The Vauxhall Wyvern Project

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by mohaan

Congratulations - you have got company. There is one more Vauxhall getting ready in Chennai - 1953 Wyvern. Engine and body has been completed. Finishing is pending. Mohaan

Excellent to hear this!

Could you help us out with the restoration details? The car we are (Iam) restoring badly needs brake and engine parts, viz. shoes, wheel cylinders, etc.
How did you manage to procure mechanical spares for this model? I surprisingly hardly found any sources for those, even abroad!
Any pics. welcome too!

My mechanic had got some of the parts including an oil pump, ordered from bombay through someone. They are to be collected shortly.

Wasif, speaking of the Vauxhall at Erramanzil colony, the one I heard of was an E series Wyvern, like this one. No idea about the 40s one there that you mention.

Anyways, the RH front suspension is more or less done on this car. Photos so far pending (my apologies! ) to be posted shortly here.

[Stanher]

OK, here's an update on the restoration of bluestraveller's Wyvern-
'first had the engine head opened up, and got it redone. Although unfortunately, due to lack of further progress for months together, it sat idle and deteriorated again, albeit slightly!

ALso, on taking out the head, it seems as though the pistons/rings etc. would need to be replaced. They seem to have been used till they wore out (see pic)!



The drum, when removed, didn't present a very happy picture either...note the shoe held with a wire instead of the spring!!





My mechanic then said he'd first get the brakes/suspension working before proceeeding further with the engine.
So first got the RH front suspension opened up, each part cleaned in diesel and then sanded and coated in zinc primer then painted in matt black. Though it'd seem logical to do this after the whole car got painted, my mechanic said he didn't want to open up the suspension again once done.
It isn't possible to remove the top wishbone/fork as it's held in place with a different kind of bolt, which can only be cut. Hence the shock and spring were rather cumbersome to remove.

















Shock finally out.



More pics. to follow.

[wasif]

Your mechanic sure sounds like he knows what he is doing. It was an excellent idea to do the suspension etc before the engine.

BTW it would have been a good idea to have had the suspension components shot blasted to get rid of the layers of rust that have accumulated over the ages. You would have got a nice flat surface to paint on and this would have prevented further blooming of rust.

Wasif

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by wasif

BTW it would have been a good idea to have had the suspension components shot blasted to get rid of the layers of rust that have accumulated over the ages. You would have got a nice flat surface to paint on and this would have prevented further blooming of rust.

Wasif

Thanks. True, but then, as I said, with the forks being unremovable, there was no chance of doing that. A rather complex set-up IMHO.
Continued from my last post,

After the shock was out, the spring was depressed and taken out carefully. Then it was thoroughly washed in Diesel and all muck scraped off from it.







Then the forks/arms were washed a second time, and on drying, were sand-papered to be ready for painting.





The remains of the front hub and brake hose...couldn't find replacements for these so far.

[wasif]

It would be very hard if not impossible to source the correct hardware for the brake internals. I would go with a replacment from maybe the Jeep

[mohaan]

Originally Posted by Stanher

Excellent to hear this!

Could you help us out with the restoration details? The car we are (Iam) restoring badly needs brake and engine parts, viz. shoes, wheel cylinders, etc.
How did you manage to procure mechanical spares for this model? I surprisingly hardly found any sources for those, even abroad!
Any pics. welcome too!

My mechanic had got some of the parts including an oil pump, ordered from bombay through someone. They are to be collected shortly.

Wasif, speaking of the Vauxhall at Erramanzil colony, the one I heard of was an E series Wyvern, like this one. No idea about the 40s one there that you mention.

Anyways, the RH front suspension is more or less done on this car. Photos so far pending (my apologies! ) to be posted shortly here.

There are a number of parts here because there were two cars and one was made up complete. It was left for some time and the ownership changed and it is now being finished. The other one - suspension parts have been retained and the body scrapped. Someone else is also having meters and frills etc. We are not supposed to deal on this forum but we are ready to help you.

