Rusty_OToole

When it came to destroying the British auto industry you never saw such teamwork. Government, unions, and management all working together to run the whole industry into the ground. England had some great cars in the fifties. If they had continued to progress along the same lines, I can easily see Standard Vanguard in the position Volvo occupies now. Austin invented the modern front drive subcompact and had a full line of models from 800cc to 1800cc on the market before Honda sold their first car. Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Bentley were once the envy of the luxury car world. And so on. As a VW beetle fan my eyes were opened by a 1949 Austin A40. This was a small car selling in the same class as the VW beetle but what a difference! How about this comparison. VW Beetle ---------------------------------Austin A40 1200cc engine, 30HP-air cooled...................1200cc engine, 40HP water cooled 4 speed trans, floor shift............................4 speed trans, floor shift 2 doors...................................................4 doors buslike vinyl seats.....................................leather seats rubber floor mats.......................................carpet cloth sunroof, optional at extra cost.............steel sliding sunroof, standard joke trunk................................................adequate trunk, with lid that folded .............................................................down to form a luggage rack for large .............................................................loads joke heater run by smog.............................adequate heater, hot water type If there was a VW dealer and an Austin dealer side by side the VW dealer would have starved to death... PROVIDED Austin HAD the dealers and the company SUPPORTED them with good products, and insisted on superior repair service. VW did this and prospered IN SPITE of their product's faults, and in spite of the anti Nazi prejudice of the forties and fifties. The British had 90% of the import car market in the US and Canada in the early fifties but they never followed it up. If they had committed long term to their export markets and plowed the profits back into better factories and products they could be as big as the Germans, Swedes, and Japanese rolled into one.

From an English car magazine, I learned years ago that BL Australia was put out of business by a strike, that took place about the time they brought out the P76. As you point out the P76 was designed in Australia for Australian conditions and was a chance for BL to compete on equal terms with Ford and Holden. When a reporter asked the head of the union how it could possibly be in the interest of his membership to bankrupt 1/3 of the Australian auto industry, he replied "can you imagine the power it will give us over Ford and Holden?"

Your car was built before the heavily leaded gas of the fifties and sixties. It was made to run on low octane, low lead or no lead gas. The lowest octane unleaded will be fine. Do not use high octane, it will run better on low octane. The flooding problem sounds like a worn needle valve or leaky float. Your carb is probably due for a rebuild.

Fuzzy dice are way overdone. I don't recall even seeing them before the 70s. Rubber shrunken heads were all the rage in 1957. So were "dingle balls" around the top of your windows. For the slightly older group, old enough to be married and have children, your baby's first pair of shoes. Personally I think it's corny and dangerous to clutter up your vision with such junk but to each his own. Of course, paint your wheels red. I don't know why but it was the first thing you used to do when you got a car. White rubber mud flaps with glass jewels on them. My uncle always had the coolest cars. I don't know where he got them but somehow he found them. For years he had a whip antenna like a police car's that he put on every car. It must have been 6 or 8 feet long. It went on the back bumper pan. I don't think he ever connected it to anything it was just there.

On most cars the adjustment is under the car, on the transmission, where the rod attaches to the lever.

Some cars used the chicken wire in the roof. Not sure what Olds used in 36.

Sure, all you need is one of these. [GISON] DG-10 Spark Plug Cleaner & Sand Blaster, Air Spot Sand Blaster, Air Tool, Air Tools, Pneumatic Tool, Pneumatic Tools, Taiwan Manufacturer, Factory, Supplier, China, Asia Stick the spark plug in, and blast for 3 seconds.Wobble it around or in other words, rotate the end. This allows the sand to get right inside. Use a low pressure so you don't pit the insulator. 20 to 30 pounds is usually enough pressure. Blow the sand out with compressed air then examine closely and pick out any bits of grit with a needle or Xacto knife. Finally set the gap using a wire gapper. If the electrode is rounded off you can file it square with a points file before you set the gap but this is not totally necessary. This is especially valuable when getting an old engine going. Plugs can get fouled up when you are tinkering with ignition, carburetor etc. and refuse to work. They get a black coating that shorts them out and it can only be removed by sandblasting. If you had to buy new plugs every time this happened you could go through half a dozen sets by the time you get the engine running and tuned up. Instead, clean and gap the old ones as necessary. When you have the engine purring it is time to put in the new plugs. Spark plugs will last a long time if cleaned and gapped regularly. Up until the sixties this was a standard part of every tuneup. Now spark plugs are so cheap it is easier to replace them. Plus unleaded gas does not foul them up and modern ignitions are not so finicky about plugs. Those plugs you are showing appear to be the type that come apart for cleaning. They have a gland nut that can be unscrewed and the insulator taken out. If so it can be cleaned with a jacknife and fine sandpaper. No sandblast necessary although it would be more convenient to sandblast. If you wish to restore those plugs to new appearance you can even restore the black finish to the rusty metal parts. Here is how to do it. Sandblast the rust off then heat the parts red and drop them into a can of linseed oil. They will come out with a hard black finish like original.

