Barnaby the Vusky

[John A. Ross]

Top work Mr Dave

[Dave Lane]

OOOPS , N/S H brackets shot
Well things got brutal . I did plan on changing just the rotten platform however John Ross kindly sent me a complete one he had cut out from a scrapped Imp.
Seemed rude not to fit the whole thing .
Took 3 days with my head in a wheel arch either getting showered with grind or weld .
Still its alive again .

[John A. Ross]

Nice tidy work as usual Dave. Always found the imp "wiring" always looked like an afterthought almost.

[Dave Lane]

Back to faffing / improvements
The tabs that hold the wiring loom in place !!!!.
Pretty crap idea although I can see why the factory did it , mega cheap and easy .
However 60 years later a few of Barnabys have vanished - mostly busted by me after the rewire , plus after adding wires hither and tither they were too short to go around the new loom anyhoo.
Some have to stay as theres no other way i can see of doing it ( all of the ones under the tailgate lock end ) , however the rest could be replaced and got shot off with P clips so thats what ive done .
Moved the main battery feed and the loom with it lower so its away from the load area tongue hole doofer . I used M3 rivnuts ( nutserts ) as fixings .
So much safer than a jagged bit of bent metal " holding " it in place .

[Dave Lane]

Oofdah , no break from doing brakes.
When i bled the rears on Barnaby i did notice the adjusters a long way in in a " no thread showing kind of long way "
Anyhoo as its probably a decade since i peered in there thought it best to scan my peepers over em.
Shoes were low but not rivet low however i decided to change em anyways - and seeing as the rear cylinders are a decade old I hoofed them muppets oot and change them as well .
Usual issue of twisting hard lines , Passenger side flair looked like it was making a bid for freedom so im glad i did have a look see .
Was going to change the flexis but they seem foine , no cracks and no " one way valve restriction " issue . Besides no doubt id be twisting more hard lines into a double bow knot so thought best to pretend i changed em instead
Im sure il get comments saying ive fitted the shoes inside out , upside down , put the fronts on the rears or generally just fecked up - well tough , its in and it works
All bled and a test drive proves I still have good brakes
PS I enjoyed doing the brakes on Barnaby and hated doing the Singers - weird and sad

[Dave Lane]

Forgot to mention i changed the brake and clutch fluid as well as the oil on Barnaby yesterday .
YES , Synthetic is possibly better however theres no way in a Monkeys wonderland that im replacing a complete working system so i can put in synthetic to get - well exactly what ive not now - ie. working brakes .
Sod that --- dont even go there

[Dave Lane]

Final part of Barnabys service achieved .
Changed the oil and filter this morning ( Valvoline 20/50 VR1 )
Then a 45 mile blat to Forde Abbey and back .
Ambient temp 25˚C
Max engine temp 74˚C
Oil pieces - 53 PSI at anything above 3000RPM ( at said 74˚C )
Tick over pressure 28 PSI
Hes a happy bunny

[Dave Lane]

In more shock news worthy of CNN Ive done yet more maintenance on Barnaby .
I recon ive actually given it a service ( except an oil change which is coming ) .
Anyhoo first off I got the OSR valve stem changed , very cracked and " deflation imminent " looking
Secondly ive actually cleaned and re-oiled the K & N filters on it , not been done eva since i fitted em , maybe 8 years ago - ish ( il try and check this ) .
So ive stopped air getting oot and helped air get in
EDIT - Fitted March 2013 so 10 years ago !!!!!!!!!!

[Dave Lane]

Feek me im getting carried away wiv maintenance on Barnaby .
Greased the kingpins ( fitted a pair of NOS complete stub axle assemblies last August ) .
Adjusted the brakes .
Greased and cleaned the gearlinkage bushes .
Poked stuff ive chosen to ignore for now .
Even checked the oil
So to sum up , it make look uncared for but its right up together mechanically .
Recon i need help ?? , Oh hang on im fine as ive not resorted to washing or polishing it - sanity is still present

[Dave Lane]

Sorted the top steering column bush .
First step was to adjust the columns so the inner sat central in the outer without the bush fitted , so often ive seen these all out of whack .
Used a phosfer bronze bush that I turned down on one side with a step . this was interference fit in the outer column and needed tapping in , this was soaked in oil all day .
To stop it moving or coming out i fitted a tapered sleeve , this was tapped over the outer until the taper jams on the outer bush totally preventing it from coming out . A simple self tapper stops this moving although again its interference fit on the outer .
All Topped off with a felt pad for adding oil when needed , theres slight play but only to allow for the column just in case the inners slightly out of true .
After fitting it I removed it again to test if it comes apart easy which it does
And the end result after a test drive.
Feels like ive fitted power steering , hyper light , responsive , almost zero play , in fact its feeking brilliant

[Dave Lane]

I actually have one of these in a box, how effective are they Dave say vs a AFR gauge

I was thinking of adding an AFR to DDG but it means adding it to the exhaust (actually 2) and associated wiring while a single vac pipe would be easier

Seems to be working well for you

moose549 is my thoughts on adding a couple of sensors worth it on such a small engine over the vac gauge ? Daves seems to do what is needed more or less

They tell you a hell of a lot if you know how to read them

[John A. Ross]

I actually have one of these in a box, how effective are they Dave say vs a AFR gauge

I was thinking of adding an AFR to DDG but it means adding it to the exhaust (actually 2) and associated wiring while a single vac pipe would be easier

Seems to be working well for you

moose549 is my thoughts on adding a couple of sensors worth it on such a small engine over the vac gauge ? Daves seems to do what is needed more or less

[Dave Lane]

Barnabys timing .
Seeing as this has a gauge fitted ( taken off the inlet itself ) I decided to try and set it by vacuum .
Basically its slacken the dizzy clamp , fire up the motor turn dizzy one way or tother to achieve the highest vacuum reading then back it off about 3mm or so. Highest reading goes well into the yellow but thats way too far so im initially going for the high end of the idle segment .
Seems to work fine so far , no pinking etc but if it does il back it off a tad more
PS Never seen another Vac gauge marked as KPa , always seem to be in INS hg

[John A. Ross]

Dont use one of these kits Dave, cost me a tyre rather than a puncture repair last time

[Dave Lane]

Bollocks - Barnabys feeling deflated
And - No tyre fitters available til Monday