The Dark Wob

There was a similarly-hued and suffix-ed one bimbling around Skeggie last month. It had something on it about having been a WRVS meals-on-wheels car.

Lovely colour that Limeflower. The other ‘Marina’ colour was Teal Blue with a Limeflower interior. The last of them were run-out models worthy of consideration as they had a combined ignition key switch/steering lock and some left the factory with alternators. I think production was transferred to Adderley Park.

Just got to swap a backplate, paint them, renew the gaskets and swap wheel cylinders etc then replace the axle. I have retained the original Bundy brake pipes from the scrapper so will be using them instead of the copper replacements.

fried onions wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 6:16 pm I think production was transferred to Adderley Park.

Yes, from mid-69 to the end in 1971

I remember these things being about, apparently a stopgap between the last A35 van in '68 and the Marina van. By 1972 Austin and Morris dealers were selling Marinas as nobody cared what badge it had.

Look at the balance weights!

When I had my wheels shod with new tyres, the fitter told me the old wheels can be hard to balance.

The title of that van picture grates on me.

Badge engineering. Like the Reverend says I doubt there were many fierce loyalists left for either marque. It certainly doesn’t bother me but rather amuses, that they made a crinkly Austin grille and put a badge on it and hoped that would be enough to ameliorate the Minor shape.

I was happy to complete today’s job - remove the backplate from the ‘old’ axle in order to replace the damaged backplate on the axle that is going on. The hardest part was removing the hub which comes off complete with bearing. I had to use a puller but with the half shaft removed first of course you’re faced with an empty axle tube with nothing to abut the screw of the puller onto. Using an old socket has obvious difficulties but I improvised and managed to remove the hub, but not without some slight damage to the axle half shaft tube and the hub nut axle thread. So I thought a trip to my brother’s works to ask him to make a special service tool was in order, because I didn’t want to risk damaging the ‘new’ axle for certain.
Now if you can visualise how this works I got him to make up a 30mm diameter mandrill with a chamfered edge which fits in the axle tube, and drilled the end so the puller screw has something to go into securely. This service tool of mine is interspersed between the puller and the axle and will ensure a good even pull without damaging any axle components. To be tested when I replace the backplate.

Surely you mean 1 1/4", mm has no place on a proper car.