The original box had 2 door station wagon fenders (modified) on a stock box. The fenders were lengthened by adding a few inches of metal at the front the gas filler door was filled in and possibly other mods to make them fit the box. So, if the original panels are not available it would be possible to modify station wagon fenders or even 2 door sedan or hardtop fenders. There are a couple of Sweptside owners who post here, maybe one of them can give you more information.

You definitely need to clean the heads, valley and pan. That crusty stuff is bad news. It can wash into the oil pan and plug up your oil pump screen.

When you tighten the axle nut the hub and axle wedge together. This is all that holds them together under the torque of acceleration. The key itself is not near strong enough. So, once they have a chance to grow together for 50 years they are very hard to separate. And when you put them back together you must be sure they are clean and fit tight together. If the hub is allowed to spin on the axle both hub and axle can be ruined.

Submerge the whole engine in a vat of oil. Failing that, fill the cylinders and crankcase with oil and pour some down the carb too. Make sure all openings are sealed tight.

How long did you leave it open? A few minutes while you replace parts OK, if you leave it apart for several days you may have to bleed the whole system.

You have 2 choices: 1) Put it back the way it was and say nothing. 2) Remove the valve covers and clean inside them, and the heads. Scrape out the sludge from the valley , being careful not to let it go down in the pan if you can help it. Then remove the oil pan, clean it out, clean inside the engine, crankshaft and rods, and clean the oil pump screen. Put the pan back on. I have done this and if an engine was not too badly sludged up I would leave it. If it was real bad and the engine was otherwise good I would clean it out and cross my fingers.

There will be fluid in the system right up to where you disturb it. You only need to bleed the wheel you worked on. Unless you do something stupid like pump the pedal with the system open and run it dry.

Did you remember to put the rotor in? Don't laugh we've all done it.

I was referring to a previous post about a VW failing to pass inspection because of radial tires and a bumper sticker. My thought was that it was not because it had radials but because it had a mix of radial and bias ply tires. The VW was not a failure, it was the weirdest car to ever make the big time. I was a VW fan for years, in fact I still have a 66 standard beetle (Canada only model) in my garage. Not to mention a couple of dump truck loads of parts.

In most jurisdictions a bicycle with a motor under 50cc does not need to be registered or it is registered as a bicycle. Go ahead and ride it. If you get busted tell the cop I said it was OK

Just do your front brakes. You don't have to pinch anything. They are completely separate systems, they even have separate compartments in the reservoir. Rear brakes typically outlast fronts 3:1 or better. You might take the drums off to check for leaky wheel cylinders and worn shoes, but you probably don't need to touch them. Check the inside of the thinnest shoe as well as the outside. They don't always wear evenly. When they are the thickness of a dime at the thinnest point it's time for new shoes. You don't need rear discs either unless you drive in extremely severe conditions. The fronts do 70% of the stopping anyway.

Here in Ontario a car will fail inspection for having radial tires unless all 4 are radials. In other words, you must have all 4 radials or all 4 bias ply, no mixing no matter how good they are. This is not so much a concern today but it was back when bias ply and radials were both in common use. Some people would buy a pair of radials if they only needed 2 tires. Maybe that is why the VW failed?

Derusting by the electrolytic method can be done at home. All you need is a plastic container, water, washing soda, some scrap iron, and a battery charger. Here is a rundown on the process. If you do a search for electrolytic rust removal you will find many detailed descriptions. Tech Tips -- Electrolytic Rust Removal

The charabanc had been stored inside and was in good condition when given to Austin Clark. It was driven from Toronto to Long Island. This was about 1950 or 51. The vehicle was an early 20s model so it would be 25 or 30 years old at the time. I think I heard he took it to Florida but whether he drove it or shipped it I don't know. It would be interesting to learn what became of it if anyone remembers such a vehicle. The magazine article was in Mechanix Illustrated in 1951 or 52.

Does anyone know the fate of a "Ruggles" (possibly Rugby) bus donated to the Clark collection in the early fifties? I saw a picture of it in a magazine article from the early 50s about the collection. The vehicle was a bus from the early 20s. It had a very long wheelbase truck chassis with a row of seats, what they used to call in England a toast rack charabanc. It was used in Toronto Canada for years and when they took it out of service, they gave it to Mr. Clark in Long Island. I think from there, he took it to Florida. Does anyone know of such a vehicle?

In the long run the Continental should be worth a lot more. Notice I said should be, not will be. If you have any preference either way buy the one you like best. You will wind up OK. If your main concern is investment value, then old cars are a lousy investment in spite of what we tell our wives. Yes they can go up a lot but the upkeep, storage, insurance etc cost money too.

You know there are lots of cars for sale right now that you CAN save if you want to. No one has enough money to save them all. I think with regret of the cars rotting away, that I could have bought for a few hundred dollars 20 or 30 years ago, when they were just second hand cars.

Good advice from Frank on servicing your transmission and fluid drive. I would only add a few thoughts. Before you take the plug out of the fluid drive unit, stuff a rag around the hole in case you drop the plug. The owner's manual does not say you have to change the fluid drive fluid just top it up. But it can't hurt to change it.