After a brief break, for tidying and regrouping, things are on the move again. Today I received a new clutch master cylinder. The hole in the pedal box was too small so I filed down the register shoulder on the new master cylinder rather than trying to open up the hole in the pedal box.

I have to completely re create the clutch hydraulic pipes, I have used a Triumph Herald front flexy between the master cyl. and the engine, then solid copper down to the slave cylinder, but I have to connect a 5mm copper to a 7/17 UNF threaded connection on the slave cyl. Still kicking ideas about as to how best to achieve that.

I am currently at 0.9% tasks remaining to complete for MOT

# 7000

Well, it's the end of the sixth month of recent activity in my restoration of this Marlin, I am almost there at 99.47% complete. I have been waiting for funds to catch up with the build, I hadn't expected to have to buy a new clutch master cylinder but that's life!

The chart of how things look now.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8842/1...5b81cc4a_c.jpg

I have final fitted the scuttle and bonnet today. Only the seats to fit, a front number plate, mirrors, finish the grill and a bit of board to serve as a temp back seat.

A couple of pics of the (almost) finished dash from drivers eye and behind the scenes. The wiring isn't as nice as I would have liked but it will probably be refined over time as the car evolves.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/502/18...c7c8c2e5_c.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7774/1...a4f1b61e_b.jpg

I am going to try for an MOT either next weekend, or soon after...

Your dash is looking ridiculously period, do you have bezels for the large clocks still to fit, can't wait to see it once you have done the alloy body and new screen, I'm still keeping my eye out for suitable thumb bolts with serrations. Ed.

Thanks Ed, the dash will evolve over time, I don't have bezels because these dials are from a Mk2 Rover P6 with the plastic dash, I have improvised, because I like the large dials and the speedo gearing should be about right with the Rover SD1 gearbox I am hoping. From the revs and indicated speeds in 4th gear it would seem it's not too far out. The GPS will confirm of course.

I have found a source of bezels but I have a feeling mine will be a non standard size. My ongoing plans include a lathe, once I have a lathe, custom bezels will be child's play!

Much of my frustration during this build has been due to the want of a simple lathe, so I am intending to bite that bullet in the autumn when my finances should catch up with my aspirations.

Again, once I have a lathe it will be easier to create the serrated windscreen swivel fittings. It will also allow me to make my own jenny wheels for a bead roller, which will probably even more useful than the English wheel. All this depends on a bunch of other things slotting into place but I am cautiously optimistic.

My dad has 2 lathes but the hole through the chuck is too small so I use the 3 phase Harrison in the tool room where I used to work, but not done any for a good while now, some brass bezels would look good on yours, although this week I am liking copper and trying to think of things to use it on.

The dash really looks the part. :cool:

Good luck with the last few bits & pieces, Paul. :)

Ed, that's one of the problems with the Harrison I have the use of, I think it only has 5/8" through the headstock, I want to be able to get at least an inch through.

My last lathe was a Colchester Chipmaster, that had an inch and three eights through, but the vari speed gearbox was trashed, it made more noise than a steam train! There's one on eBay for 900 quid but I think that's OTT for that lathe. Hoping to find something like a 250 or 300M Harrison in the £500 bracket if I can, even if it's a bit rough.


Paul, thanks I just want simple and functional, I wasn't going to bother with the small gauges but having trawled through my junk box I decided to give them an airing. The Tapley meter should provide a good talking point... I have some nice badges to fit once it's on the road.


I am in the throes of getting insurance quotes atm, my goodness, it has gone up some in the last two years. I got a quote before I bought the car which was about £120, now I am getting quotes iro £190???

OMG!!! An eMail just came in with a quote from Graham Sykes for £86.32 comprehensive, with 5,000 miles pa. WOW! Me thinks I will stop looking.

Just a quick update, I have booked the MOT for Friday the 12th. Currently I still have to finish the front bumper, fit a front number plate and fit the passenger seat.

I may make a little padded leather boss cover for the steering wheel centre hub.

I have abandoned the idea of TIG welding the grill for now due to issues with the disposable gas cylinders and regulator.

