I got the Corsair back from John’s in mid July after he restored the nearside jacking point and the floor chassis sections in front of the rear spring hangers on both sides. He had also cut out previous repairs on the rear chassis sections under the rear seat and restored to like new. When I collected the car, John informed me the side lights and a head light were not working, but when I tested them on my way home all seemed to be working.
Continue reading “Electrickery and the MOT (again)”Late May Update
With the lock down still in place, restrictions were easing for people movement, so I decided to take the Corsair for bit more of a leg stretch one evening, rather than the local within a mile of home movements. I made short video of to film the journey of the Corsair up Zig Zag Hill and motoring along on the B3081 but I didn’t account for the (mobile phone) auto focus on a bug splat on the windscreen, so the trip up was mostly blurred. I tried again a few days later, with better lighting and getting the focus to stay trained on the road and got back a good enough result, shared below. The brakes felt OK, no signs of locking up, though they were a little spongy and the handbrake was not as effective as before. Some adjustments will be required on the rear drum and hopefully improved the handbrake.
Minor work included a repair of the passenger side window winder, this time I applied more penetrating weld as per my drivers door window winder fix I did a while ago. Preparation and set up took the longest but had the glass runner arms re-welded to the winder mechanism and all seemed a lot stronger this time. I also tackled the broken bracket in the passenger door holding the window (glass) runner to the door internals. It was rusted through and the metal left was very thin, however with some very unattractive, splatter welds it was secured again. No photos, I wouldn’t want to upset the purists, but it does the job and is now hidden by the door card.
I now have all the parts required for the front suspension maintenance, which includes new strut inserts, top mounts, poly bushes and steering arm rebuild kits. I will embark on that task once the carport upgrade has been done.
Waxoyling Again
I Waxoyled the Corsair 3 years ago (March 2017) and upon seeing the underside earlier this year during the MOT inspection it was clear it needed doing from the rear axle chassis to the front as far as the front footwell sections. The old under seal was flaking off in large chunks and in some places exposing fresh metal. A messy business prepping for the Waxoyl, but equipped with safety specs, some decorators scrapers, wire brushes and a rubber dusting brush I was good to go. The most awkward part was the manoeuvring around on my back and keeping my arms up while trying to apply pressure and elbow grease.
A good 2 hours of this saw the worst of the flaking under-seal removed and then the frustrating business of applying the wax began. Firstly I warmed the Waxoyl in a bucket of hot water for about 20 minutes – not that I noticed much in the change of the viscosity. Aftet transferring some waxoyl the special Waxoyl pump system and hand pumping pressurising it, the steady even spray of wax I was expecting sputtered out and squirted in directions I didn’t want before clogging. Washing the nozzle took several attempts in white spirit to get the spray effect I desired and then had to repeat the process countless times through out the process. I eventually covered all the areas I needed and not all over myself.
How the hood goes up
The Corsair will be going away for some engine work (core plugs and oil seals) and to ensure it keeps the weather out or away from the car I decided to put the hood up. I also trial fitted the new car cover I bought on Amazon for £25 as for additional protection and then discovered the source of the rattle that had me most concerned for the past few weeks. The rattle that I was thinking was clutch related turned out to be a loose bumper, yes, you read it right a loose bumper! Thankfully the chrome bolt was still in situ but the nut and washer were long gone and the bumper just rattled about on its mounting bracket. So, I dug out a washer and another nut from a tub of old Corsair bits and then took the car for a test drive. No rattle! Though I still seem to have issues with my ignition circuit as the car still ran with a miss-fire under load.
New Year, New MOT
The Corsair had been a bit tricky to start since it’s last outing to Blandford before Christmas. Unfortunately, it let me down on New Years Day as I had planned to go to a classic meet at Sturminster Newton but it failed to start and I drained the battery in the process. A couple of weeks later, with the battery on trickle charge, I tried it again and after several turn overs I just caught it enough for it to cough in to life on minimal choke and after several pumps of the accelerator (gas) pedal.
Drivers Side Window
A few months back… yes it was that long ago, the window dropped down rather swiftly when it was wound down. No problem I thought at the time, it’s popped off the runners as before as I wasn’t sure the securing clips were any good anyway. A few weeks back I bought a Triumph Drop Glass kit with new washers, clips and bolts etc. Now, with the weather finally being warm and sunny, I was able to to get the Corsair out of the garage for a bit of tinkering. I left the engine rough idle alone for the day as I wanted to fix the window winder mechanism and do other minor jobs.
The Fan Belt Saga
Well, pretty much as the title describes. After the fan belt had snapped I knew it wouldn’t be too much of a problem, after all I’d be going to the NEC Classic Car Show in Birmingham (Saturday 12th Nov 2017) and hoped to be able to buy one up there for an inflated show price.
It was a good show, lots to see as I got in there from about 9.30am and didn’t leave until 5pm and no I didn’t find a fan belt to buy but the chaps on Burton Power suggested I phone them and discuss their options. The Ford Corsair Owners Club came up trumps with a cup of tea for a paid up member just at the right time and then I ate a piece of cake from the Enthusiasts of British Built Motor Vehicles Built Before 1985 club stand, and there was lots of talking too. I came away tired but satisfied along with a couple of presents for myself. Continue reading “The Fan Belt Saga”
Front End Painted
I got to have a chat with John (and Peter) from AJ Restorations earlier in the week about the Corsair running problems. It has been suggested that the fault could be a burnt out valve (inlet?) causing the back fire and poor running under load. So John will be picking up the Corsair next week to take back to his workshop to run some tests and potentially fix.
As a result, it spurred me on to finish the front valance that John repaired last year. Well, I couldn’t let the car go back having not done as John suggested last September! So over a couple of days I rubbed the filler primer down with 240, 600 and 800 grit wet and dry paper. Then with an acrylic aerosol bought a few months back sprayed over the primer – unfortunately the colour I chose wasn’t a great match (a bit bright) but should at least make the front more water proof and easier to keep clean.
Waxoyl – The Amateur Way
Another fine day towards the end of March enabled me to get the Corsair up on the ramps. It was after speaking to John (AJ Restorations), last year in August, that he strongly advised that I get the underside of the car Waxoyled or protected in some way. So a birthday present was a Waxoyl pump system. There were mixed reviews on line, but this one seemed to be a new and improved version. I had previously used Waxoyl, but applying it by brush was a messy process as it dripped a lot.
The instructions for the pump set up were a bit basic and not very in depth, so it was trial and error, again. There was the basic fitted nozzle to treat easily accessible, flat panels; a black pipe as per the photo with a squirty nozzle (there was a wide spray nozzle also supplied) for awkward areas and working upwards and then there was a thin transparent pipe for inserting into chassis rails etc. What a messy system I had got my self into.
The Front Chassis Restoration
From early August John from AJ Restorations started to work on the front chassis sections that needed to be repaired. Thankfully he had good weather in nearly all the 28 days that he had the car and spent approximately 35 hours on the restoration (between other better paying work). First he started on the off side section and cut out from the front right back to the cross member supporting the engine. He only went half way up the chassis leg, retaining the bumper mounts, as the top part was in good condition. He also ground off the old ‘repair’ plates that had been wrapped around and welded over the old corrosion.