When this car was donated to Coventry Transport Museum it was in a very original condition. It had been disassembled for restoration but the restoration had never started and so we are preserving this vehicle as it is, rather than restoring it as a restoration would remove many of the original features.
13/08/09
With the help of the museum Friends, the Humber body was turned over to rest on a set of wooden trestles made by Bill Bates at the museum. A detailed cleaning of the underside of the body tub was carried out. The body was turned back onto its platform two weeks later with the help of the museum Friends.
Six missing soft wood spacers were made that fit between the body tub and the chassis and fit into position. Using the fork lift with extended forks fitted, the body tub was lifted into position and gently lowered down so all securing bolt holes lined up. This is the first time in many years that the body has been fitted to the chassis again. The fabric hood has been placed on the car again and the windshield re-fitted. Now that the car is largely re-assembled one starts to appreciate what a worthwhile project this has been.
Here we have a 95 year old car in largely its original condition. There is some work left to do before the car can go on display. The engine will be inhibited and some of the leather will be repaired to avoid further deterioration.
02/04/09
A lot of progress has been made on the Humber in recent weeks. The chassis has been coated in micro-crystalline wax. The body has been thoroughly cleaned and also covered in a protective coating. The chassis has been on the vehicle ramp to clean and treat the underside of the chassis. We are currently making trestles to hold the body upside down so that we are able to conserve the underside of the body. Once this task has been completed, the body will be re-attached to the chassis.
16/02/09
Now that the engine and clutch have been mostly assembled, work has started on the floorboards. They are being carefully cleaned and preserved and once these floorboards are conserved, we can move the main body from the store to the conservation area for treatment. At the same time the mudguards are receiving some attention with paint stains being removed.
05/02/09
Engine assembly has started. When we received the project the engine was only partially assembled and so many of the parts had to be identified before assembly could begin.
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The project started with a thorough inspection, to assess the condition of the vehicle and to see how complete the vehicle is. We discovered some serious woodworm in the structure of the body, so the decision was made to heat treat this vehicle. By bringing the structure up to 52 degrees Celsius for 2 hours any pests would be eliminated and we hired a commercial spray booth. After the heat treatment we stored the vehicle in an isolation area in the store. Once we confirmed that there was no woodworm in the body, we brought the chassis to the museum for conservation work.
The chassis was carefully cleaned using neutral soap and water. Some areas were cleaned using white spirits and the brass head lights were carefully cleaned (but not polished) with a coat of micro-crystalline wax applied. The radiator was flushed and thoroughly cleaned and the leather seats were carefully cleaned, vacuumed and a leather conservation product applied.
Next item to get conservation treatment was the hood which was carefully vacuum cleaned. When we initially received the hood it was in a very brittle condition, but when moisture was added some of the old flexibility returned.
We received this project from the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust. It was partly restored, but unfortunately the previous owner passed away before he could finish the bike.
The restoration work done so far was of a very high quality and almost all parts were present. The main work left to be done was to paint and fit the mudguards, fit the tank and seat, finish the electrical wiring and attach smaller items like lamps and pedals.
The engine and transmission had already been overhauled, as had the frame and wheels. When the bike was received there was a rolling frame and drive-train. A team of Friends of Coventry Transport Museum and museum staff will now work together to finish this interesting project.
18/08/10
The bike is now fully assembled and the only thing stopping us now from running it is the wiring harness. Some modifications are currently being made, which should allow it to be run in the foreseeable future.
19/01/10
The Triumph Tiger 80 is making good progress. Since returning from the paint shop many parts have been re-attached to the motorcycle. Currently we are working on the electrical system. Some modifications have to be made to the wiring harness. Once this is complete the assembly of the bike can continue.
09/09/09
After much preparatory work filling and rubbing down, the mudguards and stays, chainguard, number plates and other small items have at last been delivered to the painters (Clinton Body Shop, Kenilworth). The wiring harness has been modified as necessary and is now ready for fitting once the painted items are reattached.
27/06/09
Funding has now been obtained from the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust and work is progressing. The magneto drive has been repaired and now gives a nice fat spark. The wiring harness has been laid out but minor modification will be needed to mount the horn in the correct position. The mudguards will require more filler before painting can start.
04/02/09
The Friends are keen to continue with this project but we have to wait until the funding is in place to pay for the paintwork. The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust will hopefully pay for the paintwork (they own the bike) but we have to get three different quotes before we will be able to select a company that can do the work. Hopefully we will make a decision shortly so the bike can go to the paint shop.
19/12/08
Engine and transmission have been checked. The generator cover needs to be repainted and the generator needs to be re-set.
12/12/08
Rear mudguard has been repaired in preparation for a new coat of paint.
27/11/08
Mudguards and other smaller parts have been taken to a paint specialist in Kenilworth to receive a quote.
18/11/08
Triumph Tiger 80 trial fit has been completed. Several items need modifying before they can be sent to the paint shop. The rear mudguards need repairing and the rear-brake linkage needs modifying.
17/10/08
Triumph Tiger 80 trial fit has started. All the boxed parts are laid out and identified and the trial fit has started. This is done to see how well the existing parts fit and if they have to be modified. It also clearly indicates which parts are missing. Before the parts are painted they are trial-fitted so that any adjustments can be made without damaging the paint.
