DOOR LORE

Classic car doors are seldom dismantled unless there’s a problem with the window winder or latch mechanisms or during a rebuild. Stripping down door assemblies can be a difficult and time-consuming job, and in the process there’s always a risk of damaging paintwork and breaking components.

However, long-term neglect can bring its own problems and lack of regular lubrication is one of them. Ultimately, mechanisms that have not been lubricated will wear rapidly and become stiff in operation; they may even seize, and/or break.

So, if ever you have to remove an interior door trim panel and/or take out the operating mechanisms from within a door, it pays to clean and check all internal mechanical components for wear. Badly worn or broken parts should be renewed, but if the original mechanism is in good condition, simply re-lubricate prior to re-assembly. It is far easier to reach and lubricate door mechanisms while the door is dismantled.

A little penetrating fluid or light oil may be required to free up a ‘lazy’ mechanism, but grease is better for long-term lubrication as it tends to stay in place longer where needed. The use of light grease is preferable to a thick type. Some of the spray type greases supplied in aerosol form are perfect for the job. Always wipe off excess lubricant before re-installing the mechanism(s) in the doors.

After this task, you should find that the door latch and winder controls are easier to operate. Usually the benefits can be felt for several years before attention is required again. In the case of later classics fitted with electrically operated windows, the easier the mechanisms operate, the less strain there will be on the winder motors.

Always ensure too that seals and shields designed to keep rainwater out of the door assemblies are in place and intact, otherwise moisture entering the door can play havoc.

While on the subject of doors, last week I was reminded of a frustrating problem that can arise when re-fitting a door following a respray or other work. Precise alignment of the screw/bolt apertures in the door shell (or pillar) and hinges can take some time and there’s always a risk of paint damage, especially if you are working on your own.

When trying to insert and rotate the screws/bolts, life is made a little easier if you use narrow diameter steel rods, or the shafts of appropriate size screwdrivers, to gently lift and move the components relative to each other until all the holes are perfectly in line. Otherwise it can be difficult to get the screws/bolts in the correct positions to start their threads. Indeed there’s a very high risk of cross-threading…

TIP OF THE WEEK PHOTO CAPTIONS

Whenever a door is dismantled, take the opportunity to check for wear in the latch and window winder mechanisms and re-lubricate all the moving parts. The use of a light spray-on grease (applied by aerosol) helps to provide long-term lubrication.

Fitting hinges to the door and to its support pillar can be challenging, especially if you are working on your own. Small bars or screwdrivers can be used to help align the holes to enable the securing bolts/screws to be inserted and started in their threads.

When trying to fit a new sidelamp bulb to this classic, it was difficult to see exactly where the bulb and its holder needed to be positioned. By turning on the sidelights, the bulb was illuminated and enabled fitting to be completed easily and rapidly.Tip 1:

Access to lamp units for fitting replacement bulbs is sometimes very restricted and when installing a new bulb it can be difficult to see exactly where it has to be positioned. This can result in the new bulb being dislodged from its holder, or even breaking during the fitting process.

At home, you may be able to get an assistant to shine an inspection lamp or torch into the area in which you are operating. However, if you are working alone, and especially if you are obliged to fit a new bulb on a garage forecourt or at the roadside, it’s possible you won’t have a torch available.

Recently, a friend was faced with this difficulty and eventually managed to install a new bulb at the second attempt after breaking the first replacement when trying to guide it into place...

I have found that often you can use illumination from the new bulb itself to provide light in the correct area. By fitting the bulb into its holder (in cases where the bulb holder is separate from the back of the lamp unit), and activating the lamp circuit in question, the bulb is illuminated and its holder should be easy to position correctly. Be careful not to burn your fingers on a hot bulb, and make very sure that no live parts of the circuit touch earth, or a dead short will occur.

