JF 4238 1933 Minor Saloon

[Ian Grace]

John,

The car is looking superb!

Your brake pedal has been modified at some point. The eye that you currently have the link attached to has been added by someone to provide extra leverage.
The lower eye which is actually part of ther pedal casting is the one you should be hooking up to.

You should be able to fit the brake light switch on the chassis cross member behind the pedal.

Ian

[halbe]

Hello John,

Looking great, lovely color too

Regards Halbe

[Jpallis001]

Thanks Ian, Halbe - at the exciting stage; will the things that I have rebuilt work? will the things that I have not been inside work? (gearbox/diff).

Anyone know how these electric wipers are wired and operate? from this Vintage Car Parts photo, it looks like the positive supply might go to the side terminal and that the negative would be through the body/frame?

Mine is missing a 'bit' from the 'thing' (looks like a arrow made out of solder) that is on the back of the unit (looks to park the operating lever/arm). I can see that pulling/rotating the operating lever/arm at the rear something is engaged. Does this also 'switch' on the electrical supply or does it need a separate switch?

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Off to cut the wood to make the rear window surrounds so that I can fit the glass.

[Jpallis001]

I knew that old mahogany front door would come in handy sometime! - could not find any images to help me to design the rear frames so came up with this arrangement. I assume that when I can find some headlining, that it will fit behind the framing that I have made. Will just need to work out how to get it to follow the curve of the rear quarter and how the horizontal piece will attach above the rear windows. Would it be likely that a strip of hardwood would cover the upper part of the 'B' Post? or would that be covered with roof lining. any other suggestions before I get the paint brush out? Would you use silicon/mastic/sealer as well as the flat rubber strips that, I think, surround the glass?

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[Jpallis001]

Managed to make a roof lining + fit the glass + rear seats. A few wrinkles to sort out another day! Spent a lot of time extending the seat runners for the Driver's seat so that I can fit in the car and have some chance of being able to operating the controls. Back to grappling with the electrics tomorrow.

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[Ian Grace]

Looking very commodious, John - where's the drinks cabinet going?

[Jpallis001]

Update: an on-site support visit from PeterB resulted in a working ignition warning light and dash lamp. Without the support offered of this and the PWM community I would not have made much progress with my car; for a community to throw in personalised on-site support is pretty impressive!

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After another dozen attempts at rebuilding the carburettor, we managed to get it not to leak but the engine still appeared to ‘flood’ after 10 – 15 minutes of running. I thought that I had tracked the problem down to a faulty condenser. Fitted a new post-war condenser, convinced myself that it ran a little longer, but it did still ‘stop’.

I had some months ago, in an attempt to reduce a rattle, set the tappets at 4 Thou rather than 19 Thou. Yesterday I set the tappets back to 19 Thou and it no longer cuts out so I JF 4238 (or whatever it becomes) set off under its own ‘steam’ for the first time in lots of years. Well, reverse gear and the clutch works; first gear works and it went down the hill slowly in first gear and the brakes don’t really do very much. It seemed quite happy to be at the bottom of the hill, well it is only really a slight incline. Once at the bottom it was a very reluctant to climb back up the hill. After a lot of fiddling with the ignition and the mixture, and a lot of playing of the clutch I managed to get it back on to the drive. I am now waiting for the new SU needle; jet, jet bearings and gaskets to arrive before attempting to tune + set ignition.

Before I attempt to drive it again I think I had better try to find a smaller pair of shoes! And have another go at balancing the brake cables. I have already extended the seat runners and raised the steering column to its highest setting, so that I can get my knees under the steering wheel. I am only 6’ 1”!
But, the horn now works. I had to turn an aluminium disc, and then turn a smaller nylon disc and an even smaller copper disc. I glued the copper into the nylon; the nylon in to the aluminium and then soldered the horn wire on to the copper. That was the missing bit from my horn switch!

Currently spending a lot of time with a Dremel grinding back my new. Gideon Booth chrome headlamp rims so that they have some chance of fitting the domes.
To Do: fit doors; make door catch plates and buffers; fit headlamps; fit brake stop light switch; adjust brakes; tune engine; see if 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears work; find out what the engine rattle is; …….

[Ian Grace]

John,

Congrats on your first drive! Definitely looks like progress is ... progressing.

