Getting a '54 100 road safe.

[BN1L_156424]

Hey there.
A couple of weeks ago, I was finally able to procure my mother's rust free 54 BN1 (which she owned at age 18), which I used to sneak drives from when I was 15 but I haven't seen it in years. The car has been sitting for nealy a decade, so it is need of a decent amount of work. I'm not all that experienced with car work I am a decent mechanic, so can take on some decdent sized jobs.

Looking over the car, the following things need to be addressed. Keep in mind, my current goals are getting the car safe for me and the car to drive, and preventative mantainance. Authenticity may be a good goal, but for now I am just trying to avoid having to modify the car for retrofits.



1) The brakes are really bad, according to my mothers old flakey mechanic it needs new pipes, which I have ordered, the authentic pipe sets from Moss were out of stock so I got the "competition" set. Does anyone have experience with these, good or bad.
2) There is a leak in the transmission, such that the OD unit will not keep pressure. Having read some posts, it looks as though I need to pull the thing out and replace some seals and gaskets. How many weekends should this job take, or how much should I expect to pay to have someone else do it (I can add my own San Francisco markup)
3) None of the gauges or lights seem to be working, (and I have forgotten what the mystery switch under the facia panel below the overdrive switch does). Are there any obvious places to start looking for that issue?
4) The wire wheels have a good deal of runout, and probably need replacing. I am actually thinking of going the Alloy wheel route, maybe I just need someone to save me from that.
5) While the car is garaged, I live in san francisco, which means if I drive it somewhere and park it on the street for too much time, the finish and badges will be in jeopardy. However it hasn't seen paint in 25 years, and much of it is falling off the aluminium body panels, and some spots off the steel. How much should I pay for a maintance coat (probably the aluminum sections will need to be blasted as they were not properly prepped on the last coat). Should the boot badge read "Austin of England" VS "Austin Healey"? I think the car was built in May of 54. (I had seen just a week or so a go a webpage (sadly I can't remember exactly where it was) which had the dates and changes of cars listed by approximate Car Numbers)
6) Anyone have an easy way to install the gasket on the bottom of the fold-down windscreen? It's possible that the new one that I found in the door pockets is just a bad fit.

I have standard, metric, and whitworth, sockets and combination wrenches, mallets, worklight, floor jack, heavy jack stands, multimeter and standard tools. What else should I get before I start these jobs, or will probably need soon?

Thanks
joshua winsor
jwinsor@gmail.com

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Josh,
Welcome to BCF.
"6) Anyone have an easy way to install the gasket on the bottom of the fold-down windscreen? It's possible that the new one that I found in the door pockets is just a bad fit."


The following description of installing the windshield seal works pretty well:

Getting a perfect BN1 & BN2 windshield to shroud seal fit

Over the years I have read much discussion on how to fit the seal & which seal is the best. I went through the following drill quite a while ago & still have a perfect tight fit even though the car has been in very hot sun, rain, & snow.

I purchased a straight section replacement seal from BCS in Stockton. With the seal were instructions for a perfect fit. A note to me from Norman Nock at BCS - "Dave .. I got this tip from a 100-4 owner at Silverston in England many years ago and we send this info. out to our customers who buy a seal from us , glad it helped you .. Norman Nock"

The windshield & frame need to be removed from the car & placed on a soft flat surface. I used the living room floor.

1- Work the top of the seal into the windshield channel a bit at a time, don't slide it in from one end, this will stretch the seal in the wrong places. use a putty knife or some similar flat blade dull screwdriver to force the seal into the channel. I used a couple of one inch wide drywall knives in leap frog fashion. Take your time & make sure that the rubber is completely bottomed in the channel. I also used some soapy water for lube. The heat will remove the water at the curves.

2- When the seal is solidly seated in the channel, apply a heat gun to the upper thicker part of the rubber at the curves, one side at a time. You will not be able to get the rubber hot enough by using a hair dryer & will need to purchase or borrow a heat gun. Pull on one end of the rubber & stretch the outer end as far as possible. Heat the entire height of the rubber (not the glass) but only pull on the thick part. Be sure to direct the heat gun right on the rubber. Don't heat the glass very much or it might break. If in doubt, tape a cardboard shield over the chrome frame & glass. Don't get the wet rag on the glass. Vice grips work well to get a grip on the rubber.

Hold the stretch until the rubber cools. It took several trys to get the rubber hot enough to stretch it far enough. You don't need to put it on the car to check the curve. If there is too much curve it will flatten to correct contour when installed. Just eyeball the curve to be sure that there is enough or a little more than enough. A wet rag helps to cool the rubber faster.

How does this process work?

