All Blog Posts (475)

All the time i have been in the DOC i have only seen the Dutton power bulge that fits on the O/S of the bonnet hump and with its opening facing forward, i have even seen this hump fitted to the N/S of the bonnet but the opening facing rearwards, so i assumed that Dutton only did one version.

Until today when i got home and i noticed on one of the bonnets i recently acquired has a bonnet bulge of the opposite type/side. so i am going to make a mould of it so it can be copied...... 

Yes i've fitted the new spring today,managed to get around the seen and unforseen snags of replacing a multileaf spring with a monoleaf , the thing that disappointed me though was that the polybushes that had been fitted to the multileaf springs don't fit the monoleafs, luckily i have enough rubber bushes to get by. So now i need to do the other side as soon as i can.

this is a link to an ebay advert in which the owner thinks his rear end is an improvement on the dutton rear.....hes obviously on drugs...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUTTON-PHAETON-SPECIAL-BODY-/121078485684?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c30d712b4

but just in case it disappears here are some pictures.......…

Dismantling my spare engine block.

As you can see it's now in bits, all carefully laid out on a clean board. What you cant see clearly is crud, oily rust particles which have crept in everywhere, Dave is bringing me some engine wash tomorrow to clean up this mess with. By this time tomorrow I hope to have a pile of nice clean parts to…

Dave My mud guards are stuck on with stikaflex been over the 100 mph with no problems. The top part of the stay is formed in 6mm rod, after the bend it goes down inside tube. I put a bead on top of the rod and bedded the mud guard down and then I put some on the underside of the bar, I then smothed it all in together right round the bar.  I would also give the thumbs up for the badge in white wth blue and red lines.

This may be very obvious to some of you folks out there but prior to this method shown i used my vice and various sockets to force the bushes out. however i saw someone use this method to remove some heavy duty bushes on a rear subframe on a Fiat car, and thought DOH! why didn't i think of that.......

Take your suspension piece and secure it...…

http://www.mustangmonthly.com/howto/41618/viewall.html

one of a few i have found on the net which is a useful guide....

thought i would start a page for cars spotted....

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dutton_Phaeton_-_Flickr_-_exfordy_%281%29.jpg…

here are some pics of my sierra.......

and....

finally,

it is likely that i will swap the 14" wellers it currently has…

When diagnosing some faults some mechanics have well tried methods that for the most part work very well.

take wheel bearings....recently my truck had a wheel bearing failure, i noticed it while driving and noticed that when turning left the bearing noise went quiet and when turning right it got noisier......therefore the N/S (front axle in this case) bearing was suspect, and on checking it it was warm to the touch...sorted.

And so it was on my sierra just recently, both…

The S1 i bought with the 2.0L Lancia twin cam in it has just been to the DVLA local office and been inspected.....

It wont get to keep the current registration, TTW 770 R but as soon as its its made legal it will get an age related number plate.

RESULT!

All i have to do now is get it ready for the road.....yeah all i have to do......on top of another S1 rebuild.

Still........

£200 for a complete S1 with V5 (well if you allow it will get one...)

So i…

The Jag S Type 'box arrived today.  It must be half the weight of the Essex V6 4 speed, I could lift the Jag 'box with one hand (just about).  It is a lot more compact than the Ford Essex 'box.  Also it is 5 speed (hopefully if it works).  Until this arrived I was still unsure which way to jump, stay will the Essex or go Jag AJ V6 (Duratec).  This 'box is so compact and light, it has to be the future.  I know this will be a challenge as I know nothing about engine management, but it is time…

Just a fault, When Piers was magazine editor he was for ever takeing pics at the shows, What ever happend to that libary of pics,They may be a private collection or does the club have access 

boy will i be glad to see the back of 2012.....

one way or another it has been a truly awful year for me and its not done with me yet. my garage roof leaks (hopefully bodged....er repaired) the tumble drier has packed in....with all my work clothes in it. one point of luck is that there was a spare tumble drier in my way in the garage ....(no longer in my way and i now have a load of self tappers and sheet steel. :-)  )

And i am struggling to find a propshaft for my…

well i have done the head on my sierra and fitted a new dissy (electronic) as well as strip and clean the carb and cured the misfire, which i thought was the main reason for the sudden arrival of a vibration i have......only the vibration is still there so under the car i went and the centre U/J on the prop is totally knackered. it has the staked bearings not the circlip type so will be a bit of a pain to sort. Any of you lads out there have a spare split prop for me please?

I have no objection to paying a sum of £1.50 for the site

busy weekend. This should help with chassis stiffness as wll as replacing the missing interior moulding. Transmission tunnel not quite finished but nearly there