Regarding brakes shoes etc - nothing was missing. Shocks were a problem to take out. Sand blasting can be time consuming. What was done here is making a steel brush out of a number of cables - putting a number cable pieces together and binding with a metal strip - do three or four in various sizes - good for crevaces. Mohaan

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by mohaan

We are not supposed to deal on this forum but we are ready to help you.
Regarding brakes shoes etc - nothing was missing. Shocks were a problem to take out. Sand blasting can be time consuming.

If you don't need the brake/suspension parts or any mechanical/electrical parts, then I'd be more than happy to take those! The wiper mechanism on this model I understand, is connected to the aceelerator, so as you increase the speed, the wipers move faster. If you have a working unit to spare, then nothing like it.
Also 'need the original dicky lock and window glass sliding mechanisms for all 4 doors and also side glass for front doors. The glasses, as you'd know, slide up and down by being pulled and pushed respectively. A nice system, but difficult to find spares for I guess.

[Stanher]

Continuing on the Wyvern resto from my last post:

RH front suspension sprayed in zinc primer yellow and then finally in matt black. Not a prefect treatment but considerably better than the state it was in!





Shock done up and working, finally refitted. Axle stub also finihsed on the lathe and then refitted as well.









The front hub plate, meanwhile, has been modified with some different brake shoes (not sure which ones, just had a glimpse of it today....but these are slightly broader than the original ones on the hub, so I was told they had to be resized to have the width reduced), photos tomorrow.

[Stanher]

OK, sorry about the break-up again! Here's the continuation.

A 'new' backplate with shoes+wheel cylinders (which turned out to be a fiat one, much to my surprise!) was fitted on and checked last week- it was eventually rejected because it caused a lot of play within the drum I'm told. Plus a fiat drum cannot be fitted as it has 4 lug nut bolts, as opposed to 5 on the original drum.





So next option we had was to fit an Amby one. I was informed that the scrapguy had some brake/suspension parts from a scrapped landmaster (I don't know when he had scrapped the car so never saw it!) at his shop.

So then I went with my mechanic and picked up both front hubs+drums. This one seemed to fit allright.
The original drum however, could not be refitted to this backplate to a correct fit, so it was completely replaced by the landmaster assembly. Which will still work out as the rims are anyway amby ones (on the car ever since it was bought), and same fitting ratios as the original rims. Only the original axle was retained as it was found to be adaptable to this.







Now the only thing to be done is to fit new hoses, connect new pipes (which I reckon would be amby ones again) and drill new holes at the centre of the backplate for fitting it onto the axle, ie. close the existing 4 holes and then drill 3 holes, as on the original backplate.

[Stanher]

Sorry about the 'eternal' silence in this thread again! But having got a new job meant a little hectic time for me, so took quite a while to get the spark back into myself! Due to the same reason, I wasn't able to go down to the garage regularly again, managed to make a visit a couple of times recently though.

Continuing from where I'd left, the Amby front RH drum had successfully been fitted onto the axle, after the latter had been slightly modified to accommodate the drum.

Once that was done, work began this time on the LH front suspension/drum.





The suspension on this side was equally in a sorry state! In the years that the car sat junking away, it seemed to have been a lodging for all kinds of trash too! Drum on this side too, on being opened up, was found to be as skeletal! No shoes, wheel cylinders gone defunct.....and again, no replacements available. So this called for a Amby drum mod job too.











This time, my mech. managed to procure a wire-brush from somewhere so was able to give the whole setup on this side a thorough scrapedown following the suspension stripping.





Plus, I, having tried in vain to source Phosphoric acid locally for the rust-treatment, decided to give a try using a substitute, although it wouldn't have been as effective- I'll leave you to guess what this stuff is!
I had read once though, that this liquid, poured over and scrubbed with some aluminium foil wrap, is really good at taking off rust.





Unfortunately, in the meantime, my man had taken the liberty of hand-painting the suspension spring and arms in my absence, much to my chagrin!!
He said that the garage painter had been delaying on painting it up and he didn't want his own work to be held up as a result, so...!

Well, it may look better than what it was before.......yet I wasn't too happy with the work done without my knowledge. But he claimed this is an anti-rust coat and also assured me we could do a proper respray later, as even the inside of the wheel well, chassis would need one anyway. Let's hope for the best atleast then! Steering rod has not been reconnected yet as it needs to be straightened out- got bent due to the impact from the repeated towing the car went through. Brakes etc. to be connected later.







