NEW WEBSITE FOR MILFORD VINTAGE ENGINEERING

We have finally got our new website live after many months' development.  Head over to www.vintage-engineering.co.uk to have a look.

There are still some more photos to go into the gallery but have a look around and let us know your thoughts.

DERBY BENTLEY HEADING FOR AUSTRALIA

1934 3 1/2 LITRE DERBY BENTLEY

This is one of our regulars.  The car is used extensively and serviced at least a couple of times a year depending on the miles covered.  It regularly goes abroad, driving from Scotland all the way, covering thousands of miles.  The past few years have seen trips to Croatia, Portugal and Ireland, to name but a few, but this year it is heading for a trip "down under".

Water pump stripped for servicing

We collected the car just before our Christmas break and have now carried out a full service which picked up one or two potential problems including a small leak in the elbow of the water pump, and the early signs of a points failure in the fuel pump.  Thankfully these have both been sorted out before they caused any major failures and the car is now getting cleaned and prepared ready for collection.
It is being shipped from Felixstowe and will arrive in Melbourne ready to join the Bentley Drivers' Club in Australia for a tour from South to North right the way up to the Cairns area.  We have put together a comprehensive spares kit, just in case, but hopefully this will not be required.  We often accompany cars and their owners on trips such as the Veteran Car Club's London to Brighton, but unfortunately we were not required this time.

1934 ROLLS-ROYCE 20/25 ENGINE REBUILD

Here are a few photos of the Rolls-Royce 20/25 engine as we were building it back up. 

It is now back in the car and running well on test.  We will put a few miles on the car before it is returned to its owner and then it will come back to us for a 500 mile service.

Crankshaft damper

Crankcase with crank on right and main bearings, etc, in foreground

Pistons and con rods about to be checked for weights/balancing

Front of crankcase with distributor drive going into position

Timing gears in position

Close up of crankshaft oil feed pipes

Cylinder head with valves, etc, ready to be fitted

Crankcase awaiting cylinder block

View inside the sump - the oil level float/indicator is clearly visible
at the bottom of the picture

Cylinder head and block back in place

Crankshaft damper now fitted

Engine cradle refitted

Engine being craned back into position

Engine back in and connecting up the ancillaries

All connected up and running

ROLLS-ROYCE 20/25 REWIRE

Ian and Brian are well under way with the rewire of this 1934 Rolls-Royce.  The next few photos will show a little of what they have been up to:

Fuse Box, before

Fuse box back in position with new
cables attached

Bulkhead stripped but awaiting cleaning up

Bulkhead now degreased and ready to start fitting back up

Some of the wiring is now back behind the cappings

The delights of the under-dash area

Wiring up the ignition switch

The cables have all been fed through the flexible conduit 

The 'ignition switch' is now back in place.  If you are not familiar
with these, they have settings for summer and winter charging, etc

NEW MECHANIC, TAKE 2

Welcome to our second new mechanic.  Brian is thrilled to join the team, having a very deep love of old cars.  He has been thrown straight into a rewire on a 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25.  Brian is in the middle of restoring one of his own cars, a Triumph Vitesse.

1933 AUSTIN HEAVY 12/4

After many months of work this full restoration is finally finished and the car is ready to go back to its owners.  In case you have missed the earlier posts, there are a few reminders of its original condition below:

The car as it arrived with us

Door trim - before

Door trim (and interior view) after

Engine view - before

Engine - after

A Brace of Bentleys

As we so often find, good things come in pairs.  We already have one WO Bentley in the workshop with engine problems and another regular has just popped in for a couple of minor jobs "while-u-wait".

1934 ALVIS SPEED 20SB

After months of work on the rotten frame, the owners have picked up their Alvis Speed 20 SB today.  The car looks stunning and they are very pleased with it.

Stripped back to find the horrors
underneath the metal skin

New parts of the frame going into position

Ready to go to the body/paint shop

All finished

1939 ROVER 16

We are now about a week away from finishing the Rover 16.  The car is looking great and runs well.  We have the wood trim to refit following refurbishment, a new set of carpets and the original seats which have been cleaned up.  The bonnet side panels will be fitted and then the car should be ready for a voluntary MOT test.

GRABER ALVIS

We have a Graber Alvis Sport Special (TC21) in the workshop for a few days.  The owner, unfortunately, bent the rear bumper while reversing so Ian has removed and straightened the bumper and it is being re-chromed at the moment.  In the meantime the owners really want to have the car back so Ian has made up a temporary "bumper" to keep the car safe and road legal so that the it can be collected tomorrow.  It will return to have its own bumper refitted once the chroming is finished.

Temporary bumper

1933 AUSTIN HEAVY 12/4

You may remember the on-going restoration we are undertaking on an Austin Heavy 12/4.  It is now back from the paint shop and we are starting to fit it back up.  The owners have chosen blue over black which looks fantastic.  The chrome is all away for re-plating at the moment but we have plenty of things to be getting on with in the meantime.  Ray has been working on fitting up the bulkhead, but first we needed to find something to replace the old boarding/fabric which lined it.  Following lengthy discussions we have found fire-proof boarding and some hessian like fabric which is being treated with fire-resistant spray to give the appearance of the original product (which is no longer available).

1937 AUSTIN 18/6

The Austin 18/6 'bus' re-wire has just been finished today and the overhaul of the running gear, brakes and steering are almost finished too.  We are now just waiting for the engine parts to come back from the machine shop so that the rebuild can be completed.    We then have a few last bits and pieces before the vehicle can return to its estate and the owner can enjoy using it for family picnics again.

Brakes before

Brakes after

Back of dash

Back of dash

The poor condition of the old wiring can be seen on the headlight