(Lights), camera, action?

Well, after 2 weeks, I finally managed to get back to the barn this evening to do a few jobs. Key was to replace the oil filter following the oil change now I have the right seals - job done, looks good - shame about the rest of the engine!

I also did some further work on the rear lights. Having taken the lenses off the original 1950s rear lights to clean them, I replaced them this evening but not before trying to fit new bulbs. Having ordered new LED bulbs, the metal parts of the fitting crumbles with rust when I tried to fit the bulbs so they'll need repairing or replacement. Still, I got the lenses back on plus the new rear Lucas reflectors - plastic ones to replace the older, perished rubber versions.

Unexpected riches...

Well, popped up the short distance to Witham Specialist Vehicles yesterday, primarily to look at a couple of Green Goddess tyres in their Monday tender and I took the chance to have a mooch about afterwards. Apparently, the Wednesday viewing day is always good to go on as they have other items not in the tender for sale and these tend to go very quickly. I was about to go when I caught something hiding in a box and on closer inspection somthing quite interesting.... Considering the price I paid for a complete but very poor consition GG hearth kit a few months back, here was a brand new, unmolested one! And reduced from £55 to £35 to clear! Anyway, here's the pic of it sat on my lounge floor.... As for the tyres - who knows!!

Oooo - shiny stuff!

 

Well, no visit to the barn today but some preparation work complete and some goodies too!
The oil filter body is now painted and looks good (shame the engine it's being stuck onto looks so scruffy!). Also, the new ignition / light switch arrived - looks good but it's even older than the one it replaces - the broken one was made in 1954, this 'new' one in 1951!!

The look of love.....

Well, what better way to spend the afternoon of Valentine's Day than by spending it tucked up in bed with the one you love, so there I was in a draughty barn with a fire engine.... Hang on.....

Oh well, a few more bits done and as ever, some forward motion then some backward to make up for it!

Having managed to get the oil changed the other day, the search for a filter housing seal goes on! It was great to sit there watching the tsunami of filthy, warm oil dropping out of the sump (remind me when it was last changed??) and the filter came out easily enough too, replete with much sludge. Then, in with 11 litres of tasty new SAE 30 Golden Film oil from Morris Lubricants. But, the filter housing seal was way to big for the housing and the seal with the new filter is a flat card type not the narrow rubber version. A quick email to RSOLES confirmed that I need a new seal. Oh well, at least the new 17 litre drop pan with spout came in useful!!

Anyway, a quick check of the two-tone horns was then done as the compressor seems to work but no noise is created. A fellow owner at the weekend mentioned that the diaphram at the backs of the horns might be knackered but a quick check revealed otherwise, so the hunt goes on...

All the extra new canvas hose is now in place, so I have a little over what it had on Op Fresco:

With having played with the flashing orange emergency lights at the front, I then moved to wondering whether the original rear tail / stop lights also worked. Whizzing the painted red lenses off reveled no bulbs, so I have now ordered 2 LED bulbs via eBay for those to see if they work and provide extra rear light - useful with a slow moving vehicle! I also scratched the silver paint from the original reflectors too and removed the old Lucas reflectors as I've ordered new plastic versions of them:

The lenses came up a treat revealing the art decco patterns on!

That done, I then removed the old ignition / headlight switch as it faulty and the lights keep flickering on and off when you touch it. The wires are old but intact so I think it's had it - still, 57 years service isn't bad! A quick call to the helpful chap at Bygone Bedford Bits resulted in a new switch unit with new plastic switch and two new ignition keys going off into the post. That said, removing the old switch was a real pain! With the dash panel off, couldn't quite get in from the cab to undo it nor from the bonnet outside. Much swearing later, it did come off ready for replacement...

I also took the metal surround off the dash panel - the gaffer tape holding it on looked sooo last decade! Mind, I did find out why it was stuck on - the press-on badge fasteners at the back were all missing, two were lying on the bottom of the panel. So a quick search resulted in new 4mm badge fixes from Bresco, though what I'm going to do with 45 of them is a mystery! A quick eBay search also resulted in some new pedal rubbers, luckily mine are shared with the Bedford TK so are reasonably cheap!

