I can see clearly now...

Another little pleasing job which was done the other day was cleaning the window rails on the cab windows - used to open and close the windows. Years of peoples' paws all over them had left them pretty mucky, so a quick wipe with some white spirit and hey presto - gleaming! Clean - sit back - admire!

I owe you nothing...

Well, the V11 arrived  for 326 today. Always nice to see the 12 months highlighted and accompanied by the word 'nil'! Sadly, as it's MOT exempt, I can't renew on line! So the V112g needs printing and filling out for a trip to the Post Office. Maybe after November when all pre-1960 vehicles become MOT exempt I'll be able to do it all online!

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Starter for ten...

Well, with the charging fault sorted, I was just manipulating the engine cowling back on when I noticed the grotty knob on the engine starter just behind the engine. Covered in brown paint, it had also had gaffer tape stuck on at some stage too, which had then been painted over! I popped it off and brought it back home. After a wash and some scraping with a fine screwdriver, underneath is a rather neat galvanised metal knob! Sometimes, small jobs can be very pleasing to do!

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All charges dropped...

Well, the good news is the charging fault has been solved! I got an auto electrician to come out this morning to have a look. After dusting off his knowledge of dynamo systems he then had a poke around. Battery feed seemed OK. We then fired it up briefly, lots of power from the dynamo (up to 50v), so we know that's working. We were just discussing taking the regulator off to bench test it when he noticed the main battery feed. It wasn't massively tight, had scorch marks and when he took it off, it wasn't that clean and the sheathing covering the connector fastening was partly covering the connector surface. Although I fitted the new regulator (it must confess to not noticing and I don't think the scorching is new) it must have been like this when in service (maybe the old regulator was more tolerant than the solid state version?). Anyhows, with the connector cleaned with sand paper and the sheathing cut back, it was popped back on. Started up and warmed up to working temperature - fine, no dramas at all! Charges well with peak of just under 14.5 v coming out of it. Charge light goes out fully and stays out, and of course, it runs sweet as a nut! The verdict - due to the poor main 'B' connection, as it ran, the terminal was getting warmer (I had noticed the bottom of the regulator getting warm) until it was so hot and the resistance so high, nothing was passing through it so it was pretty much running on the battery.


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I also charge you with....

Here's the video of the charge light with the engine almost at operating temp - it's now off at idle and glowing brightly at speed.... Apologies for the poor camerawork again....

I charge you with.....

Well, the charging issue - hmmmm. It developed on the way home from Belvoir Castle when the charge light decided to come on at speed. It had been glowing dimly but gradually became brighter. I had another look today - same thing. Fine as it warms up - glows at tickover then goes out at speed. As it warms up, it begins to glow at speed until it's brightly lit. As the revs drop, the regulator clicks, the charge light goes out brifley then re-lights. Here's the video - apologies for the quality, although you get the idea and can here the voltage regulator click in and out....

Engine partly warming up, choke out:

Belvoir Castle Show, May 2012

Well, show one has been and gone a few weeks ago. Sadly, the warm and dry weather which preceeded it disappeared and I gather the Saturday was wet and cold! Still, Sunday was drier though not before the ground was damp; I got the impression that the crowds were down too. Anyway, a useful day and a first show outing for 326 although sadly it developed a charging fault on the way home which needs sorting in due course.

326 in between a Foden EKA wrecker and an Alvis Stalwart in the military section:

The view of the military section:

Two neat ex-AFS Land Rover 109 station wagons nearby - built in the late 1960s and neat because they lived undercover, did about 20,000 miles and weren't sold off until the late 1990s!

The Daimler Ferret which won the best military vehicle: