Time and timing revisited

What was it I said about never learning?

Back in my first year of ownership (2016-17) I did get the car back on the road with much better performance than previously. Acceleration and speed through all the gears was fine. Only exception was that top speed was now 50mph, when it had been 55mph before the work on the cylinder head (and on occasion had reached a terrifying 60mph). And there was a rather odd 'burbling' when I reached 50mph.

And yet again, I started off on the wrong foot. First and foremost, I thought fiddling about with the ignition timing would make a difference. Did it? Very slightly, but only by 1mph and the burbling was still there. Secondly, and to my shame, I wondered if it was a result of the work done the previous year on the cylinder head, including the installation of valve stem oil seals. Fortunately, I didn't embarrass my self by pursuing that theory with anyone.

Despite that niggles, Adam and I headed off to Lancashire for the 2017 Singer National Day, 200 miles each way. All went well until south of Moffat, when speeding down a hill at nearly 50mph, the engine died. Panic sets in. Open the bonnet, can't see anything obvious. Get back in the car and try to start it (more in desperation than hope). But start it did, and off we went quite happily until the same thing happened again 10 minutes later.  And so it continued the whole weekend, all the way to Lancashire and back up to Scotland.  (Mind you, we did win the 'most travelled' prize, so that was a bonus!)  Of course, once we got the hang of it we realised we shouldn't go above 50mph, unless going downhill with the engine turned off.

Back home, I tried everything to fix the problem, but it just wouldn't go away.  Not least being multiple attempts to get the valve timing right (involving lots bruised and scratched fingers with the timing chain.  But the problem was quite simple. 

In all my fiddling about I had been using this diagram from the original owner's manual.  And in doing so I interpreted the diagram as showing the exhaust valves as being the right side of the engine, looking from the front.  Yes, I know - but the diagram is actually showing a bottom-up view of the valves.  So I was setting the exhaust valves as if they were inlet valves.  How the car ran at all, I'll never know.  Once set correctly, everything was fine.

And it was only later that I found this video by Martyn Wray which explained it all very clearly, and clearly shows the inlet and exhaust valves from the top:

Every day is a learning day!

For the mere mortals

This is an article published in May-June 2018 edition of 'The Mascot'.

It’s great (honest!) to read in the magazine and on the ASCO Facebook pages the various accounts of refurbishment and major restoration.  Although the authors usually admit to some upsets along the way, there’s no getting away from the fact that their achievements are usually quite stupendous.  The attention to detail is especially astounding.  Frankly, I didn’t even know that the ‘shelf’ at the back of the engine bay was originally set out to hold a variety of tools.  So, well done to all these amazing people.

Unfortunately, for this non-member of Mount Olympus, these accounts can be a bit dispiriting.

Over the winter I’ve been tackling two issues with my Singer 9 Longtail: a screeching noise from clutch/gearbox and some small patches of surface rust on the body.

I’m told the clutch/gearbox problem is probably down to the bronze spigot bush bearing at the end of the crankshaft.  Fortunately, some graphite grease on the clutch spline/shaft has lessened the problem for now.

For the surface rust I decided spray painting was in order.  Not the whole car, just some patches – and therefore only with rattle cans.  OK, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a perfect match, but the various books and websites suggested you should be able to blend the old with the new.  And, indeed, the front off-side panel didn’t work out too badly.

But because I was too heavy-handed there were runs on the rear and on front near-side panel.  So more paint was needed, this time from a local supplier (it’s better to go local I thought).  Except the shade seemed a bit brighter.  But it will be OK when it dries – won’t it?  Except it wasn’t.  So back to the local supplier, who was good enough to replace the two unused cans for free and therefore all was rosy again (except for the need to rub down and prepare yet again).

Colour match seemed OK this time and all was going well until, suddenly, the tin started spraying what can only be described as ‘gunge’.  Looking around me, I noticed that there was a fine green dust covering everything in the garage (the domestic recriminations are ongoing).  And then I read the label on the tin, which said it was 2-PK!!  Luckily, I’m still here to tell the tale.

I therefore went back to my original (internet-based) supplier to get the right paint to remedy the mess.  What I didn’t know was that cellulose on top of 2-PK doesn’t work.  Unless you’re aiming to achieve a crazy-paving pattern.

With the approaching better weather I decided to cut my losses and only fix the front near-side panel.  (The increasing amount of grief from the rest of the family was also a factor.)  So, out with the sander, lay down a new primer coat and purchase two more tins.  But why was it drying matt?  Because, you idiot, you purchased base coat rather than gloss.  I nearly wept.  Having had enough and there being a tin of lacquer to hand, a couple of coats of Halford’s best was applied.

Does the near-side panel look OK?  The section on its own isn’t too bad. But compared to the rest of the panel – very noticeable.

I’m hoping that, once polished, it won’t look too bad.  But I’m also resigned to my two-tone effect and rear crazy paving being a talking point on the show circuit this summer.  

Of course, all of this didn’t happen over a matter of a few days.  The whole saga has been running since before Christmas and it’s therefore been a long and painful lesson that I would be better leaving painting to the professionals.  But I also hope that this account is a comfort to my fellow mere-mortals.

I hate brake/clutch fluid

So, I sorted my clutch problems?

You know the answer.

I tried various settings for the slave cylinder push-rod.  But all to no avail.  I was still getting horrible crunching noises when trying to move into first or reverse gears, and sometimes also when shifting between 2nd, 3rd and 4th when driving along.  And then I noticed something very odd.  When I depressed the clutch, the slave cylinder push-rod would extend properly; but then after a second or so it would begin to retract.  Therefore, the gear crunching wasn't because the push-rod wasn't extended far enough.  It was because it was retracting.  Which meant a leak somewhere in the clutch hydraulics.  And since there was no obvious leaks in any of the pipes, the most likely culprit was the clutch master cylinder.

Deep breath, get the syringe out, extract the clutch fluid from the master cylinder and begin dismantling.  It's not a difficult job, just time-consuming; especially when you make stupid mistakes (which are a regular occurrence for me).  And while I was about it, I decided to do the brake master cylinder at the same time.

Cutting a long and brake-fluid sodden story short, cleaning out and reassembling the clutch master cylinder made no difference. So yet another bullet had to be bit and a new master cylinder bought. And what a difference! At last, beautifully smooth gear changes (leaving aside my not infrequent incompetence at double-declutching). Which just goes to prove that you shouldn't assume that old cars have to be difficult to drive.

Too tight

Checked rear axle oil after warming car up with a short run. Didn't need filling because already overflowing out of drain plug (must have slightly overfilled when filling from cold). When refitting drain plug I tried to tighten with pliers, not realising that the 'cap' on the plug is thin metal and therefore I ended up pushing it off by over-tightening. I've tried re-attaching it using Gorilla glue, and it looks to be a good fit. 

Since there is a gasket/washer inside the plug and the oil is very viscous, I'm hoping it'll be fine. But note for the future - only hand tighten!

Bling

Getting away from the mechanicals, it's right to also pay attention to the cosmetics. And having been laid up for several years, there is quite a lot that needs to be addressed. First up were the wheels and spinners.

Dad had had the wheels painted silver and the spinners chromed when the car was refurbished in the 1980s. But the years had taken their toll and both were in need of some TLC. The crunch, though, was when it was pointed out that one of the rear wheels had a serious wobble.

So off went the wheels to Rugby Classic Motor Garage and the spinners to Chromefix. Both did a wonderful job, as you can see from the photograph.   (And I also cleaned up and painted the brake drums, but you can't see them.)

At the same time I thought I should do something about the air filter. Dad had installed a plate to hold a Fiat rectangular air filter sitting on top of the two carburettors. Although functional, it looked pretty awful.  Only recently I found that I had the original carburettor bells. Although they might not be quite as effective, I felt they would look much better and therefore arranged to have them refurbished by the local firm Lyndene Engineering Co. Ltd. Again, a big improvement. 

Sometimes new is best

Having cleaned out and serviced all the brake hydraulics, I knew that I should really do the same for the clutch. However, because it seemed to be working OK, I took the cowardly approach and left well alone. 

By the end of last summer, it was clear that something wasn't right. Gear crunching was becoming more prevalent, and that wasn't just my incompetence. So, while the wheels were away I took the plunge and started scrambling about underneath. 

Time and timing

There are two lessons I'm learning fast. First, looking after a classic car is like painting the Forth Rail Bridge. Second, apparently completed jobs are often far from complete.  So, you need lots of time, especially when it comes to timing.

