6) A good day
- Chris Stanley
- Aug 29, 2019
- 3 min read
I love it when a plan comes together.
August 28th 2019
Some more items arrived in the post today, a new brake light switch, sump plug washer, battery retainer, tappet cover gaskets and a tube of gasket sealant. First of all I decided to do the easiest job so I fitted the battery retaining bar which only took me a couple of minutes. If only all jobs were this straight forward!
The next job was a little more fiddly, swapping out the faulty brake light switch. It took me a while to carefully undo the old switch because it was very tightly secured and I didn't want to twist the brake lines by putting too much force on it. A strategically placed piece of wood helped to brace the fitting as I wrestled the old switch out of it's socket. Then a careful clean around, the area, trying hard not to get any dirt into the open brake circuit. A few drops of DOT4 fluid to top up the receptacle before I screwed in the new switch and connected up the wires.
Then it was simply a case of testing it. I reconnected the battery, turned on the ignition and pressed the brake pedal... And we have life! Another job which can be ticked off my list.
Having sorted out the insurance and tax earlier in the day there was nothing now stopping me from taking my car on it's first proper test drive so I topped up the fuel from a can, fired up the engine and did a couple of laps around the local back roads. So far so good!
It did seem a bit more sluggish than it should have been though, even accounting for the 30hp engine but then again I suspect it has been neglected servicing-wise for many years. Arriving back home I decided to give the engine a much needed oil change, so remove sump plug and out with all that gunk!
That was some really thick, black gloopy gunk. I could almost hear a sigh of relief from the engine as it drained away. Looking at the state of the oil filter I suspect this engine hasn't seen much love in a very long time. It looks like something found in an archaeological dig!
It took a while to wrestle the antique oil filter out of it's housing but now I can see what type I need, I've ordered a new one. The car will have to sit oil-free for a couple of days until it arrives.
I've replaced the sump plug (with new washer) now just in case I forget later on and stupidly go to fill the engine with oil!
While the engine was drained of oil I thought it was a good time to address that leaky tappet cover. Well, the front one at least seeing as it seems to be the worst offender. Plus I don't think I can easily access the back one because the manifold is in the way.
I remove the cover and carefully scrape off the remnants of the old cork gasket before fitting a new one with a healthy dose of sealant. Let's hope that keeps the oil in the engine.
Two more things the test drive told me was that my fuel gauge didn't work (faulty sender?) and neither did my speedo (faulty speedo cable?). Oh well, add them to the list.
Thanks for your comment, follytowers. I hadn't realised that but you've certainly raised an interesting point. Most of the other Minors I've seen are set up this way but now that you mention it, a little extra insulation on the bar is probably a good idea. The car hasn't yet been MOT'd but I will probably get it done in the new year just to be sure that all is well.
I imagine you have realised that you have the wrong battery model fitted, as the terminals need to be at the rear, to avoid contact with the clamp bar. My guess is the last owner left it off because of that. Tape or some other insulation on the bar would be a good idea. You getting this MOT'd?