And the Riley beat goes on .................

First tim eposting on t his forum so lets hope I get it right. 

Remember this build chronicled by Pete?

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/and-now-for-something-a-bit-different-riley-one-point-five/186675/page1/

Life has got in the way but the follow up to Pete excellent work continues.  To recall there was an engine swap in the works? Well I work mega slowly, there is lots to do and I drive a lot.  I am an Engineering  Project Manager so planning is my specialty. 

Recall that Pete left me with unpainted sills. No worries this was all part of the scope of work. I drove around for  a season with these primer sills but SWMBO  'suggested' I do some improvement. 

Winter up here is long so an excellent time to remedy this.  Easiest way to paint these sills was to remove the doors etc. Pete can attest to the love he has for the door hinge design on this car  but I think I may have taken Murphy by surprise?  

The doors are held by quantity 4  5/16" screws into captive nuts in the A & B post. Working on ones own these doors can be 'heavy'.

No special tools other than an exhaust manifold stud, (short one with 5/16" UNF threads both ends)  a spacer and a nut. The screws for the doors are regular 5/16" UNF so compatible.

A length of stout line is used as a third hand.

The front door is a bit trickier than the rear door.  In both cases the door check needs removing of course. (remember these Pete?) This will allow the front door to swing open to 90 degrees and provide easy access to the quantity 4,  5/16" hex head screws holding the hinge to the door. Unscrew  the top  fastener with a ring spanner. Thread the stud into this hole, short thread end . Slide on the tube spacer and spin on the nut, and tighten slightly. This single fastener will secure the door adequately. Now remove the 3 remaining hex screws holding the hinge to the door.

Wind down the door glass and wrap the length of line around the door as shown, to form a loop. Put your arm through the rope loop to keep the weight of the door and undo the single nut.  The stud will simply slide out of the hinge.    The rear door removal is the same. Access is easier, the door can remain closed  and a socket and ratchet can be used. 

This method removes the headache of supporting the door weight, whilst fiddling with fasteners and spanners.. As the workshop manual writes, "reassembly is the reversal of the above method"   

Salut

B

Doors out of the way, a little sanding and skim filling and I was able to apply some primer.

B

I have nothing to add other than it's cool to see another Riley on here, I thought mine was the only one.  I'll definately be following.  

There you go Rusty,  a RM A? or B?  lovely looking car!

I sanded the primer and applied some top coat. 

Now starting to resemble the rest of the car. 

B

Hey... What a pleasant surprise to run into this thread. Was fun to go back over the build thread and re-live the whole thing. Kind of the point of why I do the build threads in the first place. Kris says Hello because your car is one she actually remembers from the many that have gone through the shop. I said it before, but chicks dig the Riley for some reason.

How about some pics of the rest of the fleet cause I know you have some interesting cars in the collection.

I think I am done with tin-work at this point. I have an XKE in the shop that needs a year of two of mechanical  assembly and the Molvo should keep me busy for as long as I want; in the middle of an LS swap.  Dave's MGB is still not on the road but I keep pushing for what it is worth.

I got the doors back on with a slight adjustment needed.  Not sure why but I have an interference with  the rear door and te trailing edge of te front door. 

a regular thickness flat washer between the hinge and the B post was the solution. Everything else lines up fine.

I can now move on to other items on the 'to do'  list.

B

This car is 60+ years old and lived a difficult life in rural western Canada.  It seems  that the roads were  gravel and the bottom of the car shows evidence.

One damage that needed sorting is the fuel tank.  The front of this tank is damaged and the previous owner installed a plate to prevent further damage. 

PB Blaster was my friend to remove the rusty  fasteners. There is a rubber boot in the trunk floor that needed saving so I used a hair dryer to soften it. 

Neither the drain plug or the fuel line would shift so I needed to cut the fuel line to remove the tank from the car. 

I was able to find a solid used tank a couple of years ago that only needed paint . For the record, this car is 'rare' and many replacement are even more 'rare'. One such part is the drain plug.  The plug has a integral filter screen to it, so the goal is to save this plug.  Once the tank was on my bench, I was able to use a pipe wrench to unwind the fuel line fitting but the drain plug didn't co operate.  I resorted to drilling and cutting the plug from the tank.

Once out I was able to carefully cut the plug from the tank threads but sadly the filter did not  survive this intervention. 

Once I freed the plug I fit it to the new old tank fine. Some good news finally.

I will need to find a filter replacement. 

B

While hunting/waiting  about for a suitable filter for the fuel tank pick up tube I had a look under the car, sorted fasteners etc. . 

The underbody of this old banger is a rather  unattrractive Red/Brown colour.

So I thought this can be improved upon. Armed with  a wire wheel in a drill motor and lying on my back in a hazmat suit  I had at it.  Aftter all that hard grind, acoat of chassis paint makes all this look pretty good. I did about half of the underbody. I will probably do more when I remove the engine, gearbox,  and prop shaft.

This may be worth it after all.

B

I love how much detail you're sharing about your work, makes me feel like I'm there watching each step. Excited to see the rest of your progress! 

Paris Van Gorder said:

I love how much detail you're sharing about your work, makes me feel like I'm there watching each step. Excited to see the rest of your progress! 

Thanks Paris,  sit back comfortably and enjoy.

You know the situation after putting on a clean T shirt the jeans look dirty? then the sneakers just don't fit, and you find yourself logging onto Poshmark  etc. etc.??

Anyway when I painted the under body I needed to remove the road springs.  15 years on it is time for new bushes anyway.  Prior to re installing the springs they looked a bit tatty compared to the freshly painted underbody. 

I cut the rebound clips, used a pair of 'C' clamps to hold the leafs together so I wouldn't hurt myself and undid the center bolt nut. Loosen the clamps and voila, separate leafs. 

After a dusty session with the wire brush, clean up the center bolt, and more Black paint, and re assembly I had mega nice looking springs. I visited the local spring shop for them to install new rebound clips.

Ready to be put back under the car. 

B

NOHOME said:

Hey... What a pleasant surprise to run into this thread. Was fun to go back over the build thread and re-live the whole thing. Kind of the point of why I do the build threads in the first place. Kris says Hello because your car is one she actually remembers from the many that have gone through the shop. I said it before, but chicks dig the Riley for some reason.

How about some pics of the rest of the fleet cause I know you have some interesting cars in the collection.

I think I am done with tin-work at this point. I have an XKE in the shop that needs a year of two of mechanical  assembly and the Molvo should keep me busy for as long as I want; in the middle of an LS swap.  Dave's MGB is still not on the road but I keep pushing for what it is worth.

Hey Pete nice to read from you. Yes moving forward with the Riley. Nice to see proof you are staying out of major trouble.  You usually have neat projects underway all the best with the E type.  I think had I left my car in your shop any longer you would have found a way to plug a V8 into it!!  That sketch on your shop wall shows this sort of thing.  Hello back to Chris, clearly she has impeccable taste in cute British saloons. 

B

In reply to riley1489 :

Its not me, its my friends; they are ALL bad influences.

The Volvo is currently on the downhill side of an LS swap.

OK so I had a little more time to move forward on this fuel tank swap.

I looked here, there, and everywhere but unable to find a suitable fit filter for the fuel pick up tube.  The filter attaches to the drain plug, (#2) or fit the cavity in the drain plug, as shown below.

So I thought maybe make one? I procured some fine brass mesh, purpose for fuel systems.  A couple of brass cup washers,  and my soldering kit was a solution. I cut a length/width of the mesh, wrapped it around a mandrel the correct diameter,  temporarily held in place by brass wire ties. I soldered the length and soldered a washer to the top of this mesh tube.  I soldered a disc of brass, (hole punch)  to the bottom cup washer of the tube, and voila a filter! The top cup washer hole is the diameter to fit snug to the pick up tube in the tank. I used a Statoseal™ type washer on the plug.