I bought a 110 litre disposable cylinder of pure argon and a suitable regulator, both from the same supplier. When I got home I connected them up with a suitable 4mm nylon tube to my TIG torch. Turned on the regulator, no hiss, no gas...

Together with a friend we checked and rechecked, but still no gas. I called the supplier, a national company, they told me the only solution was to bring the cylinder and regulator back to the shop, where they would try it and find a solution. Trouble is the shop is 67 miles from here. However, today I grasped the nettle and made the journey.

I am rather bewildered, We tried three new regulators on the argon cylinder I bought, none of them worked. I am positive there is gas in the cylinder because it weighs 300 grammes more than the marked tare weight.

We then tried ALL the pure argon cylinders they had in their shop, on both 'my' regulator and one of the other regulators, NONE of them worked. Eventually having tried several argon-CO2, we found the pure CO2 cylinders worked, then we found a 60 litre pure argon cylinder which would work too.

In the end I gave up, asked for my money back and left. Are these disposable cylinders and regulators usually so unreliable and picky? It seems the pintle which opens the cylinder sealing valve isn't doing it's job but it may not be as simple as that. I have never used them before so have no experience. At almost £40 for a crappy little regulator and only 110 litres of Argon gas, which I suspect wouldn't last an hour of welding, it would have been an expensive welding session.

As it is I have also spent at least £32 on petrol too, I don't get that back, and the suppliers weren't for giving me even a complimentary cylinder for my trouble, not that we could find two pure argon which worked!!!

100% completed for the MOT!
 

The only small task I have to do is make a simple steering wheel hub cover. I will use a circle of aluminium with a little padding covered with black leather. I have still to decide how I will secure it to the steering wheel hub. It needs a grippy insert to push into the centre which won't pull out easily.

Friday is the big day.

The car looks good, I have fitted it's 'best' wheels, the tyres are a bit too low profile for my liking but it still has about 5" ground clearance. The other wheels are pretty scruffy, they need cleaning up and lacquering. One of the tyres keeps going down, I suspect corrosion under the tyre bead.

I would have posted a photo but my camera is at my son's, I forgot it after taking pix of my spare auto gearboxes. Thinking about it I have three other cameras I could use... Doh! :doh: I need a responsible adult to keep an eye on me!

Good luck for the mot, take a few pics by the water on the way back, and enjoy the drive. Ed

Thanks Ed, Just hope they are in a good mood!

Will try to find a nice backdrop for a pic, trouble is there are so many around here, I tend to take them for granted. Maybe a nice sunset?

Twas nice and sunny so I dusted of my camera and took a few pix...

Here is the better one.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/453/18...7a4e089e_c.jpg

That looks pretty cool without the windscreen. Good luck with the MOT and don't forget your goggles :lol:

Methinks it WILL be pretty cool without a windscreen!!!

I am thinking in terms of four wheel motorbike... Helmet and a visor, maybe even gloves too. :eusa_angel:

I am really pleased with the bonnet and scuttle lines, exactly what I wanted, It just seem extremely low, as though an elephant has sat on it! The bonnet line could be another six inches higher.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/458/18...839d0eae_c.jpg

Good job on the scuttle and Bonnet they change it a lot, would look mean with bigger or smaller lights and also would suit an aluminium wedge wind deflector , are you considering leaf ngbit in aluminium to show off your handy work? I can see how much you lowered the rear arches now, what height will the finished rear tub be? Ed

Hi Ed, The headlamps need to be bigger and higher, a pair of Super Oscar shells with H4 inserts would be good, the ones I have are as small as you can get with a 180 lamp. Something like the black car in the pic below but obviously the outer lamps within 16" of the width of the car.

I quite fancy fitting a central driving lamp like this one, it was a very distinctive feature of the Alfa's. I have read the lighting Regs and I THINK it would be legal provided it went out when the headlamps are dipped.

I really don't understand the orange covers, in the pics I have many Alfa's have them .

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/451/18...ef35c540_c.jpg

Eventually I will paint it all, the atmosphere here is full of sand and salt, it will be white in weeks if it's left as is.

