[Jeroen]

I managed to finish and re-install the window guide rail with the new seal installed. As I mentioned, often most time is spent on items/parts that you will never see. This is a good example!

All ready to be put together.



First I needed to find a way to glue the new seal in the guide. I found a piece of plywood that did the trick. With plenty of glue, the guide and the seal were pressed together by using the plywood and some clamps. Left it overnight.



Done!





Test fit on the window, perfect fit from the seal!



When I took it all apart I noticed only one rivet. As I mentioned I had drilled one more hole. Two rivets is twice as strong as one rivet!!



But there was a problem. I have two rivet pliers. They are both guite wide and would not fit inside the rail and seal. So I had to improvise some sort of rivet plier extension.

Rummaged through my part bins.



I found this little knob. Not sure where it is from, but it was the perfect fit!! Drilled it through and grinded it to the correct length.



Makes for a perfect rivet-extender!!



Installing the window guide was a bit fiddly. Took me about 45 minutes and another 45 minutes to put the door card back on. And I am still not happy on how it sits, but it will have to do for now.

A testdrive showed the refurbished window guide rail works well. The window slides up and down easily and it does not rattle any more.

Time to get the Spider cleaned.



Because of the upcoming annual inspection APK (MOT), I did a few basic checks. One of them is to check all the lights, including reverse lights work. They did, but I also noticed the rear light unit was coming loose.

If you have followed this thread, you might recall it happened before. So I took it off the Spider. Whilst I was undoing the nuts I already felt what had happened. All four studs on which the unit rests against the chassis had broken off!!



Out comes my trusted fix everything JB Weld!



I hope this holds a bit longer than last time. I am pretty sure I did not use JB weld last time, fingers crossed. Let it cure for 24 hours before I will re-install it.



I also visited Gilbert about my Mini yesterday. Just about ready. They just need to put the finishing touches on it!!

Jeroen

[Jeroen]

My good friend Berndt had decided to sell a few of his oldtimers. Berndt had asked me and two other friends, Marco and Kees, to come and help extract them from his garage. Those of you who follow this thread will be familiar with Berndt's garage. It is not easy to find anything in there, let alone get anything out.

The new owner showed up with his son and his grand daughter Mila, who was very exited about it all. They already owned an Austin. They acquired it some 40 years ago and have restored it themselves. Both of Berndt's car are going to require some major work too. But nice to see these two cars go to an enthusiast who will restore them and make them road worthy again.

We had the first car out and on the trailer within 25 minutes.



They drove off to take it home, we went for another round of coffee. Next we started extracting the second car from the garage. It was parked all the way, stuck in a corner. We had to use a trolley jack to swing the rear out.



I was surprised to see the tyres still held their air, when we pumped them up. Even more surprising, the brakes were still working. I had expected them to be completely seized. British engineering at its best!



After about an hour and a half the new owner returned with the trailer for oldtimer number 2. As we were about to load up on the trailer, a bunch of one HP vehicles came pass!



Nice old registration plate. Look carefully, it is mounted on a contraption that can swing. So if you lower the boot, the registration plate will swing and remain vertical and visible.



Myla insisted she would winch the car all the way up onto the trailer! Strong little girl, she just kept on going!





On it goes



Berndt has a couple of lockups where he keeps more cars. We are going to move some more of his cars. One of these currently hidden cars needs a new gearbox. Berndt being Berndt doesn't have a new gearbox, but he has several old ones. So we will be doing some swapping to see if we can find one that fits and works.

In the Netherlands cars over 50 years of age do not require an annual inspection APK (MOT) anymore. This last car still has its Dutch registration so as soon as it is road-worthy, all it needs is insurance and can be driven once again. It will take some work as the head gasket was blown a couple of years ago.

Jeroen

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I was surprised to see the tyres still held their air, when we pumped them up. Even more surprising, the brakes were still working. I had expected them to be completely seized. British engineering at its best!

What is even more surprising for someone in India - a tropical country , is these cars in your garage and Berndt's don't show a trace of rust anywhere. They are spotless and so immaculate - as if they came out of the factory just now.

We see modern cars - barely 2 years old with rust here. It is understandable that the heat and moisture are not good for steel. But I still can't attribute all the rusting to tropics.

What makes your cars - so resistant to rust ? The 40-50 year old Austin would look spanking new if someone just dusted it.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Prowler

What makes your cars - so resistant to rust ? The 40-50 year old Austin would look spanking new if someone just dusted it.

The fact that are kept inside a dry garage makes all the difference. Doesn’t even have to be heated. Just dry with decent air circulation.

These cars have not been driven for many many years. Berndt will take out his oldtimers only with dry weather and only for short tours.

Makes a big difference. Of course climate is a big thing too. But irrespective of climate keeping your car in a garage even an open car port makes a considerable difference.

My wife grew up in Barbados. Tiny island in the West Indies. Lots of seasons with salt, high humidity often. Cars, houses everything suffers terribly.

Jeroen

[Thad E Ginathom]

In 1950s-early-60s England, rust seemed to be the reason my parents changed cars. During that period, we were not even near a coast, and the car was garaged. Perhaps a decade earlier, the workmanship was better?

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

In 1950s-early-60s England, rust seemed to be the reason my parents changed cars. During that period, we were not even near a coast, and the car was garaged. Perhaps a decade earlier, the workmanship was better?

There is a Corten steel bridge near Burliyar on the way to Ootacamund (ooty) which was built about a 150 years ago by the British. You can't find rust in that bridge even now. They used a special weathering steel called as Corten steel for building superstructures and bridges - so I read somewhere. Could they have used something like that in those days for cars ?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Prowler

... a special weathering steel called as Corten steel for building superstructures and bridges - so I read somewhere. Could they have used something like that in those days for cars ?

Within the over-all concept that owning any car was quite elite in 1940s, I'd say that for a more ordinary brand like Austen, I doubt that any special steel would have been used.

Jeroen might know?

Plainly, mass production has been part of car making since Mr Ford pioneered it, but I wonder if the cars of that era received a little more individual attention in finishing. Steel coatings and paint word is what improved subsequently, enabling manufacturers to offer body guarantees of a decade.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Plainly, mass production has been part of car making since Mr Ford pioneered it, but I wonder if the cars of that era received a little more individual attention in finishing. Steel coatings and paint word is what improved subsequently, enabling manufacturers to offer body guarantees of a decade.

I don’t think so. As a rule of thumb, the older the car, the more likely rust is going to be a problem. In fact modern cars are made of much better steel than 40-60 years ago. Let alone, these days the metal gets much better anti corrosion protection as well.

We should not deduce too much from just a few photographs. Just because you don’t see any obvious rust. I suspect both these cars have their share of rotten patches, especially underneath. I have not worked on these two cars, so I can’t tell for sure. But when you start stripping an old car there will be rust. And plenty of it!

Jeroen

[Nempuguru]

This photo is very nicely composed , looks as if taken from a World war era movie set.

I just fiddled a bit by changing the mode.

After about an hour and a half the new owner returned with the trailer for old timer number 2. As we were about to load up on the trailer, a bunch of one HP vehicles came pass!

Attachment 2597565

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Nempuguru

This photo is very nicely composed , looks as if taken from a World war era movie set.

I just fiddled a bit by changing the mode.
]

Very nice! I will print and give it to Berndt!
Jeroen