16/80 Barn Find restoration

[Rob Kilham]

Hi Everybody .

I am new to the forum , and new to ACs .

A 1936 16/80 gas recently come into my wife's ownership , purchased in 1958 by her grandfather and used until it came off the road in 1982 . She can remember having a ride in it in about 1990 on the farm  , but it has sat since then .

It is registered as a 1948 , I believe this was when it was imported from Jersey or Guernsey . I am unsure if it was in the channel islands since new . Hoping somebody could help shed light on this ...

Chassis number L249 .

Originally silver , but painted dark green .

It will need the usual water jacket replacement .
I'm planning to do a full chassis restoration , but just clean and preserve the body .

I have lots of questions !
To start with , is there any benefit to me joining the club and members forum ?

I am no stranger to restoring cars , but this is older than anything I messed about with before .

Below are some pictures of it in the barn , and once it was moved to my barn and had some parts refitted.

Thanks Rob

[Flyinghorse]

Rob,
Very nice looking project your wife has acquired.
I would say with a car of that age and rarity you will need access to all the club knowledge and PVT register/ registrar.
Advice on spares, fellow PVT owners etc , let alone the wealth  of Weller engine knowledge and upgrades.
So yes I would join, especially if you are doing a lot of the work yourself.
A quick look at the register suggests some original colour differences and engine changes at some stage.
Hopefully you will have inherited a lot of the paperwork with the car.
Look forward to seeing progress.
Graham

[B.P.Bird]

Rob,
Wise words from Graham, for less than £7 a month membership you will have access to hundreds of A.C. Owners' Club Members who will have faced and solved all the problems that you will encounter in rebuilding L249. Having been in your position quite a few times, at the start of a lengthy process, I cannot remember one instance in decades where other Members' advice has not been of the greatest value. In addition you will get to meet some friendly A.C. enthusiasts at events and receive our brilliant magazine 'ACtion' take Graham's advice and do it the easy way.
So far as water jacket replacement on your UMB goes (I see that '249 has lost her UBS engine, perhaps that engine came with the barn find?) there will be advice from Members describing their favourite specialists. I have the same water jacket decision to make on my recently acquired 1926 Royal, 13949, and I am very grateful to have been pointed in the right direction by Member's advice. As ever a picture is worth a thousand words:

For a Weller engine a century old the corrosion looks minimal, however a close look around cylinders 5 and 6 reveals stud bosses too far gone to seal. This prompted a much closer look and stud bosses at cylinders 1 and 2 which appeared perfect were exposed as 'Araldite' bodge ups. I hasten to add that 'Araldite' is super stuff, but however well it adheres to corroded aluminium the aluminium layer below will be corroding and the whole thing will soon fail again



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[Rob Kilham]

Thanks chaps .

I have paid my dues and joined the club .

Where can I see the register ?

Yes , when my wife's grandfather acquired the car in 1958 , it was silver . Apparently he thought this too ostentatious! And brush painted it green !
The only engine I have for the car is the one in it .
So how can you tell the difference between a UMB and a UBS ? Is the UMB a later version ?
I was told it was known as a cats claw engine because of the from mounts , and assumed that meant it was original .

Cheers Rob

[Rob Kilham]

Hoping the register will tell me when the car was built , as it is registered as a 1948 .
Who would I talk to to help with a letter confirming its age ? So that i can change this with the DVLA

Thanks again

[B.P.Bird]

Rob,
Welcome to the A.C.O.C. no doubt the Postie will deliver a proper Club Welcome shortly.
I think the common description of the prewar block is Cat's Paw - simply because that's what the front engine mounts look like.
I think the main, perhaps only difference, between the UBS and UMB is high compression pistons on the Sports engine.
The PVT Registrar is the person to ask for a dating letter. The Register is available on the Club website Members' Area and access will be explained in your Membership Welcome,
Barrie

[Rob Kilham]

Rob,
Welcome to the A.C.O.C. no doubt the Postie will deliver a proper Club Welcome shortly.
I think the common description of the prewar block is Cat's Paw - simply because that's what the front engine mounts look like.
I think the main, perhaps only difference, between the UBS and UMB is high compression pistons on the Sports engine.
The PVT Registrar is the person to ask for a dating letter. The Register is available on the Club website Members' Area and access will be explained in your Membership Welcome,
Barrie

Ah , so you figured The engine change from the register,  not by looking at pictures ?

I'm sure it will need the water jacket replacement , but it turns over ,  so can't be too bad otherwise ......

Wiring loom is definitely on the list of replacements