Planning to make the back tub about the same height as it is in the middle, not sloping it off as it curves forwards to the sides. The big changes being moving the front edge back at least five, maybe six inches, to give more room for the back passengers and making the back less streamlined with provision for two spare wheels on a frame at the back which hinges away to allow the boot lid to open, perhaps... Might just make a smaller boot lid, with a fixed spare wheel mounting at the back, a bit like this...

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/288/18...793cf7a7_c.jpg

But with the wheels much further back and almost upright, which would leave more room for a boot. I think it's just a matter of bashing a bit of aluminium sheet about and see what I come up with, it will evolve!

For now I will be content with an MOT... LOL :eusa_angel:

OK, I made it to Morecambe! About 45 miles, goes like s**t off a shovel!

BUT... It won't re-start from hot. I stopped twice just to check things over, kick tyres and pose a bit... The engine refused to even fire until it had cooled right down. At no time has it overheated, nor even what I would call over hot but I noticed as the air became cooler it ran better.

It is also suffering from gasp, it doesn't like a boot full of throttle, especially in a high gear. When I tried to open it up over 60 it back fired.

I am wondering if it doesn't like the new ethanol fuel. It's as though it isn't getting any fuel, there is plenty of spark, it just won't start when hot.

Suggestions welcome, even what may seem daft ones!

Other than that I like it, it seems pretty stable, although it's way too low, it even grounded on a bump on a major dual carriageway! Once the teething issues are dealt with I think it's a keeper. Not sure I will look forward to long journeys, the seats are not that comfortable but perhaps they can be changed.

What air filters have you fitted? Years ago when I fitted a V8 in my Berli I bolted K and N filters to the S.U. carbs. I thought with the small stub still in place and now inside the filter that the air would flow OK. However on a visit to a rolling road I was advised to fit the long U bend pipe to each carb then a cone filter, and it did make the engine run smoother. Perhaps this is the cause of the gasp? Just a thought, Scott.

I think you may be right on that one Scott, I have a couple of cheap K&N type filters fitted. I don't think we have a rolling road in Morecambe any more, at least not a sports/competition one.

I have left the 'U' bends in place and fitted the filters to them but I think it's probably getting rather too much air for the current needles. I do have a proper Rover filter housing, I may try that, but in a way I would prefer to get it running properly with these air filters. I may try restricting the area of the filter with gaffer tape or similar... If that works then perhaps a gradual blocking of the filter with something like paint or some sort of glue painted on to restrict the air a bit.

When I first started the engine it wouldn't run at all without these filters fitted, but of course driving on the road is a whole different kettle of fish from running it in the garage.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Glad you enjoyed your run, is that the first time you have driven it? This post is not that much help as it is not a solution but maybe help find the cause, 25 years ago my first boss used to let me drive his 1970's range rover with giant trailer during hay making. Before we started we used to take the bonnet and drivers door off, door so you could jump out throw a bail on and leg it back in whilst the RR ticked over in 1st gear low box and kept moving, bonnet used to come off to let the heat escape to reduce the chance of a fire and so you could glance in to see if hay and flammables had built up in the engine bay, the downside of this was the RR had to be left running all day even over lunch as it would not start whilst warm when run with the bonnet off, we had always assumed the bonnet aided air flow and cooling over the top of the engine/ carbs and it was simply boiling the fuel out of the carbs once turned off.
He swapped the RR for a defender when he fired a con rod out of the block on the m62, he got out picked the bits off the road chucked some oil and water in being a farmer he always had and still has 25 litres of each in the back and carried on on what cylinders remained. He drove it like that for about 15 miles on and off road with many stops for stream water and it finally gave in about ¼ of a mile from the farm. He then walked down his fields and caught a bus to Copley motors land rover and drove home in a brand new defender it was a G plate so 1990 his wife was suprised as he had only gone out to take his brother to Manchester airport.
He is certainly a character Oddly I saw him yesterday. One day I'll type you the story of the Shetland pony and the JCB .
My point being you have a very similar engine and have completely altered the air flow around it. Ethanol evaporates at 77.7°c if I recall.
I boiled the fuel yesterday in a chainsaw and mower it still feels cold when you put your finger in but bubbles a lot. I do recall the RR used to get quite warm lugging the trailer up and down the Pennine fields. Ed.