Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 The fellow that owns this 1930 Rolls Royce has finally decided that it is time to rewire it. I have been after him for years as it is quite a rats nest. So here we go. The hardest part I see so far is that the wires are enclosed in conduit. Signals were added at one time and they are going to stay for safety reasons. I had him order a pile of new wire from the UK. The dynamo has not worked because of bad wirers and connections. We had it rewound and also the cut out switch refubished. Hopefully it will work when this rats nest of wires is replaced. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 New wire to clean up the rats nest. Under the dash where signals were added years ago. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 Dynamo, Wires running up the left side of the cowl. Under the dash again. I've spent quite a bit of time just getting the conduit underneath the car loose enough to beable to pull the old wire out and the new wire though at the same time. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) Ignition switch. The Brits call it a switch box. It has a burned contact. If you look at the photos close you can see that the top contact does not have a nice J shape like the others. This is one reason it does not charge. Anyone know of a parts switch we can get a contact out of? I may just have to make new ones from scratch but it always pays to ask. More photos to come as we progress and I remember to bring my camera. Senility setting in at times. Dandy Dave. Edited August 18, 2022 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Glad this is your job and not mine. 8 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 A few more switch photos. Also we need some fuse wire holders if any one has any. Dandy Dave! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 4 minutes ago, Restorer32 said: Glad this is your job and not mine. Oh Yeah. 😵 🤪 😝 You don't have to be crazy to do this, but it sure helps. Dandy Dave! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Once did a '37 Bentley and was amazed to learn that Bentley needed 5 wires going to the petrol level sending unit. Also amazed to learn that the headlights were dimmed by mechanical solenoids that actually tilted the reflectors. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Restorer32 said: Once did a '37 Bentley and was amazed to learn that Bentley needed 5 wires going to the petrol level sending unit. Also amazed to learn that the headlights were dimmed by mechanical solenoids that actually tilted the reflectors. Oh yeah. Learning thing like "Near Side" and "Off Side" instead of left and right. Switch Box. Distribution Box. Semaphors instead of signals. The list goes on. This Rolls has a dimmer switch with coils mounted to the back of the head light reflectors. Edited August 18, 2022 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 The fact that it takes 12 or so steps to start an early Ghost tells you something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 3 minutes ago, Restorer32 said: The fact that it takes 12 or so steps to start an early Ghost tells you something. Yes, You need a trained Chauffeur for that. 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Cole Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 29 minutes ago, Dandy Dave said: Oh yeah. Learning thing like "Near Side" and "Off Side" instead of left and right. Switch Box. Distribution Box. Semaphors instead of signals. The list goes on. This Rolls has a dimmer switch with coils mounted to the back of the head light reflectors. Similar to everything as on my right-hand-drive 1947 Jaguar. The entire right headlight pod is tilted slightly down, plus the left headlight has the solenoid which dips the reflector, while the right headlight turns off on low-beam. And semaphors,..which practically no one knows what they are. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 We restored a '49 VW that had semaphores. I was the only one in the shop who knew what they were. Had to educate the crew. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 25 minutes ago, George Cole said: Similar to everything as on my right-hand-drive 1947 Jaguar. The entire right headlight pod is tilted slightly down, plus the left headlight has the solenoid which dips the reflector, while the right headlight turns off on low-beam. And semaphors,..which practically no one knows what they are. Nice car! Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Cole Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 I'm not trying to hijack your thread Dandy Dave, but do your semaphores look like these on my Jag? And yes, they are lighted for use at night. A vintage Jag parts dealer in the UK has new ones for $500 per pair. Regardless of whether they are NOS or repros, I'm sure they are in very limited quantity. I probably should bite the bullet and buy a pair of them just in case some smart-assed kid (or adult) decides to grab one of mine and break it off, when I'm demonstrating them at a show. And how often do you see all brass door hinges and pins with grease fittings? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryLime Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Crossing the border into Germany, the trafficator/ semaphore is known as a winker . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) Love the Jags but want to see more of them. That goes for the Rolls also! Sorry DD but the pics of the cars are as interesting as the rest of the thread, now back to our regularly scheduled rewire project dave s Edited August 18, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Cole Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 My mistake. I said I could get a replacement set for 500...that's English pounds, not dollars. Plus they add a handling fee. With shipping and customs, they will probably be right at $1k. Again,Dave, sorry for hijacking your thread. However, this might have application if your semaphores are the same as mine, you might want to tell the owner to buy a set of them as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Cole Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 9 minutes ago, SC38dls said: Love the Jags but want to see more of them. That goes for the Rolls also! Sorry DD but the pics of the cars are as interesting as the rest of the thread, now back to our regularly scheduled rewire project dave s I thought I posted pics of my Jag on an earlier thread...but maybe not. I'll open another to keep from hijacking Dandy Dave's thread any further. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 George you did but one can never get enough pics of good looking Jags, Rolls and Bentleys dave s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 First problem as I see it, the original service manual is in English. Bob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 The US and Great Britain. Two countries separated by a common language. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 PM sent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Normal car wiring X 10 = a RR is miserable to do (and then there was all the wires in thre 25/30 that had oil on them and swelled in the conduit (ie. FUN !!!