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

1939 ROVER 16

The Rover passed its MOT test without any problem and is ready for collection in February when the owner returns from abroad.  Here are a few photos of the finished car following an extensive restoration which included engine and gearbox rebuild; suspension, brakes and steering overhaul; bare metal re-spray; refurbished wood trim; re-plating the chrome and new carpets.  The original seats were in good condition so these were fed with a leather restorer and left original.

Finished article complete with coach lines

Front view showing off the beautiful chrome

New carpets and very shiny woodwork

A wee peak under the bonnet