1981 Austin Princess - 11/08 - Sold!

Valve stem seals.

Fit to all 8 valves.
In the olden days the exhaust ones did not have seals, but modern thinking is fit to all 8. No issues with oiling, enough gets through.

It's perfectly normal for white on exhaust & black in inlet, especially with older engines - it's the oil getting down the valve stems & getting burnt onto the valves. The exhaust one are far hotter so the oil burns off.

Thank god you kept all parts numbered! quickest way to kill a cam is to put the rocker arms/buckets back on the wrong lobes.
Cam journals & lobes all look ok to me from your photos. Good call on the core plugs, you do realise all the engine block ones will be as bad though don't you? Best replace those ones while you are at it (or at least the ones you can reach). A smear of loctite or (RTV)silicone around the core plug edge ensures a good seal.

RTV silicone is fine for exhaust gaskets (yes even wickes brand is ok!) only a small amount - racers use it instead of gaskets as its quick (& cheap) to remove & replace.

PS, don't worry about the cam lock tool, usually a bolt will do. Just make sure you have piston No1 at TDC (top dead centre) and align all the marks up. Rotate engine TWO full turns back to TDC (cam rotates at half speed) by hand (if it feels tight don't force it & recheck all timing marks) If it all turns over ok, recheck timing marks are still aligned (cambelt can change tension and put it out sometimes) if all is good carry on and finish off & start car

Well done for wading in. The O-series looks a nice friendly engine to work on. It will be interesting to see how much faster it feels over your 1700. The specs say this made when new 93bhp as opposed to the 1700 87bhp. I guess the difference in torque will be the most noticeable thing.

Pulling out the relevant parts of my recent list, here's an update on that.

Engine
> Timing belt - fit. I hate putting these things on, they fight all the way.
> Manifold - gasket to refit before bolting to head.
> Fuel lines - may need to replace a couple of rubber hoses between pump and carb.
> Spark plugs - need four, the three I had have disappeared.

Interior
> Door cards - passenger side to clean, front passenger card needs fabric re-gluing.
> Dashboard - to finish rebuilding before fitting.



The timing belt did get fitted on a marginally warmer day with some of Dad's experience and likewise Dad provided a vital third hand to get the manifold and gasket all plumbed in satisfactorily. I then bolted up the carb - well, 3 out of 4 nuts since one made a bid for freedom and I've not fished it out from under the car yet - after which the air filter box could be fitted, the broken cold air feed pipe trimmed down so that fits too now.

Engine bay is looking a bit better filled now.


With everything connected that could be I could find out just what was missing. This lead me to head over to Autosupplies to pick up everything I needed. Annoyingly I forgot to get the O-ring for the carb innards, but I can pick one of those up tomorrow when I get a battery from the local scrappy.


For just under £30 I got myself 4 spark plugs, a vacuum retard hose, some new jubilee clips, new 6mm fuel hose, 4 blind grommets to stop both cars belt covers from rattling (will make a small hole in them to fit tightly), an in-line fuel filter and some tie wraps to reroute the fuel overflow pipe from the carb since there doesn't appear to be one fitted and I don't fancy fuel going directly onto the exhaust.

I might not have got the car fired up today, but I certainly got a massive way of the way closer. I just hope that when we fire up the engine I'll have a working video recorder so that I might share the joy.

Today I edged closer to getting this thing running, but it's been a bit manic on the errands front so I didn't get as far as I wanted. Sorry, there's no running engine video yet, it got too dark and cold for me to finish off the jobs. List items now removed:

Engine

> Carburettor - small O-ring required for internals, otherwise in very good order.
> Fuel lines - may need to replace a couple of rubber hoses between pump and carb.
> Battery - second hand from Deatons. Good nearly new battery £15-20 usually.
> Spark plugs - need four, the three I had have disappeared.

That doesn't mean I did nothing, far from it, I got quite a bit sorted. I had previously hinted that progress had been made with the dashboard and indeed it has. Not fully built up yet, I've a few bits left to connect and tweak, but it's a far cry from where I started.


