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Old 01-25-2017, 10:56 AM   #861
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I'm with you on the points but you've dated yourself with the Model T coils
Does this mean I get a gold star or a grey star?
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Old 01-25-2017, 11:05 AM   #862
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Does this mean I get a gold star or a grey star?
Most definitely grey...
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Old 01-29-2017, 03:21 PM   #863
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Not that it matters much at this point. GM engines of this era had nylon coated teeth on the cam sprocket. That was done to keep things quite. After 20 years of service in hot oil they become brittle and tend to break resulting in disappointing results (ask me how I know). Whether the chain stretched (unlikely) or the nylon teeth are worn or not, get it changed and be safe about it. You don't want a catastrophic failure down the road (pun intended).
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Old 02-28-2017, 04:41 AM   #864
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Quick update on the Bella front....

1) Timing chain. Front of the engine came off, new chain and sprockets in place, valve timing set, re-assembled the front of the engine and (much to everyone's surprised) the emissions are spot on. Even the LAS owner was a little taken aback that the improvement could be so drastic.

2) Transmission was removed and after a cursory check, the shop decided it needed a specialist rebuild. They have turned it around in about 10days, and the feed back I have is 'I'm lucky'. It was on the verge of letting go big time and many of the parts (thrust bearings, friction plates, seals and bearings) were in the process of letting go. From the call with the shop, if any one of about four different things had let go we would be looking at the trans swap because the damage would not be repairable.....of course this is after Bella spent 2 weeks in the transmission shop in NJ having the trans checked and the new GearVendors OD installed last summer. Go figure!

3) Whilst it was off, the shop checked out the clutch fan (supposedly fitted new by ASNE) because it appeared to have a leak.....they and I was surprised to find it appears the original clutch fan was removed, cleaned, painted, the spring removed, and so was simply freewheeling and not doing anything to pull air across the radiator. Bella always ran cool but it appears that can't be attributed to the clutch fan, because effectively there hasn't been one!

4) Steering pump. Unfortunately the one that Brad sourced for me was different from the one fitted. However the shop as managed to source a complete unit (including reservoir and pulley) and that is back in and working.

5) Somewhere in the thread you will see mention of the A/C compressor starting to make noise. My fix was to turn the A/C off until I got around to it. Well the compressor and pipework had to come out during the engine work. It appears AS NE neglected to add any oil when charging the system so in some ways it is lucky one of the crimps was badly done and leaked out the gas, making the compressor noisy, because my temp fix of not using it appears to have saved the (brand new) custom A/C from getting damaged from lack of oil.

So engine back together, trans back in, work to the lights complete, they started up Bella to take her to the MOT station. But immediately shut everything down because there was no oil pressure. They popped the oil pipe of the back of the gauge - no oil was reaching the gauge. Turns out the oil leak repair that was also carried out in shop in NJ did not consist of replacing the oil line (which I sourced and supplied) but instead consisted of the shop using an inline compression fitting to make good the original line. This repair had let go and the oil leak under the dash was back. The current shop found the 12ft coil of copper tubing and fittings I bought hidden under the dash, still in the polybag it came in. LAS have installed that oil pipe and whilst they have the dash out are installing the new quadrant gauges that I had bought and were on my list of jobs to do.

Current (hopeful) plan is that Bella will be complete and back on the road by the end of the week. Unfortunately she will still be driving on the US plates as the DVLA (the UK version of the DMV) still haven't sorted the registration status, they want to see the MOT certificate before proceeding.
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Old 02-28-2017, 05:59 PM   #865
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It sure is starting to sound like AS NE (and other vendors) didn't do you any favors. I am somewhat astounded by shops that say they "do the work" and then later it becomes painfully obvious that they really didn't do what they said they did. I imagine it's got to be frustrating for you to have to keep redoing things over and over.

Hopefully LAS will be treating you better!

Brad
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Old 02-28-2017, 06:06 PM   #866
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martin300662 View Post
....
3) Whilst it was off, the shop checked out the clutch fan (supposedly fitted new by ASNE) because it appeared to have a leak.....they and I was surprised to find it appears the original clutch fan was removed, cleaned, painted, the spring removed, and so was simply freewheeling and not doing anything to pull air across the radiator. Bella always ran cool but it appears that can't be attributed to the clutch fan, because effectively there hasn't been one!
....
This one real gets me. To blatantly reuse the old fan clutch AND spending the time to paint it is just criminal. Just sick..., but I would let them know big time with pictures what I found. And man, I can be a real pest when it comes to crap like that...Jerks
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Old 02-28-2017, 06:58 PM   #867
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This one real gets me. To blatantly reuse the old fan clutch AND spending the time to paint it is just criminal. Just sick..., but I would let them know big time with pictures what I found. And man, I can be a real pest when it comes to crap like that...Jerks
A close second is the oil pressure line that was hidden away under the dash. Why not just do the work you're getting paid to do?
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Old 03-01-2017, 02:32 AM   #868
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I learnt too late that the mechanical work was outside the capabilities of ASNE, they were (now out of business) very good at the trailer stuff but the workshop manager should never have taken the whole job on - it should have gone to the mechanic first. My bad!

