David Bracey

1 May 2015 at 18:00 #51231

Thank you David.

I love this club, it’s fantastic how everyone helps each other.

David Bracey

30 April 2015 at 21:38 #51229

Thank you everyone for your very helpful comments and suggestions. Lots for me to try out and experiment with when I get time.

Bill, that is very kind of you to have gone to the trouble of looking out old articles. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of those so will try and track them down.

I will let you know how I get on.

David

David Bracey

28 April 2015 at 06:22 #51220

Well spotted Barry. Being a Norton owner myself I particularly like to photo of Harry V Sucher astride his lovely Norton.

It’s a shame he wasn’t sitting on a Lagonda motorcycle, I would love to see a picture of one of those but haven’t been able to track one down.

David

David Bracey

28 April 2015 at 06:18 #51219

Hi Peter,

That is really interesting and useful so I have made a note of your advice in case I need it. Well done for finding a solution to what must have been a frustrating problem.

David

David Bracey

5 April 2015 at 19:57 #51204

Dear Bill and Barry,

Thanks for your wishes and also for your support and companionship via this site; it is easy to feel a bit isolated. Knowing that there are other people ‘out there’ is a great help. You must certainly feel that Barry. Where in Canada are you? We were in Vancouver 18 months ago and went up North on the island and fell in love with your Country. If we go back it would be great if we could meet up so I can buy you a beer. PM me if you don’t want to give out details on the forum.

Bill, I’m using a medium classic oil. Penrite 25w75 but am sure there are people within the club with better suggestions. I have used this in my 1935 Aston for 3 years and it seems to work well so opted for the same stuff.

Thanks again and if you are going to the AGM in October we will be there.

David

David Bracey

3 April 2015 at 20:12 #51200

Thank you for all the advice, suggestions and wishes of good luck that I received following the engine problems I encountered with my LG45. It really was a great help. Without wishing to tempt fate I believe I have now sorted those problems and have a car that will be reliable and which can be driven extensively as I had always hoped.

So, what have I learnt and what conclusions have I reached?

Following Julian?s advice, the new was machined with 0.006? clearances for the pistons. Unfortunately, fitting the new block, conrods and pistons was a much more involved process than it should have been. All were bought from the same source but there were problems fitting them. For instance, the block was not supplied fully machined and the conrods did not have the correct offset to suit the old crankshaft and neither did the big end fit the crank. It was necessary to machine the inside of the pistons to provide the offset necessary so that the conrods could be used. It was also necessary to machine clearance slots in the block so that the conrods didn?t foul. All this created unnecessary frustration, delay and expense and was very disappointing.

A new oil pump was also fitted.

Once assembled the engine was set up carefully and it fired into life without any difficulties at all. As reported previously I took Julian?s advice and ran the engine from a water tank so that we could flush out any crud before connecting it to the radiator. I used demineralised water and NOT Evans. Using the water tank also gave an excellent opportunity to check the flow rate being achieved across the whole rpm range. This confirmed that everything was performing properly and so the car was completely reassembled.

Before road testing we attached adhesive temp sensors to the block, head, water transfer plates and radiator hoses so that I could see the maximum temperatures reached. Last week I did a 200 mile test over 4.5hrs and it performed perfectly. Good oil pressure throughout and a steady water temperature of about 65 degrees. The maximum temp recorded with the engine bay sensors was 73 degrees. I did another 50 miles and then the head was pulled down and oil changed. I?ve since covered another 250 miles and the car is running and sounding great.

Looking at the original block, conrods and pistons I think I could have probably re-used the block and conrods if it had been rebored to 0.006? clearance, fitted with new pistons and if I had used water instead of Evans. No1 piston had seized to the gudgeon pin which clearly implies excessive heat and possibly insufficient oil circulation.

Anyway, despite the obvious costs involved, and unnecessary problems with the new parts, I don?t regret using new components. Having spent so much time and money already I really needed to take every option available to give me a truly sorted car and that is what I now have. Hindsight is wonderful but I needed as close to certainty as I could get.

I hope that this will all be useful to others and hope that the lessons learned will prevent anyone else having similar problems. If I can be of any help to anyone else please get in touch. Likewise I would be grateful to hear any comments or observations that may arise.

I hope to see you at the Lagonda Club AGM in October ? I?ll definitely be there!

David Bracey

14 March 2015 at 09:51 #51193

Ok, an update.

My engine is now back together and running very well (not that I’ve been out on the road yet.) But the ignition and valve timing has been set with both magnetos seemingly synchronised.

Before refitting the radiator we wanted to flush out the waterways and prove that we had good water pump flow throughout the rpm range so we connected up a water container and hoses so that we could see what was going on. The flow rate looked pretty good to me but I’m not sure what I was expecting. Personally, I was happy with the results.

I’ve posted a short video clip on youtube here: –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erP9cdaj9bo&feature=youtu.be

The video is brief because I needed to keep the file size down but you can see the flow we are getting at about 1,300rpm

Once initial road testing has been carried out I will post a fuller description of what was done, problems encountered, and lessons learnt but if anyone has anything else to throw into the mix I would appreciate it.

David Bracey

1 March 2015 at 05:55 #51178

Dear Barry,
I’ve no idea if any specific horn was used as standard and I’ve seen M45’s and LG45’s with various horns. I Looked into this when I restored my LG I and decided to simply restore the horns my car came with as there weren’t other mounting holes to suggest they were replacements.

I found this company here in the UK that seem to restore every type so they might be a good start if you want any advice or parts. http://www.taffthehorns.com

Good luck.

David

David Bracey

21 February 2015 at 12:37 #51168

Dear BillLG45

I think you’ve just about summed it up perfectly. Waterless it may be but better that water it isn’t.

David

David Bracey

20 February 2015 at 22:25 #51165

Thanks Barry.

I agree that the website is an excellent thing. many of us are far away from each other and will possibly never meet but through the website we really do become a single family. It would be great if more members posted pictures of their cars in the gallery and shared regular forum posts about what they are doing with their cars.

Well done to the committee for investing in the website and forum. I appreciate that for some of our older members the Internet and computers is a foreign world, but it really is the most convenient way for members to keep in touch in the future.

Best wishes,

David

David Bracey

7 February 2015 at 12:40 #51159

Hi everyone, I just thought I’d revive this plea as I’m still looking. If anyone has one or knows where I can find one please get in touch,
Thanks.

David Bracey

2 January 2015 at 07:45 #51130

Thanks Bill and David.

Bill, it seems quite probable that they were made at the same time doesn’t it. Glad you like the photos – it’s been a labour of love to restore. Once we have finished the engine rebuild I’m looking forward to actually using it and getting some satisfaction in return!

Best wishes,

David

David Bracey

1 January 2015 at 18:03 #51128

Yes, sorry if it wasn’t clear. I’ve attached a very rough sketch of the dimensions I am hoping for and am grateful for any help.

Attached files

David Bracey

31 December 2014 at 11:54 #51126

I’ll supply a tape measure if it helps….

David Bracey

11 October 2014 at 10:56 #51029

This was a bit of a surprise Julian. I wish you the very best of success for the future and please keep in touch.