Doubling Dame Zara's horn factor

Amongst the box of spares that came with Kathy's Morris 1300 Nomad was a pair of Lucas 9H horns -- something that Dame Zara lacked. I could only make the 'Low' one work, so I wire-brushed off the rust, gave it a spray of satin black, and voila!

Parp, parp!


















Now, I have two broken 9H's (and a pair of older Windtones as well) -- how do I fix them?

busticated bracket fixed

I'm happy to report that the broken alternator bracket has been repaired and everything refitted.

My neighbour Jason is making a 500bhp drag-racing monster out of some old grandad's mid-60s Ford Falcon. The Falcoon of Doom is fitted with all sorts of shiny hot-rod bits, many of which have been fabricated in aluminium by one of Jason's mates. So I handed over my broken bracket and two days later Jason knocked on my door with it all fixed.

Next up I couldn't find studs to replace the two broken ones on the rack at my local Burson's parts place, so I bought some long 5/16" UNF bolts and gave them to my Daimler club friend Michael, who was kind enough to cut the bolts down to the correct length and cut UNC threads on the other end.


The studs screwed in easily, with some Loctite on the threads, on Friday night and I left them overnight to cure.


It is a freezing cold, wintry Saturday, but after a bracing walk back to Burson's to buy some spring washers (why is it you *never* have all the little bits you need?) I was ready to get going.
Firstly I had to drain the radiator -- which of course meant I got as much coolant all over the garage floor as in the bucket.

Then it was surprisingly easy to undo about 8 bolts to get the top branch of the water pump off.


The four bolts to hold the alternator bracket were easy to get to with a socket once the water pump branch was off, and from there I put everything back together, refilled the radiator and started her up.

There was one small coolant leak at the small-diameter pipe that takes coolant from the water pump into the manifold, but loosening and re-tightening the clamp seemed to cure that.

So that's another problem solved: next up it'll be time to take off the rocker covers and do the tappets (there's a nasty tappety clatter on start-up on the left bank), and I need to check the right-hand exhaust, as I think it's blowing where the manifold joins the downpipe (which is of course directly under the steering box and hence almost impossible to get at!)

Broken alternator bracket

I haven't updated in ages and I have a huge backlog (I assume I can fiddle with the dates and post in reverse order? I'll find out ...)

But to the present: Dame Zara made it back from a 450-mile round trip to The Grampians in western Victoria last weekend without incident, but by the time we got into the outskirts of Melbourne and it was dark and rainy, one couldn't help but notice that her fanbelt was squealing like a stuck pig every time we had to stop and pull away from traffic lights. In the past this has just been due to a loose alternator belt, so this afternoon I set to to tighten up the belt.

However, the alternator was at the top of its travel and the belt was still rather loose, and I'd noticed before last week that the whole alternator seemed to be moving back and forth more than it should, so I slackened off the alternator altogether and found that indeed there was lots of movement of the alternator on its bracket. 'No worries,' I thought, 'I'll just have to tighten up the bolts that hold the alternator bracket onto the front of the engine.' No such luck .... I soon found that the bracket itself is comprehensively broken (as you can see by the pix below).

It could *possibly* be welded up, but I'm not confident it would stay together for very long.

So I'm hoping that someone out there might have a spare alternator bracket hanging around in their shed (I'm not even sure if the V8-250 one is the same as the earlier 2.5-litre, as the earlier cars had a generator), or have an inkling where I might find one. Even if I do find a spare, the fun isn't yet over: as I have a Bosch alternator not the original Lucas, the bracket needs to be modified to suit (as you can see by the welds on the old one), so I'll need to find someone prepared to do the required welding.

Even more fun: two of the four studs that hold it on to the front of the engine are broken -- and I suspect previous owner/s haven't been bothered to fix them as it seems I'll have to take off the whole fan/water pump assembly to get to them and to re-fit the bracket. Oh the joys!


But on the upside, I did get the chance to clean up the front of the engine that's usually obscured by the alternator ...

