First in four speed boxes is indeed for people who want to drive up the side of houses, or those of us who live in Wales. I reckon that out on the road I probably use first half a dozen times a year. On each occasion I am profoundly grateful for it, the experience of stalling, or knowing when to declare an emergency which needs passenger to jump out, jam the chock under a rear wheel and then push up the remaining gradient stops being fun as the years increase and the athleticism of driver and passengers diminishes. No doubt Scottish crew with open cars have taught the kids to jump out over the back and push vigorously to maintain progress.
As others have said, it's normal to treat the four-speed 'box as a three-speed with an emergency low first. Even cars of the 1950s could usually be driven in that manner; that's often how I drive my 1953 Lancia, and used to drive my Triumph Heralds.
(26-05-2020, 08:20 AM)Mike Costigan Wrote: As others have said, it's normal to treat the four-speed 'box as a three-speed with an emergency low first. Even cars of the 1950s could usually be driven in that manner; that's often how I drive my 1953 Lancia, and used to drive my Triumph Heralds.
Thanks Mike. I drive my 1955 Austin like that, using first only for hill starts. I guess my seven might manage setting off in second gear better when it's properly run in, and when I'm more accustomed to the clutch. Might retarding the ignition timing help?
I never use 1st gear on my RP, except in extremis. The ratios of the crash box however are slightly different to those of the later synchro ones. A hill has to be seriously steep for me to even use second as the car will go up most hills in 3rd round here.
Having been driving from the age of 17 to 73 I have found that older cars (those designed up to the mid 1960) go up hills in higher gears then new moderns. Is this due to less gears so therefore the ratios are covered by 3 or 4 gears unlike models where it is spread over 5 or 6. Or could it be that older cars were designed with longer stroke engines giving more torque.
John Mason
Would you believe it "Her who must be obeyed" refers to my Ruby as the toy.
The long stroke of older engines had nothing to do with torque, but was all to do with the weird and wonderfull formula dreamt for road tax purposes, a case of beurocracy stifling design for decades.
The RP saloon, now having covered an indicated (1)02500 miles, I spent yesterday and the day before giving it a jolly good service and got to grips with the jobs that, whilst not urgent, nevertheless needed doing, like removing and cleaning out the kingpin grease passages. I had been concerned that, the last time I greased the kingpins, the grease came out of the brass caps and not from between the joint between the swivel axles and the front axle itself. At least i am now sure that the bottom bushes are getting their share of the grease.
Another silly job (one of several) was that, ever since I have had the car, the cover plate that goes over the window winding mechanism on the drivers door was in the bottom of the door trim. Accordingly, I pulled the trim off to find out why. As soon as I started to pull the door to bits, the reason became obvious. The car is fitted with Hobsons 'Perfect' winder handles that have both lost the little thing that one pulls back to release them and so cannot be removed. When the car was retrimmed, probably about 40 or 50 years ago, the door material had a hole cut into it to just allow the handle to pass through, with a bit of wiggling, whilst the front upper edges had not been glued to the doorcard, but simply folded over the top and side edge so that the plate (which had a slot cut into it) could be slid over the winder shaft. The plate must have escaped at some point and fallen down between the trim and the card. I have managed to put it back, but really and truly the winder handles will need to come off to do the job properly. The trouble is, I cannot see anyway of removing them without destroying them in the process.
If anyone else has come across this problem and has managed to overcome it, all suggestions would be gratefully received.
This morning, I took the little car over to feed the horses on road test. On the way back, I heard an occasional tinkling noise, which gradually became worse. At first i thought it was coming from under the car, but it quickly became apparent that it was coming from under the bonnet. Investigation revealed that little shards of brass had accumulated on top of the dynamo and there was a lot of play in the fan pulley bush. Fortunately, I had done most of the serious hill climbing, so I slipped the belt off and drove home.
Investigation showed that the grease that i had religiously been pumping into the fan pulley bush was, in fact simply filling up the cavity in the fan hub itself, in spite of the fact that the radial drilling that is supposed to feed the bush itself was clear. Fortunately I had a spare pulley in my bits box and cleaned everything up, I made a paper gasket to go between the fan and the front of the pulley and liberally sealed it with silicon gasket cement, Now, when I apply grease to the nipple, it comes out of the back of the bush, so I am hopeful that the bush is now getting lubrication. I'd better order a spare, though just in case....
