Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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Dec 28, 2012 10:02:01 GMT
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'bowt time for an update on this Seth? Nothing much to report really Baz. Its still soldering on though I've got a couple of jobs I want to do on it prior to its next MOT in a few months so will get on them later in Jan or into Feb. Still not had the opportunity/weather to get the roof off and replace all the rubbers and seals with new ones we bought ages and ages ago so will really try and get that done some time in the new year. May be able to borrow use of a garage near home which will assist with getting that done. I haven't been able to do any track days with those wheels as yet partly down to time/money. The one I'd like to have done - Club Triumph at Goodwood in November - fell on a day I couldn't do. We'll see. Maybe something will present itself in '13. I'd prefer to stick to something that is reasonably amateur and classic related. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable. |
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bazzateer
Posted a lot
Imping along sans Vogue
Posts: 3,653
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Have you thought about Auto-solos? A few of the Imp club guys do them and seem to have a laugh, pretty informal, cheap and lots of classics apparently.
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1968 Singer Chamois Sport
1972 Sunbeam Imp Sport
1976 Datsun 260Z 2+2
1998 Peugeot Boxer Pilote motorhome
2003 Rover 75 1.8 Club SE (daily)
2006 MG ZT 190+ (another daily)
2007 BMW 530d Touring M Sport (tow car)
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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Feb 22, 2013 13:04:34 GMT
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MOT'd this yesterday.  Amazing to think its now three years since the engine swap  About 20,000 miles on the MX5 conversion in total. Last year saw only about 4k miles though, half the previous two years, as Mrs_Seth has been commuting a lot more by train as fuel costs became more expensive than train tickets. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Feb 22, 2013 13:08:32 GMT
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You took it there?
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craig1010cc
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,998
Club RR Member Number: 35
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So, how was this years MOT Seth?
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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Thanks for the bump Craig. I thought the MOT expired later in March than it actually does and then a bit of a family crisis has made things tricky. I was replacing a fuel line along the chassis earlier this week when I discovered that the previously sound passenger side rear floor had deteriorated all at once. Managed to grab some time yesterday to get that fixed. Before: Eek!  During: Not the neatest formation of the various shapes but time was limited and I basically used only a couple of hammers and a vice.  After:  I ran out of time to bolt everything back in. In fact I was driving home with paint drying smells as I slapped some Electrox on it quickly. Sunday is looking to be a nice day weather-wise so I'll finish this off and check the rest of the car over properly. Really need to try and stem the flow of oil out of the old cam angle sensor hole - at least that's where I think its coming from. Hopefully take it for a test next week some time. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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crikey seth that floor looks like it was at the point where if someone had climed into the back their foot would have gone through the floor!! but now looks nice and solid again. Mine had gone in that area aswell  |
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ferny
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 986
Club RR Member Number: 13
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Looks neat to me! You see where the wires go up into the bottom of the B post there's a triangular and flat "dip"? There's meant to be a drain plug there.  edit - just saw it's in the photo of the original floor pan. I'd stick it in if I were you. I leave the grommet out on mine all the time as well. |
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smeden
Part of things
"Full throttle until you see God,then shift to second"
Posts: 356
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Nice Work :-) You can do Wonders with a hammer and a vice :-)
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Jaguar xj6 S1 swb manual
VW Bay Camper
Audi A3 1998 1.8
VW Beach Buggy (sold)
Ford Mondeo mrk I RS Celebration (written off)
Ford Escort Mrk II RS 2000 (rust in peace)
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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Mar 12, 2014 21:10:55 GMT
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There's meant to be a drain plug there. Have no fear! it was always my intention to make the hole but I didn't have my cutters to hand when I welded the floor in. I'd never leave a Herald floor with no way for the water to escape! I've acquired a handful of these hole punches over the years and they're really handy for making neat bigger holes.  Unfortunately I then found a hole in the bottom of the chassis rail under the diff. Some twisted knot action and there was plenty of fresh air to be had.  So with the MOT now out I'm having to repair all of this on the drive but t least the weather was pleasant enough today to make a start. Inner face repaired.  and a new bottom.  Two more pieces should see it done, maybe tomorrow. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Mar 12, 2014 22:08:36 GMT
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that floor looks good ive seen so many people just plate holes with just a flat plate. good luck with mot
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Thats a common place for the chassis to go and it looks like it was plated up before, but you repaires look good and strong. On the chassis l had that area had a mixture of weld and filler holding on patches which had all been smoothed over, oh the horror!!
I see the brake flexi pipe end looks very rusty, l'd replace them aswell as they are not expensive and you have the wheel and stuff off
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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Cheers Rob, the old welding is mine from about 10 years ago. I chopped out all the rust that was there at the time but another 10 years of being outside and driven in all weathers has taken its toll and more of the original metal now needed replacing. I'll be using some different/better rust proofing this time around. Brake flexis were replaced in the not too distant past as well but the plating on that sort of thing never lasts very long. Solid pipes are all kunifer with brass fittings.
Thanks for the compliment enginewizard. I broke a convertible Herald for spares a few years ago where that area of the floor had been 'fixed' by pop riveting some ally sheet over the rot and then covering it all in rubbery sealant.
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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The chassis repair was finished and the car MOT'd a couple of weeks ago. But that did reveal that the drivers front floor pan was also somewhat worse for wear. Not a fail as its far enough from everything for it to be an issue but not great for comfort/solidity!  I decided that at this point in time I didn't want to get involved in the cost of buying one of the decent floor panels and since making the sections for the rear pan had been quite successful I figured I'd patch this one up for now.   Should last a while longer. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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niwid
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,754
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Some very neat home made panels there Seth, top work! How are you gettiing the shape in them? I'm going to replacing lots of MGB floor soon, and was planning to just patch it crudely with flat sheet.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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How are you gettiing the shape in them? Not that neat! Mostly a rough approximation. I'm pretty sure TonyBMW has done something about making this sort of indentation in his thread, making formers out of flat bar. You could then press a lot of the wider ridges out neatly and uniformly using a vice. That's not how I did this  Using the rusty pieces cut out as a guide I marked the ridges on to a piece of steel cut a bit oversize. Then I set the vice to a width corresponding to the width across the top, held the sheet over the vice and used a cross pein hammer to hammer along a line about 1/4" or so in, roughly corresponding to the inside width of the ridge. I found when I did the rear pan section that it was necessary to mark the depressions one at a time since forming one ridge would 'use up' some of the sheet so if you marked them all before starting to hammer the first then they end up closer together than intended - which I suppose doesn't matter if you're not trying to match an existing panel. Once I'd done the wide forms I just set the vice narrower to hammer out the single dip that runs through them. The sheet obviously distorts while all this is going on but it was possible to flatten it again afterwards with some judicious muscle. To tidy things up a bit I clamped another hammer in the vice that has flat round and square heads and used that as a dolly to smooth out some of the corners etc. None of this was done to a show winning standard but I'm happier with it than if I'd just welded flat sheet in there and quite enjoy the process. Hope some of that makes sense. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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MrSpeedy
East Midlands
www.vintagediesels.co.uk
Posts: 4,791 
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Nice work there Seth
I'm still amazed at how solid my floorpans are, but then I have no carpets and no rubber bungs in the drain holes!
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niwid
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,754
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As you say, certianly a lot nicer than just flat metal. It sounds pretty simple to be honest, but I bet it's time consuming to get right. I may have to have a go when it comes to it. I'll check out that thread too, thanks for the heads up. Always loved this motor by the way. I seem to remember you brought it along to the Birmingham Dawn Drive back in 2010? That meet was my first real forray into the world of classics, and from then on I fell in love with Heralds (particularly 5'd ones  ) |
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,543
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Apr 17, 2014 20:44:12 GMT
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MrSpeedy, I remember putting new carpets in this car when we hadn't had it very long and being very impressed with the way the floors looked. But then that was over 16 or 17 years and well over 120,000 miles ago with very little time 'off the road' so its hardly surprising it has deteriorated a bit. Anway only a couple of days after getting that floor done the car decided it still wanted more of my attention, when the inlet pipe to the silencer parted company. This wasn't even blowing a couple of weeks earlier at the MOT!  I came across Profusion Exhausts based out near Heathrow and was able to pop by there while on a bit of a car shop tour of West London a few days later so picked up one of their rather nice looking stainless silencers. I remember originally getting a mild steel box a while after doing the MX5 swap as I know I needed it quieter but wasn't sure how it would be so went for the cheapest option. So that box lasted about 3 1/2 years. Now knowing that the noise would be fine I decided a stainless one would be a sensible investment. Slightly longer than the mild one but a similar profile so it'd fit just the same between boot outrigger and spare wheel well.  Shiny.  Lack of time meant the car sat for a week and a half before I had the opportunity to weld the required bracket on to the box to suspend it in the same way as the old one. I cleaned up the tail pipe and as it was quite a loose fit fixed in it place with a couple of weld tacks. I've not got stainless welding wire so didn't want to muck it all up by welding all round. Though it does all look a bit 'bling' under the back of the car now so hopefully road rash will tone it down to the rest of the car before too long.  Another of my visits in West London was to Think Auto to get a new T piece for the oil gauge/light as the old one has been leaking pretty much since it was fitted and I couldn't remember if it had the correct thread to suit the engine properly. I've had it apart several times but never made it seal fully. Having recently fixed the leak out of the back of the cam cover (where the cam angle sensor used to be ) it'd be nice if the car stopped dropping oil everywhere.  Got the new one fitted today, with ptfe tape on the taper threads and a trial start up seemed to be leak free so hopefully I won't have to do this again any time soon.  So hopefully I can forget about this car again for a while and get on with other things. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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ferny
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 986
Club RR Member Number: 13
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Looking good. I'm surprised you've not clouted your silencer though, I had long scrapes along the length of a standard one.  |
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About 20,000 miles on the MX5 conversion in total. Last year saw only about 4k miles though, half the previous two years, as Mrs_Seth has been commuting a lot more by train as fuel costs became more expensive than train tickets.
)