Nods news , A fixorage happened

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:44 pm

Hi everyone .
After a period of inactivity I have actually done some Imp stuff .
First off was a new light in the Singers engine bay.
Then I decided to check out the Vuskys engine - its not been itself lately so an investigation seemed in order - nothing seemed wrong ignition wise .
so thought id check compression and valve clearances
Comp ( cold , all plugs out , throttle wide open , from 1 to 4 ) was 180 , 180 , 170 , 165 , - not bad
Clearance was tight on number 5 and number 7 ( both inlets ) being only 5 thou so ive sorted this so now its ( from no 1 to no 8 )
7 , 13 , 8 , 13 , 8 , 14 , 8 , 13 .
Also noticed the vacuum gauge pipe was a bit knacked on the inlet so sorted that lot out .
Its running a hell of a lot better happy with all that .
And finally.
Im not sure about anyone else,s car but the stupid tabs that hold the boot liner in only take so much bending before they eventually snap off . So before that finally happens ( one is close ) ive done the same mod on the Vusky that i did on the Singer .
Some pics

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sun Feb 14, 2016 4:13 pm

So as usual ive lost the will with pattern parts - and that includes carpets .
The latest set in the Singer are fraying and beginning to look sh1te after only a year or so.
A new approach was needed .
I have for decades kept the original backing from a factory set of carpets - the front , back and arch sections .
Yesterday at Bristol classic car show i found some uber flexi carpet - nylon backed - non fray so i bought two rolls and the special spray on glue .
This replicates the factory carpet manufacture exactly .
Anyway ive done the front section today - sewing on the original rubber heel pad by hand was both painful and hard work but worth it i think , cotton is shoe cotton from Clarks shoes and nigh on unbreakable .

moose · Post by **moose** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 5:32 pm

Very tidy, wish you were closer to help me do the rally car as neat as that, that glue is good fun though ! Especially how i used it inside the car putting the carpet in also used the carpet to make a headlining fun fun fun getting round the roll cage whilst slowly getting high.

Post by **Lars Hagermark** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:47 pm

Looking very good. Envious, except for the sewing part.

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:09 pm

Arch ones recovered in new carpet .
Tricky to do but managed both without a single cut to the carpet front - almost looks moulded
well chuffed.
just the rear section to cover now

chris d · Post by **chris d** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:05 pm

great job dave
glad your back
chris d

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:15 pm

Finished the rear section tonight - ive made some exact replicas of the original seat sliders from 3mm thick grey plastic and riveted them as per original using the original factory holes so they are correct

Post by **Lars Hagermark** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:50 pm

Carpets for the front wheel arches... must have used magic too.
Superb job.

ImpManiac · Post by **ImpManiac** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:37 am

Lovely work, Noddy!

Those carpets look the business.

IM

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Fri Feb 19, 2016 6:18 pm

Carpet now fitted

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Fri Feb 19, 2016 6:20 pm

Some more pics

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 6:37 pm

Well i must say they look extremely nice!
Thats always the problem fitting new carpets out of the bag so to speak they fit like a sack of spuds, ie most you think they are for another car.
Doing them as you have reproduces the factory look, maybe even a little better, as always a little work and the personal touch shows.

Whats the red gear knob from?

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Fri Feb 19, 2016 6:49 pm

Thanks Peter.
Took a lot of work to do the carpet as per original but the fit and look makes it all worth it .Im very pleased that I kept the original rubber heel mat and sewed it in .
Gear knob is a genuine US sized Budweiser Pool ball , i find these very comfortable to use .

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:20 pm

Looks like a toffee apple on my phone

Nice work, Dave. Did you make an apron for your mum at school in needlework class ! You make a lovely seamstress

Andy G

colimp66 · Post by **colimp66** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:59 pm

That is most impressive Dave.
Must be one of the nicest carpets I have seen in an Imp. I'd be well chuffed with that in my car, very nice.

