Looking for information on dewandre brake servo units

Keith Herkes

28 December 2017 at 11:40 #52590

Hello Lagonda owners from an M.G. owner.
I have a 1930 M.G. 18/80 MKII, of which some were factory fitted with a Clayton Dewandre brake servos and some were not. Unfortunately, mine was not and in todays traffic conditions I would like to retro fit one to give me a bit more safety on the roads from the idiot drivers who think it is clever to overtake, cut in and take my breaking distance.
I think that some Lagondas were fitted with the Dewandre C5 servo, but were any fitted with the Dewandre JS5/125R, series 2805.
This is what I refer to as a ‘floating unit’ as it is not directly bolted to the chassis, but is integral with the various brake rods and in effect suspended within the mechanism.
Can anybody help with information or the possible whereabouts of a unit I could purchase.
Thank you in advance. Keith Herkes.

Attached files

Colin M34

30 December 2017 at 12:51 #52591

Hi Keith,

I can confirm the the Dewandre servo works really well on my M45. I think the Club has a second hand M45 type in stock if that helps.

The Club only sells parts to members so assuming it has not been sold you will have to join if you want to purchase this unit.

There is at least one other M.G. 18/80 owner who is also a Club member – you may know him. He also has a 2 Litre Lagonda which he reckons is a better car! I do like the 18/80 M.G. though.

Colin M34

Barry Brown

30 December 2017 at 13:02 #52592

Glad to hear it works well Colin! Do you know of anyone selling rebuild parts for these ? The only thing I can see that might need replacement is the sealing ring on the piston.

Keith Herkes

30 December 2017 at 22:54 #52594

Colin,
Thank you for your comments. However, I don’t know what an M45 Lagonda servo unit is like. Is it a JS5/125R, series 2805. Do you have any photographs of the one fitted to your car. Thanks. Keith.

Barry Brown

30 December 2017 at 23:39 #52595

Keith, Here is the one for to my M45, possibly the same as Colin’s.

Attached files

Keith Herkes

31 December 2017 at 08:04 #52596

Barry,
Thanks for the great photos- they are worth a thousand words. I can see that there is a bracket which presumably bolts the servo to the chassis and the body of the unit is much longer. With your help, however, I now know that the servo for the M45 is not the one I am looking for.
As far as repair parts are concerned, you are probably correct in that only the leather washer may need replacing, unless the bore has corroded and then it will need sleeving to give a good surface for the piston to work on.
Thanks once again for your help.
Keith
Bedford, England

Barry Brown

31 December 2017 at 13:35 #52599

Not Lagonda related but I see you are in Bedford which is where the 3 brothers who founded “Bedford Mills” were from. Happy New Year

Keith Herkes

31 December 2017 at 20:47 #52600

Yes Barry, I spotted that on your posting and added my location as I am intrigued that you live in a ‘ghost town’ . I sometimes wonder if Bedford (UK) will end up a ghost town if local shops keep closing. A sign of the times I think.
HNY Keith

Barry Brown

31 December 2017 at 21:28 #52601

Keith, That is sad as I had always thought of the UK as the last bastion of all that is good.! How naive I was. Last April I went into an ASDA giant store in Stafford and spotted evidence it was just another Walmart in disguise. There are a few towns in Canada that have refused Walmart and maintained a fairly vibrant town centre. Walmart actually shut down one store in Quebec because the employees had unionized but as you say that is not the trend.
Bedford Mills was never what one could call a proper town. Even at it’s height of 200 population it was just a collection of sawmills, a grist mill and finally a hunting and fishing lodge. Now it is vacation country.Great roads for motorcycling and in the future Lagonda driving ! Cheers, Barry

Keith Herkes

1 January 2018 at 22:53 #52602

Hi all-sorry this is off topic.
Barry, in Bedford a town of 80000 population, we have 4 Tesco stores, I Morrison, 2 Sainsburys. 2 Aldi and 2 Lidl stores. No wonder the high streets are dying on their feet.
Now, we had better get back to cars.

Does anybody else know of any other Dewandre servos fitted to any Lagonda models?

Barry Brown

2 January 2018 at 01:07 #52603

there were some discussions on this topic on the AACA site .Quite interesting history lesson anyway.http://forums.aaca.org/search/
just type in Dewandre in the search box

Richard Branch

5 January 2018 at 21:31 #52620

Well Keith, the segue to get you back on topic is, of course, the fact that the Lagonda works in Staines is now a giant Sainsburys !

Keith Herkes

3 February 2018 at 11:26 #52652

Thanks Barry for the link to the AACA. Some interesting stuff. Coincidentally the blue Lanchester lives just a few miles down the road from me. Will continue my search for an appropriate Clayton Dewandre unit.
Thanks.
Keith