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Newsletters
This article featured in the club newsletter in
March 2009
A VW Bay Restoration Story
Michael Herbert
A 1975 Sligo registered Volkswagen Bay became mine in early February 2009. I am the third owner of this vehicle which has remained unused for a considerable number of years; both previous owners were from Mayo. It was last taxed in 1979. Due to being idle and almost abandoned it was in need of a lot of repairs.
The underneath was in poor condition, with quite a lot of welding required.
The westie top was removed, repainted and refitted and surprisingly, there were no leaks in the canvas (haven’t tested that one fully yet!!). The 1600cc engine has been given a complete overhaul and put back in. The welding is now completed and the camper is being rewired at the moment and fitted with a leisure battery.
Although originally blue it is being repainted Lecht Orange under Pastel White which is an original colour of the ‘70’s bay...We plan to change all of the interior, new upholstery, sink and hob. The upholstery will have some orange that will tie in with the external colour and some original orange curtains that have been obtained (washed up quite well even though they are sun faded!).
It is still a work in progress but we are getting there very well. There are about 200 hrs gone into it by mid March and approx 200 more to follow.
This article featured in the club newsletter in
June 2009
Classic Minis celebrate their 50th birthday this year.
By Edward Healy
The first Minis rolled off the production line on August 26th 1959. Aside from minor cosmetic changes and various engine modifications the Mini remained basically the same throughout its 41 years of production and when the last Minis were made in October 2000, 5.3 million Minis had been sold worldwide. There were 133 versions of the Mini including convertibles, pickups, vans and station-wagons, mini coopers, Riley Elfs and Wolseley Hornets.
The Mini was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis who had already major success in 1948 with designing the Morris Minor. Lord Leonard of B.M.C. had asked Issigonis to design a compact, economical car in response to the fuel shortages of the day which was caused by the conflict between Israel and Egypt over the nationalization of the Suez Canal. The only engine stipulation that Lord Leonard gave Sir Alec was that he was to use an existing B.M.C. engine. The engine chosen was the A-series 848c.c unit which had 34 brake horse power. Issigonis created a box shaped car which was 10 feet long, 4 feet high and 4 feet wide. By mounting the engine transversely and using front wheel drive his car could carry four adult passengers and luggage with ease. Fifty years on and this design has become common practice in small car design with all manufacturers.
B.M.C. was formed when the UK’s two largest automakers Nuffield (Morris, M.G., Riley and Wolseley) and Austin merged. So at the start two versions were manufactured, the Austin 7 was produced in Longbridge and the Morris Mini Minor was produced at the Cowley plant, identical cars but badged differently. One of the early production cars used in the press launch was loaned to race car builder John Cooper in September 59. John Cooper’s formula one car driven by Sir Jack Brabham was on its way to both the driver’s and manufacturer’s F1 world championship. Cooper also built a car for the junior series and he chose the B.M.C. A-series as the basis for his race engine. When Cooper drove the Mini he was really impressed with its handling ability and its potential as a competition car. He struck a deal with the head of B.M.C. to produce an initial run of 1,000 Mini Coopers which were built at the Longbridge factory. The stroke of the 848c.c. was lengthened and the bore dropped slightly in size, this resulted in the now famous 997c.c. unit. Other modifications were twin 1.2 inch s.u. carburetors, larger intake valves and a higher compression ratio. Production of the Mini Cooper began in July 1961. In April 1963 the Mini Cooper S debuted, this car had a 98 brake horsepower and revved to 7,800r.p.m. This allowed the car a 0-60mph time of 13 seconds which was remarkable for a car of its size. Its top speed was now 95mph. In 1964 hydrolastic suspension, which was a pressurized fluid system, was introduced instead of the rubber cone set up which had initially been used. However due to it high manufacturing costs this suspension was phased out between 1969 and 1971. Two more engine sizes were introduced in 1964, the 970c.c. high revving unit primarily for racing and the 1275c.c. which eventually became the basic power plant for all later models. The competitions department of the B.M.C. was at Abingdon and they campaigned what became known as the Works Minis with amazing success. Drivers such as Rauno Aaltonen, Timo Makinen and Paddy Hopkirk are all synonymous with victories in the Mini in the R.A.C., Circuit of Ireland, Monte-Carlo and the Tour De France Rallies to name but a few. Pat Moss was the most famous female driver.
