1947 MORRIS Z VAN
We had spent a few years looking for an old van for ourselves to restore and put into our company livery. We came across a Morris Z van in Wales which was a runner, so quite a good starting point. Upon arrival at MVE, Ian gave the van a quick test drive and discovered it had no brakes. Once back in the workshop, the strip down began. The engine and gearbox were removed and all the chrome and glass were taken off ready for it to go to the paint shop.
At the paint shop the van was stripped back to bare metal and some “lovely” fibre glass repairs were found at the sills. We therefore decided to remove the body from the chassis so that the repairs could be redone correctly. This also gave us the opportunity to carry out a full chassis overhaul: the old banana yellow paint was stripped off and it was repainted in black gloss; all the brake pipes were renewed; the suspension, steering box and drag link were overhauled; etc. The chassis then went back to the paint shop to be reunited with the body for painting to begin. In the meantime, we continued with the engine and gearbox rebuild.
The van duly arrived back from painting and the build up began. We carried out a full re-wire which included converting the van to 12 volt and the addition of indicators (for safety reasons, however we have kept the semaphores operational too). The bright ware had been sent away for re-chroming and was built back up and refitted and new glass fitted all round. After road testing and a voluntary MOT we took it to have our details hand painted on the panels by a traditional sign-writer.
We have attended various shows and the van won “Best in Show” at the Morris Register’s annual rally in 2016, much to our delight.
At the paint shop the van was stripped back to bare metal and some “lovely” fibre glass repairs were found at the sills. We therefore decided to remove the body from the chassis so that the repairs could be redone correctly. This also gave us the opportunity to carry out a full chassis overhaul: the old banana yellow paint was stripped off and it was repainted in black gloss; all the brake pipes were renewed; the suspension, steering box and drag link were overhauled; etc. The chassis then went back to the paint shop to be reunited with the body for painting to begin. In the meantime, we continued with the engine and gearbox rebuild.
The van duly arrived back from painting and the build up began. We carried out a full re-wire which included converting the van to 12 volt and the addition of indicators (for safety reasons, however we have kept the semaphores operational too). The bright ware had been sent away for re-chroming and was built back up and refitted and new glass fitted all round. After road testing and a voluntary MOT we took it to have our details hand painted on the panels by a traditional sign-writer.
We have attended various shows and the van won “Best in Show” at the Morris Register’s annual rally in 2016, much to our delight.
1914 WOLSELEY 24/30 ENGINE REBUILD
Early in 2016 we were asked to have a look at a 1914 Wolseley 24/30 for the owner who wanted to use it for the Veteran Car Club autumn run. He reported that it seemed under-powered and struggled to get up hills and was blowing smoke everywhere.
We got the car up to the workshop in March and carried out various tests which showed that the engine was very sick indeed. It had low compressions and a badly worn camshaft. We removed the engine and stripped it down and started trying to source parts. These were non-existent, so we had to have new valves made, as well as having new aluminium pistons made in the USA to replace the existing cast iron ones. We turned our attention to the camshaft and requisitioned a new one to be made with increased valve over-lap to give better performance by allowing the engine to breath.
After a number of weeks of waiting for the new parts to arrive, as well as having the sump and centre block metal-stitched, it was a big push to get the car finished in time and it was delivered mid-September ready for the run, as requested.
We got the car up to the workshop in March and carried out various tests which showed that the engine was very sick indeed. It had low compressions and a badly worn camshaft. We removed the engine and stripped it down and started trying to source parts. These were non-existent, so we had to have new valves made, as well as having new aluminium pistons made in the USA to replace the existing cast iron ones. We turned our attention to the camshaft and requisitioned a new one to be made with increased valve over-lap to give better performance by allowing the engine to breath.
After a number of weeks of waiting for the new parts to arrive, as well as having the sump and centre block metal-stitched, it was a big push to get the car finished in time and it was delivered mid-September ready for the run, as requested.
