All Blog Posts (475)

fitting the engine and box, plumbing the brakes and starting the wiring.

Anybody bored out there in duttonland I wouldn't say no to a helping hand (free tea and coffee provided)

Question time guys, hope you can help, when im brakeing with light to medium presure on pedal, i get some steering wheel shake, if i brake hard it dosent happen,the discs dont look warped and pads are good, the caliper pistons are free and the systems been bled . 2/ Started to get a noise that sounds like a loose heatsheild under Sierra but there are non! it happens under acceleration mainly, but not on overrun. Had rear axle on stands and run it up into top gear but it did'nt do it, there…

refitting the pedal box, steering column etc to the Sierra. Moved it all around and now I'm happy it's as straight as its going to get. I need to make a new mounting point for the top of the column as it doesn't line up with those dutton tab brackets anymore. The column will need to be shortened by about 9 1/2 inches and the tip triangulated, then a new shaft made with a splined UJ on the lower end.and a triangle bracket UJ at the top. 

Then set about repairing all the old holes in…

MY car used to have the geometry as follows...

Front;

Castor N/S  1 degree 55 minutes

          O/S  5 degrees

Camber N/S -ve 2 degrees 02 minutes

            O/S -ve 1 degree 19 minutes

Rear;

had a slight thrust (steering) to N/S of 0 degrees 28 minutes (had worn bushes, so i thought that was the problem)

Today i have just had it checked on the same machine and got the following......

Front;

castor N/S 6…

Got back a while ago, a little dissapointed there were no Legerras,but i found a nice black steering wheel that i liked in really good condition and a bargain at £12, been looking for one like it for ages, i held it between my legs for a while but had to move it as it was driveing me nuts! ! !.

You know how a light comes on when you open the fridge door, well although i cant find it, im sure theres a switch on my shed door and when i open the bloody thing it starts to rain! Its on a slight delay though because it waits until i have everything out of the shed that i need then it starts, at this rate ill get bugger all done for sunday!

Yesterday after a run out to collect some 14" wellers, parked up and about to get out of the Sierra, there was a loud metalic bang from somewhere on the car, after a look around i found the o/s front spring had broken!, so ive spent this afternoon changing it, ive no idea what Ib rateing the old spring ive put on is but the car stands level side to side so it will do to get to Newark, after that i think ill order a new pair but 2" shorter because its always had a nose up stance when unladen…

Hello my friends,

We have a few very nice days with Alexa´s Dutton on the in Constance Lake weeks show 2012 in Constance.

Many people were very interested in the history of our Dutton´s and this small cars. And the interest was significantly greater than in the rest of the (expensive) vintage cars. like Mercedes, Panter, MG, Cobra, Jaguar, Ford Mustang, -Pinto, and, and...

Here a some Pic´s from the  Lake Constance weeks. 2012

 …

Yes its been a while since i first discovered the leak, but until now the weathers been crap in the"garage", anyway i thought all along it was water pump gasket and it was. Whoever had fitted the pump last put the gasket on without any compound of any description, after cleaning up the e/ block and pump faces i made a new gasket and fitted it and the pump useing a little silicone sealer. The biggest problem i had was seperating the viscous fan and the pump, as i wanted to ditch it in favour…

I have come to the conclusion that whoever designed the column, pedalbox bracket and U/J layout on the S2 Sierra's was loco or suffered from some odd physical deformity. Absolutely nothing lines up properly on mine so tomorrow the pedal box and column are coming out again and I am going to re glass the floor, possibly even put a sheet of metal in to act as a bracer plate.

Pedals have steel brackets welded to the chassis strut brace and strut riser which are two inches too far to the…

Went to get front wheels balanced today at a small local garage, last time i went to Kwik-fit in town where the guy said one of the rims was out of"true" and had done his best but i would proberbly still get some steering wheel shake and i did.Today there was no mention of a rim out of "true" and it only cost £3 a wheel. Tried it out up to 75mph,( sorry officer i ment 50) and  not a twitch, so which explanation is it, has the rim repaired itself or, the guy at Sh##e-fit (as i now call it)…

The first clear day on the Sierra rebuild has a pedal box back in (thanks Daryl) heater box semi fitted (needs a gasket and one bolt hole re-drilling), bonnet hinges removed and repaired and a partial repair on the body to stop the hinge twisting back into the car through the scuttle.

Nudge bar is back off again ready to crank an engine in, the question is ... what engine?

2l pinto with a choice of 4 or 5 speeds or a 1300 xflow  for which I have no gearbox :-(

Its a…

Hello friends,

a few pictures from the       May meeting Kevelaer 2012…

After two years of slowly fading gelcoat I decided, before the lakes run, to polish the Legerra with a toy I found in the garage. The halfords polisher failed miserably on the last vehicle I tried to polish with it, seems I was using the wrong 'stuff' ... Tcut. 

I tried something else this time, G3 scratch remover, water in a spray bottle and this dirty great polisher. I'm pleased to say it worked a treat. Bit weird on the arms for a while afterwards but definitely took all the graft…

Here's the first view of what's covered my lovely clean garage floor, can you tell what it is yet?

I'm sorting the paperwork out with Ade but it's not going to be ready for Stoneleigh that's for sure.  It was a runner (before I got at it) because I was determined not to buy a several year long project.  However I could not afford a sorted runner so this is…

Our two when we got them august last year......

since EVERYONE else is doing show and tell.

single speed motor, a bit of work and it will look ok. if it is any good it can stay.

Digging... how much does my back ache?

With a Sierra and a Phaeton I am dying to get to grips with I really need my garage back so I have started work behind the garage on a small extension to store all the garden stuff and spare car parts in.

Two days and I'm now fighting ivy and blackthorn roots to make progress for the footings.

Mother nature consumed to little wooden shed that was there so this one will be brick and as we back onto a field thats three feet below our…

here is the tow bar i made for my car, it also has my spare wheel attachment on it. the long bar bolts to the chassis and sits under the boot floor, it bolts to the wider of the two cross bars welded to the tow bar assembly its made in a giant "U" shape to go around my fuel tank the taller of the  cross braces is a steady brace when the spare wheel is fitted and is not used…