Alternator

So the whistling noise is still there. My mechanics stethoscope arrived so I went into the garage feeling all Jim Dale in Carry On Doctor and managed to track down the noise to the alternator. So it appears the bearings are starting to whistle and a new (recon) alternator is going to be added to my list of things to sort out.

Everytime I feel like I'm getting close to starting to sort out the interior something mechanical looms onto the horizon. So I've got to sort the brakes which could include pads, shims, discs and calipers and now the alternator and probably before I can get to the interior. I'm also now looking at more work on the body to rectify some of the rusty areas but I think this will wait until warmer weather next year now.

Diff Oil and Fan Belt

Okay so continuing my search for the offending whistling item at the front of the engine, I changed the fan belt. It was fairly oily so I cleaned all the pulleys before putting the new one on and tensioned it up so there was about 3/4" of bounce if pushed at the half way point between the alternator and water pump. I will check this again after a few more miles to see if it needs re-tensioning. It seems to have made an improvement but I don't know if this has solved the problem completely as it usually is more audible after a decent drive.

I had the car up on axle stands so I could top up the diff oil as I hadn't checked this since I'd had the car either. Well, I have given up for the time being as I couldn't budge it. I haven't got a square head spanner so used a standard open spanner & mole grips with a load of WD40 and a few hours wait. Still no joy, so I'm thinking maybe applying some heat to it or getting a square head spanner or both and getting another filler plug as this one is probably going to look pretty bad if I do manage to get it off. It's not critical at the moment as the diff isn't whining or anything but I would like to sort it for peace of mind that I'm not killing my diff. Last resort I could get a garage to do it for me.

Next is to check the gearbox oil so we'll see how that goes.

Oil Front Trunnions

I hadn't attempted to oil the trunnions since I'd had the car, so thought I'd better give it a go to be safe. After removing the grease nipples I found clean coloured oil around the nipple thread so at least it looks like something has been done in recent memory. Although I've got a grease gun, it's full of grease from doing the handbrake cable and the thought of cleaning it all out to use on the trunnions didn't sound like fun so I used a pump action oil gun with flexible hose. I pushed the hose connection in as good as I could and the seal wasn't the best but I gave it several pumps of the handle and the oil was pushed out the rubber seal. Now the question is how much of the thread will see any oil?

While driving recently I have started to hear a whistling sound. I've traced the noise by ear to the front of the engine and so I'm thinking maybe fan belt or bearing from alternator or water pump or an air leak somewhere. I've got myself a mechanics stethoscope on order which I am hoping will narrow down my search for the offending item. It is intermittent at the moment and not too loud but I guess it will only get worse so needs sorting. It has therefore jumped to the top of my to do list and depending on what is wrong and the cost of fixing it will delay getting on to the bezels and seats that I really want to replace.

Happy 40th Birthday

My car was registered 40 years ago today and it looks better than I do.

Now the weather is starting to get colder and wetter the chances of getting the car out will become less so I am thinking about what jobs to tackle next.

The jobs that are on the agenda are:-

1. Oil trunnions
2. New brake pads and shims (possible work on brake calipers)
3. New seat foams and vinyl covers
4. Replace gauge bezels with chrome as black ones are quite rusty and black replacements seem hard to source.
5. Fill differential and gearbox with EP90

Changes

Just been looking through some of the snaps that have been taken of the car since I've had it and just thought I'd stick a couple down to show how much this car has changed visually since I picked it up.

It still amazes me how beneath all that dull oxidised paint was something so nice and the car literally changed colour after many hours of cutting and polishing. I know the first picture was taken on a dull day which makes it look even worse but it was a real transformation in the appeal of the car from almost a dull brown to a more vibrant shade . The top picture was taken on the day I picked the car up and had broken down on the journey home (I'm on the phone on the right hiding my head in shame). It was a big risk going for a Saffron coloured car but the images on the front of the Mark III sales brochure convinced me it was a great colour for this car and very of its time.

So dull but I hoped something great was lurking underneath



I don't think I was wrong

Latest Photos

I haven't been working on the car lately just enjoying driving it when I can. I keep looking at the rear tailgate and I know I'll have to do some work on it sooner rather than later. Did a 100 mile round trip the other day when it was pretty hot and it got even hotter in the car. I noticed the gearbox also gets slightly harder to work as the car gets hotter as well.

Anyway here are a few pictures before I set out and little by little the car keeps improving.

Paint again

Did a bit more touch up work, this time round the back of the car on the lip above the taillight chrome trim. There had always been a patch where the paintwork had gone and rust had set in. Sanded it down and went back to bare metal removing the rust but coated with some anti rust stuff anyway. Etch primed, high build primed and then several coats of paint. Left to dry overnight and then flatted with 1500 wet and dry with soapy water, compounded and then polished.

Result was okay, not a perfect blend but good enough.