I also removed the rear number plate to clean and had hoped to get the panel off to clean the lenses etc but was defeated by two of the screws which are rusted solid...

The following pic shows the nicely cleaned up dash surround, a little bit of work with some white spirit and a screwdriver to remove the paint and also the engine oil filter housing. Like lots of the underneath, this was looking a bit sorry for itself, so a wipe with some white spirit followed by a bath in my volcanic hot water aided by some washing up liquid and a metal pan scourer removed all the grime, oil and rust leaving a smooth clean surface to paint - winner!

Anyway, enough already, as the Americans say....

Number 5 is alive!

Another good day - though short with the bitter cold.... Finally got the voltage regulator in place - cut the aluminium in sleeves to go over the studs, whacked them on with a few washers and hey presto! Rather neat I reckon....

Once that was done, chuck the battery in and see if it starts - in part to test the regulator and also to warm it up after last night's -14 degrees - having not changed the anti-freeze myself, I was winging it on the chance that the last owner had kept it topped up and not just with water. He had. 20 seconds of turning over then it fired....

Once that was done, it proved that the voltage regulator worked properly - you can hear it cutting in and out with the dash light flicking on and off as it should. Job well done!

Next job was to get the rear light back on - pretty easy, wires back in, bracket back on, copper grease on all the threads. Job done, looks good! And the lights work!!

All good parties end up in the kitchen....

Well, the half term has finished so what better way to celebrate than to finish lessons, pop out to Wilkos to get some smooth Hammerite then paint the tools that have been sitting in my study for ages? And of course, work has now spread to the dining room table. So there we go, first coat on - looks OK.... Just the other sides to do although the light bracket is now done so that can go back on complete with new light!

Straighten up and fly right....

Well, the rear light bracket is now sorted and looking like it means business again! In return for the promise of riches (well, a few beers...) it was sorted this afternoon courtesy of the school DT department, a massive anvil, a very large hammer and a block of wood. New light has arrived (£16 on eBay brand new!) so once the bracket's had a coat of Smoothrite, then it can be re-wired and go back on, but this time with a smear of copper grease on the threads so it can come off again more easily.....

A better day at the office....

.....well, a much better day at the office today after the fiasco of a couple of weeks ago.

Managed to get the new voltage regulator onto 326 this afternoon but still not bolted on properly as the aluminium tube I ordered to create a sleeve around the stud so I could tighten the nuts was 1mm too narrow! Still, it's wired in and, with a loose battery fit, the ignition comes on! I didn't start as it's not earthed properly yet.

New voltage regulator in place and wired up:

 Not started but at least power is flowing!

Got the bulb changed on the rear blue light - switched it on, the bulb came on but no 'flash'. Off with the cover, whizzed the worm drive motor off that drives the reflector and manipulated it a bit, cleaned the terminals, put it back together and hey presto - it works! Also discovered that the flashing orange lights at the front still work too! The two-tone horn compressor fires up but no sound, so one for the future maybe.

Got the rear light cluster off to sort the bracket out after a fight with all three nuts, which needed a spanner or socket all the way off! Does it have a plug on the wires? Oh no, so all the lights had to be un-wired and the wires pulled through the back.... Rubbish!! Not looking forward to getting that back on....

The result of backing into a tractor on my first test drive - oops!

Got the new period windscreen wipers on - that was pretty easy!

Also, whilst on the roof wondering how the rear blue light was mounted, took off the small inspection panel at the rear of the roof. I then gazed in wonderment at the pristine wood around the hatch and inside, which is  good news and confirms what I thought about the condition of 326 when I bought it.

Hatch off - decent, good condition wood - in fact, the smell of wood coming out of the sealed cavity suggests that it's all in pretty good contition!

Inside - still as good as the day it was put together:

Hatch:

Front wings in fair condition, just some rust on the top edges: