More parts delivered and jobs done.
August 30th 2019
I decided to have a look at the fuel gauge this morning because that's something pretty important that I'd like to have working. The first job was to remove the floor/shelf in the boot which was a pig of a job thanks to rusty bolts and screws. Not the best design there, Mr. Issigonis! Finally I managed to wrestle the floor panels out which gave me easy access to the top of the fuel sender. I used a small piece of wire to short the 12v feed to earth (bypassing the sender), turned on the ignition and the fuel gauge instantly jumped to full! Well at least I know the gauge works fine and the fault is with the sender itself. When I get more time I'll remove it and see if it can be fixed but I suspect I'll have to buy a new one.
While working on the sender, the postman arrived with some more fun stuff...
A new fanbelt, heater isolator tap, thermostat, gasket, oil filter and a nice Whitworth imperial spanner set.
Comparing the old and new oil filters makes it obvious how long it has been since this car was serviced last.
I screwed in the new oil filter and filled the grateful engine up with my expensive Castrol oil. Then I slackened off the dynamo bolts, removed the old fanbelt and fitted the new one, adjusting it for the correct tension. I did notice that the new belt is toothed whereas the old one was smooth but they both seem to have the same V profile so I'm assuming it should be fine.
My next job was to remove each spark plug for inspection. You can tell a lot about the health of an engine from the condition of the spark plugs. Thankfully each plug was bone dry, not oily in the slightest. They all had a light biscuit-coloured coating which was just as I'd hoped. Very encouraging!
As I was checking the plugs, my new tyres arrived. Things are definitely coming together now!
The last job today was to change the gearbox oil. Judging by the neglect the engine has suffered, I dread to think what state the gearbox is in.
I lifted the carpet in the passenger footwell, removed the rubber bung on the transmission tunnel and then removed the filler nut from the gearbox. Yuk, looks a bit of a green watery mess in there!
I then crawled under the car and removed the drain plug which released a torrent of unpleasant sludge. I left it a good 15 minutes to make sure it was all drained out before refitting the drain plug and topping up with fresh 20w/50 oil from within the car. It took almost exactly 1.3 litres to fill to the top so let's hope that extends the life of my poor gearbox.
I ran the engine for 10 minutes and it sounds so sweet but there is a slight stutter on idle and a very slow drip of fuel from the carburettor. I suspect a carb rebuild will be added to my list in the near future. Also the thermostat bypass hose looks like it's about to give up on life so I'll get that replaced when I drain the cooling system.
