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Realised I have the original cranshaft here in a box…just checked, & there is a return scroll. Removing the sump…have fun! You will undo a squillion nuts & bolts, heave away a large aluminium casting, peer up in wonder, to see…nothing. Well nothing apart from more aluminium & the gauze suction filter for the oil pick up. The actual sump is the next level up…I think I figured the engine needed to be out to remove that. Bentley/Tresilian’s little joke, perhaps.
A book with exploded diagrams/pictures even, of the entire engine, would be great, but there isn’t one. The original handbook is fairly detailed, the club sell a V12 manual that is pretty helpful, but short on pictures. Apart from that, there is the “Motor Trader” service sheets, which are pretty detailed & shows some fresh pictures not in the handbook.
Incidentally, if you’re rebuilding the engine & sleeving back to standard, I have a new set of pistons spare. They are to 8.25:1 compression ratio, but of course could be machined to a lower figure if preferred. They are exactly as the original Lagonda pistons, other than the higher compression land. My rebuilder said every V12 block he’d worked on had proved to be porous, hence the original plan was to sleeve, and I had these made in advance…but testing showed mine was the exception which proved the rule, so it ended up being bored to + 60 thou, with another set of pistons being used.
PM me if they’re of interest.Hi,
I believe the original “seal” was simply a return scroll..I know my engine has been rebuilt with a conversion to a normal oil seal…unfortunately I don’t have details, but I recall the rebuilder saying the scroll return wasn’t satisfactory. Scroll return threads were a common alternative to crankshaft seals.
You possibly have two separate issues here. One is that it is likely your engine has been overfilled with oil. Check the level gauge…but it might be that the float has sunk or is sticking. Easy enough to drain the oil & check the quantity. Hopefully that is all that is wrong. Other problems could be a blockage to the drain from the return scroll, perhaps also worn bores/broken rings pressurising the crankcase…but not in isolation…mine used to burn & blow out oil in prodigios quantities, but not from the rear of the crankshaft.Hi Peter,
Unfortunately I have no info as to whether these particular distributors were used in other vehicles. 647KA & 647LA are the correct fitments. Years ago I bought an unused 647GB at an autojumble, which I believe was for a Leyland Cub. More recently I bought an unused 647FF, which is the opposite rotation to the 647GB. They both have vacuum advance, & I strongly suspect the only difference to those on the V12 will be the advance springs and associated weights. I’m hoping I can swap new parts into my units from these, eventually.
The guy who rebuilt my engine usually fits modern replacement distributors, but they look nothing like the original ones. From recollection the caps are bright red, so look dreadful, but I suppose originality is less important with V12 Le Mans replicas.
Incidentally, don’t assume anything 647– will do; I believe some Delco 4 sector distributors are also 647 models!
LaurenceHi Owen,
Unfortunately too cold here in France to delve into the car. Recently delivered here following mechanical rebuild, seats & floor all loose so I should be able to picture flooring for you, but present garage too narrow to open doors (DHC) wide enough to get seats out…it took all of our strength (3 of us!) to push it in place & only 2 of us here now! So please bear with me, hope to work on the car once things warm up (ironic whilst you’re troubled with the heat!).
Laurence
I had similar with mine after the annual winter decarbonizing & burnt exhaust valve replacement (hopefully no longer now the engine has had its long overdue rebuild) one year. Turned out I’d overlooked connecting one of the distributor LT leads….so yes, it was running very happily on one bank…but down on power (surprise surprise). Daft, but it might just be worth checking.
Hi Colin,
Just acquired some old “Lagonda” magazines (right back to issue 12) & I spotted this car on the cover of issue 84 (Summer 1974). So in case anyone is interested, the registration number was (apparently) V28.
Much prefer Feeley’s pre-war styling to this, but assuming 1945/46 manufacture it’s certainly more attractive than most of the post war dross. The fastback Bentley Continental was on another level entirely, incredibly attractive when the best of the rest was OK. My other “old car” is a 1951 Riley RMB, which is also beautiful, but then it is really a pre-war style.
As an aside, my uncle had a V12 Rapide in the 1950s, & nearly got overtaken by a Bentley Continental apparently being driven by someone in white overalls, with the owner passengering. Obviously the owner indicate he wanted the V12 overtaken….he didn’t succeed!
