Project "Nugget" - 1980 Brooklands Green 1500HL Auto

[DoloWIGHTY]

Splendid work.

[Howard81]

Wow, what excellent work! You've both done a fantastic job

I never thought NGU would end up looking so good

[JPB]

I quite like your idea of doing the sills in body colour, nice to look at and not too hard to maintain when you have the anti-stonechip on there.

This gorgeous car has given me an idea.

[Reg]

Lovely job..looks very nice indeed..

[Cheesy]

Thanks for all the encouraging words!

Tracy has used Nugget to get her to work and back this week. I suspected there may be a few "teething problems" to look at, since Howard hadn't used the car for quite some time. So far on the list for this evening*:

Change the auto gearbox fluid (looks a bit brown)
Fit a better coil to hopefully cure a low speed misfire when hot
Adjust the kickdown cable to give upshifts at lower speed/revs
Adjust the auto selector so that the gears line up with the markings (confusing Tracy no end!)
Have a look at the front suspension bushes, as we have noticeable camber on the front wheels

*Has to be done this evening, as we've banned ourselves from the garage for the weekend. After a month of spending evening and weekends in there, we have decided to have a break!

[Purplebargeken]

Mark, can you take notes/pics when changing the trans fluid and adjusting the kickdown? It's just in case I ever need to do it myself. Many thanks.

Ken

[darrenspitty]

Hi Guys

Dont forget to PM me with your details so I can send the other photos. Looks like you have done a top job on Nugget I would love to see her again. Of all the dollies I have had, she drove the best and looking at the state of her in some of your photo's she is clearly a born survivor. She had been very neglected when I bought her and I just got her to a condition whereby she would complete the RBRR. She went on to tow my trailer tent 400 miles and was even a bedroom on a couple of occasions.

Thanks

Darren

[JPB]

....She went on to tow my trailer tent.....

Please excuse the o/t here, but that might explain the burnt transmission fluid.
(Ignore the above if the car had a suitable cooler fitted for the purpose or if said fluid is the recommended Donax, which isn't pink to begin with...).

[Cheesy]

Mark, can you take notes/pics when changing the trans fluid and adjusting the kickdown? It's just in case I ever need to do it myself. Many thanks.

Sorry Ken, but my methods for adjusting the kickdown are probably not best photographed! Actually I just use the ring crimped onto the inner cable at the factory as a guide, and tweak the adjustment on a test run until I'm happy the changes are happening at the right time. I didn't get round to doing the fluid, mainly because I forgot to call and pick some up......

The low speed misfire was fixed by changing the coil (borrowed from our 2000) and now she's running much sweeter. I managed to adjust the gear linkage so that the gear lever now lines up with the markings, and still have the scars on my hands to prove it!

On the job list for this weekend (assuming I remember to order or collect parts!):

Upper & lower front wishbone bushes
Fit new speedo cable (old one broke on Friday)
Fit the new rear pillar vinyl (Martrim have promised delivery today )
Fit the "auto" boot lid badge
Fit new rear fog lamps
Have a look at the oil leak at the back of the engine (a small puddle after each run)
Change the transmission fluid

Oh, and a few jobs need doing to the 2000 too!

[Howard81]

Sounds like Nugget is settling in well to daily use again!

My fault about the non-lining up gearbox selector, I bent the link after tripping over the gearbox during the engine swap at Jod's

The adjustment of the kickdown cable is shown in the factory manual.. it should be 1.5mm (1/16") from the end of the outer cable to the crimped bit. There's also an adjustment on the gearbox itself.. I can scan the pages if you like

[Purplebargeken]

Yes please Howard

[Cheesy]

So no updates for a while, but that's just because I've been too busy! We've done some more work to Nugget, each little job we do makes her that bit better.

Managed to get some NOS engine mountings from eBay. Now fitted and the engine vibrations are much less severe.

Poly bushes fitted to the front upper & lower wishbones and the drag struts, and the wheels are now much more vertical! They had a really pronounced camber on them before, but judging from the state of what was left of the lower bushes it wasn't really surprising.

We've finally got round to fitting the Martrim vinyls to the rear quarter panels. The trims are a nice fit and definitely worth the effort.

Time for a bit of spit and polish now, as Nugget is off to her first car show, at Tatton Park in Cheshire this weekend!

Might see some of you there?

[Mad Mart]

Have you got any pics of the vinyls?

[Cheesy]

Have you got any pics of the vinyls?

Yes, I'll post one up when I get chance.

My wife set off for work this morning in Nugget, and ten minutes later appeared back at the house. She said that there was a big bang and her steering went heavy (or should I say "heavier"). She re-traced her route and picked up what looked to me like a small spring mounting cup.

A quick look under Nugget revealed that it was the rear passenger side subframe mounting cup, the centre had rusted through and allowed it to come free from the bolt! Luckily she hadn't driven far, so Nugget is now back in the garage awaiting repair.

Is this a common occurrence?

UPDATE: I've ordered replacement cups now, but I am thinking I am likely to need replacement bolts & nuts. Rimmers are a bit confused in their listing, showing 6" bolts for all four mountings in the diagram, but listing 5" bolts for the rear mountings in the parts list. Could anyone tell me which is correct? Thanks!

[Mad Mart]

Yep, happened to me a long time ago.

You should be ok with just replacing the cup.