Thread: Series 1 SWB

There is a alloy thermostat housing on eBay at the moment. UK I think not cheap but new....

Found a second hand thermostat housing that shows pitting where the other one rotted out. Decided to spray it with high temp exhaust enamel after cleaning. I think that will stop it corroding further in that spot (well I hope so, anyway!). Been threatened with banishment from the kitchen but the paint needed baking in the oven to cure it, so what else could I do? Got a new thermostat but the one in it looks as if it probably still works so I'll keep that for a backup. Also repaired the horn button and surround and steering wheel - will post pics of that later.
Cheers James

I washed through an old oil bath air filter and stuck that in the oven to thoroughly dry it. The resulting smell took me back 40 years to the metal shop at school. Lovely. The Mrs didn't quite see it that way though and I have to admit , there was a distinct tang to the oven fries for the next few days.
cheers,
D

Originally Posted by JamesM

Got a water pump but need a thermostat housing, thermostat and inlet manifold. Mine is horribly corroded and, to my surprise, hollow - would've thought there'd be an actual thermostat in it somewhere.

(Tried to insert pic here but failed - it should be below I think)


The mechanic also managed to break off the horn button while he was removing the steering wheel (to replace the steering box). Not sure if I need to replace the whole housing (or God forbid the whole wheel)

Otherwise pretty much sorted but he recommended getting new points and ignition cables. Found some at seriesone shop but they look a bit different - mine have knobs and flat washers on the dizzy ends and different plug connectors.

The main thing that's stopping progress is the thermostat stuff, so I'd be really grateful for any pointers as to where I could try?

The other thing is that with the pump off I can see an awful lot of rusty muck inside the block. Will a high pressure hose do or is there a better way to clean it out?

Cheers
James

I think someone here in the west was casting S1 thermostat housings. I think it was LandyAndy that mentioned it.

Cheers

Graham

Was it Chazza?
Cheers,
D

It was/is. That was my Plan B.

Fixing the steering wheel isn't hard so this might be boring, but might help someone and it's quite therapeutic. A new wheel from UK was silly money.
Cut out the rot and cracks with a dremel cutting bit, down to the the underlying metal, with a bit of an outer bevel to help as a key for the putty. Ground the rusty bits (dremel again). Then washed (washing detergent followed by a bit of acetone - not sure that's needed). Then packed in POR 15 putty, trying to make sure that there were no air pockets. Then sanded, sprayed with an adhesion coat then primer; more sanding then black enamel, with aluminium paint for the hub, and job's done! Time will tell how it lasts.

And the horn button and surround that was broken by an "expert" taking off the wheel! You can get new buttons from the UK which are threaded for a bolt (for a price) but mine was busted off with a hollow stub. So the dremel cutting bit was used to cut a slot down the "shaft" then at 90 degrees at the base. Then ground a bolt down to leave a "key" so the bolt could be slid down the shaft and then turned to lock it in. Then superglue to stop it coming undone - took a couple of days for that to cure (hanging upside down to make sure it stayed vertical).