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P.S and by the way may I take the opportunity of thanking Peter and any others who initiated and maintain this forum for members such as myself.
Thank you very, very much.David
I did send you an email with my telephone number suggesting you call me so I could explain – but perhaps you did not get this ?
However for the benefit of anyone else who might be attracted to the idea : –
Simply line up the alumunium cast centre over the centre of the wheel and drill a few holes in the edges (where they cannot be seen after the disc and screwed ring are on). It can easily be centred using the wheel disc itself. Insulate the aluminium centre from the wheel with some foam, cloth or something similiar before using the cable ties to grip the centre in position. Use as many cable ties as you think necessary. I think I used about 5 or 6. Then fix the disc and other bits with the screwed ring etc.
I did not bother with the disc that goes on the back of the wheel as it cannot be seen and I think it could be a real nuisance. Theoretically the rear of the wheel could become dirty over time but does that matter ??
OK it is not a “proper” way of doing it but I think it is much kinder to the wire wheel and perhaps a more secure fix anyway.
Hope this helps.
BillDear David LG45
Just a tip in case in helps as you say you are missing the locking bits.
When I looked at the job of fixing the main Ali bits with metal fixings against my nicely rebuilt wire wheels and the consequent damage I decide to fix them with plastic cable ties !! I know that the purists will not like this but none of it can be seen and I found it a very easy way to fix everything.
Cable ties are immensely strong (as you may know the Police use them for “arrest”). My discs have been on for about 5 years without any problems apparently and my wire wheels are not getting scratched !!
I would welcome any views – positive or negative – about this dodge !Hi
Yes. I considered the Lmarr discs. However not only are they expensive but they are really too perfect for an 80 year old car !! Therefore I hunted around and found original discs in nice condition for very little money. I was very happy with the result. I think you will find original discs fairly easily as everyone seems to have taken them off in the past (they obviously had someone else to clean their wire wheels !). At Beaulieu there always seem to be lots around (but make certain you get the correct “offset” as well as diameter).
Best of luck !Hi Laurence
Have you thought of making your own wiring loom ?
It is not as difficult as you think as long as you are methodical.
The advantage is that you can incorporate improvements ie indicators and also spare wires (eg front to back). There is a major advantage also by going to a more modern wiring system as you can then use relays – these will protect 80 year old switches from carrying high voltage and excess heat. If the old switches are not very good and the internal contacts are not brilliant you should be able to avoid future problems.
The old switches then just switch the relays which carry the load. The relays are switched with only a minute load thereby preserving the old switches. There is no need to see the relays which can be hidden away out of sight.
Once you have made up your own loom you can then take it off the car and get it braided to give it a “professional touch”.
In my view I think it would be silly to follow an original wiring diagram. If you go to a modern relay based system you can also incorporate a good selection of fuses on the different circuits. That is the advice I was given some years ago by someone who knew far more than me and is one of the best ways of protecting your Lagonda.Fred, just to answer also one of your original questions. If you do decide to have a go yourself and you need different shims you can buy sheets of shim steel (sometimes a pack in assorted thicknesses) and you can then cut your own shims out to the required shape and thickness. This is not too difficult to do if you are reasonably “handy”. You can cut them with an ordinary pair of scissors but might need to resharpen halfway through. Try not to use your wife’s dressmaking scissors as otherwise you may find that you spend more time in the garage than you originally intended !!
I have done this for a rear axle (not Lagonda) trumpets in order to shim out the taper bearings.
I bought a pack of shim steel (about 300mm x 150mm size by memory from a local engineers supplies but you should be able to find a supplier on the internet. You may have to accept metric not imperial thickness but that is not too much of a problem as you just check the imperial size and then work from that. Best of luck to you Fred if you decide to have a go and let us know how you get on !Hi Laurence
Was the firm in Wimbledon called Steering Services ?? If so I can thoroughly recomend them as well to Fred (usual disclaimer – only a satisfied customer). They have rebuilt 2 steering boxes for me (M45 and LG45) the last one about 10 years ago. I think Peter Whenman always used them.
I would usually have a go at anything myself but I think for a “safety critical” thing like this it is best left to an “expert”.
The last phone number I have for them (in UK) was 0208 5409756. Hope this helps Fred.
BillHi Eddie
Thanks for the advice.
Yes, I have a full flow filter.
I think I will put black tape over the gauge and fit a oil pressure light !!
BillHi David
I would not be put off Blockleys without investigating further. I have them on two cars – 18inch and 16 inch on a 1950s car. They are brilliant ! There is certainly some noise on certain road surfaces but I do not find it unpleasant. I bought my last set about 4-5 years ago and I thought that they had now addressed the noise issue ?
Usual disclaimers except as a happy customer. I will certainly buy another set.Hi Julian
Just as a supplementary question to the above concerning Motul 20/60 oil. I see that it is a full synthetic and therefore very expensive. Is the advantage of it that it will maintain my oil pressure in the conditions I referred to above and therefore lower my blood pressure ? Or will I still see the same lowering of the oil pressure but have the knowledge that there is the extra protection of a very modern oil particularly under conditions where there is extreme heat with low oil pressure ?
Many thanks again.
BillHi Julian
Many thanks for the reply and advice. I will try the Motul on the next oil change.
The engine goes very well, driven sensibly, which is why I am reluctant to pull it all apart !
Perhaps I should not check the oil pressure gauge so frequently or just put a piece of black tape across the front of the gauge !!
Many thanks again.
BillAlso :-
My M45 was very original and untouched mechanically and also had the zinc “interleaves”. I had thought about replacing them with plastic (as used on MGs and Morgans I think) but in the end I left them out !
On some Lagonda springs there were also holes (about 3/4 inch) in the end of each leaf and there were brass/bronze “pads” inserted. The idea was that the pads would wear instead of the metal spring but of course they were never renewed so the metal spring just wore eventually anyway…….When I rebuilt my M45 in 1994 – 1998 I am fairly certain that I got the original spring settings from Arnold Davey. I have looked long and hard to find the details for you but I cannot find them. However I know that the springs were rebuilt by Jones Springs and they should still have the details I gave them – they seem to keep all that sort of information.
Hope this helps.
BillJohn, if all else fails a very simple solution is to convert your original magneto into a distributor – if it is a type which makes this possible. Take the mag coil out and put an HT lead in a holder in its place. The HT lead goes to a modern coil (tucked out of sight) and condenser. I did this mod on my 3 litre (Scintilla mag) and it cured all the starting problems (always a bit marginal on the 3 litre as the mag goes at 3/4 engine speed). It is then easy to carry a spare coil and condenser – just in case. This does not really affect the original look of the engine bay as you still have the mag in place -as long as you can hide the modern coil out of sight. Much cheaper option than fiddling around with mags !
My 1935 M45 had the same type of “brake shoe” dampers but on the front and the rear. Therefore both could be operated separately by the telecontrols. There were also the Hartford friction type (flat wood discs with brass) on the front. I understood that this “double” set up on the front was normal for the M45. Hope this helps !