Brochure scans

SP250 engine
2.5-litre saloon engine (side view)
2.5-litre saloon engine (front view)
Majestic interior
Majestic front view


2.5-litre saloon engine from the first fold-out brochure



Majestic Major -- from a brochure; below, Majestic Major (4.5-litre) engine

Tunnels and ... Daimlers

Today's little Sunday drive was a jaunt to Yarra Glen, Yea and the Cheviot Tunnel.

The keen-eyed may note that the white car to the left isn't a Daimler, it's a Jaguar 240. (You may now play spot-the-difference.) It belongs to David and Aimee, who are friends of our friend Ann (keeping up?). David has only just bought his Jag (partly from his winnings from a 30-minute appearance on a TV gameshow!) and aside from a small issue of getting up hills (likely to be due to some fuel pump &/or distributor problems) I think he enjoyed tagging along with a bunch of Daimlers on a mad 150-mile jaunt!


Ian and Joyce's SP-250 heading toward the maw of the Cheviot tunnel ... it's an impressive all-brick tunnel, built in the late 19th century for the railway that serviced the growing pastoral and logging industries in the area. Actually, the scene reminds me of one of the classic Heidlberg School paintings ... is it a Tom Roberts? ... of a the entrance to a mine. I won't claim to be any great shakes with a camera, but this shot captures the colours of a hot Australian summer day in the bush ... set off nicely by the British Racing Green sportscar, of course!















Marilyn and Dennis in Marilyn's SP half way through the tunnel. Needless to say, the SPs sounded fabulous in the confined space!

10,000 miles with Dame Zara

Another highlight of last weekend was watching Dame Zara's odometer pass (1)61,700 miles, indicating that she has carried us for 10,000 trouble-free miles* in only 21 months.

(*well, there was that one time when she conked out at dusk, in the rain, but only 200 metres from home due to a dodgy alternator--but luckily I cruised to a halt at the 7/11 petrol station where all the local African cabbies hang out, and I got a jump-start straight away then crept home through the last two sets of lights and up the hill with just my sidelights on!)

A nice view, a hint of the transatlantic and a diplomatic Sceptre

More pics from the Rootes GT Day/Hillman centenary at the Point Cook Homestead.


The view from behind the wheel of an early Alpine—one day, Roger Phipps!















A 1936 Humber Hawk demonstrates that even before WWII Rootes’ styling mixed British tradition with hints of brash Americana--maybe even a hint of Mercedes?



















We’ve always coveted Leighton’s perfect 1966 Humber Sceptre—it was a special order for the wife of the then Australian High Commissioner in London and comes with every option: automatic, tinted glass, special upholstery, etc, etc.

Getting back to our Rootes

Last Sunday morning Kathy and I climbed into a very dirty Dame Zara (the combination of water restrictions and a dark colour makes for a very spotty car after the merest shower) and set off a few hundred metres up the road to Melbourne University to meet up with an assortment of Rootesmobiles—on this occasional all either Sunbeams, Singers or Humbers—who were setting off on an observation run.

Our destination was the historic Point Cook Homestead (est. 1857) south-west of Melbourne, where the Hillman side of the Rootes family was hosting a big display to celebrate their marque’s centenary.

We set off among the numerous Alpines (including one 1954 Alpine that possibly had a Grace Kelly connection!), two Singer Gazelles (including our RGCC friend Helen in her rare station wagon ‘Essie’), a Sunbeam-Talbot or two, a cute pre-war Singer and a big 1940s Humber Snipe on a torturous route through Kensington and Footscray, then into the windy flatlands down Laverton/Hoppers Crossing way.

We were clearly an inner-city bunch, as everyone got progressively more lost the further we headed into the industrial backblocks and suburban developments—led astray mainly by a red Harrington Le Mans Alpine, which we kept seeing coming on the other side of the road. ‘Where’s he going? Are we lost?’ was the cry as the stragglers stopped at each intersection and roundabout.

It was the first really hot (30-degrees-plus) day of the impending summer, and everyone’s windows were down and many an anxious eye was directed at temperature gauges—even the normally cool-running Dame Zara was getting into the middle of her gauge.

Eventually we all got back on track and ended up on the long, dusty, corrugated dirt road that leads to the homestead. At the end of the drive we were greeted with dozens of Hillmans lined up around the open ground between the homestead buildings. Most of the observation run participants aimed for a shady spot under the trees by the water.