The guy I am most pi*@ed at is the mechanic in NJ. Having learnt my lesson of using capable vendors I went to a trans specialist, with a 30ton lift to have the trans checked and GearVendor installed. I was back in the UK by then so was flying out to check on progress, and couldn't 'supervise', so when I found out he did the work outside, on his back, with Bella of a jack rather than on the ramp alarm bells were ringing. The oil pipe has really got me....he found the leak, told me he couldn't get the extended pipe (normally these are only supplied around 7ft long for use on trucks and cars) so I track it down and had it mailed to a friend who took it around the shop for installation. When I went to pick Bella up he gave me a tale of how difficult it was to run the new pipe....when install meant hide it under the dash!
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Old 03-01-2017, 05:12 AM   #869
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Martin, you are so lucky to have someone like Brad to work on Peanut. Yes, he is known to set his own engines on fire, but at least he doesn't lie about it
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Old 03-01-2017, 06:17 AM   #870
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....when install meant hide it under the dash!
I'm assuming he knew you were getting ready to ship Bella across the pond so my guess he figured by the time you figured out what he'd done he was out of reach.

That's just plain wrong.....
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Old 03-01-2017, 06:19 AM   #871
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.... Yes, he is known to set his own engines on fire, but at least he doesn't lie about it
It was just a small fire......
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Old 03-01-2017, 06:20 AM   #872
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How do these people sleep at night? It blows me away that they could look you in the eye, take your money and flat out lie about the work.....its sad to say the least. ESPECIALLY someone like Martin who is willing to pay the price to have the work done correctly. They may think they are getting over on you but in reality you ALWAYS pay the price somewhere down the road. Call it karma or whatever you want, you never get away with screwing people over...never. It will catch up with the SOB, probably already has on a daily basis. Miserable piece of dog crap.
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Old 03-01-2017, 01:23 PM   #873
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Martin, you are so lucky to have someone like Brad to work on Peanut. Yes, he is known to set his own engines on fire, but at least he doesn't lie about it
I certainly am Peter!
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Old 03-01-2017, 04:41 PM   #874
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In the old days, a man would hang up his shingle and perform a good days work for a good days pay for his neighbours and family. Everyone knew who he was and what he did; knowing that kept him honest. He was in it to make a living, not a killing. In those days you bought a modest home, modest car and paid a decent rate of taxation, socking aside a nominal amount each month for retirement. If he followed this pathway he was a success at the American Dream.

Now days you're not a success unless your home is 5000,10,000 20,000 square feet, or a gold encrusted penthouse; your garage is filled with exotic vehicles, your watch is more than my house and your in it, not to make a living, but "make a killing"and screw over everyone, if you can get away with it. You want someone else to pay taxes and if you avoid paying them completely, you're a "smart man". You have someone write books about the wheeling and dealing, knowing that it's unobtainable for anyone not born into money; after all, it's the poor saps buying the books that make you richer. Your wealth is not what you build or what you own; it's your name. This is the new American Dream, and people don't care who they screw to get it.

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Old 03-01-2017, 05:24 PM   #875
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I learnt too late that the mechanical work was outside the capabilities of ASNE, they were (now out of business) very good at the trailer stuff but the workshop manager should never have taken the whole job on - it should have gone to the mechanic first. My bad!

The guy I am most pi*@ed at is the mechanic in NJ. Having learnt my lesson of using capable vendors I went to a trans specialist, with a 30ton lift to have the trans checked and GearVendor installed. I was back in the UK by then so was flying out to check on progress, and couldn't 'supervise', so when I found out he did the work outside, on his back, with Bella of a jack rather than on the ramp alarm bells were ringing. The oil pipe has really got me....he found the leak, told me he couldn't get the extended pipe (normally these are only supplied around 7ft long for use on trucks and cars) so I track it down and had it mailed to a friend who took it around the shop for installation. When I went to pick Bella up he gave me a tale of how difficult it was to run the new pipe....when install meant hide it under the dash!
You can contact the Better Business Bureau in NJ online, and file a complaint against them if you wish...might help the next potential victim.


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Old 03-06-2017, 03:08 AM   #876
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You can contact the Better Business Bureau in NJ online, and file a complaint against them if you wish...might help the next potential victim.


Maggie
I looked into it Maggie, but need a US postal address for the complaint.
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Old 03-06-2017, 03:12 AM   #877
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Good news this morning......Bella passed her MOT and is now UK road legal!

The shop is waiting on two dash A/C hoses to replace the ones that hadn't been made properly previously, and whilst she is waiting is going to have a full undercoat of underbody seal to cope with the wet UK weather.
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Old 03-06-2017, 04:09 AM   #878
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Great! It sounds like things are starting to finally look up for Bella

Got any trips planned?
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Old 03-08-2017, 08:15 AM   #879
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Great! It sounds like things are starting to finally look up for Bella

Got any trips planned?
Let's hope so!

The MOT certificate arrived in the post from the shop today so hopefully I can finalise the registration now.

The first panned trip is the Southern UK Airstream Meet 2017 which is May 19 - May 22.

Its a real shame because I then fly to Philly to attend a business meeting; if not the following weekend is the meeting of the Classic 250 owners in Germany and I can't get back in time to make it.
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Old 03-08-2017, 09:14 AM   #880
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Let's hope so!

The MOT certificate arrived in the post from the shop today so hopefully I can finalise the registration now.

The first panned trip is the Southern UK Airstream Meet 2017 which is May 19 - May 22.

Its a real shame because I then fly to Philly to attend a business meeting; if not the following weekend is the meeting of the Classic 250 owners in Germany and I can't get back in time to make it.

Hey now!!!!! What's this "work stuff" getting in the way of "fun stuff"????
(sure glad to hear good news about Bella)
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