It runs even better

Got the new VW carburettor in the post this morning. Less than 2 days to come down from QLD.

This afternoon Dad and I fitted the new carb on the engine, reset the timing, fired it up and fine tuned the idle. It runs so well now, no flat spots. We also changed the oil  after some running to flush out the system after sitting for so long.

Next job is to re-adjust the tappets and confirm the timing. Then it can go back in the frame. Just not this weekend. We will be working to get Dads M19 Fairmont back together. It went in for a mechanical overhaul 7 years ago and only now ready to be re-assembled.

The M19 delivered in 2005

I bought the M19 for a Fathers day present in 2005.

It runs!

Yes the engine runs...sort of. As suspected the original carburettor is not ideal for the job. It's the industrial engine version where you just set and forget the throttle. The problem we are having is flat spotting. So we are going to fit the automotive type carb.

YouTube link here

I picked up a brand new carb off eBay, should be here in a week.

Had a little trouble fitting the clutch housing back on, at some point something has changed, either different clutch plate or different release bearing but when all assembled the release bearing was jammed up tight between the bearing carrier and clutch plate, making the clutch slip. Some one had a go at rectifying it by putting spacing washers between the engine case and clutch housing but it still didn't allow enough clearance. The bearing carrier is a separately machined part of the clutch housing so some 6mm spacers were made to space the carrier further out. The release bearing now has room to move. If this modification wasn't done, as the clutch wears it would have started to slip and compound the problem.

The clutch housing holds the starter so it was fitted so the engine can be started on the bench.

All new hanger pins for the suspension have been made. These are 1/2" rod and new threads cut into them. The brake linkages were welded up, ground flat and re drilled, threads were cleaned up as well.

The hard wood blocks that the engine is mounted to were made to replace the rotten ones.

The frame is all painted and moved back into the shed awaiting reassembly. Oddly the engine will be the first thing to go back in then the axles and gearbox.

Engine mounting blocks

Engine all together

Frame Painted

New suspension bolts

Re-made brake linkages

The new bolts that are going into the VW



Down and dirty

Several days with angle grinder and bench grinder, both fitted with a wire wheel and most of everything that will be reused is all clean. The shed looks like a disaster zone with dust and paint flakes everywhere.

The frame was also flipped up the right way and painted. Left it to dry for a few days, now it's wrapped in plastic to mask off the hand rails. These are going to be black along with the foot steps.

The engine tins got a lick of paint and now ready to be assembled on the engine this weekend. By the end the engine should be finished and be put aside until it's ready to be placed back in the frame.

A great debate arose whether the axle boxes should be painted or left in their natural steel look. in the end they were painted. I have a seen other jobs were they have not been painted and while it does give a more machine appearance it sort of looked only half finished. A lot of work has gone into the VW to make it look special and it is being done up not just mechanically but it will be a show piece.

Next week it is back to work with my day job. It's hoped to get the painting done before them. So far it's looking good. Phase 3 of this project will commence, in the form of late nights assembling the whole thing. No where near the home stretch just yet but over the last two weeks it is progressed in leaps and bounds.

 

Engine tin ware

Some of the cleaned components

Brake rods

Axle boxes

Hubs, Sweeps, stays, many cleaned parts



Painted frame

Frame masked for painting the hand rails and foot steps

 

Dad on the wire wheel



You win some and lose some

I shouldn't have celebrated so much about the Wickham. Last week end it failed again, this time the rear axle has slipped through the bearing and as a result the left rear wheel is rubbing on the chassis. The fix is simple but for the time being it has been put away until the VW is further along. Sort of glad these thing show up in testing, on longer runs it would be disastrous.


526 pauses in the Crookwell yard.

On the brighter side, after a small delay, paint has begun to fly on the VW project. I couldn't be happier about the colour choice, a nice deep but bright red. Norglass Fleet Red to be exact. It's a marine grade enamel made in Sydney NSW.  So far the underside of the frame, axles, brake handle, skid rails and axle carriers are painted. I still have a lot of paint stripping to go and many brake linkages to remake.

