Classical Gas
www.classictrials.co.uk
 |
Neil came back
from a family Christmas holiday in Florida, fit and ready to get on with
the Y. It was despatched to the electrician on 1ST February. A new loom
was fitted and the components connected until he got to the semaphores.
Neil particularly wanted the flashers to flash, and the semaphores to
activate, on the same switch. Eddie the electrician had a board that would
do this but it was 12 volt! A decision had to be made and quickly, so Neil
decided that it would be best to convert the car to 12 volt. This involved
removing and rewinding the dynamo. Then all the bulbs and the coil were
changed for the 12-volt variety. The fuel gauge was a big headache. This
was overcome by putting a bulb in the circuit, which dropped the voltage
to 6 volt. Success.
The only thing that was left was the starter, which would spin much faster on the higher voltage, and those good old semaphores. They had to be either rewound or replacements found. With all this completed the car was taken from Eddie the electrician to Fred Pounds, the upholsterer, in Baldock. It arrived there on 14th February, spot on schedule. Neil had given Fred six weeks to complete the upholstery but as usual he had loads of work. Neil visited him every day to try to induce him into getting on with the job. He had to have excuses of course, but you can only remove the bumper for re-chroming a limited number of times! Neil had hoped to have the car completed by the Y and C clubs AGM, but that passed by. Never less Neil went along and was able to buy some hubcaps, oilcan and bracket, bumper ends etc. That gave him lots more excuses to visit Fred. And after much hounding he finally got the Y back. It was Thursday the 3rd June 2004. Neil worked through the night, sorting split pins, adjusting brake rods etc. Friday saw Fred working on the upholstery while Neil and his helpers were working on the mechanical jobs. Fred was back working on the car Saturday morning. The moment of truth was Saturday the 5th June. It was 10.30 am, time for the first road test. Out of the garage and down the road. Then silence, as the car coasted to a halt with a dead engine, the distributor had disintegrated. Neil fitted a replacement but still no spark. The leads were changed and finally a new coil solved the problem and the engine burst into life. However, it was running very roughly. The carburettor was dismantled and in the end that had to be replaced. Finally at 4:30pm Neil left the garage to pick the kids from Stevenage and drove home in the Y. Cruising at a healthy 45 mph Neil looked at the dash and noticed to his horror that the oil pressure had dropped to only 6 P.S.I oil. Saturday night was spent playing with the oil pressure release valve to finally produce 12 P.S.I when hot. Neil also noticed that the front of the car had sagged so a new front spring was needed, but time had run out. So with the car nearly finished, with no power, hardly any oil pressure and a low front end Neil phoned mentor Graham Miles. He advised Neil not to take the car on the rally to Wales but Neil felt he had got so close that it wouldn’t be fair to not give the Y a chance. Dave (MGeetle) Nash turned up on Monday morning and the pair set of for Wales Neil driving the Y and Dave the C. It was to be a real adventure. How far would they get………... |
|
|
|
Fred the upholsterer didn't have a lot to work with and was still working on the seats while Neil was finishing the mechanicals. |
|
 |
|
Neil's Y and C at Upper Caldecote, ready and raring to go on their long trip to Wales. |
|
|
|
|