Thanks for sharing but when will you be producing them?;-)

Cheers
Col

Post by **Lars Hagermark** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:14 pm

You're a man of many talents. Carpets looking even better than original.

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sat Feb 20, 2016 3:33 pm

Rear centre console back in and rear shelf and rear seat backs re-carpeted .
You might notice i added an extra part to the metal edge that finishes off the rear shelf - this holds the carpet in place so it cant move - simple but effective .
Thats the job well and truly jobbed

Bobbycham · Post by **Bobbycham** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 5:19 pm

Nice job all round Dave , good to see you back posting your progress on here.

Bob

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sun Feb 21, 2016 4:20 pm

Home made mats put back in and another good vacuuming and general clean up.
I dont think the interior will get much better than it looks now

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sun Feb 21, 2016 4:30 pm

Nice that little things like this label still survive on my Singer - almost forgot it was there until a vacuuming session today
They ceased trading in 1967, to be replaced by a company called Delanair.

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Sun Feb 21, 2016 4:51 pm

Delanair, they made the air con units for cars didnt they? Seem to remember the export Rover 2000 had them fitted?
Yes they did, just checked, Rover-Delanair refridgeration units.
Bit different to seats?

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Fri Feb 26, 2016 8:34 pm

Forgot to mention that a month or so back I changed the Needles in the twin SUs on the Vusky just to see if i could suck some more umph out of it and also checked all the valve gaps .
Needles did indeed give me more umph especially on acceleration , gaps were nigh on perfect even after 10 years

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sat Feb 27, 2016 5:07 pm

Too bloomin cold to do much outside today but I did make up two rubber roll cage ends to pin the carpet down and neaten it up a tad .
Also made some new seals for the rear lights - these very early deep sided lights require 4mm thick seals so the ones you can buy are too thin - this is closed cell waterproof foam -
Also had to change the captive nuts on one light as they had got rusty and i had a hell of a job shifting the lens screw - now replaced with the more normal brass ones

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sat Feb 27, 2016 5:08 pm

Rusty captive screws on one light - must be a mega early unit

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sat Feb 27, 2016 5:09 pm

new seals

moose · Post by **moose** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 5:47 pm

all looking tidy Dave, for the roll cage whre your feet catch getting in and out try some helecopter tape or leading edge tape. t cut the scuffs out of the cage legs wipe down with brake cleaner fit tape will all add to keeping your smart interior tidy.

http://www.parts4aircraft.com/3m-prop-t ... c2x9382992 you can buy it from other places and in different widths, if you measure your cage legs length that you want to cover i will post some to you.

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sat Feb 27, 2016 5:51 pm

Nice idea Mike - il look into this

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:02 am

For once a nothing technical - ive done this or that post just some pics out in the Winter sunshine actually using the thing .
Its deffo quieter inside with all the new carpet although its hardly Rolls Royce quite

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:29 am

Ive never noticed before but it looks like you have different wheels on the front to the back, centre diameter?, or is it a photo illusion?
Are the fronts to clear disc brake calipers maybe?

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sun Feb 28, 2016 5:13 pm

The Nun wrote:Ive never noticed before but it looks like you have different wheels on the front to the back, centre diameter?, or is it a photo illusion?
Are the fronts to clear disc brake calipers maybe?

Wheels are odd - theres more black on the fronts - it annoys me but i live with it ( for now )
Very noticeable in this pic - must get it sorted one day

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sun Feb 28, 2016 5:25 pm

Porland Bill this afternoon - Chesil beach in the background

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Tue Mar 01, 2016 5:09 pm

To my mats not here

Having had these same set of genuine Cannon rubber mats in the Vusky since I bought it i think its time to finally say good bye .
Both are rotten and cracking badly but the drivers one now slides up the carpet every time i get in as its split and rotten by the steering column and its this that stops it moving forwards , it now puckers up under the pedals - not very safe .
Sadly these are probably un-replaceable .