Dad put the heads back on the engine and adjusted the tappets. The tin cowlings will be cleaned up and painted in the next couple of days, then the rest of the engine can be reassembled.

The frame and axles in the makeshift spray booth

Oh yeah, the trike trailer got a make over a couple of weeks ago. New, longer A frame, new springs, Ford hubs and tyres. It has made it more stable on the road.



Things are starting to click now

Over Easter the Wickham was given a thorough shake down after it's engine rebuilt.

I can happily report...Yippee, hooray, oh yeah, It went well. From the time it rolled off the trailer and back on 4 days later it never missed a beat, nothing broke, nothing fell off. The car is now tucked back into bed and there is nothing more to do. What a great feeling after the last 10 months of on and off work and an empty wallet. The biggest difference is how smooth it is in ride and power. No revving the engine to get it moving. Crack the throttle and squeeze on the clutch and off you go. 

It has been 25 years this month since I first got to drive 526, from Cowra to Carcoar. Back then it was just a coat of paint otherwise it was as is from State Rail.  A nice little anniversary to have it fully restored. It is a shame that 526 can't run on the straight rails of the Cowra-Blayney line. I would love to hear it sing again.

This weekend more was done to the VW. The battery cradle was resized and the corroded part of a hand rail was cut out and replaced. The paint is on order and should be here on Tuesday. The (and I use the term loosely) "paint booth" has been set up.

"Paint Booth"

Productive Weekend

The VW heads are back and looking very schmick and got 526's cylinder bore back as well.

The last 2 days Dad and I reassembled 526's primary Wisconsin engine and swapped it back in. Good thing too as the back up engine suffered a blown head gasket. The carburettor also got overhauled, surprisingly enough genuine carby kits are still available for the L106 Walbro. Anyway, this now marks the last of the mechanical work on the Wickham. Everything thing has been either restored, remade or replaced.

We also fitted a UHF radio for use with the Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway. It is a commercial radio with GCHR having it's own repeater on a hill. The Wickham is off to Crookwell over Easter for some running. It will be a good opportunity to run in the overhauled engine. 


The VW was to be worked on and should have been in paint  but I suffered a pinched nerve in my back and was laid up for most of last week. So we will have to see what happens after Easter. There can't be any excuses for delays now, everything I need to complete the VW is sitting in the shed waiting for me.

Backup engine



The primary engine

I swear they are different :)

The Wisconsin bore, new 0.020" oversize piston, pin and rings

VW heads all shiny and (almost) new.

The frame is back

The frame has been to the sand blaster, it has identified some corrosion that will have to be removed and repaired.  The battery cradle will have to be re-jigged to accept two 6 volt batteries. Efforts to convert the starter from 6 volt to 12 volt proved futile, it will remain 6 volt while everything else will be 12 volt. The starter will draw from just one of the batteries.

Paint will fly once the frame is ready.

On the engine front, I'm still waiting for the heads to be overhauled. This was delayed when the engine shop broke a very expensive tool and had to order a new one to complete the job. In the mean time, new parts were ordered and delivered. New distributor, alternator, spark leads and other little odds and sods. The mechanical fuel pump had to be removed to make way for the alternator and has been blanked off, I'll fit and electric fuel pump near the fuel tank. This should help when the VW will sit still for long periods and the fuel bowl dries out, I won't have to crank the engine until it fills.

I'm dreading all the other clean up jobs for all the smaller parts that I didn't trust to go the sand blaster (for fear of damage from the sand itself). These include the control rods, brake rigging, clutch housing, gearbox and axles. This will take many hours with an angle grinder fitted with a wire wheel. I'm waiting for the weather to cool off, the shed gets pretty hot.

The budget has been blown into the middle of next week. It's been 7 years since I have done a full restore on a trike and the cost of everything has gone way up. I've spent almost all of it and the VW is not close to being reassembled. I was hoping to have it finished for may birthday in March, that is unlikely to happen now. The new wheel bearings alone cost more than 1/4 of the budget. All in all though, it is going well and when the VW is finished it will be as good as new, even better in some ways.

On the 9th February I went to Oberon Steam and Machinery weekend and saw these animals sitting on the track.