How To: Restore a Morris or keep fit

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by T Creighton

It looks like a 3 1/2 x 4 7/16 x 3/8 conventional seal could fit instead of the felt seal and it's retainer ring, but the seal lip would only just bear on the journal of the distance piece.
Machining the flange on the distance piece could allow the seal to move out a bit but then it may be not far enough inside the hub bore.
It would be a gamble to alter a distance piece to find it did not work.
If I could find some new felt rings I would stick to that system.
Terry.

Yes I see the problem. The same design is used on the CS8 . Ideally the distance piece journal should be extended , but how. A new distance piece could be machined up but that is not a easy solution. Just realised the journal cannot be extended !

The felt rings on mine were all leaking and some quantity of oil/grease got onto the backing plates . The linings themselves were not affected . OVERFILLING OF THE DIFF WOULD BE A DISASTER ..

[Mike K]

The chassis, rims and other bits are back from the local sandblaster . BTW the FORD LP2A ? MG carrier, the blaster had this stored , has been sold to somebody in Melbourne recently, it needs a lot of work done.

The chassis on the Morris CS8 is a flimsy affair. With the axles/springs removed , the chassis wobbles around like a lump of jelly. I can lift the chassis up and flip it over , try doing that with a blitz chassis and your chiropractor will be smiling all the way to the bank. Being a 4x2, the designers may have opted for a 'walking chassis' allowing for the rough terrain ?

[Mike K]

Been working on the Morris engine, it's a 3.5 litre side valve, a engine pinched from the contemporary 1930's Morris 25HP saloon with a few ancillaries changed around eg carby and stuff

I obtained a set of NOS +20 thou pistons years ago, so this particular engine is getting a rebore soon. I came to the dreaded job of removing the head studs in the block OH dear ... this type of job has hidden dangers and any number of things can go wrong .

Being of sound mind Hmmm I decided to make my own stud puller .

The wedge is a piece of square section file , it has been ground to a taper . The puller has been used with success ! The wedge teeth grab the stud and the more turning force you add, the wedge will pull itself in, self locking

Heat the stud at the base to a dull red, let it cool and apply the WD40 or whatever , PB blaster is good .

[T Creighton]

Well done with getting your studs out Mike.
That is a crafty tool you made.
Not having any thing like that, I cut the studs about an inch long and welded a nut to them.
Some came out easily but about a third of them snapped off and I had to drill the broken piece out. Anywhere they protruded into the water jacket they were well seized up.
Will you be able to use the studs you have taken out?
If not, do you have a source of new ones?
Terry

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by T Creighton

Well done with getting your studs out Mike.
That is a crafty tool you made.
Not having any thing like that, I cut the studs about an inch long and welded a nut to them.
Some came out easily but about a third of them snapped off and I had to drill the broken piece out. Anywhere they protruded into the water jacket they were well seized up.
Will you be able to use the studs you have taken out?
If not, do you have a source of new ones?
Terry

Hi Terry

Yes if the water jacket corrosion has affected the stud threads , this can cause major headaches as you discovered . I did think of welding nuts on like you did . I will machine some new 12mm studs out of something strong maybe stainless , I will have to research that. Did you use a anti seize coating on your new studs ?

Did you have hard valve seats fitted ? I noticed in the 1940 MCC manual , they had valve seat inserts way back then - not sure if these were fitted from new ? My 1950 land Rover has exhaust seat inserts ( a requirement because many export areas eg Africa had low grade petrol ) , I replaced these with new seats from Cox & Turner. I've seen a few botched jobs where the new inserts crack, or become loose .

[T Creighton]

Hi Mike,
My engine is away, with a newly ground crank, at one of the few firms that can do new white metal mains and big ends so I won't have to worry about new studs until it gets back to the re-conditioner who is doing the job. I would prefer rolled threads and high tensile steel. It looks like some helicoil inserts will be needed as well.
The block has hard exhaust valve seats that look in good enough condition, although they have a huge selection of new inserts, and they will make new guides which will be cheaper than new ones from Cox and Turner.
I have already bought new liners, pistons and a full set of valves.
The dollars are mounting up not to mention the time all this takes.
Terry.

[Mike K]

The camshaft is seized, will not rotate at all - rock solid Any ideas ????? The oil pump is still in situ but that isnt causing the problem .

The spring loaded button provides a slight preload onto the camshaft, the button rides against the timing cover . Apparently the helical gear drive to the oil pump/distributor provides the pushing force onto the spring loaded button , forcing it against the timing cover ?

I think moisture has made its way into the camshaft bearings , and over time these bearings have seized . In theory the camshaft should pull out easily .