They,ve served me well and will now rest for all eternally in the local land fill

rhydian_mason · Post by **rhydian_mason** » Tue Mar 01, 2016 6:43 pm

Tried 'Sugru' on them? Looks like a type of product that could help get a few more years out of them?

Grahame59 · Post by **Grahame59** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 9:13 am

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane wrote:To my mats not here
Having had these same set of genuine Cannon rubber mats in the Vusky since I bought it i think its time to finally say good bye .
Both are rotten and cracking badly but the drivers one now slides up the carpet every time i get in as its split and rotten by the steering column and its this that stops it moving forwards , it now puckers up under the pedals - not very safe .
Sadly these are probably un-replaceable .
They,ve served me well and will now rest for all eternally in the local land fill

Might be worth making paper or card templates from them before you chuck them. That's what I did and later used the templates to have these made:

Screen Shot 2016-03-03 at 09.05.30.png

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 10:54 am

Spotless

Is that a "Ive got a tiger in my tank" tail hanging there??

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:31 pm

They look the bees knees Grahame. Very nice indeed. I've also got a tiger tail in Stan. Another Esso original, courtesy of a friend.

Andy G

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:44 pm

So to finish off the Singers carpet job I was thinking on the rear shelf part - the original rubber mat is pinned under the metal edge that screws to the shelf by the rear seat back .
This is do-able with carpet but i came up with a different idea years ago involving adding a piece to the metal edge - i cobbled together a bit which worked but on changing the carpet this no longer gripped as the new carpet is thinner - added to which it was two seperate parts.
So today i made another but spot welded the two bits together.
The spot welds do show but i quite like this as it looks kind of " factory ".
Carpet will be pinned under the extension bit ive added on .
Not fitted yet as the paint needs to harden off but you get the idea.

Bet you cant guess what the extension bit is made from

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:54 pm

End profile

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 6:30 pm

Hmmm, i will have to have a think, seen something similar.

Have you invested in a spot welder too now?

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:33 pm

Ive got a spot welder, dont know if its a fuzzy sort but ive had that feeling when a spark when down my teeshirt.

ImpManiac · Post by **ImpManiac** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:34 pm

Is that draft excluder that you've tacked on, Dave?

IM

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:35 pm

So then the rear towel rail on the Vusky.
This used to be chrome but was a tad rotten so i welded it up and sprayed it black - i liked the agricultural look of black on the Vusky but---
i kept chipping the paint using it to slide things in and tie the tailgate shut in an " overloaded " situation .
There had to be another way ---- so ive covered it in plastic .
Its mega special heat shrink and starts at 39mm but will shrink to 13mm where it ends up 3mm thick .
Took a lot of getting on but i like the matt look it has - its waterproof so should be fine and is good for -40˚C to plus 120˚C.
its around 2mm thick shrunk onto here so should be tough enough.
Some pics.

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 6:51 pm

Looks good when shrunk and the rucks have disappeared. Nice find, Dave. I suppose you should add a link to its distributors so others might find a use for it

Andy G

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:08 pm

Here ye go

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/heat-shri ... s/1573830/

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 9:48 pm

Be nice if you could get that type of material in big bag form too, put your suspension arm in it, heat, shrink, one tough coated wishbone?

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:42 pm

Remember that rear shelf finisher / carpet pin down modification i made.
Well it fits a treat - carpet cant move and i think it looks neater

rhydian_mason · Post by **rhydian_mason** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:51 pm

Another one of those little finishing touches that makes yours stand out from the crowd Mr Lane.

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sat Mar 12, 2016 8:25 pm

Gave the Vusky a bath and tried my spare chrome towel rail on the back - im now undecided on wether chrome or black is best

bazzateer · Post by **bazzateer** » Sat Mar 12, 2016 9:27 pm

I prefer the chrome Dave.

ImpManiac · Post by **ImpManiac** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 9:53 pm

Chrome for looks. Black for damage protection. Not helping, am I!

IM