The stretch & cooling causes the thicker part of the seal to be longer than the bottom thin part, because the thick part springs back less. This forms a very tight fitting & permanent curve in the ends of the rubber. Trim the ends to length. Careful on the end trimming. Make sure that the ends go all of the way to the post bases on the shroud plus about 1/8 inch & that the ends are parallel to the posts. With age & time the ends may shrink back away from the posts a bit. See the attached pic.
D

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Josh,
--------------------
1) The brakes are really bad, according to my mothers old flakey mechanic it needs new pipes, which I have ordered, the authentic pipe sets from Moss were out of stock so I got the "competition" set. Does anyone have experience with these, good or bad.
-----------------
I don't know what the "competition set" is. Maybe metal reinforced flex hoses? Would expect them to be ok.
-------------------
2) There is a leak in the transmission, such that the OD unit will not keep pressure. Having read some posts, it looks as though I need to pull the thing out and replace some seals and gaskets. How many weekends should this job take, or how much should I expect to pay to have someone else do it (I can add my own San Francisco markup)
-------------------
The OD problem could range from relatively simple to quite involved.
-------------------
3) None of the gauges or lights seem to be working, (and I have forgotten what the mystery switch under the facia panel below the overdrive switch does). Are there any obvious places to start looking for that issue?
4) The wire wheels have a good deal of runout, and probably need replacing. I am actually thinking of going the Alloy wheel route, maybe I just need someone to save me from that.
--------------------
The slider switch under the dash edge turns on the dash lights. The gages are part electrical & part mechanical. There is likely more than one problem. The alloy wheels would completely change the car's looks. Personal preference I guess. I would stay with spokes.
----------------------
5) While the car is garaged, I live in san francisco, which means if I drive it somewhere and park it on the street for too much time, the finish and badges will be in jeopardy. However it hasn't seen paint in 25 years, and much of it is falling off the aluminium body panels, and some spots off the steel. How much should I pay for a maintance coat (probably the aluminum sections will need to be blasted as they were not properly prepped on the last coat). Should the boot badge read "Austin of England" VS "Austin Healey"? I think the car was built in May of 54. (I had seen just a week or so a go a webpage (sadly I can't remember exactly where it was) which had the dates and changes of cars listed by approximate Car Numbers)
--------------------
The boot badge was changed to "Austin-Healey" around August 1954, as you say, your car was likely built around May 1954. The boot badge should be "Austin of England". No opinion about the paint work.
--------------------
6) Anyone have an easy way to install the gasket on the bottom of the fold-down windscreen? It's possible that the new one that I found in the door pockets is just a bad fit.
-------------------
See my previous post about the WS seal.
------------------
I have standard, metric, and whitworth, sockets and combination wrenches, mallets, worklight, floor jack, heavy jack stands, multimeter and standard tools. What else should I get before I start these jobs, or will probably need soon?
-------------------
I would start with the tools/equipment that you have & add others if needed.
D

 

[John Loftus]

Hi Joshua,

I'll comment on a few of your items.

Brake lines - I purchased mine from Doug Reid at 18G Motorworks. He makes them up with the correct materials.
Here is a link with contact info:
Brake sets

I vote for staying with the wire wheels especially for a 100! (I'll admit that I'm a purist)

You should get a copy of the Factory Workshop Manual and the Mechanical Service parts list.

I believe the little switch under the facia panel that you are referring to turns the instrument lights on and off.

And, you won't need the metric tools!

Cheers,
John

 

[anthony7777]

bn1l,ill start off with congrats on your most recent aqusition,next in my rather poor effort to be totaly hillarious,why did you not get your mom in a head lock or at least arm restle her for the car sooner?o.k.as i see it,#1 brakes,consider not only the 'pipes' but also the master cylinder,and brake cylinders,sorry but im not sure what a 'comp.set of pipes are,#2 tranny leaks-you failed to mention if the engine runs or not,if it does you should drain and replace all the tranny fluid,dispite the leaks you should be able to tell if the pressure is building up in the the overdrive and you can fix the leaks latter,please dont try this untill you get the brakes fixed,as far as the cost of having someone else rebuild it?well here on the east coast it would be approx.$750-$1200.but youd have to seak out the people that can do it correctly,time involved? 3-5 weeks easy,if you do it yourself?who knows.guages ?some are mech.as mentioned earlier,ah whats the wire harness look like?as mentioned earlier panel switch is for dash lights,i also recommened the purchase of the factory repair manual and any other publications you can lay your by now greasy little hands on,as for the wheels a agree wires are a must,paint?well you must reolize that all the aluminum requires a zink chromate primer for any paint to stick to it!the metal or steel parts require normal primer,im not sure about having these two metals just temp/maint coated sprayed to preserve.it might be more cost effective to just have it all done the propper way the first time round,windshield seal?dave russel has the handle on that one,id trust any reccomendation hed offer.tools?well if your gonna pull the tranny you and perhaps a buddy can do it by hand,but if your gonna pull the engine well either by or rent an engine stand,it does sound as if you have a pretty good jump on your tools,but you know what?you can never have enough and youll be surprised at how many youll accumulate from here on out.i wish you all the luck in the world,just keep in mind that yes you can do all this,just dont try to hurry it and dont be affraid to take breaks even for a week or so,dont think it can all be done in a weekend,read,read and read as much subject matter as you can get your hands on,dont be shy about asking questions, and oh ya,you started out in probably the best place you could have, right here brother,right here,all the best-anthony7777 1963 bj7 3000 M.K.II. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gifp.s youll probably hear from my dear friend 'keoke'listen to him,he knows just a liitle bit about this stuff! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif

 

[Healey 100]

Get a shop manual. It is fairly comprehensive and covers most of the issues you have raised. You can probably buy a good reproduction manual from Moss.

