Hi guys, it's about time that I posted my ride up here. I've got a couple other old cars, but this one is my daily driver and replaces my sensible, economical, blast to drive Ford Puma that's been my daily for the last 10 years. The last time I had a Herald as my every day transport was a good 12 years ago, so I had to take a few brave pills before taking the plunge again! Allow me to get you up to speed...
I've always fancied a 13/60 Herald; the different front end changes the character of the car completely. I'd have loved to have picked up a Vitesse, but decent Mk.1 2 litre models that I was hanging out for just didn't turn up at my sort of money. Back in April I found this honest stock - 40k miles from new Herald in Swansea. Swansea is not local to me in the slightest (I don't travel too far for my cars). The owner, Mr. Misery Guts, seemed to view me as a tyre kicker, despite the 4 hour journey I'd made, which to be fair was a bigger commitment than his prep work. Niggly little things like a non-working heater, great interior in need of a damn good tidy and an engine that wouldn't idle below 3000rpm saw me haggle the price down and take it off his hands.
Needless to say, with the engine running rather oddly, special pants were needed for the long journey home. Funnily enough it was the test drive that sold the car, the 1296cc engine is a bit more eager that earlier Heralds. The journey home was totally uneventful in the end, although I did feel like an idiot idling in traffic at 3k rpm!
On the way home I snapped this Hillman with great plate and possibly original owners.
That Welsh flag sticker didn't last long with me not being Welsh ;D
Starting her up next morning proved impossible, but a quick sniff of Easi-start and she started on the button. I took the Stromberg carb off that evening as the symptoms looked a lot like a split diaphragm and the car came with a carb rebuild kit which the last owner didn't bother to use. Stripping the carb found no evidence of split rubber (damn it) but I gave it a thorough clean replaced all parts anyhow. Fearing a wasted few evenings, I stuck the carb back on and the car was transformed into a normal Herald. Result!
Pre-strip
Post-strip
I carried out a full service and also replaced the HT leads, rotor arm, dizzy and fitted electronic ignition. A healthy ignition system amongst other things is essential for a daily driver. A good clean inside and out was in order and a break in the heater wire was soldered (never would have guessed Misery Guts was an electrician). I replaced the nasty aftermarket leather gear knob with a billet ally one from my old Mini. A low reading thermostat was a result of a tarnished sender contact and the small matter of a missing 'stat (I assume taken out because of the carb issue), so I dropped in an 82C one from my Herald spares I'd been keeping just in case I got another (I think that's called forward planning). As much as I don't understand lazy sellers, I do love buying an old car and spending a few hours on quick and easy wins. Anyway, first proper mod was to remove the wheel embellishers for instant dish. That's better...
FACTOID - Heralds look better low. Massive arch gaps (especially the front) and positive camber all round isn't a great look in my books, so I bit the bullet and ordered Gaz shocks with coilovers and a lowering block for the rear. That would sit me an inch lower, but it fought me every step of the way! The coil springs needed relieving a little with the Dremel so that they'd slip over the adjustable collars and getting the rear transverse spring in with the lowering block in place meant dropping the diff. It also decided to rain rather heavily whilst I did this and I am not at one with water as a rule. Still, it was worth it. She's lower, but even lower would have been nicer.
Something I would have (and did) ignore 12 years ago was the click-click-click of the UJ's, but nowadays I'd like to think that I'm a bit more safety conscious; so I decided to tackle this job. I like fiddling with cars, but this was one pig of a job with a very tight UJ that nearly defeated me. Somehow it didn't have a full complement of needle rollers and looking at it, I think it was past its usable life by quite a margin.... I need to replace the O/S one before it gets too cold outside, but I've been putting off repeating this ordeal.
It's the little details that add up, so I got myself a new keyring to replace the nasty one that came with the car. Unfortunately her in doors quickly picked up on this little detail which didn't go down well at all, so its days may be numbered (possibly on this thread too if anyone's offended).
Recently I got myself a set of Herald steels and started making a few calculations.... who can see where this is going??
