Weasel Tinkering

[AlanBartlett]

Good Morning,

I have query about the four speed box. I've recently acquired the Weasel advertised in the Jowetteer. (The stable is now full, three is enough!)

My query is adjustment inside the gear box. Having never had one apart, this is my first encounter with tinkering with one. Third and fourth gear are very vague on the gear stick, third is somewhere near drivers door and fourth is not much better. Compared to the saloon, which is pretty tight and smooth in finding its gears. Before I have the cover off it would be nice to know what I am looking for. I've just been reading the handbook about the selector screws which can be adjusted, so hopefully this will solve the problem. Just wondering if anyone else had any input.

Alan

[ChrisE]

Alan,

Not really on the same subject, but does anyone do replacement gears? Ours are pretty damaged now and I was hoping someone would have a CNC code so that a supplier could simply make some new one? Maybe Hindle Gears at Bradford or someone like that? Ours is a 1929 3 speed in a Long Four

Chris

[Tony Fearn]

Hi Alan.
Perhaps it's not the gears but wear on the end of the little screw that you'll see on the N/S of the gear lever 'conning tower' (A in sketch).
This fits into a groove in the ball, within the 'tower' at the bottom of the gear stick (B in sketch).
If either the screw is worn at the end, or the groove on the ball is worn (C in sketch), and it sounds as though both are worn from what you say, it will feel like stirring porridge rather than a sharp gear selection.

Put the stick into neutral before removing the gearbox lid.
Remove the screw (A)
When you've removed some other bits, you'll come to a big spring that holds the ball in the 'conning tower'.
This is very strong, and perhaps a good thin-nosed mole grip will help remove it. There are some lugs inside the tower to retain the spring.
I will send you a couple of emails with photos of the underside of the lid, although it will be self-evident when you see it.
Remember, heating aluminium with a hot air gun facilitates removal of steel rods.
Make sure that you label or punch the various bits, and make drawings, so that everything goes back where it should do!!
Tony.

[Chris Spencer]

Alan - Absolutely irrelevant in helping with the gearbox issue but well done on securing the Weasel - hopefully it can be returned to the road at some point which I am assuming is your aim - Chris

[BarryCambs]

Chris E - do you have a centre change gearbox in the long 4? Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had a 3 speed box from a 1932 car, which is still available I think. It looked to be in good shape and Daniel (also in Cambridge) took it to see if any of the internals were the same as the earlier box. I don't think they were.

Barry

[ChrisE]

Hi Barry,

yes we do have a centre change gearbox. I would be very inetersted if you know of one for sale. My email is chris@highbark.co.uk

Chris

[BarryCambs]

The gearbox came with an engine someone gave me from a boat, but mine is a 4 speed box. It stands me in at nothing so I'd happily see it go to a good home if Daniel has no further use for it?

[ChrisE]

Barry,

That would be fantastic. I'd gladly give some cash to charity or something as well as arrange carriage

Please email me and we'll sort it out.

C

[AlanBartlett]

Tony,

Thanks for the email, I liked the stirring porridge analogy.

Your photos and diagrams have pointed me in to a few problems with the gear box. The bolt/pin in the side of the tower has snapped, with the piece reluctant to come out, the thread has stripped too. So I shall strip down top to look at the wear of the ball. Hopefully I get the hole helicoiled once stripped down. I do have another four speed box, but the top is I presume from an earlier box though it came with 8 engine I found with the lady. It has a cylindrical additional casting on the top for reverse stop. Is this earlier or later? It doesn't fit well with the rounded floor board covering.

Chris S

That is the plan, it seemed a good opportunity to have a go at some of that open top motoring. I shall be advertising my Kidneys in the next Jowetteer to fund it!

[AlanBartlett]

I have had the weasel out for a brief road test yesterday evening. All four gears are there, Tony you were right there is quite a bit of wear in the groove for the bolt/peg in the side of the tower. With the spare gearbox I have, I'm planning to swap over the levers as my spare has little wear from what I can see.

Getting there slowly. An air leak from the joint between manifold and the carburettor to sort out, as I've checked the faces both are flat its quite intriguing that when I squirt around the joint to test for a leak, it appear some is still getting in where it shouldn't. Interesting point there is stamp in the casting on the face just below the carb bolt of JCL 15. I haven't seen this before on any other manifolds. Are these the remade ones from JCS?

[Tony Fearn]

Good-oh Alan. I filed the sides of the groove in the ball straight (Not too wide) and used a new same-length high tensile BSF bolt with the end filed down to fit into the groove.
Replacement of the strong spring was difficult, if I remember correctly, I used a bit of the right-outside-diameter pipe, and with the lid inverted and firm in the vice gave it a clout. This pushed the spring past the little cast-in lugs in the tower interior. May be a length of 2" x 2" wood will do the same if you fettle the end to fit.

Did you use engineer's blue to check the carburettor flange when you tried it on the manifold?
Have you cleaned around the base of the studs?
If there's a shoulder on the studs, will the nuts tighten all the way down when the carb's in place?
Are the studs too long and butting up against the carb. body?
Are you using washers under the nuts? Maybe a couple are needed to allow the nut to tighten.
Don't forget the gasket and a bit of Hylomar or similar on both sides of the gasket.
Tony.

[AlanBartlett]

Well, I spent Saturday morning investigating the air leak. I took off the manifold and found quite a bit of corrosion on the water way where it is thin.
Where the air leak is I found the carburettor was rocking on two high spots where the two mounting bolts are. The Carburettor I have fitted has been reconditioned.
Taking out the bottom stud with a little heat, it came out quite easily. Though the same couldn't be said for the top one, it snapped off in two pieces leaving a piece stuck inside the manifold, I managed to get an "Easy out" with more heat to slowly get it out. I gently filed the high spots down, refitting the carburettor I was happy all was flush and flat and no longer rocking as it were. (Though thinking back I should have got some blue.) Refitted all manifold with gaskets and hylomar. And to my disappointment it still leaks. I do have a spare manifold but sadly one of the lugs for the cylinders has snapped off, so I'm going to try and find an alu welder to repair it, failing that I will see if I can track down another manifold as the combination of the leak and corrosion of the manifold it will be worth the change.

[AlanBartlett]

Things have been moving on. Have been out on short runs and so far going well, after finding it performing quite "flat" I checked the timing between the camshaft gear and crankshaft gear. I found it to be two teeth out, changed it over to being back in line and now on par performance with my Saloon.

So my next question is has anyone had a petrol gauge apart, I've recently got into the sender unit on the tank to find it seized solid. Now I've freed it off, the next step is the gauge after testing it on a battery, I've found it only reads to Empty when connected to a battery, where there should be no resistance from the sender while its not connected. The casing should also be earthed, which I have done. Has anyone got a wiring diagram for the gauge? So I can have a bit more of look into it.

[Keith Clements]

Have you voltmeter which will read resistance? If not use an incandescent bulb in series with your battery .
Both the petrol gauge and the tank sender unit will have a resistance. The tank sender resistance will vary with position. First check the resistance of the sender by disconnecting the wire from the sender at the gauge. As you say you need to have the sender return connected to the chassis earth of the battery.
The illumination of the bulb will vary with position of sender.
Your gauge should also have a resistance which you should check. You could do this by using your bulb connected to the sender side of the gauge with the other side of the bulb going to earth with the gauge being fed by battery voltage. I do not know what sort of gauge you have. It may be moving iron or bimetal both of which measure the current going through the sender.

[Tony Fearn]

Tony.