1934 ROLLS-ROYCE 20/25

This car used to belong to the owner's aunt before leaving the family for a few years.

Following its arrival last spring, work on this phase of the 20/25 restoration is almost complete.  (The owner is thinking about tackling the body and paint work next year, after using the car for the summer).

One of the final tasks has been the front seats.  As you can see from the photographs, the leather had discoloured and torn after 80 years of use.

Now we are just awaiting the return of the wheels following painting and new tyres then it will be time for road testing the car.

Although the base has already been removed, the wear on the seat
is quite apparent

Finished article back in the car
(note that the 'mark' under the steering wheel is only a shadow)

1902 ARROL-JOHNSTON DOGCART

We have an old favourite back in the workshop this week - the 1902 Arrol-Johnston dog car.  Ian has been looking after this old girl for nearly 20 years now and she continues to be used regularly.

A quick wash to remove the road dirt ready for work to begin
You can see that the rear seat base has been removed to allow access to the engine

She is in for a service and for some work on the fuel system before heading up to the Grampian Transport Museum to be part of one of their displays this year.

Ian explains the lubrication system to Arnoult

Arnoult start to refill the engine with fresh oil

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

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.