LaurenceHi,
Just looked at the rear shoes from my V12. My shoes are different in that they are of welded, not riveted, construction, also there is an additional (redundant) hole on mine just above the riveted/welded section. Neither the hole or saw slot pictured appear on mine.
2 thoughts….under some circumstances the shoes/drums are noisy when brakes are applied…the same noise on both my V12 & LG6…difficult to describe as have driven neither for 10 years! Perhaps this mod. was seen as a “fix” to quieten the brakes?
Or, perhaps it was felt that this would allow the shoe to flex enough to ensure greater contact, perhaps felt necessary if the drums had been skimmed?Laurence
Hi Mark,
Thanks for response, just the info I was looking for! Will email you.Seasons Greetings
Laurence
Hi Peter,
Mine had the original Burgess flat air silencer …., it wasn’t a filter, so perhaps I shouldn’t worry too much. I might see if two of the Burgess air silencers could be fitted, perhaps with some modification.
Would be interesting to hear if anyone knows if originally,4-carb non Le Mans V12s had any sort of silencer, filter, or even trumpets such as yours.
LaurenceHi Peter,
Great work, looks like a thorough job, & hope it repays you with long term reliability.
Those numbers in your last pictures could be the casting date….this was often done with block & head castings. Unfortunately not clear enough in the pictures to make anything of them though.
Laurence
Hi Owen,
I have a V12 dhc…the lower bulkhead area & much else is “plated” with what appears to be perforated zinc mesh retaining presumably asbestos. Mine is a 1940 car so benefits from factory improvements, but it’s possible yours has lost these original features & is un-insulated? You should also have a wind-up vent in front of the windscreen, which I seem to recall was quite efficient at directing air into the car.
Mine has the exhaust cowlings you mention, they have a black felt strip to efficiently seal them against the bonnet sides.
My LG6 G10 gearbox jumped out of 3rd gear all the time. I’ve had it rebuilt by Mel Cranmer, who specialises in these, & he is adamant he couldn’t find anything wrong with it! He maintains it’s likely to be a poorly adjusted selector for that particular gear. I’m dubious because I fitted the V12’s gearbox & that didn’t jump out…but I won’t know for certain until I get the car out here (just moved to France) & get it back on the road. The selectors are certainly individually adjustable, but be sure you make a note of the starting point before experimenting.
LaurenceHi Tim,
The factory handbook for my V.12 lists the tools supplied, so it might be worth finding/borrowing the appropriate handbooks. Tools for the LG45 would have been stored in the n/s “wheelcase”; jack handle, starting handle & inspection light in clips, smaller tools in a selection of pockets affixed to the inside of the opening section of the wheelcase. Not sure where they’d go in an M45, or indeed an LG45R. Larger tools I imagine would have been supplied in a tool roll….I have one for the V.12 which I assume is original.
LaurenceHi Peter,
The drive to he wiper arms is via a flexible cable…similar in fact to the rev counter & speedo drive. To access this, you simply need to remove the dasboard cappings, having removed the wiper knobs (I need one of these!), & all should be revealed. If the inner cable can be pulled through, pull it out, clean it, grease it & put it back. If not, tie it up & dribble oil down the side of the inner drive cable, rotating it at the same time, until you see oil drip from the other end. Most friction will be in this cable, as you can guarantee it is probably dry, or any grease in there has gone hard.
Incidentally, the “Berkshire” wiper motor is fairly easy to dismantle, to clean & lubricate it properly. Be very careful with the metal housing castings…it is made from the same rubbish metal (“Mazak”) that pre-war Dinky Toys are made of, so it has a propensity to crack.Yes, they’re not V12….possibly LG6 but more likely LG45.
And I’ve got a spare set of wings…so perhaps they’re not the rarest set of spare wings on the planet after all!
Surely not expensive at that price, hope they find a good home…like a Le Mans replica being reverted.I seem to recall many years ago seeing someone selling some of this as pre-war NOS. It had a trade name but can’t recall it. I suspect you’ll find it is probably a “standard” item, in so far as many manufacturers, indeed coachbuilders, would have gone to the same supplier for this product. If you think about it, window glass is undoubtedly a standard thickness. Not saying that makes it easy to source, but you could try trim specialists, also perhaps the people at autojumbles selling rubber mouldings. Probably the same section in my V12 dhc so would be interested to hear if you find something suitable.
Laurence