 I cleaned up the +60 year old float arm and sender. The resistance of the bobbin checked out and a new cork gasket used.

I am quite chuffed about this and the 'refurbished' tank is ready to be fitted to the car. 

B

Interesting that I did not notice the tank damage when the car was here. Musta put blinders on at some point not wanting to see more stuff to do!

If you ever do get to it, I think and MGB engine with an OD would be a great way to go with the car. You do put the long distance miles on it.

Pete

NOHOME said:

Interesting that I did not notice the tank damage when the car was here. Musta put blinders on at some point not wanting to see more stuff to do!

If you ever do get to it, I think and MGB engine with an OD would be a great way to go with the car. You do put the long distance miles on it.

 

Pete, sometimes it is best not to look at these old bangers too closely. The rabbit holes can be verrrrrry deep, and often full of dragons.  Remember that fertile western Canada earth that fell out of every cavity of this car? well I have more for you if you want. Every time something comes off the car so does some soil.  mix in some gear oil and what a mess.

As I mentioned in my opening post there is an engine swap in the works.  Adding OD to this car is a struggle and would require a visit to your shop for some serious metalwork fabrication. Ready for this? The gearbox tunnel/floor of this interior is 'snug' to say the least. FWIW the rear end ratio of this car is 3:7  versus  3:9 of the MGB and 4:11 of the MGA.

Even then the ears are ringing for hours after a long drive.  

If I am able to pull this off my goal is Bronte at end of summer.  

B

Just in from the shop.

I installed the springs and fuel tank. All went well and looks simply marvelous.

I bought a new ferrule & nut to made up a new fuel pick up tube. The nut was bugg*rd on the old tank.

I used a union to join the cut fuel lines. Looks a bit steampunk but works well.  No leaks vacuum or pressure. 

This achievement will now permit me to move onto the business end of the car. 

B

Some more progress.

My end goal is to swap the OE 1489cc power unit to a fresh build 1798cc power unit. Not so daunting, these are the same family of parts but one still needs to pay attention.

Neat thing about this is the bonnet has external hinges, and can be left in place and raised vertical easily. I bunched up a car cover on the windscreen tied it off to the rear bumper. Removing the engine & gearbox together isn't possible so I needed to unbolt the two and support the front of the gearbox with a length of line and a hockey stick resting on the front wings. A bit of stout line around the engine  and a tried & true chain hoist and out it came. The gearbox will follow .

Lots more to do but this is an excellent start. 

B

A bit of a struggle with the cross member screws but I got the gearbox out. 

it may require a little clean up.  

B

Looks like you could pan for gold with the material in the support cross member. Interesting looking car. Reminds me of a taxi in some old British movie.

For a second there I thought someone mounted a MSD box on the valve cover... Love the car, keep it up!

brad131a4 (Forum Supporter) said:

Looks like you could pan for gold with the material in the support cross member. Interesting looking car. Reminds me of a taxi in some old British movie.

Thanks Brad,

One never knows what to find taking an old car apart, and I suspect quite a bit of 'history' in that rubble.  Where did you see that nugget of Gold? I am looking. 

B

Stueck0514 said:

For a second there I thought someone mounted a MSD box on the valve cover... Love the car, keep it up!

Thanks

I had never noticed the similarity, but you are spot on. That cover is a vintage Brit 'performance' item, Derrington™ alloy cover.  I am sure it increased the HP & torque two fold when I bolted it on.  FWIW it does look period correct! 

B

Did you spot the notch at the top/front of the  bell housing? 

This is to provide clearance for the steering rack, which is body mounted just above it.  That is the next 'grease caked' component to be removed for a refresh.

B

In reply to riley1489 :

If you decide to head to Bronte let me know and I will make it a point to attend. I snuck in last year under the pretense of Volvo P1800s originally being built in the UK. Sketchy but it worked and I even found the perfect crew to park with.

As far as rust repairs, I have taken down the shingle. The Jag will keep me busy for the next while.

I love the BjornAgn license plate!

Great progress on the Riley, this looks like it's a fun resto!