Other interesting facts about thisamazing little car: its original selling price was just 495 pounds and by 1999 you would pay upward of 10,000 pounds. To celebrate the Mini’s 40th Anniversary, 25 people crammed themselves into a Mini to set a world record. The most famous movie which 3 Minis starred in was called The Italian Job. The Mini has had many famous owners such as The Beatles, Peter Sellers, Peter Ustinov, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Kate Moss, Princess Margaret and Twiggy. I could go on for ever and ever talking about Minis and as the saying goes “if you were lucky enough to own a Mini you never forget your first Mini”. There are many Mini clubs worldwide and the club in Ireland is called The Irish Mini Owners Club and they held their Mizen to Malin Head run on the 22nd of May this year.
This article featured in the club newsletter in
September 2009
Restoration of a Ferguson 20 Diesel
by Darragh Tracey
Two and a half years ago I bought a Ferguson 20 Diesel. When I got it, it was not running. The wings, wheels and tyres were rotten. The bonnet was in a very bad state. The steering was all out of line and the wiring was non-existent. We started by changing the oil and the diesel filters and the diesel in the tank was changed. The diesel pump had to be ripped and cleaned and a temporary line ran from filters to pump as the originals weakened. With the battery connected to the starter we tried starting it but failed. Adjusting the pump timing and using a lot of heating we got it firing and it ran until it got warm. We then adjusted the pump timing with the engine running until it ran riot. We were told when we bought the tractor that the engine was reconditioned but never got started. This was due to the condition of the pump and the timing. The engine was removed, clutch checked, input shaft seals in the gearbox replaced and the gearbox and axel refitted with new oil. The water pump and front axel bushings were all replaced. We sandblasted it and a good friend primed and painted the whole tractor. We got new wheels, tyres and wings and fitted them up after they were painted. Three point linkage arms were replaced with new ones and the dynamo wiring regulator was replaced new. The bonnet was taken to a panel beater and repaired. A new front section was fitted. We refitted everything and we ran the tractor on the Charleville Tractor Run. We had no problems with it and plan to restore a 135 next. Thanks to all who helped in the restoration of the tractor.
This article featured in the club newsletter
December 09
50th Anniversary of the Ford Anglia
By Dominic Treacy
The Ford Anglia was born in August 1959 and was to replace the 100E series which had a sidevalve engine and 3 speed gearbox. It hailed the all new Kent engine 997cc and four speed gearbox and gave good economy and lower road tax. The Anglia only came in two door models and Ford soon realised it had to have a family four door. So they put Anglia running gear into a Prefect body and called it a 107E Prefect. This ran until 1962 until the Mk I Cortina replaced it as a family four door. The Anglia came in two versions—Standard and Deluxe. But in 1962 a new version was introduced called a Super. Using the Cortina 1200cc engine and all syncrow gearbox it also had extra chrome and a higher spec interior. Also in 1962 the van and estate version was introduced to the range. Different versions were made for the continent such as the sportsman which had its spare wheel on the outside of the boot. In Italy the Torino was made for 2 years. Approximately 10,500 units were made and only 5-6 are left in the world, two of which are in Ireland. In 1965 you could get an Anglia called a Super Deluxe which gave the options of the Super on a Deluxe 1200 engine, or super interior, or extra chrome, or the two tone paint. When production stopped in July 1967 to make way for the new mk I Escort Ford took the last 500 Anglia's and painted them in two special colours, 250 in blue mink metallic and 250 in venetian gold, which are very sought after today. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Anglia and it is nice to see a good number of them on the Irish classic scene.
