DARK CUBBY HOLE

There was just one last little job I had to do. Gil from Better Car Lighting has sent me a couple of diddy LED bulbs and lenses and the dinkiest little rocker switch, to light up the glove box. Well silly me, the glove box already has a light that automattically comes on when the door is opened, I hadn't realised that.

The parcel shelf immediately underneath the glove box is a dark place, so rather than leaving these lights unused, I removed the shelf, drilled the required holes, pushed in the little lenses and the rocker switch, pushed the LED's into the lenses, connected it all up, soldering the joints and heat shrinking to insulate, reinstalled the shelf and the job was done. The lights are in warm white, so look suitably period and with the added reflection from the underside of the glove box, nothing will get lost in the gloom now.

Just in case you wonder what the large, round, white thing on the shelf is, it is the top of a chewing gum bottle. The tiny rocker switch is to the the right of the top picture, seen just under the head of a securing screw

DASHBOARD

The air box seal arrived along with the new MotoLita steering wheel. Engine bay now starting to look a little tidier, but straight away all the other bits that need tidying up jump out and shout "me next" but they will have to wait. Photos below show before and after, did I need to explain that?

The new steering wheel looks and feels great, I didn't think I was going to like the Triumph Standard boss, but I do feel that it looks classy.

While I was working inside the car my attention turned to the dashboard for two reasons, firstly it was impossible to see the instruments at night, even with the rheostat turned up full. A kit of LED bulbs from Better Car Lighting resolved that, Gil offers various colours and I chose green to maintain the original look only three times brighter, great. Gil also sent me LED bulbs to replace footwell and roof lights and the auto gearbox indicator, so much brighter, but like the engine bay, they show up the appalling state of front seats and carpets, again they will have to wait their turn.

Secondly, I was missing a clock on the dash and as I didn't want to keep taking the dash out for fear of continually disturbing the 40 year old wiring, I had planned to do this job at the same time as upgrading the instrument lights, I needn't have worried, the wiring all looked to be fine and the dash came out quite easily. I had already ordered a dual water temperature/oil pressure gauge and a clock. By removing the two separate oil and water gauges, that freed up a hole for the clock and now all fitted and wired. The top photo of the two above shows the new instruments in place. The photo below shows me removing the oil tube to the old pressure gauge so after a little rerouting it can be screwed onto the back of the new gauge.

The exception is the water temperature part of the new gauge, I will have to drain down the coolant before I can remove the electronic temperature sender from the block and replace it with the bulb that is attached to the capillary tube, in the meantime the other under dash temperature gauge, fitted by PO will suffice although difficult to see as obscured by the steering wheel, but it is very accurate, hopefully the new one will be as accurate.

Last job whilst under the dash was to fit a buzzer to the indicator flasher unit, there was virtually no audible sound from the flasher unit and the warning lights are difficult to see. I had to substantially muffle the buzzer to bring the sound down to an acceptable level, but now I won't be leaving the indicators flashing should they fail to self cancel. I was confused at first as the flasher unit I discovered under the parcel shelf only operates when the hazard lights are switched on, with another unit for left/right indicators tucked away in the plastic steering column shroud, found it in the end though.

PETROL AND PAINT

There had been a strong smell of petrol from the back end of Stella ever since I acquired her, but driving back from the Cotswold, the other weekend, our first long drive in the Stag, with the roof up and a full tank of fuel, the smell was too strong to ignore any longer.

A couple of days later I saw black fluid leaking from the boot and it was time to investigate, with the carpet and boards out of the boot, the problem was immediately apparent. On the top of the now exposed tank the fuel sender sits in a a recess and that recess was full of petrol, there was a groove where the petrol had run down into the bottom of the boot and had started to dissolve the underseal, which accounted for the black colour of the leaking petrol.

A small pipe also protruded from the tank over this recess and attached to it was the remains of a short length of stopped hose. Maybe this was a return for a fuel injected car. This little bit of fuel hose had almost completely disintegrated, but was soon replaced with a new length with a bolt screwed into the other end and clamped. No more leaks, but it took several hot days with the boot lid left open and the floor boards and carpet left out to air to get rid of the smell.

With the good weather I decided now was the time to do some paint spraying. I started with the inside of the drivers door. The door card was flapping about and many of the clips that secure it to the door had rotted away. I ordered new clips and plastic plugs but before I fitted the new plugs I rubbed down the small amount of rust that surrounded the lower holes, primed and painted in Rover White, but generally the door was in pretty good shape and evidently WaxOil has been sprayed internally.

 

The tape that wrapped the cables supplying power to the electric window, radio speaker and puddle light was coming unwrapped and looked very unsightly. I stripped off all of the tape and inserted the cables into a length of split corrugated plastic sleeving, which was inserted right into both the door and the jamb. Now the cables are both safe from chaffing and nice and tidy.

I could no longer bear the sight of the tatty air cleaner box, so off came both halves and after some serious sanding I resprayed them with primer and finally with Ford Dove Grey paint, I have never properly mastered paint spraying, but they are good enough.

I haven't refitted them as I am awaiting a new rubber seal that goes between the two halves of the air box, but in the meantime I have polished up the cast ali elbows that connect the carbs with the airbox. the photo shows the bottom one, left elbow, polished in contrast to the top one still awaiting  the treatment. I won't be so ashamed of the engine bay, once it is all back in place.

Along with the airbox seal, will be new cam cover gaskets, then I will remove the covers, clean them up and respray in silver. Also a new leather MotoLita steering will be arriving, it won't be long before I get that fitted.