Enough words, some pics:

From top to bottom:

• Did Grace Kelly once sit behind the big steering wheel of this 1954 Sunbeam Alpine?
• A racy-looking Singer Gazelle fitted with Alpine wires (I note that it wasn’t just Gussie who had something a bit odd about how her rear wheels fitted under the arches!)
• Red ones go faster, as the convertible Super Minx and pair of Alpines (including a rare Harrington Le Mans coupe) show
• Hillmans everywhere! Husky aficionado Neil looks determined to get … somewhere (into the shade, most likely).

In which he recaptures some lost Lucas Magic Smoke

Many moons ago (over a year, actually), I scared myself half to death by accidentally shorting out one of the Lucas Fogranger lamps that adorn Dame Zara's snoot and releasing a big cloud of acrid Magic Lucas Smoke in the process.

Today I finally got around to fixing it, taking out the melted, crispy wire and replacing it with fresh new wire, well-soldered connections, a new globe and ... wait for it ... an in-line fuse! Oh, the technology. After a little bit of fiddling with some pretty rotten (hence highly original) wiring connector blocks under the bonnet, both fog lights worked again!

While I was in an elecktrickeral frame of mind, I also half-succeeded in fixing the windscreen washer, whose motor had refused to work the last time I hit the switch ... it now buzzes away again and sprays the driver's side convincingly enough, but barely widdles on the left. The left-hand nozzle must be blocked somewhere - I poked a fine pin down the end of it, and it seemed clear at the nozzle, but who knows where it could be crudded up.

I also plugged the radio back in - the experiment with the portable CD player was pretty much a failure, and until I get around to doing something elaborate and rather expensive with an iPod, a power amp under the seat and hidden speakers - not to mention refitting a period Radiomobile in the centre of the dash - AM radio is better than nothing.

But one little gremlin continues to elude me: the inside light on the driver's side went bung the other week and I can't for the life of me work out what's wrong with it. The bulb's OK; it gets power; the other two lights work fine, so the door switches are working fine ... it's a mystery.

Speaking of gremlins, I gave in to temptation and poked a screwdriver into the little patch of bubbly paint next to the front bumper on the right-hand side. Unsurprisingly, bits of paint flaked off, but I was somewhat reassured to find that there is solid metal underneath and not air! It looks as if the previous owner who repainted the car more than 10 years ago had used quite a lot of filler around a part of the car that I understand was originally pretty heavily leaded in order to get a smooth line.

To repair it properly, I'll have to take off the bumper and sand/grind off any loose paint before rustproofing, priming and repainting ... this could take some time, so at the very least I'll give the bit I exposed a coat of POR15 rustproof paint to protect it.

Misty mountain hop

July's monthly DLCV Sunday run took us into the Yarra Ranges north-east of Melbourne. It was a cold, foggy, drizzly day... and as we climbed higher into the mountains toward the Upper Yarra Reservoir, it was like driving straight into the clouds. The picture shows Michael's V8-250 and Marilyn's SP250 at the top of the climb.

The reservoir had benefited from the recent rain, but was still well under capacity.

An escape from the cold and damp was promised at the Reefton Hotel, an old pub that was built to serve the lumberjacks who would cut down trees, have some lunch, etc, etc in what must have been incredibly rough and remote country way back when.

Having missed the start of the run, Keith Vaughan raced to the meeting point in his 1948 Special Sports, then promptly raced back down again when the word 'lunch' was mentioned!

How to recreate the Exxon Valdez at home

Dame Zara was overdue an oil change, and there were a few other service jobs I'd not got around to, so a few Saturdays ago I was determined to get them done.

