Recent Posts

I'm not out of the woods yet.

This morning was a glorious opportunity to head up to Mount White and take the old two-lane road back, so I did. The car was very happy, except waiting to turn right off the Pacific Highway near home, when the idle "sagged" again. With the engine idling at home, there were lots of bubbles coming out of the fuel pump inlet, and when the fuel level in the pump bowl rose to the gauze, the idle came good.

The tank was less than 1/4 full. I'm beginning to think there's a crack or pinhole in the fuel riser pipe inside the tank. To double-check, I'll take the stationary engine tank from the test stand and plumb it into the car's fuel pump. If no bubbles, I'll fill up the car, and park it on a slope, driver's side downhill. The fuel riser pipe should be immersed in fuel for its whole length. If I don't get any bubbles in the pump bowl, that'll be a confirmed diagnosis.

My 1957 master parts catalogue lists the fuel riser pipe as a spare part, so they were a serviceable item. But at this point, I'll need to find someone who can repair fuel tanks.

Rob

Dodging the revelers in Kings Cross on New Year's Eve, 1967.CREDIT:PAUL MURRAY"

After a long wait, hoping to have some progress here soon, yes the poor girl has just been sitting for 8years, kids have grown up, I have some seats now, progress time.

Cheers
J

. . . it worked, because I hadn't put the fuel cap back on when I started the engine.  Today, after driving the car, I noticed the same symptoms . . .

and checked the fuel cap.  It had no vent.  I put it in the naughty corner, got out my old, dinged original equipment cap.  Problem gone.

It's a lot of little, subtle things whose effects add together: sticky exhaust valve, wrong distributor rotor, wrong fuel cap.

Rob

Today I went for a test drive up to a friend's on the Central Coast.  The official reason was to deliver a replacement valve, that is, a thermionic valve, for the reverb unit in his vintage Hammond organ.

The car went well, but it coughed and fluffed a couple of times.  And on the way back, the idle "sagged" to the point where it nearly died at traffic lights.  It's almost like fuel starvation . . .

Got back home and had a look at the fuel pump with the engine idling.  The fuel in the bowl was down to the level of the inlet, way below the gauze filter, and when the fuel flowed into the pump, air bubbles came too.  So I've either got a leaky hose or pipe union, or the fuel pipe's blocked.  I pulled the inlet hose off and gave it the "suck test": it held vacuum, and when flexed too.  I put the hose back on the pipe and led the fuel pump end into a jar, did my best Dizzy Gillespie impersonation at the fuel filler, and found that I could fill the jar with fuel, which then siphoned back into the tank.

Thus far I've found nothing wrong.  I put everything back together and started the engine.  The fuel in the glass bowl rose to the level of the gauze filter, and no air bubbles came out of the inlet.  Don't know what I did, but it worked . . .

Rob

We will put you in the corner with the other Humpys Rob, next to Stewy and the SA club. Look forward to seeing the car and you, and offloading those parts.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I am more familiar with HR disc than original. They tend to be limited in backspace by fouling the outer tie rod end, but also the ball joint end of the top control arm. You can add around 6mm to stock, which added toyour measurement of 95mm gives 4”.

With stock fronts and  particularly 13” rims, they foul during full lock, on the end of the upper control arm, but this can be ground a bit for clearence.

I run nothing wider than 6” rims on front, maintaining legal track, which is not more than 25mm greater than stock. I run custom 13 & 14” steelies, and 14” Sampson Magnums, with between P05 and P10 offsets, which equate to a maximum of 98mm backspace.

I have found plenty of sizes in 13” and 14” tyres. Nangkang have 185/75R13 and 235/60R13. On the 14” rims I run 195/70R14 and 205/60R14. I don’t remember the brand.

No experience with the wheels you mention, but most tend to be available in multiple offsets and getting matching sets or pairs second hand can be fraught. I have a set of13x7” Splatts that were on my wife’s FB when we got it. They have negative offset and are too wide for the front in my opinion. They are over legal track by about 10mm.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Rgr, adjustment tab is still intacked.

TY
J

Heyo,

So I have an old rim with a cross ply tyre on it(came with the wagon, same colour too), back face to inside rim lip is about 95mm, back spacing. Now from what I can gather, backspacing is a good overall idea of what will fit and not interfer with the inner suspension and hopefully clear the drums, outer guard is a different problem.

Trying to find a wheel that will fit the stock front end, with stock drum brakes and I wonder how much back space I can have before things start rubbing?

Does anyone have experience with 15x6" superlites? would 100mm backspacing still fit?

Wanted to try 15" because there are a few more options out there for tyres, 14" seems to be worse than 13" for choice.

My guess is I will just have to suck it and see. I have done a fair bit of google fu, but the older these cars get, seems like there is less info available and inside knowledge the go.

Cheers
J

How rusted out is "rusted out"?

If there are no visible rust holes in the part above the car's waistline, and if the tab for the adjusting stud is still attached, then I'd say you can re-use it.  The bailey channel is rigid, so it doesn't matter if the bottom couple of inches of the division channel are rusted away.

If it's too far gone, the remaining option is to find a replacement division channel.  Somebody will have one in their parts stash . . .

Rob