The BN1 overdrive removal, repair and replacement is rather tricky. The transmission has to come out. Alligning the OD to reinstall it takes incredible patience. Make sure you really need to remove it before you do. There is an oil screen in the sump that is removable (brass plug on bottom of OD). You may have old sludge in there that's cutting off supply to the oil pump. If the oil level is low it won't pump up either. Replacing the piston rings in the OD is not too hard and can cause the unit to not pump up. But I suspect your problem may be simpler than that, the rings are rather durable -- I have the originals in mine and it still works great after 50 years plus.

Good luck! Car sounds like a treasure.

 

[Keoke]

HI BN1L:Welcome aboard.
What else should I get or will be needing soon?:AS your work progresses you may require : 1} Impact wrench, 2} Air compressor, 3}Hand held Dwell,RPM Meter, 4}Small acetylene torch & Mig welder, 5}oil filled 0-to-1000 PSI pressure guage for setting up overdrive. 6} Soft lead Hammer to remove wheel Knock offs, 7}Heavy duty soldering Gun & Rosin core solder, 8} $$$$$$$$$, for starters---Fwiw---Keoke

 

[anthony7777]

bnil,i forgot to mention another incredible resource,join the 'austin healey club u.s'you can get the info on this opening page look at subject'austin healey magazine'i cant for some reason paste up the url for you,also editor reid is the editor of the mag.amoung other wonderful things,i recently joined and i think its great even though i was reluctant at first,also you have four wheel drum brakes on your car,might be a good idea to check out all the brake shoes,ladda! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif

 

[Louie]

You should take a look at all the brakes; most likely new seals needed in the wheel cylinders and master cylinder. Most mechanics will suggest replacing all the hydraulic cylinders. Seals will get you started and will work if you can get the cylinders apart, but not as good as full replacement--how much do you want to spend?

The 'pipes' are unlikely to be entirely bad, hold on to that new set before pulling all the old ones off, (those pre-bent ones from Doug sound pretty good) I'd start by replacing the flex lines; one at each front brake, one at the rear axle.

Guages: the electrical portion can be checked with a test light, start at the fuse block, then the headlight switch, etc. There are many wiring diagrams online.
The tach and speedo cables can be visually checked to see if they are attached at each end to something.

Oil/water guage can be visually checked to see if it is attached to something. The oil guage line is easy to follow as is the temp sender. Many times the temp sender portion needs repair--it is permanently attached to the guage.

You may wish to have a British car mechanic evaluate the O/D if you can get over to a shop. Then, maybe you can pull the tranny, have the mechanic reseal it. Do you need recommendations for the SFO area?

I have some pics of the clutch linkage; once it comes apart, it sometimes gets put back together wrong.

 

[BN1L_156424]

Thanks for all the help thus far. I'm sure I will be begging for plenty more in the future.

A few things. I think my mother's mechanic did check the master and brake (are they called slaves for brakes?) cylinders and they are in good shape. He told me that the pipes are clogged. The peddle is very hard and the brakes are quite uneven (one wheel locks easily while others aren't doing all that much). While I don't trust her mechanic all that much (he was actually quite busy and poor at keeping to a schedule), he has worked on this car for nearly 20 years and knows it's ins and outs at least 100 times better than I do. The engine does run quite well and stays pretty oil free (so maybe that mistrust is unwarranted). I do have a guy here (Griffen) who has seen the car and was recommended without prompting by everyone I have asked, again he is quite busy. (Plus Norman Lock is only a couple of hours away from me if I have real trouble). I do have a shop manual, parts book for BN1/BN2, also I have a Glens tuneup guide for Austin/Austin Healey, while 100-4 is not listed on the cover it does have some helpful BN1/BN2 info in it, as well as general mechanical guides.

This weekend I will get the thing up on jacks to see if I can identify where the transmission oil is pouring out of.

 

[Healey 100]

I've had similar brake problems to what you describe with your Healey. It has always turned out to be frozen wheel pistons. These units corrode easily, especially the upward facing cylinders on the front wheels. When they do, you get half a brake or worse, a sticking shoe because the piston won't retract.

I would be very surprised if the hydraulic lines were plugged, but I suppose anything is possible.