First job: replace the alternator belt, as the old one was beginning to show its age. It was easy enough to undo the four bolts holding the fan and to rest it loosely inside the cowl, then to loosen off the alternator and get the old belt off. I had two spare belts in the garage, one unmarked one I'd bought ages ago from a well-known Jag/Daimler spares guy, who'd assured me it was the correct size. Too short by miles. Number two I'd picked up at the local Autobarn, whose 'computer said no' when I asked for a 10A0660 belt, so I bought the nearest they had, which was wider (13mm instead of 10) and, as it turns out, waaaayyy too long. So I set off into the 'burbs in Beryl the Galant in search of the correct belt. On the fourth try, at Repco in Airport West, I found one 10A0665 on the rack ('what's it for, a washing machine?', asked the gormless yoof who served me) and luckily there was enough adjustment in the alternator bracket that it fit. For good measure, I'd asked shop #3, which didn't have anything in stock, to order me in two spare 11A0660s, which came in later in the week, so I now have about 20 years worth of spare alternator belts!

Next job was to fit new spark plugs. Following a conversation on the Daimler Forum, I'd found a box of 20 NGK BP6ES plugs on eBay for a good price. Despite the fact that they come in 'Nissan genuine part' boxes, the pundits think that they are the ideal plug for the Daimler V8.

A few months ago I'd follwed a tip from DLVC stalwart Jack 'Fast Eddy' Edmonds and put used toilet rolls into the long spark plug tubes to soak up the inevitable pools of oil that form at their bases.

As you can see from the photo, some of the tubes had their work cut out, and were completely black and sodden with oil. (One day, in the fullness of time when the rockers come off for a tappet job, I should unscrew the tubes and seal them proplerly). The old plugs (I have no idea how old, as there is no indication in the service records I got with the car how long ago they'd been fitted) were a little black, but none were wet/oily or excessively burnt.

Next up was an oil and filter change. So I fired up the engine--starts first time with the new plugs--and go for a quick drive to warm up the oil. Once I got back, I jacked up the front, emptied the sump and took the old filter out. Easy. By now it was getting late in the afternoon, and Kathy and I had an early dinner date with some friends. I'd just screwed the oil filter back on with its new canister inside when Kathy came home from shopping in the city, stuck her head out the back door and asked when I'd be finished. 'Just have to refill her with new oil and clean myself up and I'm right,' quoth I.

So, make sure the sump plug is nice and tight (with a bit of teflon tape on the thread to help prevent leaks). Check. Filter screwed up tight. Check. Slowly pour in five and a bit litres of Penrite HPR30. Check. Stick head under car, no drips. Excellent. Check dipstick--almost there, but the car's jacked up, so I'll give it a final top-up once she's on the level again. Get in, turn the key, press the starter, look at the oil gauge as the engine fires. No movement whatsoever. Mild panic! Switch off engine and wonder 'what's that thick, drippy noise?'

You guessed it--as I had rushed putting the filter on, I hadn't checked the seating of the rubber sealing ring, nor 'primed' the ring with some fresh oil to help it seal. But at least I proved I have a healthy oil pump--I estimate two litres pumped out of the filter onto the floor in a matter of seconds!

Needless to say, we were running very late for our dinner date by the time I'd attempted to clean up my very own oil slick ... but you'll be pleased to hear that with a quick loosening of the filter (spilling more oil, of course), two turns to seat the seal properly and re-tighten, continence was restored. When I started up again, the oil gauge swung quickly over toward 60psi and there was nary a drip to be seen.

You make me dizzy

It seems like ages since I've updated - actually, it is: over two months. In that time Dame Zara has been behaving nicely (on the whole - see below), and we're now showing (1)59,910 or so on the odometer, meaning that we've covered over 8200 miles since February 2006.

Another nice day in the country

A few weekends ago we joined the monthly DLCV Sunday run and headed off with a strong contingent of cars (nine Daimlers, including Keith Ashworth's rare Regency Sportsman, in the centre of the lower pic) into central Victoria to visit experienced restorer Roy Shelton, who's currently working on a 1930s Daimler 15. It looks like a massive job, but Roy's well on the way and is confident he'll have the 15 back on the road before to long - to join his nice blue Daimler V8 saloon, Ford Model T, Delahaye (or was it a Darracq?) and 1931 Chev ...

Dizzy spells

It's well and truly winter now, and I'd been noticing that Dame Zara was a bit reluctant to start from cold, needed the choke on for longer and had a tendency to miss, hesitate and 'chug' a bit under load until she was warmed up.

