This week we have had a couple of near guesses with the little quiz and the end of the last few posts. We will have the last part four of our guessing game with the some dead give away photos at the end, but there is a little twist to look out for which will challenge any petrol head. We also have a fairly common problem brought to us a couple of times a year, coolant leaks.
Customer Cars
This ’67 convertible has the double whammy, a radiator leak and the heater matrix. While the coolant being drained from the system this is the ideal time to replace both the radiator and the heater matrix and have a good look around the hoses to check for any splits or persihing. The radiator in this case was quite obvious where the problem was and the owner has gone for a more modern efficient aluminium radiator as the replacement.
The heater matrix is a little more awkward to get to, and you have to be careful with the original heater box as over time it becomes brittle. There are a number of sprung clips that hold the two halves together via a lip which can break off. The leak inside the heater box builds up then eventually you get a footwell puddle.
The heater matrix needed a replacement and really recommend going for a quality part as this is not a job you want to do often. Under pressure the size of the hole only needs to be a pin prick size to start the rusting and onto the eventual failure. If you’re unlucky you will ruin the carpets and under carpets (sound proofing if any) if the failure is sudden.
Once the matrix is refitted it’s a case of cleaning up the mess and check for more leaks after the system has been flushed out a couple of times. The are little tricks to remove the airlock from the system. Did you know that there is a right way and wrong way for connecting the heater pipes?
The car wasn’t running very well and we soon found one of the issues. The carb was held in place by incorrect bolts along with a broken spacer, if that wasn’t enough the carb was held down by more than the odd washers as the wrong bolts being used. The carb gasket was also mounted with a mechanical no no. An unhealthy amount of silicon which is not exactly best practice. The reason for that is that the fuel reacts with the silicon and can break down going into the engine or block the airways on the spacer.
Then comes the fun bit trying to remove the old silicon without dropping the mess into the manifold. Once we had it all cleaned up we replaced the spacer, gaskets and carb. Then it’s a case to sit back and watch Yogi as he does his dark art magic ‘thing’ when retuning tuning the carb.
Above we have the carb located correctly before the throttle connections and the tuning starts.
Metal Mayhem
We’ve shown the build up dry fit process of the cowl section to the body. Now we have taken it to the next level by applying the colour before it’s all sealed back up again.
The base etch coats going on.
The primer base coats.
The top coats of colour and lacquer.
Once the paint was dry could clean the coating of the cowl ready for a good connection the chassis and spot weld into place properly. Just how they would have been from the factory.
Guessing Game (part 4)
A couple of good and close guesses last week so we will give the game away surely this week. We have the badge of the exact model and plenty of the car to see.
We had a previous guess which almost nailed it but the wrong MK version.
All is not what it seems or should be…
Clue: from the above picture on the left, what is the unusual twist about this car? Next week we will show you the rest of the car and reveal the details of why this particular car, is one of one!
WebShop.
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Click here or the picture below for the links. 😀
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