Vintage Minor Register

Yes, should definitely be a Pytchley sliding roof. But maybe best to leave it as it is since parts are not easy to come by. Depends how much you want originality - and/or to stay cool!

Ian

Thanks Ian - I did the search for 'Pytchley sliding roof' and ended up back on the VMR site! this photo that Irene posted in the 'Wanted' section helps me to understand a little about what the roof should look like. Now I do fancy one of those! - anyone got one in the back of their shed? not really sure how I ended up with a saloon.
I have contacted Irene to see if she managed to track down any drawings

finally got round to putting engine together + lifted back into chassis. Will attempt to make front exhaust pipe with a view to seeing if it will start later in the week. Need to weld up/profile the clutch operating fingers and reline clutch plates before fitting gearbox. Need to make a starting handle, is it a very short one that operates behind the front number plate? or is it longer with an extra support bracket fitted to number plate bar? Also need to have another go at routing the oil pipe so that it avoids the Steering box.

Splendid progress, John. Harry Edwards did stock the short starting handles (which were the original type for the Minor, and his entire stock was taken over recently by Ian Harris - so I'd give him a call first. I bought one from harry a while back, and it was new old stock.

And good luck with the firing up - always an excellent excuse for a celebration!

Just connected up the starter motor to discover that the switch did not work, then to discover that the starter motor is rotating in the wrong direction for the engine (bendix flys away from the stating ring gear - if it did engage, it would be turning the engine in the wrong direction. Is there anyway that a starter motor can be modified to run in the opposite direction?

Hence your need for a starting handle?

Hmm - so is the Bendix mechanism the wrong hand (i.e. you'd have to change the armature), or is it just that the motor is motoring in the wrong direction. Trying to work out if you have the right starter motor or not. If this motor was attached to the engine when you acquired the car, one would suppose that it had functioned with this engine at some point in the past? I presume you don't have your wires crossed anywhere - negative earth and all that?

Hi Ian - The motor is rotating in the wrong direction - I wired as negative earth and admit that I have tried reversing that to see if the motor would reverse, it did not. I have replaced the brushes and have had the field coils out while I solderd in a new Field post but cannot see what I might have messed up. -- take your advice and have ordered the starting handle from Ian!

And I hope you ordered a right-hand starting handle.

I have just compared the spiral in your photo with one of mine and it's the same, so it must be electrical. Perhaps you have a starter motor that was meant to be fitted on the gearbox side rather than the engine. By the way, the spiral isn't part of the armature - it slides off.

Ian

Thanks for checking yours Ian, when looking from the gearbox end the motor is rotating anti-clockwise which is the wrong direction to both engage the spiral/bendix or give the correct rotation for the engine. Unless I have managed, somehow, to wire up the brushes incorrectly, I suspect that the motor is for a different vehicle. Suspect I am going to have to save up for a new motor, assuming they are available? Will remove the cap tonight and see if I might have swopped the wire to the brushes - but could that change the direction of rotation?

Jpallis001 wrote:Suspect I am going to have to save up for a new motor, assuming they are available? Will remove the cap tonight and see if I might have swopped the wire to the brushes - but could that change the direction of rotation?

Anything is possible with electrickery.

I don't know about these particular motors, but reversing the coil polarity by swapping the brush connections could well cause opposite rotation. Definitely worth checking - specially if this motor came with this car.

My starter motor is a Rotax RM35SFm 6V -- Does that sound right? before I take it to bits again.

Rotax electrics were fitted to the later M Type MG's - yours should be a Lucas M35. So I'm not sure if the RM35SFm is designed to revolve in the same direction. Possibly not. Was this starter actually fitted to your engine when you acquired the car? If so, I'd have to believe that it actually worked correctly at some point!

It was bolted in but the engine really was just collection of found/assembled bits - not confident about it at all. Having given some thought to the way that the field coils are wired in series with the brushes/armature, I have just about convinced my self that if I was able to reverse the brush connections, the motor 'should' run in reverse. Will try that tomorrow, they do not look to be easily obtainable.

The sun shone again so I took the roof off - just need some plans for a new sliding roof?