With or without?

[DickB]

Having bought an PD to occupy myself during the winter months,I am coming to the point of having to put it all back together.( well most of it as I am sure I will have a box of can't remember where those came from bits left over). I digress. Two current questions I would appreciate opinions on. The engine has a beautiful new Phoenix crank and gorgeous remetalled big ends with the bolts secured by nyloc nuts. And no washers. I cant seem to find a definitive answer to with or without and am hesitant to replace the bolts and nuts without washers and whilst I have confidence in the crank and rods themselves, I have my doubts over whoever put it together. There is adequate room to accommodate a suitable flat washer. Was it a mistake not to use washers or an example of engineering in this particular application I am unfamiliar with.

My chassis and body when assembled had a covering of carpet between them where they touched. I am unaware of whether it was Wilton, Axminster or some cheap nylon variety and would like to know the current suggestions for a suitable material to use instead.

Lastly,I am considering starting a petition for the abolition of Hermatite on Austin 7 components. As I examine various parts of the mechanicals I seem to find it lurking insidiously waiting to escape and wreak havoc at some point in the future. Any support?


Filte

[Terry McGrath]

I used and reused Nylocs on big ends without washers for 25 years on a racing engine and never had one fail.

[Steve Jones]

Nylocs, no washers. Carpet, felt etc. between body and chassis retains moisture and helps rust. Flat plastic sheet around 3mm thick (originally cut from an estate agent's sign board) is what I've used in the past and has worked fine. Nothing wrong with Hermatite or similar. It's people that don't know how to use it that should be banned.

Steve

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I don't build racing engines but I have fitted hundreds of nylocks with, and without, washers (usually to overcome balance issues) over 35 years and had zero issues. I've not reused nylocks.

I would suggest that if you feel more comfortable using washers under them, you should fit them.

I would sign your petition against Hermatite

[Jeff Taylor]

The solid flat PVC sheet commonly used for printed estate agent's boards and exhibition panels mentioned above by Steve Jones will be 3mm Foamex - available in black, white and a number of colours from wholesale plastics / signage suppliers.

[David Cochrane]

Vintage Supplies can supply 518C - flat rubber glazing strip - 50mm x 3mm. You will need 4ft per chassis rail.

[andrew34ruby]

For the body/chassis packing I used pieces sawn from a kitchen chopping board. It was too big anyway and we still use the resultant smaller chopping board.

I have read that originally Austin had a selection of thicknesses to hand, selecting each one so that bolting down didn't distort the body and upset the fit of the doors.

[Nick Salmon]

Hah! Great minds Andrew. I used a chopped up plastic chopping board for the very same purpose. Worked fine and still in place.

[John Cornforth]

Hi

If you have doubts about the previous assembler of your engine, I suggest you double check the little end clamp bolts if you are using them. These must be of the correct high tensile grade, and low strength loctite is recommended. The gudgeon pin must be a good fit in the eye before the bolt is tightened, and must not be a tight fit in the piston when cold.

For my latest rebuild I chose high tensile cap head screws because they are strong and use of a torque wrench was possible. They are still available in imperial sizes, but you may need to trim them to length.

[Malcolm Parker]

The solid flat PVC sheet commonly used for printed estate agent's boards and exhibition panels mentioned above by Steve Jones will be 3mm Foamex - available in black, white and a number of colours from wholesale plastics / signage suppliers.

Over the years I have used up all my old Estate Agents foamex sign boards.  It is a very useful material and has a multitude of uses.   Alas the later sign boards are correx, a much inferior material.   I use them under the cars as they collect the oil drips and can be wiped clean.