I'd like you to meet... Henry

Well, it’s safe to say the 200 miles last Saturday weren’t entirely kind to Henry’s 55 year old engine, and we seem to have sprung oil leaks from just about everywhere! Nothing that wouldn’t have happened anyway with use, but I guess I did rather hasten the issues!
Still, it’s all fixable and thankfully Morris Minor mechanics seem to be a lot quicker at getting jobs booked in and sorted that VW ones.
Anyhow, as I can’t go out driving much until the oil has been made to stay where it’s put, I’ve been cleaning.
….I’m not sure Henry has seen much of this over the last few years, the back seat was particularly grim.

 

That’s lovely!
Yes, I think Smoke Grey too, it’s the right interior colour and the right age (‘67).
I think the red interiors were lovely. They seemed to put the blue/grey ones with most colours through the 60’s though.
I’d love to get the seats restuffed and covered, get the door cards and other panels sorted too, but slowly slowly, there’s quite a bit to do…. The bottom of the drivers door is a tad crispy, and there’s a few bubbles here and there. The engine is priority though, or I’ll have to take out shares in Halfords classic 20/50!

 

So the 200 mile journey home from Cornwall wasn’t kind to Henry’s tired and unused engine. I probably wasn’t too kind to Henry by doing it, but all the issues were there….. I just probably hastened the demise of the seals and gaskets, rather than actually caused them.
Anyhow, Henry has headed off to the Morris repairman about 10 days ago




and today it looks like work has begun….

 

Having just spoken to the afore-mentioned repairman, we are all wondering how I made it back from Cornwall at all!
The gearbox oil was practically non-existent, the engine oil was like treacle, and the engine mounts were so rusty that it was really only it's weight that was holding the engine in place.
Oh, and the brake servo had been mounted upside down!

I'm going over next tuesday to have a look and see progress.
He initially said it'd be about a week..... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

I may need to pin my hopes on this…..

 

When a mechanic opens with the line "Do you want the good news or the bad news?", it's never going to be the start of a fantastic evening!
Apparently the gearbox bearings are all worn (rebuild time), the clutch was so flat that even the rivets were worn through and it's a wonder we moved at all (I'm actually really rather good at driving with about 5mm of clutch at the top of the pedal. It's a skill ), and the engine requires a full rebuild including cylinders, new pistons and all that jazz. Well that's the bad news out of the way!
The good news was that at least the engine is rebuildable. Apparently a replacement A series engine comes in just over 3K these days, and if there's nothing to exchange, you can add another £900.
Ouch. All that for a 1098cc too. Suddenly I'm getting a warm fuzzy feeling of love towards my old Type 1 VW engine!

Hey ho.
I've started compiling a list of things I can sell.
Anyone want a CA code 3 rib gear box?
How about a set of 1930s dining room chairs?
A set of alloy wheels for an old volvo?
I've got 2 kidneys, I could probably spare one?

 

To be fair, I'm not sure where this £3k figure came from.... I need to do some research. It does seem very high.

Edit: I think this is from somewhere like ESM or Charles Ware, the two 'big' suppliers. I could go cheaper with an ebay special.... or I could just get mine rebuilt for £500. Think I know which box we're ticking on this one...!

 

In fairness, he is quite cheerful
and he did make me a cup of tea before delivering the 'good news / bad news' line!