DRL152K Marina based roadster rebuild

[lil_red_roadster]

Aldon do several variations of distributor for the B series, depending on location of vacuum take-off, different camshafts & with/without Igniter module. Expensive compared to alternatives but worth a look (I have one fitted).

[andyf]

For those that have Pinto engines fitted be careful there are a lot of cases where 3rd party distributors have stripped the oil pump drive gear so there are a few recommended manufacturers that you should stick to. As for the Magnetronic versus Optronic comparison all I can say is that even when the hall effect versions were working the results were better than points but nowhere near as good as what I'm witnessing with the Optronic setup.

[martinclan56]

In between applying the numerous coats required with the coach paint I have decided to use, I have been getting on with some of the numerous other little jobs.

First a little home chemistry to nickel plate the door hinges. Done with vinegar (acetic acid) a nickel anode, and a 12 volt battery.
Unfortunately the door hinges were already pitted with rust so the results aren't fantastic, but at least they shouldn't rust! They now look a bit like stainless steel.


nickel_plating by Robin Martin, on Flickr

hinges by Robin Martin, on Flickr

I have also completed the resto of my old school Triumph steering wheel, finishing it off with a leather cover from Ebay. What you can't see is that I have replaced the horn button with a little wireless electronic gizzmo which operates the horn - err - wirelessly. It just happens to fit exactly where the horn button used to be.

steering-wheel by Robin Martin, on Flickr

Now I must get on with the painting but don't hold your breath.....

[greyV8pete]

Just love the low tech plating set up and the good results it has produced.

[danny_nelson]

Always interesting to see something different.

[HairyDave]

A little more information, please. What is your power supply, and what are the two Racal gizmos?

[martinclan56]

Power supply is a nackered car battery. The two gizmos are a couple of resistors to limit the plating current. A variable resistor would have been better. The more current the faster, but rougher, the plating is. As I understand it - I am no expert!

[martinclan56]

The plan was to complete the coach painting of the body but, after a bit of a problem, I have temporarily put that on hold. Instead I have been doing the many small jobs required before the fitting of the windscreen.

I have done the final fit of the scuttle top to the bulkhead sealing it in place to (hopefully) discourage water leaks. I had a problem in that the temperature capiliary and oil pressure lines wanted to be in the same place as the demister hose. Eventually solved by turning the gauge through 90 degrees. Well it will at least be a talking point...
demister_hose by Robin Martin, on Flickr
dual_gauge_90 by Robin Martin, on Flickr

I have fitted a rear veiw mirror from a motorcycle which has a long arm so it means you can actually see something useful in it even with the hood and sidescreens fitted. I made a plate to fix it to the windscreen frame - it looks a bit ugly ATM but should be fine once it is painted the body colour. I also fitted some wind wings. These are mounted on the inside of the windscreen so thay can be left in place when the hood and sidescreens are on. Tapping the windscreen frame for the fixings definitely better done before the glass is fitted!
wind_wing2 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
mirror_and_windwing by Robin Martin, on Flickr

And solved the problem of the front of the hood tipping back when it is tensioned. Without this fix, I think there was the distinct possibility of the hood coming unclipped from the cant rail when at speed. I understand YKC used to make some plastic wedges for this purpose but I have used a couple of lengths of heater hose fixed to the inside of the cant rail which do the same job. You can clearly see the difference in how the top of the hood fits in the pictures.
hood_before by Robin Martin, on Flickr
hood_after by Robin Martin, on Flickr
hood_wedge by Robin Martin, on Flickr

And finally some opinions required :-) I have rescued the original stamped chassis number from the under door closing plate which I no longer have as my doors are larger extending all the way down to the chassis. I thought it would be quite cool to fix it somewhere visible as a homage to the original kit before I rebuilt everything. What about the dashboard. Here perhaps?
chassis_number1 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
Or here maybe?
chassis_number2 by

[Ye Ol Ripper]

Hi Robin. The rubber hose won't be safe to use . I used flat solid rubber pads and still lost my roof. Caused by a sudden side wind getting under the roof and it disappeared like a kite taking off and was instantly a spec in my rear mirror. Thankfully it didn't hit or get run over by the car behind!
I recommend you make some wooden wedges and glue them to the roof and also glue rubber e.g. a cut off a floor matt. To protect the window frame paintwork from the wood.

Your chasis number plate could be fitted on the bulkhead on the drivers side.

[martinclan56]

I have completed the windscreen installation but not without its difficulties.

I had trial fitted the windscreen clamp in the same position as the original builder but when I came to fit the windscreen I found the bottom edge was exposed. So I had to slot the mounting holes to move it up my a few mm. Grrrrr.

I also found that there was something amiss with how the scuttle top (on the inside of the windsceen) was fitted. There was a large uneven gap between its front face and the inside of the windscreen and also the windscreen clamp, on the otherside of the glass, whan clamped up was too close the the glass to get any sealant in. By now the scuttle top had been fixed in place so I had to make a spacer for the windscreen clamp. It all worked out in the end but a bit of a pain.
I have sealed/bonded the glass in place using a caravan sealer. This skins over but remains soft on the inside so should I ever want to replace the glass it should just be difficult rather than impossible!

Oh - and just to add to the problems I found a large semi circular scratch on the driver side of the windscreen presumably made by a windscreen arm. I think this may be an MOT failure so I reversed the glass so the scratch is on the passenger side and away from the drivers main field of vision.

And the final problem.... was that the wiper sweep was greater than 180 degrees so the blades ended up sweeping the windscreen clamp as well. Cured by changing the gear wheel in the Lucas wiper motor.
A few pictures.


windscreen_wipers by Robin Martin, on Flickr

windscreen_sealing by Robin Martin, on Flickr

I filled the space between the glass and the front face of the scuttle top using a 12mm foam bead. This I was able to squash in nicely to take up the uneven gap.

scuttle_top by Robin Martin, on Flickr

Windscreen washer bottle snuggeling in the passenger footwell (another saga...) I hope I won't need to fill it too often!

washer_bottle by Robin Martin, on Flickr

And, nothing to do with the windscreen installation, I bought some pretty custom engraved lables for the switches.

labels by Robin Martin, on Flickr