The propeller shaft centre bearing/support assembly on the left of this shot is brand new and looks perfect. However, the one on the right is of the same type and failed dramatically after just 2000 miles of normal motoring.Tip 2:

CHEAP, BUT NOT ALWAYS CHEERFUL

It’s tempting to buy inexpensively, but sometimes it’s a false economy. If possible it’s always preferable to opt for a component of known good quality (even if it costs more to start with), for optimum life expectancy and performance of the unit.

Cases in point include rebuilt engines and transmission units, also new bushes and bearings – including propeller shaft centre bearing/support assemblies.

I have been advised of many instances of such assemblies failing after very low mileages. In each case the units look virtually identical to high quality, original equipment components, but can cost a fraction of the price one would expect to pay for such an item.

One the face of it a low purchase price is good news, but it can take several hours to remove and dismantle a propeller shaft assembly to change the bearing/support unit. That represents time and effort wasted (not to mention cost, if you are paying someone to do the job). In addition, if the assembly fails suddenly it can cause severe damage to the propeller shaft and underside of the vehicle.

So, if any components being offered sound too good to be true price-wise, they probably are!

A length of steel tube of the appropriate diameter can often be used to apply additional leverage for straightening bent components and sometimes for applying extra pressure to tight fasteners. Be careful not to overload spanners or sockets.

EXTRA LEVERAGE

A fellow enthusiast recently purchased a well-used classic roof rack from the Sixties. The rack itself was in good condition but the threaded sections of the legs were all bent. We strongly suspect that the rack had fallen from a vehicle and landed in the road…

I was asked whether the legs could be straightened. Having carried out this sort of operation before, I suggested that we try a short length of strong old steel pipe, placed over the end of each leg, and carefully eased by hand pressure to pull the legs back to their correct profiles. This worked, and the rack was soon returned to its correct shape.

This approach can be used to straighten many ‘slightly bent’ components. Of course, it’s essential in such cases to ensure that the basic structure of the component is sound, both before and after straightening; any weakness discovered means fitting new parts.

Additional leverage applied in such a way is often handy and, within reason, can also be applied when trying to loosen tight nuts and bolts. However, the greatest care must be taken to ensure that you aren’t overloading a spanner or socket driver bar for example.

Common sense should be your guide in deciding whether to go ahead. In every case the spanner/socket must be close-fitting on the fastener and up to the job in terms of structural integrity. If the spanner or the driver bar should break, there’s a serious risk of injury.

This spanner was carefully filed down to reduce the width of its shoulders, making it much easier to reach into narrow gaps – such as around carburettor mounting nuts. However, a spanner filed down in this way should not be used for high torque jobs. Tip 4:

MODIFIED SPANNER

Sometimes nuts and bolts are located in the most inaccessible places, and some have insufficient space around them in order to grip them properly using a normal ring or open-ended spanner. In many cases even a thin-walled ring or socket spanner can’t be used − the nuts/bolts securing mechanical petrol pumps to engines and carburettors to manifolds being typical ‘problem’ examples.

Fortunately it is often possible to modify a spare open-ended spanner to tackle jobs like these. By carefully grinding/filing excess metal from the shoulders of the jaws, the spanner’s overall width is reduced sufficiently so that it’s easier to use in restricted spaces.

Ultimately, the strength of a spanner will be reduced by taking away metal so, if possible, initial loosening and final tightening for some jobs will need to be carried out using a normal spanner. All the same, for ease and speed of dismantling/re-assembling low torque fasteners, a modified spanner can be perfect.

Condensation can be a real nuisance for classic engines, especially in the winter months. A plastic bag placed over the distributor cap and high tension leads can help to keep moisture at bay.Tip 5:

DRY ELECTRICS

A refusal to start may be due to condensation on the distributor cap and high tension leads, with moisture from the atmosphere settling on them during storage/overnight parking.

One easy way to prevent trouble is to wrap a plastic bag around the distributor cap and leads (having first coated them with a water-dispellant spray as additional protection) to keep moisture at bay. The bag can be secured by an elastic band and is easily removed to run the engine.

This procedure is also useful if ever you power-wash the engine bay – but in any event never spray water near the electrics or carburettor intake(s).