Final Set-up before MOT

Okay so we're coming up the the end of the summer (arghh) but I've had a very successful few weeks, following on from the last post I have received the new V5 from the DVLA and to my surprise they have allowed my engine change without asking for more evidence, which is excellent news. Since the welding has been done the petrol tank has been out of the car so we can prepare the offside rear wheel arch for MOT standard and I have now fitted it back into the boot (which means I can play with the engine again) and have fitted the 13/60 (second hand) stainless steel exhaust pipe, which sounds throaty yet appears to have no visible emissions. The following is a video taken shortly after fitting the petrol tank and exhaust, she's sounding healthier than ever;



Months ago whilst Rimmer Bros were hosting a sale, I bought 2 new springs and shocks, because mine were no longer working well (one of the shocks was no longer working and the springs were distorted) and today, despite the heavy rain, I set upon replacing the drivers-side front suspension, which was a job i was worrying about because I have no history with suspension removal/replacement, It was a tedious job because I decided it would be good to slap some paint around the wishbones etc. but more or less an easy and fun job.

Lets hope my last few weeks prove to be as valuable as this one!

A lot has happened since February

After that dreadful winter day that brought misery to my life once again (the third break down) I have spend 6 months patching, splicing and dropping things into the herald, most importantly of course is the new engine, I say new, it's actually old but it works which is more than could be said about the old one! the new engine however is a 13/60 (I have no history of this engine I just know it looks and feels as if it's done less mileage than the old one). I'm still waiting on the DVLA to tell me whether I have enough evidence to change the V5 (it's been weeks...)

Despite taking time sourcing the engine, (from eBay may I add) it was relatively pain free dropping it into the car, I spend a lot of time working on the engine bay before the engine arrived, an opportunity one rarely gets.

I recently got some welding done on the rear outriggers and the boot, thanks to a good family friend called Tim who kindly spent the entire day on the job, and it was almost a completely uneventful day until he lowered the jack on the rear of the car and was greeted by a rolling car and ended up half way under the car (avoiding being crushed by a whisker). The rear drivers side outrigger was rusted through and now has a completely new outrigger welded on. The offside rear outrigger has been patched because it was not in such bad condition.



Herald on ramps before outrigger weld.



Weld in boot.

Today I have been attempting to mend a large hole in the passenger foot-well (from a crash it's had previously, and on re-assembling the panels one was damaged beyond repair, it was only made of cardboard and over 40 years has perished (I don't blame it), and so my father and I put together a wood replacement, spray painted black, with a hinge (it was a devil to get in but my god it looks neat;



Unfortunately due to the length of time I've been working on the car I've had to declare her SORN because the tax and MOT ran out, and I don't have an MOT certificate at the moment so I can't renew the tax! So once I've heard back from the DVLA (assuming it's good news) I can get some insurance get an MOT (and pray for a pass) and then get taxed. So much to do and I've pretty much lost the summer. I move down to Canterbury in the next month and leave the car with my parents (sorry). I will try and keep you up to date with the new engine and the MOT issues, whenever it may be.

I regret to inform..

That she's broken again, I had to call the pick up again a few weeks ago, luckily for me it was a nice sunny day (if a bit cold) I got some good shots of the herald though;



And here she is on the back of the faithful lorry; (though not nearly as nerve-racking as the first time on the M20)



I am in the process of sourcing a new engine, and have taken out the box and various other components, the engine is to be removed on Wednesday and then I can start doing some serious work on the front of the chassis before I put the new engine in, lots of work to be done!

She is fixed

After all of this time wondering and asking questions, I decided to just get on with the work and get my hands dirty. This was a bad time to start work because there was 8 inches of snow outside, and every movement was painful and tiring. However after a good few weekends of cold slow progress, I managed to change the main bearings and put in the new +10 thrust washers.

Originally inside the slave cylinder I had found a socket from a socket set, to give extra reach for the clutch arm. With the new sized thrust washers this is no longer needed, and therefore as far as I'm aware I have managed to sort all of my problems, however she still has a compression problem, only running on 3 cylinders (which could explain the top speed of 60)

I'll be taking her out for a spin on Monday when my insurance starts, hopefully it'll be a nice sunny day!

Sump Removal

After my efforts with a new clutch and new gearbox, it was made clear that this wasn't the problem at all, however, during the removal of the gearbox and clutch we stumbled across a potential problem, there was alot of play in the crank shaft, allowing the fly wheel to move to and fro with ease, and after abit of research it became clear that this could have been the cause of my motorway problems. A month or so later i removed the sump, for no other reason than to clean it and put in new oil, only to reveal two thrust washers laying at the bottom (This seems to be a common problem with Heralds, if anybody else reading this has had this problem before i'd love some hints and tips as to whether the problem could lay in the size of the thrust washers or perhaps the wear on the main bearings?).

Since this discovery i have bought a new set of main bearings, (6 halves) and am ready to put them in. (i'm also not completely sure as to whether main bearings can be taken out and new ones installed without doing an engine rebuild?)

New Pump

A few days ago i tested the Herald, I took my father out for a drive, i think he had regrets about coming... after about half a mile down the road I felt the car struggling, and it appeared to be the same problem we originally had on the motorway, which was unexpected, as we thought we'd solved the problem with the new clutch and gearbox, however after some thought we now think that it could be one of two problems, a petrol problem, or an oil problem.

Today i fitted the new petrol pump (the original one was leaking somewhat) which was bought off ebay and was unused original stock. Whether this has helped at all i'm not sure, and i don't feel like testing it so soon after the last test (it was stressful)

New gearbox, new clutch... success?

Although i have yet to take the Herald out for a proper test drive, everything seems to be in order, after removing the old gearbox and putting the new one in, then removing the new gearbox and replacing the old clutch with a new clutch, then putting the new gearbox back in, only to find that the clutch is not properly alligned, and so removing the gearbox once again, re-positioning the clutch (by this time we were ready for a drink) and putting in the new gearbox for one final time.

The first test drive on the forecourt yesterday resulted in alot of crunching when selecting reverse gear, and after a some help from my uncle, an ex mechanic, who stated the obvious to us amateurs, we decided that the slave cylinder needed a slight extension. This morning i tested the Herald after accounting for the lack of reach and she ran like a dream... perhaps later i'll take her for a proper spin!