The engine was my main focus, I had about half an hour spare to spend before the daylight was completely gone, which was less than ideal, but I was determined to get something done to get things a bit closer. Managed to get a fresh O-ring for the carburettor innards, I just need to top up with some ATF to get it squelching now.


Reasonable battery from Deatons for £20. I've had quite a few used batteries from here and never been let down with them.


Battery on, carb all screwed down, vacuum retard hose trimmed down and fitted, spark plugs and leads fitted...


Fresh fuel lines and jubilee clips, new fuel filter and overflow from carb smartly tie wrapped to route away from danger zones.


I was coerced into checking it would turn over, which it does rather well and sounds healthy. Didn't go as far as firing the engine up, I want to set the points properly, change the oil and put the coolant in before I do that.

afaik this is a big no no for cars with lambda sensors and/or cats as the silicon basically poisons the sensor/cat

obviously in this particular application this caveat is unnecessary

Time to check the list, I think. Here's what's left.
 
Braking System
> Handbrake cable - to fit and adjust.
> New rear shoes - very cheap, just haven't got around to purchasing them yet.
> New front hose - passenger side looks cracked, should be replaced.
> Rear hose - To fit.
> Brake fluid & nipples - to purchase.
 
Suspension
> Rear sphere - Have a replacement, as previously mentioned it's an engineering/garage job to get it put in the trailing arm on the car.
> Hydragas reset - Need to get the system pumped up again.  About £50 from flat.
> Pivot shafts - Need to unseize so trim level can be reset properly.  Need to do this on the HL too.  incorrect trim level results in an effectively saggy, undersprung rear end.  This is another garage job, I haven't the tools/means to do it at home.
 
Engine
> Oil - To change, oil and filter acquired.
> Radiator - Minor leak on top hose inlet requires soldering.
> Carburettor - new float needle needed. Service kit ordered.
 
Interior
> Front passenger seat - to bolt down.
> Parcel shelf - to retrim
> C pillar trims - replacements to modify to accept courtesy lights before fitting.
> Carpet - sill trims to fit.
> Dashboard - to finish rebuilding before fitting.
> Centre console - to screw down.
> Rear view mirror - to refit.
 
Miscellany
> Tyres - wheels to be swapped with ones taken from HL.
> Headlights - check adjustment.
> Mirrors - fit replacement door mirrors, several in stock.
> Sills - check condition thoroughly, repair if required.  No obvious damage apparent on initial inspections.
> Track rod ends - check for play before MoT.  Budget for replacements.
> Radio - test and connect if working.
> Exhaust - find and resolve MASSIVE blow somewhere at the front, probably downpipe.
> Handbrake Warning Light - need to resolder the connector at the handbrake.

It is steadily getting to be a smaller list. Had another go at getting the engine to run. Removed the base plate from the carb to find the float had jammed in place so removed that and inspected the float needle to find it worn, but didn't look as bad as the one I took out of the HL. Rebuilt it all and the same problem of the car firing and then flooding persisted and after speaking to the people at SU we came to the conclusion the float needle is dead so Dad bought a service kit to get that sorted out. Happily, we also found that the car will draw fuel from the tank without issue so the rest of the fuel in the jerry can went in the tank so there's no more awkward jiggling of tanks in the engine bay. We also checked that earth strap that was getting hot when trying to fire up the car and found it was loose, tightening the nut made the car turn over much happier and the earth strap no longer warms up. Good, that's engine progress of a sort.

Earlier this week I attempted to get a fresh key cut for the ignition but found that the key cutting place I use doesn't do them. I could have driven around for ages to find a solution but then Dad suggested we just copy what the previous owner of the HL had done and raid the penny jar. One 1981 two pence coin and some solder later and we have this.


Works a treat too, no more swearing at the stub of a key that was almost impossible to use. Just got to drill a hole in it so I can put it on the keyring.


I managed to find someone selling their last Morris Ital window winder on eBay which, as it happens, is the same as the 1981 Princess handles. Luckily, I still had the Princess spacer on the door and now we have a full compliment of correct handles in the car.


