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

WHEELS

We have had two cars in recently with cracked wheel rims.  Most recently an OM 665 Superba (1925) where the owner had noticed the problem and has asked us to send the wheel to have a new rim made.  Prior to the OM we had a 1935 Derby Bentley in the workshop undergoing a full re-wire.  Quite a few of the Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars of this period have wheel discs to cover the spokes meaning that the wheels are totally hidden.

Crack easily visible (Derby Bentley wheel)

 Whilst the car was with us we needed to move it in the workshop which gave rise to a strange creaking noise.  This was located to one of the wheels so we removed the disc to reveal a large crack running approximately quarter of the way round the rim.  When the tyre was inflated to the correct pressure (it was slightly low) the crack increased.  The car had been driven some 170 miles to us, most of which is motorway, so the owner was extremely lucky to have arrived in one piece.  We regularly check cars for wheel defects if they come in for a service, however it is worth keeping an eye on the condition of your wheels in the meantime.  The RREC have published our picture with a small article from our customer to alert fellow members to this problem, but we will be happy to check your wheels if you would like, so please get in touch.

New wheel rim ready to have tyre fitted

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.

NEW MECHANIC

Welcome to Allan, one of our two new mechanics.  Allan has over 30 years' experience in the motor trade, both here in Scotland and also in Australia.  Allan is a member of the Strathmore Vintage Vehicle Club and is really interested in the vintage racing scene.  He is also looking for a vintage tractor.

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

SCOTTISH TRANSPORT EXTRAVAGANZA

We are looking forward to seeing everyone next weekend.  We can be found on Stand 140

1952 ALVIS TA21

The Alvis sets off for a tour of France

We finished the work on the Alvis TA21 a short while ago and, after covering a quick 500 miles to fit in a service, it headed off for a tour of the battlefields in France.

The owners got back yesterday and emailed to say that the car performed beautifully throughout the whole holiday and they are thrilled.

Rewire complete

Under bonnet following engine rebuild

N/S under bonnet 

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".

1929 WO BENTLEY

We currently have a lovely 4 1/2 litre WO Bentley in the workshop. 

Apparently it has had a number of piston seizures over a relatively short time since having had a new block fitted.  Ian has now stripped it down and found evidence of seizure on 3 pistons, with No 1 being particularly bad.  We are now in the middle of investigating the cause, but suspect overheating due to a number of factors.  More will be reported soon......

No 1 piston showing severe damage

Nos 2 and 3 pistons showing damage, but not as bad as No 1!

1952 Alvis TA21 - Engine rebuild

The engine parts for the TA21 are all back from the machine shop and Ian has been busy building the engine back up.  As with all our engine rebuilds, the engine is stripped and cleaned so that all parts can be thoroughly inspected.  Any new parts are ordered and any necessary machining is carried out including surfacing the head and block to ensure a nice, neat fit.  The components can be cleaned several times during the rebuild so that we don't get any foreign matter within the newly rebuilt engine.  The customer can decide the level of finish/detailing, too.  This can be no painting, just as the engine came out, hand painted block, etc, or spray painting.

This engine is being hand painted so that it looks nice and smart.  There is no need to go to the top extreme with this since the car is not concours, but a genuine used quality with nice patina.

Engine removed from car

Starting strip-down

Parts ready for cleaning and checking

Machining pistons to match weights

Gapping piston rings

Fitting pistons to conrods

Checking timing chain alignment

Setting TDC