Four men in a 325

This is our favourite show in the annual calendar with BSG 8. However, due to a stuck valve, BSG 8 is currently without its cylinder head and therefore we only had one soft-top to take us on our tour of the Borders. So, my two sons and I squeezed into my brother-in-law's BMW 325 E30 Convertible for the weekend of 25 and 26 June.

Stirling and District Classic Car Club annual show

Last year it was cloudy and it started raining before we even got the showground. This year it was sunny ... and no rain ... all day!  In fact, it was roasting - brilliant!

The Stirling and District Classic Car Club annual show is one of the biggest in Scotland, with around 600 vehicles.  And with the good weather, there was an excellent turnout of cars and visitors on Sunday 15 May, at the Strathallan Games Park in Bridge of Allan.

Our 1935(-ish) Singer 9 Le-Mans 4-seater (BSG 8) was one of the oldest cars.  This was its first formal outing since forming the louvres in the side-panels and the bonnet's paint job.  My brother-in-law, Andy McAinsh had also brought along his rather nice 1987 BMW 325 E30 Convertible.

So, how many other Singers?  Only three, I'm afraid - but nice examples from the final few years of the marque.

Neill Watt's 1964 Vogue (ASC 302B) is a star of TV and film, having featured in 'Imogen', 'Glasgow Neds' and 'Outlander 5'.  It now benefits from electric windscreen washers, an alternator and an overdrive gearbox.  But apart from that and some necessary cosmetic work, it's largely in original condition.

Dougie Muir acquired his 1967 Gazelle (LGB 39E) four years ago, which he had heard about through a friend.  The vendor had about 30 cars, so it wasn't being used much.  Unusually, the car is rust-free, is sound underneath and has presented no problems.  And it's great to hear it's now being well-used for shows and casual runs, which is as it should be.

And the final representative was Jim Fraser's 1967 Chamois Coupe (SPA 257F).  Given its Scottish roots (sorry!), its saltire and tartan touches look good.





Overall, a great day, raising around £15,000 for charities: Stirling Youth Carers, CHAS (Robin House) and Alzheimers Scotland.

Switches and dials

One of the main jobs this winter was to re-position many of the dials and controls.

My dad was very keen to get as many dials as possible onto the dash.  In all, there were nine! This included both a volt meter (in addition to the amp meter) and a vacuum gauge. All very useful, but at the price of everything else being located underneath the dash (ie ignition switch, starter button, lights, choke, horn and indicators). These were therefore all quite difficult to use.

The loom taking the electrics up to the back of the dashboard was also 'interesting'. All the connections

were made using an eight-piece plastic connector block, which was strapped to the steering column. This did work and had the advantage of allowing you to (relatively) easily work out what was connected to what. However, it looked unsightly and my mechanic brother-in-law's eyebrows disappeared through his forehead at the thought of that trying to pass an MOT.

So, first up was the painstaking task of replacing the connector block by soldering the wire connections instead.  Never having wielded a soldering iron before, I scoured the web and Youtube for advice, most of which was contradictory or didn't work.  For example, it seems you're meant to heat the wires rather than the solder; if I'd persevered with that I'd still be trying to complete the first join!  After a lot of trial and error, squinting and contortions, the first job was completed during the Christmas holidays.

Second job was to put the wires in some sort of loom.  Not wanting to disconnect everything, I found on the internet loom material that allows you to insert the wires from the side, after which the loom snaps shut again.  Although it works, it's made out of some sort of plastic-type fibre and is really meant for tidying computer cables at the back of a desk, and therefore doesn't look quite right in a car.  However, it will do for now.

After tidying up the wires, I could turn my attention to the dashboard.  The vacuum gauge and volt meter were superfluous, which released space for the ignition and horn/dip switches. 

Unfortunately, I found out that the new horn/dip switch is really meant for installation on to a metal panel.  I therefore had to cut a relatively thin disc of wood to fit into the hole left by the vacuum gauge.  After staining and varnishing, and since it's almost covered up by the horn/dip switch, you hardly notice.

The new starter button required a hole and the replacement indicator switch could be installed at the far right-hand side.  I also meant to put the new wiper switch on the dash, but again hadn't realised that it's really meant for a metal panel and therefore the shank's not long enough for the wooden dashboard. 


Therefore, for now, the wiper switch and the choke are the only things left tucked under the dashboard, but it's still a big improvement.