Rear seat properly fitted and quite possibly the most comfortable bench ever made by human hands. Also note the clean passenger door cards. Fitted a replacement door seal but the original doesn't seem badly damaged so that's staying with the car until I've had chance to inspect it and see if a refit will sort it as the replacement seal is a slightly different trim colour and doesn't properly match the HLS' interior.


Drivers seat also bolted down. Holding off doing the passenger seat until I've resoldered the wire that connects the warning light to the handbrake.


While I wait for the carb parts to arrive I'll continue to fettle the interior and work through the rubbish and spares so that the car looks as good as it can. Really, I'm genuinely surprised at just how much more improved its already looking, particularly inside.

My can do attitude got a bit crazy today.

You know how I've just finished putting the clean bits on the doors and fitting the door mirrors? Yeah, gone and undone that today after I was able to source a better set of doors which, while not perfect by a long way, are an improvement over what's on the car. I got some help in the form of a fellow enthusiast from another forum who travelled over on his Honda C90 which is a smart looking thing and was an absolute legend in getting stuck in and saving me masses of time and effort. The car in question is one being prepped for banger racing and has a bad shell but good panels, the reverse of the HLS, and is red though a different shade.

I took a good number of reference pictures because the doors on the banger car are completely stripped so everything needs transferring across, and I do mean everything. All the plugs, wires, rubbers, glass, handles... the lot. If we didn't have to strip the doors down it would have taken significantly less time to sort out. Even the plastic membranes have been saved.


I have no tarp, garage or car cover so I improvised with parcel tape and bin bags in the short term. Since I'm hoping to do the panel swap tomorrow this is a suitable solution overnight should it rain.


This pile of parts looks good, but they're not. The bonnet, for instance, has a couple of tricky dents and some crusty rust which the banger car doesn't and all the doors are in need of various levels of rust repair.


Tomorrow morning I shall call the garage again and let them know I'm heading over. Hopefully I have enough time to get on with rebuilding and refitting parts and while the car won't look a great deal different it will be a considerable improvement in overall condition.

Smiler: you're not wrong!

bub2006: We shall have to arrange that for next time we meet up, I'll need a bit of help with the bonnet and boot at least if you're up for that at some point in the future, no rush this time.

--

Today I am blighted with a stonking headache, I think I may have overdone it a bit the past few days but needs really must given the opportunity the spares car offered. Last thing Mum and I did last night as Dad hobbled in to get some painkillers and generally do nothing for as long as possible was to drop the bonnet in place to keep the engine bay dry. Unlike the old bonnet, this one has no rust and only a minor distortion to the passenger side windscreen edge pointy bit that can be sorted with very gentle persuasion. The previous bonnet had a difficult dent over one wiper arm and another dent in the leading edge along with surface rust and bad paint that would have taken a while to sort, dropping this one on is a much better solution. I haven't bolted it down, that's a two person job, but it can wait for now.


First thing I did this afternoon was drop the bootlid on. This is so much better than the bootlid that was on it's genuinely pretty remarkable. There is a small area of surface rust under the lock and that's it, even the trim is in good order. The paint is a bit flat but otherwise in superb condition overall. I haven't bolted this down yet but I can probably do this one on my own if I have to, though a second person will make the job a lot easier.


Last thing I did before I finally admitted defeat to this headache was to put a door on. It's only loosely bolted in place with the appropriate shims, has no handle or latch, but it's on. Plastic cover put over the window hole until I can rebuild it all but will keep the weather out a lot better.


The most satisfying thing is the paint colour on these panels. The banger car is an earlier darker red than the more vibrant hue on the HLS but the colour difference is near enough that the panels don't look that out of place. It looks like the replacement front wing has been done in the same colour as the replacement panels, which is a stroke of luck.

This has set my timetable back a little bit on getting the car running, but I reckon it's worth it. Where else was I going to get so much stuff for free?

I had a princess in that earlier red and it looked lovely, I think I prefer it to the the original shade for this car. Strong efforts on this so far, if it had gone to anyone else it'd been weighed in by now. We salute you!