February - Because of a heavy travel schedule, we did not get a lot of work done over the past two weeks, but now we are back on track:
First we installed new points, condenser and rotor in the distributor.  Because of the angle, it was a pain.  We later learned that most guys remove the distributor and do the job on the workbench!
Then Rich installed the NOS Lockheed wheel cylinders that I picked up on ebay.  He had to file out the mounting hole to make them fit properly.
We installed new rear brake lines and a stainless steel line (after cleaning 25 years of crud off the differential!)
While we were at it we wire brushed off a ton of rust and painted the diff and axle...
...and the rear springs.
Installed new stainless steel brake lines on the front. 

All we have to do now is to bleed the brakes and they are finished.
Reinstalled the old radiator with new hoses.  We are going to try starting the car with the old radiator, then flush the block a few times, before installing a new radiator if necessary.
Cleaned up and reinstalled the generator with a new belt.  We may still try to convert to an alternator later and are looking for the correct brackets.
Thursday 2/10 -We installed a facet fuel pump left over from my Spitfire project, bolting it to the SU bracket.  It's pumping fuel!

But the carbs need rebuilding, so we started working on them next.
After removing them for the engine, we starting cleaning the grime and ordered a rebuild kit and DVD.
The carb heat shield will get cleaned, sanded and painted.

 

Then we removed the fuel tank.  It's very rusty with lots of junk sloshing around inside, so we ordered a new one.

 

 

Much better. It just needs priming and painting before we install it.

 
Saturday, 2/12   Today we decided to tackle an old challenge.  I picked up some new SU fuel pump points on eBay for $9, so we spent a few hours rebuilding the old SU fuel pump. 

It was pretty dirty!

Thank goodness John Twist of University Motors has a YouTube video showing how to replace the points. 

We got it working properly and reinstalled the original fuel pump in the car.  Success! 

 

 

Here it is with new fuel lines installed:

 

 

We spent an hour or so cleaning the carb bodies and float bowls.  There's still more to do while we wait for the rebuild kit to arrive.  Pictures coming soon.
Thur. 2/17

New gas tank, primed, installed and undercoated.

 

Blew out the gas lines with compressed air and hooked everything up
Found a proper fuse box cover on ebay.  IT fits perfectly!
Installed a new brake light switch.  At first it did not work until we discovered one lead wasn't making contact with the terminal.  Everything's fine now and brake lights work.
Installed a new washer pump, then discovered a leak under the dash.  We had to remove the radio consol to get to the bad tubing and replace it.  Works now!
We tried bleeding the brake system and discovered a leaking brake line from the pressure switch to the rear wheels.  We had hoped to avoid replacing that line, but now we have to replace it.  That's for tomorrow.
Fri, 2/18 - First we installed the new rear brake line.   You can see the line at the right as it enters the pressure switch and goes down.

 Then we successfully bled the brake system and now the brakes are working!!!

 

After bleeding the brakes, we bled the clutch system and that works too!  so far, it has been a good day.
Next we focused on why we weren't getting a spark.  Removed the distributor (polishing up the vacuum advance while it was out.)  Checked the point gap, everything seems alright.

So we tested the coil in the car and that seems fine.

 It acts like the points are not opening the ground circuit and the coil is not firing.  The problem could be the cap, rotor or plug wires.  Our car has a side entry distributer cap, but they were originally on pre 1968 cars, so we ordered a new top entry cap, new wires, a new rotor, points and condenser. Hopefully we can find the problem and get the plugs firing..
We learned today that our carb rebuild kit is on back order from Moss, so we cancelled the order and ordered a kit from British Parts Northwest.  It was shipped today, but it comes from the West Coast so it will take 5 days. 

Finally, I stripped the paint off one wheel using paint stripper and wire brushes.  It cleaned up pretty nicely, but sand blasting would be a lot easier.

February 25 - Received new throttle shafts in the mail today, but are still waiting for the carb rebuild kits. 

March

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