This chassis was acquired as an un-restored basic lorry chassis. These lorries were supplied to the military during World War I and were built by several manufactures.
After the war many of these chassis were modified into buses for local bus services. This project is a Friends of Coventry Transport Museum project and they are restoring this chassis into a Coventry bus.
18/08/10
The axle casings have been stripped of their paint and any corrosion and rust treatment applied. The badly worn brake operating arms and their bearings have been sent to Lenoch engineering for attention. Enquiries are being made by the Friends for various ball races in the assembly which need replacing.
The diff has been set up with minimum end float by the usual combination of shimming and machining and the sun wheels blued so that the planet gears could be fettled. This work has improved it but the diff when turned by hand could be described as agricultural. The rear wheels have been sent to Clifton Rubber for new solid rubber tyres.
03/02/10
All the new nuts on the main chassis frame have now been castellated, and primed where practical with red oxide. Material for the new engine bearer spacer tubes has been obtained and these items will be manufactured shortly. The rear spring mounts have been refitted. The Diff assembly was stripped into its main components to reveal some horrors and some pleasant surprises.
All the bearing races with the exception of the drive input shaft nose bearing were in good condition having been exposed to the heavy gear oil within the casing. The unfortunate nose bearing lives in a separate chamber to the axle proper and its lubrication has been neglected. It turns but must be replaced. Its removal necessitates the Hardy Spicer prop shaft joint being withdrawn from its splines which are seized. The oxy-acetylene has been employed on this task and it is steadily yielding to persuasion. The lower part of the casing was found to be extensively cracked around the off side drive shaft bearing and the off side diff carrier bearing cap was snapped clean in half. With the diff assembly split the sun wheels were revealed in poor condition. The planet gears have faired better and only their bearings and thrusts require attention.
David Stansfield has a contact at Lenoch Engineering (Rugby) and they, at very reasonable cost, have repaired the axle casing, re made the sun wheels and supplied new bearings and thrusts for the diff. Another excellent local firm for the roll of honour. I have removed the nasty bits and burrs from the main drop gear to hopefully prevent future damage. Rob says no one will ever see it again). Enquiries into the production of two new matching front wheels have been made, and into replacing the tyres.
Work on the chassis is done by: Roger Brown, Bill Bates, Richard Dawes, Brian Bromwich, David Stansfield
11/08/09
Unfortunately, due to other work projects and events, I have been unable to update this record for some time, but I will endeavor to do so now.
Work on the chassis has continued steadily, all but the most unreachable areas having been rust-treated with the exception of the parts obscured by the front axle assembly. A pillar drill is now at our disposal and I have begun to drill the split pin holes. All areas no longer requiring attention have been given their first coat of red oxide primer. The rear axle assembly has been broken down into its major units, wheels, brakes, half-shafts and springs.
The springs were farmed out to a small firm in the Black Country, Jones Springs and they have returned in fine fettle with new shackle pins, boxes and the main leaves remade. The rear axle has been stripped down, washed and a preliminary inspection carried out which has revealed that it has endured some trauma in its past, resulting, apart from general wear, in some broken and cracked castings and some rather hasty repair work. When and in what circumstances these were carried out, we can only imagine. Bill Bates, Collections Care Technician
27/06/09
The rear springs have now been reconditioned by Jones Springs of Darlaston and the dismantling of the rear axle assembly has commenced. The condition of the double reduction gear and worm drive is still to be ascertained. The castellated nuts on the chassis bolts are being fitted with split pins. It is hoped to apply primer to the chassis shortly.
31/03/09
In the last few weeks a lot of progress has been made on the Maudslay project. The Friends are now starting at 10am and this will help us make more progress on Fridays. Bill Bates has made trestles to support the chassis and rear axle. The rear axle has been removed and most areas of the chassis have been cleaned and treated with rust converter. The axle has been placed on the trestle and the springs have been removed. The springs will be looked at by specialists next week to see what work needs to be done - we hope to re-use the original springs. The last cross-member of the frame has also been removed and after treatment will be re-attached to the chassis.
13/02/09
One more cross-member has been installed with new hardware into the chassis and the last cross member has been removed from the front. Once this has been re-attached to the chassis we can treat the entire chassis with rust-converter. After this is achieved we will put the chassis on trestles to remove the suspensions.
04/02/09
Another restored cross-member has been re-attached (using new hardware) to the chassis and the next cross-member has been removed for cleaning and chemical treatment. We have also decided to remove the first and last chassis frame from the chassis for cleaning. We will also re-install these with new hardware.
The engine and gearbox have been removed just like all the smaller parts like pedals, brake-rods and mudguard fittings.
Once the chassis had been stripped of all removable items we dry-ice blasted the entire chassis to remove the paint. This process is rather slow but allows us to just remove the paint rather than any actual material. It also has the added advantage that the dry-ice turns to CO2 and there is no grit residue on the chassis.
After the blasting of the chassis the cross members of the chassis were removed one by one to enable us to chemically treat the inside of the cross-members and also to change the nuts and bolts. The nuts and bolts were badly corroded and since the chassis will be restored to a running condition, the decision was made to replace the nuts and bolts with new material.