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Have you spoken to Ted Levitt about rewiring the car? He just did an early Rolls Royce and may have some tips. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Some NOS one seen at a swap meet a few years ago. Craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 WOW ! A whole box of em. I would have probably bought a pair or two just cuz. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV Puleo Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 (edited) I've done a Silver Ghost. I had a 20-25 but didn't wire it. The Ghost had a floating ground system. Everything went back to the fuse box where it was grounded to the firewall. The Ghost also has the covered wires and I found it best to remove them and put then back when I was done. This was real headache because the little screws that held the covers in place went through the firewall and had nuts on the inside. Without a helper, putting them back was a real challenge. Wiring a RR is probably about 5 times harder than any other car. The semaphores are fine but I'd be inclined to add conventional directional lights. You aren't likely to find anyone on the road today who knows what they mean and I'd rather have some non-original lights than be hit. Edited August 19, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Cole Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 13 hours ago, JV Puleo said: The semaphores are fine but I'd be inclined to add conventional directional lights. You aren't likely to find anyone on the road today who knows what they mean and I'd rather have some non-original lights than be hit. Exactly the way I feel about the semaphores. They are an interesting novelty to demonstrate at shows, but I doubt anyone who did see me use them on the highway would know I was signaling for a turn. Likewise, the car only had one rather dim brake light. So I rewired the front fender marker lights into the semaphores, and added an extra pair of lights inside the rear license plate housing. I wired them up as turn signals and brake lights. They look like they are supposed to be there, and give me turn signals all around, as well as 2 very bright brake lights. Better to be non-original than to have someone sideswipe or rearend me when I'm turning. Also, as I'm still only running vintage New Zealand license plates on the car, I'm trying not to attract undue attention from the Gestapo. The car is licensed in FL, but there's no place to legally mount a conventional license plate, so I keep it under the passenger front seat. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 George don’t forget to start a new thread showing pics of your Jaguar. dave s 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dictator27 Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 On 8/18/2022 at 5:57 AM, George Cole said: I'm not trying to hijack your thread Dandy Dave, but do your semaphores look like these on my Jag? And yes, they are lighted for use at night. A vintage Jag parts dealer in the UK has new ones for $500 per pair. Regardless of whether they are NOS or repros, I'm sure they are in very limited quantity. I probably should bite the bullet and buy a pair of them just in case some smart-assed kid (or adult) decides to grab one of mine and break it off, when I'm demonstrating them at a show. And how often do you see all brass door hinges and pins with grease fittings? Do the semaphores flash when they are extended? They did on my first car, a 1946 Morris 10 Series M saloon. ( in 1964.) To meet Canadian regulations, both headlight reflectors tilted down for low beam. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Don't forget the Lucas replacement smoke. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 I helped a fellow in Garden City,NY named Lew Smith rewire a 1927 RR Phantom I roadster once ( Springfield car) about 50 years ago - he lead the way and I just did what I was told ! You really need two people to save some effort of getting up and down to bring one end to another area. Won't do that anymore, not into aerobics and need glasses on to see stuff for close up work more clearly.🙃 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 23, 2022 Author Share Posted August 23, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, Walt G said: I helped a fellow in Garden City,NY named Lew Smith rewire a 1927 RR Phantom I roadster once ( Springfield car) about 50 years ago - he lead the way and I just did what I was told ! You really need two people to save some effort of getting up and down to bring one end to another area. Won't do that anymore, not into aerobics and need glasses on to see stuff for close up work more clearly.🙃 Truer words have not been spoken. I have trifocals these days. I'm back at it later this morning with whichever grunt man is available. It is good to have a few days break inbetween the wires and other fun stuff. Edited August 23, 2022 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Cole Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 10 hours ago, dictator27 said: Do the semaphores flash when they are extended? They did on my first car, a 1946 Morris 10 Series M saloon. ( in 1964.) To meet Canadian regulations, both headlight reflectors tilted down for low beam. They didn't, but when I wired the additional lights into the semaphore circuit, I added a flasher for each side, so they now do. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 (edited) I Remember quite a few of my dads British 30s /40s cars had semaphores , I used to enjoy playing with them when parked , he always tinkered with about 6 at a time mind you we never had a roller or jag , I remember singer , wolverley . Jowett , Austin , hillman ,Vauxhall , Morris , standard , ford etc Naughtily I used to drive them a few yards on the starter 😁 Edited August 23, 2022 by Pilgrim65 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 More progress on the Rolls yesterday. Heading back today. Actually Install three new wires so we are going in the right direction. Some underneath photos for those who have never seen how a Rolls is wired. Agree that this is 5 times harder to wire than anything else automotive. The only thing that come close is 3 phase wiring in steel conduit in a comercial building. Makes me tired just thinking about it. The wires on the outside are signal wires that were added at a later time. Dandy Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 20 hours ago, Pilgrim65 said: I Remember quite a few of my dads British 30s /40s cars had semaphores , I used to enjoy playing with them when parked. I also remember playing with the semaphores on my next door neighbor's '53 VW Beetle convertible. Being there was no B-pillar, they were low enough where I could reach them!! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 More underneath photos. Last is the rear frame cover on the off side. (Left side over here which is not the drivers side on this car.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 24, 2022 Author Share Posted August 24, 2022 A few more. Left side frame cover. I removed the rear frame covers yesterday. This car originally only had tail lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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