Plus point is that after the shock was fixed, the suspension was reassembled and the "new" Amby drum was successfully fitted, as on the other side. The original drum that was taken off with the rim proved quite a task to separate, the bolts having been jammed with rust! Once that was done, the wheel was fitted and the stands taken off, done just yesterday.





Now to begin work on the rear suspension.
Thanks to shiva (cyberdoctorind) for lending me his camera for the last 2 pics., as mine has conked out and will be fixed in a couple of days.

To be cont'd...

[IndrojitSircar]

Hi Stanher

Well the works seems to be going well.I just wanted to ask a few things.Don't get me wrong i am not trying tio put any one down or anything but just thought that i should ask you.
When the drums,wheel cylinders,brake shoe,dish(back plate) ,springs,shock absorbers were removed , why wern't the upper and lower suspension arms not removed?Do you plan to just get the car on the road some how for the time being or are you looking at doing a permanent job?If you are trying to do a temp job then procede the way you are but if you are looking at doing a one time job then i would suggest for the rear suspension you remove-the drums,wheel cylinder,Brake shoe,dish(back plate),axles from both side and the differential and do a thorough cleaning of the whole thing.
See i would say do the job once and do it the proper way so that you don't have to do again.(just a concern).What is the status on the engine and what is the corrosion like inside the car on the floor boards,running boards,etc?Could you take some pics of those as well?


Just being a bit inquisitive don't mind please.

Regards

[manishalive]

Guys,

For the speedometer I think contact Mubarak Meter Works, he might have it or otherwise the shop is quite apt at repairing any damn meter. This would be much cheaper than ebay.

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

When the drums,wheel cylinders,brake shoe,dish(back plate) ,springs,shock absorbers were removed , why wern't the upper and lower suspension arms not removed?

Good question- and the reason, as I'd mentioned in an earlier post, was- believe it or not- the suspension arms on either side are fitted in such a way that they simply cannot be removed without cutting/brazing off the retaining "bolts" that have them mounted! I've never seen anything like this before, every other car that does have suspension arms has them mounted with normal threaded bolts and nuts. But not this car! And my man could see no way of removing them, so at the risk of having to cut open the mounting "bolts" and not being able to find replacement ones, and other normal bolts possibly being unsuitable for them in some way, decided not to touch them.

if you are looking at doing a one time job then i would suggest for the rear suspension you remove-the drums,wheel cylinder,Brake shoe,dish(back plate),axles from both side and the differential and do a thorough cleaning of the whole thing.

Thanks. And I can assure you that this is exactly what my man plans to do too.
Unfortunately he too had inadvertently delayed his work on the rear, and now the rains (also delayed) are being a hindrance in his work when he's ready!

What is the status on the engine and what is the corrosion like inside the car on the floor boards,running boards,etc?Could you take some pics of those as well?

I will do so, once work proceeds. Engine will be looked after following the suspension. The head had been done up once, then unfortunately due to my man's negligence, someone at his home had thrown water over it, thus ruining it!

So it has to be redone.

Just being a bit inquisitive don't mind please.

Not at all! Your inquisitiveness is certainly welcome! As are any suggestions from you, going by your experience in this field.

[IndrojitSircar]

Ok thankx for the clarification.What are you guys doing about the steering?Have you guys removed the steering box and the column?or is that schedulded for later stages ?Other thing i wanted to ask was Is this car going to be completely restored in the current work shop?

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

What are you guys doing about the steering?Have you guys removed the steering box and the column?or is that scheduled for later stages ?Other thing i wanted to ask was Is this car going to be completely restored in the current work shop?

Yes, it is to be completely restored here, as per bluestraveller's request. Following that, it will be shipped over to his home in Bangalore.

Steering box too will be done up later, following the rear suspension. Speaking of which, the guy was supposed to have turned up today at the garage (even though it is closed after noon on sundays, we could still work on the car there with the garage owner's permission.) But unfortunately he was held up with other urgent work elswhere so couldn't make it. I was disappointed as was hoping to hang around and watch today, being my only free day!
Anyways, will see this week.