Poking around under the bonnet, I thought to check the distributor and found that the central brush of the dizzy cap was completely worn down and had no spring left whatsoever. Whether or not that's the cause of the problems (and I suspect it might be), it needed sorting out and I thought I might as well track down a spare cap, even if mine is repairable.

The distributor used on the Daimler V8s (Lucas 20D8) is shared only with the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and its Bentley equivalents, so spares are rare and expensive. Luckily, a bit of ringing around found me a complete spare distributor for the price some places are asking for a repro cap! So I pootled out to darkest Ringwood this morning and picked it up from Jag Prestige Spares. A quick clean-up of the contacts and I put the 'new' cap on, and even though all I've done is a quick test-blast around the park, she seems to start more easily, idle smoother and pull better.

I'm not sure what I'll do with the spare distributor - perhaps I should get it set up with an electronic ignition system, and keep the original one with points for 'best'? Anyways, I've got it now and it can be raided for bits if needed - the vacuum advance widget on mine is very dodgy (it's held in place - poorly - with a short woodscrew!), and the one of the spare is perfect, so that's one thing I might swap over when I get the chance.

Keeping the green goo in

Ever since I bought Dame Zara she's lost coolant. I've tried both 4lb and 7lb radiator caps, fitted all new hoses, and had some weepy core plugs replaced, but still I have to top up the radiator on a regular basis. I've long thought of fitting an overflow container, but never got around to it. Then, a clever SP250 owner posting on the Daimler Forum said that he uses a cyclist's water bottle - cheap (mine was $8 at Big W) and easy. For the moment it's just held on with cable ties around the radiator drain lever, but if it proves successful, it came with a bracket that will be easy enough to fit.

Most of the colours of the rainbow

An impressive spectrum of V8 Saloons made it on the DLCV April picnic run to Anderson's Mill, Smeaton. Not the entire colour range, but with Sable, Regency Red, Masons Black, Silver Blue, Silver and Gunmetal Grey examples on show, it made for a very handsome display ...

I've been to Smeaton ... have you?

Daimler custodianship has certainly taken me to some interesting places—terrifying credit card debt, for one, after paying Ralph the suspension doctor’s bill the other day … But on a more positive note, now that finally I have Dame Zara back, she and I and Kathy joined a goodly number of our DLCV buddies for a little Sunday pootle out towards Ballarat to the historic Anderson’s Mill, near the charmingly named hamlet of Smeaton.

Anderson’s Mill is a handsome and substantial building dating from the early 1860s, and is centred on a very impressive (and still functional) cast iron water-wheel.













Arrayed in front of it is the Coventry-built portion of our touring party: (from left to right) three 2.5 litre V8s, three V8-250s, a Conquest Century, a Consort, a DB18-based special, XJ6 SII Sovereign and early SP250.

A very successful Display Day - even without Dame Zara

So, the Daimler Display Day I'd been doing so much work helping to organise went off pretty much without a hitch on Sunday. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but not too hot (even though I did get a very sunburnt neck!)

We had over 40 Daimler and Lanchester cars, and about a dozen 'visitors' (including a good showing of Rovers, a Triumph Dolomite Sprint, a Wolseley 6/110, V12 E-type, lovely late 60s Mercedes convertible, 1924 Buick, MG TC special ...) . There were also plenty of general public visitors wandering by, so I'd say well over 100 people attended.

Among the very special Daimlers were a 1936 Straight-eight limo with Edward VIII lineage; two DS-420s from the Carwood wedding fleet; the 2nd prototype Special Sports, owned by Keith Vaughan (bottom picture); an Empress; and a Conquest Roadster. There were also about 10 SP-250s, a strong turnout of V8 saloons, plenty of DB18 varieties and a fine smattering of Majestics, Majestic Majors and Regencies (well, at least one of each, and two Majors - that's a big showing for these big and now rare cars!)

Richard Bowen's Conquest Roadster (driven on the day by Tony Porter as Richard couldn't make it) won the People's Choice award (top picture); a recently restored pre-war Lanchester was Ladies' Choice and the DB18 register took out the Best Registry Display prize (abve, showing Peter Towns' Empress and Russ Monger's Consort).

Just a few photos here - but I've put the full album up on my Flickr account and Steven Rowlandson has posted his pictures here.