It's a coil

Heading out on the short journey from our house to my brother-in-law's, to the car's embarrassment and mine we ground to a halt after less than half a mile.  Thinking that my expertise was now suffice to deal with the problem, I opened the bonnet, checked the fuel lines and examined the wires.  However, no luck - it wouldn't restart.  So, swallowing my pride, called Andy and cried 'Help!'.  After he had re-checked what I had already looked at, he pulled out the high-tension cable from the coil and found it was both loose and corroded, as was the inside of the coil.  Application of some black insulating tape allowed BSG 8 to get moving again.  However, that was only a temporary fix and this weekend I installed a new coil from Vintage Car Parts.  This will need further work, though, since we're not happy with how it's positioned (it would be better sitting vertically) and we need to install a new high-tension lead.

My Dad's thick side panels

When my dad put BSG 8 back togeether in the late 1980s, for some reason he didn't complete the side panels.  He didn't form the louvres and simply painted them in a primer.  There were probably two reasons.  Firstly, I think he wasn't sure what type of louvre to make.  Although the body is off a longtail (which used the short louvres), the front of the car is of the earlier style that could take the longer louvres).  Secondly, the metal used for the side-panels is relatively thick (1.8mm), which makes it difficult to cut and form the louvres.  (The normal panel-thickness is about 1.2mm.)  It's therefore possible that he viewed these panels as temporary measures.

Whatever the case, geating the louvres formed has been one of the most difficult tasks I've faced. My first preference was to find someone in Scotland. Most people couldn't deal with the thick metal and the one company who said they could do it wanted nearly £1,000! 

I ttherefore turned to south of the Border. Three companies looked promising, but would have had to make a special tool and the other couldn't take the work on at the time. 

Fortunately, I came across Mick BeBeakhouse of Sports Car metalware.  Although based in the South East of England, It was actually quite easy to deliver the panels to them. And they made a brilliant job.

If you're interested you can find out more on their website, which includes a video from the TV program Wheeler Dealers, in which Mick Beakhouse forms some louvers for an exhaust system:http://www.sportscarmetalworks.com/

I then had to get the panels painted. My brother-in-law, Andy McAinsh of John Martin MOT, put me in touch with Wilson Barrett of Sonnet Motors. He arranged for someone from Dingbro to perform a colour spectrum analysis of the existing colour to come up with a 98% match (Deep Brunswick Green).




The final result is brilliant, except that it highlights that the rest of the paint work also needs to be addressed.







However, one thing at a time. It has waited more than 20 years to have the front panels painted, so it can wait a little bit longer before we look at the rest of the car. In the meantime, we now have a car that looks much better than last season.  

Such a little thing

BSG 8, Adam and I has a great couple of days in the Scottish Borders in late a June last year at the Moffat rally. This was the longest run the car has undertaken since it came out of hibernation. And there was no doubt that it was feeling slightly poorly by the time it got back home. However, it was a huge surprise a week later to find it struggling badly to get any decent acceleration and speed.

Well,  we tried everything: adjusting the carburettors ; changing the oil; checking the fuel lines; etc,  etc. Eventually we concluded that it must be something very serious with the engine itself. We therefore started thinking about how to get the engine out and find a company that could recondition it. Seeking information about the timing chain,  John Freeth of ASCO suggested that it might be as simple as one of the valves being stuck, which  could be fixed with a simple tap! 

And that's all it was.  Two months of faffing around and limping about, all for want of a simple 'tap'.

The (re-)start of the story

Now that I've taken on the job of getting, and keeping, BSG 8 on the road, I'm determined to maintain a record of everything that I do.  Dad did make a lot of notes, which have helped greatly.  But they weren't comprehensive, and therefore there are a lot of unanswered questions.  Why did he use such thick metal for the side-panels?  What colour of paint did he use?  Why did he tuck a lot of the controls underneath the dash (which made them difficult to use)?  In creating this blog, I hope to make life easier for the future maintenance and ongoing restoration of the Fairbairn Family Singer 9.  And I also hope it might be of interest to others - even if only to avoid my mistakes!

Although BSG 8 moved to its new home in the middle of 2014, it's only now, in April 2016, that I've started keeping this blog.  Therefore, for the next while the posts will be mixture of catching up with the last two years and recording current progress.