UOL 524 1957 A35 Restoration

Restoration projects and Austin related chat in here please
AustinofEngland
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 7:05 pm
Location: Burton upon Trent
x 13

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by AustinofEngland »

Now turning some attention to the fuel system.
Image
I've managed to take this photo of the fuel tank filter which looks very bunged up and probably contributed to some of the running problems it had in the brief spell it was on the road. Is there any way of cleaning this up or is the consensus just to remove it? If so what is the best way to butcher it out? The tank has been blasted and stove enamelled, no holes after and is looking good on the outside. The inside could do with a clean out before assembly..
Last edited by AustinofEngland on Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
AUSTIN - you can depend on it!
AustinofEngland
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 7:05 pm
Location: Burton upon Trent
x 13

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by AustinofEngland »

I have sent the carburettor off to a specialist for overhaul.
Image
Here it is before removing it from the engine
Image Image
It's come back looking pretty enough
Image
Sporting its 1957 date mark. The main reason for sending it away was to save time, but if you want a job doing etc! It has some very obvious faults that have not been addressed, so I'll have to get stuck in and sort them out myself! I'll post more about this later....
Last edited by AustinofEngland on Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
AUSTIN - you can depend on it!
User avatar
gazza82
Site Admin
Posts: 5585
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 3:39 pm
Committee Role: WebEditor
Location: Buckinghamshire
x 2
x 17
Contact:

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by gazza82 »

AustinofEngland wrote:I've managed to take this photo of the fuel tank filter which looks very bunged up and probably contributed to some of the running problems it had in the brief spell it was on the road. Is there any way of cleaning this up or is the consensus just to remove it? If so what is the best way to butcher it out? The tank has been blasted and stove enamelled, no holes after and is looking good on the outside. The inside could do with a clean out before assembly..
So that's the end INSIDE the tank? I think Neil suggests poking through with brazing rod .. brass so no sparks.
"If you're driving on the edge ... you're leaving too much room!"

Club WebEditor.

Cars: "Project 757" '59 A35 2-door bought in 1971 & Subaru BRZ SE LUX Auto plus "family fleet": Alfa MiTo, Peugeot 206, (Ex '98 Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 TS)
User avatar
Neil Evans
Posts: 12179
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:06 am
Committee Role: Technical Officer
Location: Boston, Lincolnshire
x 11
x 25

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by Neil Evans »

gazza82 wrote:
So that's the end INSIDE the tank? I think Neil suggests poking through with brazing rod .. brass so no sparks.
Yes, photo taken through the sender unit aperture... Sometimes you can get at the gauze filter through the drain bung. If not, poke up through the fuel outlet... I've found the best place to fit an inline filter is in the raised floor area under the driver's seat.
Club Technical Information Officer
A30/A35 Club Member A191 (since 1972)

Father of the club's only love child
User avatar
A40FARINAGURU
Posts: 16412
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:14 am
Committee Role: A35 Registrar
Location: Birmingham (Home of the Austin)
x 21

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by A40FARINAGURU »

AustinofEngland wrote:I have sent the carburettor off to a specialist for overhaul.
Image[/url]
Sporting its 1957 date mark. The main reason for sending it away was to save time, but if you want a job doing etc! It has some very obvious faults that have not been addressed, so I'll have to get stuck in and sort them out myself! I'll post more about this later....
never knew they were dated, you learn something new...... :study:
Nick Bayliss

Club's A35 (Saloon) Registrar, South Midlands Area Contact

Email, a35@austina30a35ownersclub.co.uk

Connected with A30/A35's for 63 years

A30/A35 Member A1372 (since 1981)
SteveClem
Posts: 984
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:16 am
Location: near Belper

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by SteveClem »

Tell you what,they run a lot better with an su carb.
User avatar
gazza82
Site Admin
Posts: 5585
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 3:39 pm
Committee Role: WebEditor
Location: Buckinghamshire
x 2
x 17
Contact:

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by gazza82 »

Neil Evans wrote:
gazza82 wrote:
So that's the end INSIDE the tank? I think Neil suggests poking through with brazing rod .. brass so no sparks.
Yes, photo taken through the sender unit aperture... Sometimes you can get at the gauze filter through the drain bung. If not, poke up through the fuel outlet... I've found the best place to fit an inline filter is in the raised floor area under the driver's seat.
Haven't managed to get my sender out yet ... usual screw problem .. they won't un .... :-)
"If you're driving on the edge ... you're leaving too much room!"

Club WebEditor.

Cars: "Project 757" '59 A35 2-door bought in 1971 & Subaru BRZ SE LUX Auto plus "family fleet": Alfa MiTo, Peugeot 206, (Ex '98 Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 TS)
User avatar
Duncan
Posts: 613
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 8:22 am
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
x 27
x 2

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by Duncan »

SteveClem wrote:Tell you what,they run a lot better with an su carb.
if that's the case, they must run much better with two su's... :whistle:
Edosan
Posts: 1406
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Dronfield, Sheffield
x 1

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by Edosan »

I removed one of those filters on a friends tank recently, was surprised how easily it all came off, basically just attacked it with a hammer and big long screwdriver from the sender hole and it all fell off with little force, Just seemed to be weakly brazed in place. No worry about sparks as tank had been off for awhile and filled and rinsed with water etc so quite safe. :wave:
User avatar
gazza82
Site Admin
Posts: 5585
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 3:39 pm
Committee Role: WebEditor
Location: Buckinghamshire
x 2
x 17
Contact:

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by gazza82 »

Duncan wrote:
SteveClem wrote:Tell you what,they run a lot better with an su carb.
if that's the case, they must run much better with two su's... :whistle:
If balanced correctly ... and stay in balance! :)
"If you're driving on the edge ... you're leaving too much room!"

