile - should make it go a bit better
Replace cam followers with more modern equivalent
New timing chain and crankshaft gear
- The gear caused some grief, but eventually I found a blank with the right teeth on it and was able to have it machined to the right shaft size
So the time to put the engine back together.
Newly balanced and reground crank. (Note the lack of counter balance)
Pistons going in
Bottom end complete.
So a bit more cleaning of parts, making of gaskets and tightening of bolts and there you have it - short motor.
Next it is on to the clutch. Back in the 20's 30's it was not uncommon to have a cork clutch that runs in oil. Actually this is a really great way to make a clutch, they never wear, they are so smooth on the take up, the only problem is they can slip a bit if the springs are a bit weak - but dry clutches can do that too.
The biggest problem is the time it take to fit the corks, all 79 of them.
Yes they are wine bottle corks and no I didn't drink that much wine. The problem with used corks is that they have had a cork screw drilled into them making them useless for a clutch - these are new corks.
The corks are naturally about 23mm diameter, and the holes in the plate about 18mm. You gotta push pretty hard to get them to go through the tapered tube and into the hole.
After that the plate goes into the lathe with a dremel attached and the corks are sanded down to be even and flat.
Well that is the progress thus far. I am hunting for a good way to make a head gasket at the moment so I can complete the engine. The front end and steering gear will be next, but I already know that the beam axle has a slight bend in it so it will need to be straightened..