Any comments, feedback or ideas welcome; thanks
I've always fancied a 13/60 Herald; the different front end changes the character of the car completely. I'd have loved to have picked up a Vitesse, but decent Mk.1 2 litre models that I was hanging out for just didn't turn up at my sort of money. Back in April I found this honest stock - 40k miles from new Herald in Swansea. Swansea is not local to me in the slightest (I don't travel too far for my cars). The owner, Mr. Misery Guts, seemed to view me as a tyre kicker, despite the 4 hour journey I'd made, which to be fair was a bigger commitment than his prep work. Niggly little things like a non-working heater, great interior in need of a damn good tidy and an engine that wouldn't idle below 3000rpm saw me haggle the price down and take it off his hands.
Needless to say, with the engine running rather oddly, special pants were needed for the long journey home. Funnily enough it was the test drive that sold the car, the 1296cc engine is a bit more eager that earlier Heralds. The journey home was totally uneventful in the end, although I did feel like an idiot idling in traffic at 3k rpm!
On the way home I snapped this Hillman with great plate and possibly original owners.
That Welsh flag sticker didn't last long with me not being Welsh ;D
Starting her up next morning proved impossible, but a quick sniff of Easi-start and she started on the button. I took the Stromberg carb off that evening as the symptoms looked a lot like a split diaphragm and the car came with a carb rebuild kit which the last owner didn't bother to use. Stripping the carb found no evidence of split rubber (damn it) but I gave it a thorough clean replaced all parts anyhow. Fearing a wasted few evenings, I stuck the carb back on and the car was transformed into a normal Herald. Result!
Pre-strip
Post-strip
I carried out a full service and also replaced the HT leads, rotor arm, dizzy and fitted electronic ignition. A healthy ignition system amongst other things is essential for a daily driver. A good clean inside and out was in order and a break in the heater wire was soldered (never would have guessed Misery Guts was an electrician). I replaced the nasty aftermarket leather gear knob with a billet ally one from my old Mini. A low reading thermostat was a result of a tarnished sender contact and the small matter of a missing 'stat (I assume taken out because of the carb issue), so I dropped in an 82C one from my Herald spares I'd been keeping just in case I got another (I think that's called forward planning). As much as I don't understand lazy sellers, I do love buying an old car and spending a few hours on quick and easy wins. Anyway, first proper mod was to remove the wheel embellishers for instant dish. That's better...
FACTOID - Heralds look better low. Massive arch gaps (especially the front) and positive camber all round isn't a great look in my books, so I bit the bullet and ordered Gaz shocks with coilovers and a lowering block for the rear. That would sit me an inch lower, but it fought me every step of the way! The coil springs needed relieving a little with the Dremel so that they'd slip over the adjustable collars and getting the rear transverse spring in with the lowering block in place meant dropping the diff. It also decided to rain rather heavily whilst I did this and I am not at one with water as a rule. Still, it was worth it. She's lower, but even lower would have been nicer.
Something I would have (and did) ignore 12 years ago was the click-click-click of the UJ's, but nowadays I'd like to think that I'm a bit more safety conscious; so I decided to tackle this job. I like fiddling with cars, but this was one pig of a job with a very tight UJ that nearly defeated me. Somehow it didn't have a full complement of needle rollers and looking at it, I think it was past its usable life by quite a margin.... I need to replace the O/S one before it gets too cold outside, but I've been putting off repeating this ordeal.
It's the little details that add up, so I got myself a new keyring to replace the nasty one that came with the car. Unfortunately her in doors quickly picked up on this little detail which didn't go down well at all, so its days may be numbered (possibly on this thread too if anyone's offended).
Recently I got myself a set of Herald steels and started making a few calculations.... who can see where this is going??
Any comments, feedback or ideas welcome; thanks
it looks very nice I'm after some lowered front springs were did you get them from how much , you planing banded steeles ? i was going to get mine done but thought i could get new wheels for that price , are you doing them yourself ?
Anyway, here are the wheels, they still look sexy. I had the work carried out by Alonze Custom and I’ve got to say, the service and quality of work was fantastic. Look at those welds!
