Dutton Dementia

[redratbike]

loving the big wooden steering wheel

[Mick O'Malley]

Originally Posted by redratbike

loving the big wooden steering wheel

My Westfield XI owning kit car chum of some 40+ years bought it at a car boot sale years ago as it was Triumph Spitfire friendly, donating it for the A352. Sadly, pedant that I am, I decided that the correct D-Type five holes per spoke style should be fitted.

It's free to a good home should anyone fancy it.

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

Yesterday, having trimmed off the surplus fabric around my Monaco tonneau cover, I decided to make the headlight support brackets, thinking this would be a five minute job . Far from it. Having offered up the flip front to gauge access to the front frame, I dug out one headlamp bucket and pondered the appropriate size mounting. The 13mm mounting post thread with its hefty washers decided me against 1" box or angle, a pity as that is the size of the top rail to which it would be welded. Digging out and offering up some 1.5" angle looked OK, if welded under the front of the top rail. Lots of discing, filing and (especially) drilling later the N/S one was g-clamped on with a redundant sealed beam unit in place to view the effect. It was satisfactory. I took a picture but accidently deleted today .

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

Yesterday morning I pitched in and made the mirror image driver's side headlight bracket - pretty straightforward. The chap who had bagged my long hardtop on FB then arrived to collect it and we chatted Duttons for a good while before he departed.

Whilst all the metalwork gubbins was out I decided to fabricate a rear cross member for the MkII Cortina fuel tank. My first Phaeton also used this tank, but, as it was new with an intact and sufficiently strong GRP boot floor, no rear support was necessary, unlike the current butchered item. The rearmost frame members are angled inwards to pick up the leaf spring mounts so my proposed support needed a bit of thought. With a combination of a ratchet strap, axle stand and spirit level I balanced the tank in position



After offering up my length of 1" box, I cut a bevel on one end so it just cleared the back of the tank and marked the position of the first bend. I cut through three sides of the box, offered it up and bent it until it sat just right. Repeat for the second bend, then chop the other end bevel. To my amazement it ended up almost an interference fit.



Today I'll cut the fillets necessary for the bend holes

Regards, Mick

[Mitchelkitman]

I hope you don't mind, but just a thought.......... If the body/floor is above that, would it be worth making the centre 'strip' detachable so the tank can be dropped for maintenance?

[Mick O'Malley]

Originally Posted by Mitchelkitman

I hope you don't mind, but just a thought.......... If the body/floor is above that, would it be worth making the centre 'strip' detachable so the tank can be dropped for maintenance?

My first Phaeton had the same tank, and even with the 2" stub pipe which mated (via a hose) with the Spitfire centre deck filler, it went in through the boot opening. There'll be a 6mm ply boot floor with a suitably accurate tank hole which I'll fit before attaching the rear body to the frame.

Originally Posted by Dpaz

And another IHYDMB. If you cut the fillets on the inside they would close up. Just sayin' ! But it is looking good. It is nice now it is warming up.

I've gone the 'inside cut' route a couple of times successfully with exhausts, but only after making plastic pipe patterns first. I didn't have any square plastic pipe so I took the 'lazy but first time accurate' way out.

Thanks for your interest both. Good to know that there are helpful eyes lurking on the forum .

Regards, Mick

[redratbike]

Originally Posted by Mick O'Malley

It's free to a good home should anyone fancy it.

Regards, Mick[/FONT]

message sent

[Mick O'Malley]

There has been a brief hiatus in cave focused activity, as Mrs Blackbird has set up home there and is patiently sitting on her clutch. Even were it not illegal, I wouldn't disturb her.

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

Sometime mid-week Mr Squirrel had eggs for breakfast, so the cave is now free again. Hurrah!

Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and swap the differential for my 4.1. To improve access I turned the frame around and set to work in the sun. Starting on the off-side I removed the wheel, then the spacer, together with its pillar bolts. The drum only needed gentle tapping to come off, the shoes offered no resistance, so I now had access to the screws (three only in place!) securing the retaining plate. They were a little fiddly, being masked somewhat by the flange, but were soon off. I suspended the backplate with a loop of the ever-useful paracord as I didn't want to disturb any of the braking gubbins at this stage. I replaced the drum back to front as an impromptu slide hammer and the half shaft was out. Repeat for near side.



Pessimism dictated a drip tray in case any hypoy was left in the banjo, and I cushioned the cross member with a chunky fleece before sitting down to attack the retaining nuts (again, three only). The one at the top not having been bathed in oil dribbles was very rusty, as was the stud. Unfortunately, it was a Nyloc, one of my pet hates, so I could get neither a socket nor a ring spanner onto the meat of the hex due to the casting masking its bottom side. Aaaaaaargh!. An open-ender proved ineffectual, even after a blast with the blow lamp, so I gave up after giving it a good soaking with penetrating liquid. I shall resume with mole grips later today.

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

Other tasks taking precedence yesterday, I only returned to the cave this morning, brimming with enthusiasm and determination. I adjusted the mole grips until a mighty heave was required to lock them in place. Lamping the errant nut until the burning nylon and penetrating oil fumes half choked me, I applied gorilla strength to the grips. They rounded the nut even further. OK, re-think. Fetching my smallest cold chisel, and sharpening it on my bench grinder, I chopped off the cage containing the remains of the nylon and set to driving the remains anti-clockwise with lump hammer blows until the still hot nut yielded. Hurrah! I then wormed into position to release the three remaining at the bottom. These turned out to be barely finger tight . The copious gasket goo (no gasket!) offered little resistance and the drip tray proved its worth!



It then dawned on me that, although I had the new gasket, half inch AF nuts were sadly lacking, so it was back to the keyboard for their purchase and this update.

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

Thinking about next weekend's Kit Car Show, just up the road in Malvern, I thought I'd dig out some 80s memorabilia . My first show was in '87, by which time I was DOC magazine editor, and we had just shy of 100 cars on our stand! In those days one was issued a windscreen sticker (which poseurs like me kept in their Phaeton for a couple of weeks).



In the same happy memories box I found entry and camping tickets for Le Mans. The first couple at least were in my first Phaeton, subsequent ones in my matt black Dutton Sierra, dubbed 'The Stealth' by compatriots.



For the first few visits we camped at the sites within the circuit, then discovered Hunadieres behind the restaurant outside the circuit half way down the Mulsanne Straight (sadly by then ruined, IMO, by the addition of chicanes). At this site you just turned up, pitched your tent, and a guy came round with a book of tickets. A much nicer site altogether,



Happy Days!

Back to the build: I searched high and low for the diff gasket I'd bought at the same time as the 4.1, but without success so bought another which arrived yesterday. I now have all the necessary for this job, Monday it is! I'd decided a week or so ago to renew the half shaft bearings and bought same. An inquiry of the ever helpful Stroud and District Motor Club FB group for an engineering workshop who could fit them elicited a response, and later this morning I'm taking them there (ten miles or so) for the job to be done. The proprietor said he's very busy and wouldn't get around to it for a couple of weeks. Not a problem with plenty of other jobs to be addressed down in the scorching cave.

Regards, Mick