Club WebEditor.

Cars: "Project 757" '59 A35 2-door bought in 1971 & Subaru BRZ SE LUX Auto plus "family fleet": Alfa MiTo, Peugeot 206, (Ex '98 Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 TS)
SteveClem
Posts: 984
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:16 am
Location: near Belper

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by SteveClem »

One su is fine. I just like local pottering around but without embarrassment...
AustinofEngland
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 7:05 pm
Location: Burton upon Trent
x 13

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by AustinofEngland »

Neil Evans wrote:
gazza82 wrote:
So that's the end INSIDE the tank? I think Neil suggests poking through with brazing rod .. brass so no sparks.
Yes, photo taken through the sender unit aperture... Sometimes you can get at the gauze filter through the drain bung. If not, poke up through the fuel outlet... I've found the best place to fit an inline filter is in the raised floor area under the driver's seat.
Edosan wrote:I removed one of those filters on a friends tank recently, was surprised how easily it all came off, basically just attacked it with a hammer and big long screwdriver from the sender hole and it all fell off with little force, Just seemed to be weakly brazed in place. No worry about sparks as tank had been off for awhile and filled and rinsed with water etc so quite safe. :wave:
Thanks for the advice about this, I've had a look at it and worked through the sender unit aperture.
Image
With a suitable shaped implement I've managed to gently bend up the fuel pipe in the tank about 3/4", this allowed the whole filter assembly to be removed from the pipe which out of interest it has the end cut at a 45 degree angle.
Image
The filter remained intact so I tried to clean it up and see if it was salvageable.
Image
Which it did! It's cleaned up a treat and seems to be a copper mesh filter with brass ends all soldered together. This one did not appear to be attached to the bottom of the tank (but that attachment could have failed over the years) but may rely on the pipe pressing it down on the base of the tank.
Image
Inside it has a spring to keep it in shape. I'll be attempting to clean out the inside of the tank first before I see if it will refit.
A40FARINAGURU wrote:
AustinofEngland wrote:I have sent the carburettor off to a specialist for overhaul.
Image
Sporting its 1957 date mark. The main reason for sending it away was to save time, but if you want a job doing etc! It has some very obvious faults that have not been addressed, so I'll have to get stuck in and sort them out myself! I'll post more about this later....
never knew they were dated, you learn something new...... :study:
Well I assume it is otherwise it would be a strange coincidence! :thumbs:
Last edited by AustinofEngland on Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:05 am, edited 2 times in total.
AUSTIN - you can depend on it!
AustinofEngland
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 7:05 pm
Location: Burton upon Trent
x 13

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by AustinofEngland »

Zenith as returned from the so called specialist...
Image Image
Had a look up close at the carburettor, found that it has suffered the usual body distortion.
Measuring the gap between the bottom of the float body to the main body on the emulsion tube side there is a 13 thou gap!
Image
Measuring the the gap between the body and the float chamber there is a 6 thou gap! This means we can establish that it would have leaked fuel and ran like a three legged dog before going anywhere near the engine.
Image
Picking up some tips from the forums the distortion looked quite minor compared with some I've seen, so I've decided to try and correct it by dressing down the float chamber top face to adjust out the distortion.
Image Image
Stripped out all the jets etc to a bare casting.
Image
I found highlighting the machined face with a marker pen would give a good guide as where the material was removed.
Image
After some trial and error offering the chamber up to the body and measuring with a feeler gauge the gaps started to close up.
Image
An initial trial with both gaskets fitted looked good but on one side there was still a 1 thou or so gap towards the top edge.
Image
This was a combination of dressing the actual main body which had a high spot at the bottom and
Image
years of undoing/tightening the two float chamber bolts. This had crushed the top edge of the body causing a small ring to foul the bolts, with this filled out it allowed movement closer to the main body and the gap closed up.
Image
It's worth noting that with the amount of material removed from the top side of the float chamber that the emulsion tube gasket does not sit flush and may need to be trimmed down, but in this case it was an advantage because the float chamber top gasket did not but up to the edge of the right angle of the main body. When assembled it formed a perfect overlap with the other gasket...
Image
The final thing I've noticed is that the two main jet access bungs have had fibre washers fitted that are too large. One has been cut down so they fit together, but it looks too close for comfort and just asking to leak fuel. Did they have fibre washers fitted originally or are they aluminium / copper ones?
Image
After fully reassembling the float chamber and bolting it all back together and finally no gaps anymore, patting myself on the back I found this in the cardboard box for storing the carburettor....
Image
:whistle: :whistle: :whistle:
Last edited by AustinofEngland on Mon Sep 04, 2017 7:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
AUSTIN - you can depend on it!
AustinofEngland
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 7:05 pm
Location: Burton upon Trent
x 13

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by AustinofEngland »

A real odd one here I noticed that the bonnet secondary safety catch has lost is springiness for some reason...
Image
The spring has gone all sloppy and could be quite dangerous if the bonnet became unlatched
Image
Should you need one it is still available as a separate part under the original Austin part number 4B8646 from the likes of Rimmer Bros and Brown & Gammons etc....
Last edited by AustinofEngland on Mon Sep 04, 2017 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
AUSTIN - you can depend on it!
Bill
Posts: 729
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:37 pm
Location: Taunton

Re: UOL 1957 A35 Restoration

Post by Bill »

Try as I may I never got a Zenith to run correctly. There was always a very slight hesitation on pick up. I spent £200 on a refurbish at Gower and Lee and the thing leaked and still never ran right. If you stood the car for any time it took 30 seconds of cranking to get it started. Evaporation was a big issue. I agree with the comments that they run much better on an SU. Anyone want a refurbished Zenith that is a s good as they ever get?
Post Reply