The brakes will take time and some miles to stabilize and bed in so that they can be balanced and stay in balance. First, make sure that the lever on the brake cross-shaft is pulling towards the vertical when the brakes are applied. Then get the brakes acceptible and put some miles on behind you. Then, once all the cables have settled (you do have cable brakes - right?), then take it for a drive, apply the brakes firmly a few times and then feel the temperature of the four drums. Tighten the cables going to the cold drums, and slacken off the cables going to the hotter drums, then repeat the exercise if need be until the tempearatues are equalized, at which point each brake is providing the same branking force.

DO NOT balance it on bricks like is shown in the handbook!

[Jpallis001]

After another new set of D16 Plugs, a new condenser and loads of new carb bits, including a Jet and needle, the car not only managed to get up the hill, I managed to get it into second gear! If I had more confidence in the brakes I might have attempted third gear. I had balanced the brake cables but the brakes were still not really very efficient (new linings, new cables, new bushes etc). Will have to have another go at them.

Have managed to fit the window channels, winding mechanisms and glass to the doors. Also fitted the door cards. Need to mend the door latches, make some catch plates and buffers. Still not managed to make the headlamp rims fit the bowls or glue the bulb holders into the reflectors. Job for next week + need to find a private road where I can attempt Third and Fourth gears.

I am using a DK4a distributor with the automatic advance and retard - any suggestions for the best ignition timing?

The springs that apply the pressure on the brushes in the starter motor so that they maintain contact with the commutator appear a bit on the 'weak' side, even with new brushes fitted. Result is a 'lazy' motor. When I fiddle with the brushes it manages to turn the engine more enthusiastically for 3 or 4 'starts' then deteriorates again. Anyone know whether new brush springs are available?

[Jpallis001]

Update: door locks fitted and catchplates made and fitted; headlamp rims modified with the help of £15's worth of Dremel drums/discs! (Lesson: try rims on bowls before you buy!) Managed to get it into third gear. Engine still 'rattles' a bit but pulls quite well - might have another yet another go at the tappets. Just noticed that the headlamps are not Level - one 1" higher that the other, will need to adjust the passenger's side wing. Brakes still poor, wonder if bonded friction material will be better that my newly rivetted linings? Rest of car possibly ready for MOT. Any suggestions for good deals on insurance, currently with Footman James with post War Minor - not asked them for quote yet

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[Jpallis001]

I managed to get hold of a copy of Harry Edward's Infomation Manual for the Morris Minor today. In an attempt to sort out my 'poor' brakes I looked for advice in the adjusting (cable) brakes section:

"it is advisable to have a final road test on a dry macadamised surface, where the correctness of adjustment can be tested by braking the vehicle hard and ascertaining by means of the road marks produced the equality of the braking on each wheel"

So I should be able to lock the wheels by pressing the (cable) brakes?

[Ian Grace]

Yes, that is correct - and this is true even for the early OHC brakes with 180 degree front cable geometry. Confirmed by myself (1929 tourer) and Paul Rogers (1930 saloon).

It's all about the setup, removal of wear in the cams and pull angles.

But others may disagree.

[Trevor Wilkinson]

It could also be affected by the brake lining material, the brakes on my '34 two seater (hydraulic) were allways below par till I fitted a set of different linings which really made a big difference.

[Ian Grace]

Right, Trevor. They are also critical. All I know is that soft lining should be used on cable brakes, where brake pressures aren't anything like modern cars' brakes which use rock-hard linings and disk pad materials.

It's the same old story as with Austin 7's really. Everyone knows their brakes are terrible. But then those people are usually the same ones who have only driven fifty year old student hacks that haven't had a brake overhaul in decades!

[Jpallis001]

I checked with Ian Harris yesterday to see if he had any 'bonded' shoes available. He tells me that he is in some discussions about bonding. I decided to reline my rear shoes with New (old stock) linings that I had picked up somewhere on my travels hence not sure about their hard/soft rating. When I refitted the shoes I spotted a problem with one rear backplate that only showed up with the thicker lining; the repaired pivot pin was slightly out of line causing the shoes to prevent the drum from fitting correctly. I had fitted new cam bushes but had not spotted this when I tried the brakes using the old shoes. i used the old shoes just in case the oil was going to leak from the axel.

Before I attempt to modify the backplate, does anyone have a good rear backplate for a 1933 SV saloon (or a pair), available for sale?

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