The Dark Wob

I have been dismantling, cleaning and packing the front wheel bearings and hubs on the Snipe, and also wanted to drain the cooling system for the first time since I did the work on the cylinder head. At that time I filled the block with a citric acid solution but drained it and flushed it before filling with the old antifreeze mixture. This is what came out today:


All I can say is that citric acid certainly did a good job. I flushed it out once more. We have a sad looking Humber, but not for long.


I filled it with plain water and will run it with that for a few weeks then drain again and see what comes out. I want it clear before I use an antifreeze mixture. I'm very pleased with how the engine bay is looking now. Just been doing one thing at a time as and when the faults came up. Now I have attained a high degree of reliability and presentation.

She looks tidy & honest, as a car should.

Thank you. That is my intention, as I like to use 'em and this is my long distance car there is no margin for error. Not like these tarted up shiny museum pieces you see at shows that have never seen a grease gun for donkeys years. I just can't wait to fit overdrive. I'll be amazed if it works after all that time outside but I have faith in good British engineering.

The Snipe is the most comfortable car i have been in
Considering She is over 60years old Is amazing
Nothing worse for me to see a shiny car what is never driven
Hats off to You Squire

MLOR wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:50 am Those idiot lights have lenses that move to give day and night (bright and dim) positions.
They were fitted in the Sunbeam Stilettos I had.

I put a battery on the scrapper and with what limited remaining electrical functions there were tested this out. The blue light is set to bright for comparison with the other (blue being the most restrictive filter).

Thank you so much, I would never have given them a second look!


I finished the greasing on the Snipe, nearly 30 grease points and the front wheels effectively need removing for access, so I combined it with servicing the wheel bearings. Whilst I was down there I noticed the steering box fastenings were loose, so I tightened them, and also got a few turns out of the gear linkage points. On the Mark Humbers a similar four-point mounting steering box was used, but at the factory they found the box would sometimes fracture if the chassis was not perfectly even. The solution? Only fit three bolts! Proper engineering.

I had to give it a test after all this work of course, and although I can't say there's much of a difference in steering (not that it was particularly bad in the first place), the gearchange has been vastly improved. Well, as good as a Rootes cable and rod linkage can be.

It is a magnificent beast.

Thirty grease points! The pivot on the grease gun must need greasing halfway through.

Time to fit one of those kids that they marketed for commercials with a central pump and pipes to everything, one pump and everything is re greased.

Central chassis lubrication, a boon to the owner-driver, along with the Smiths Jackall system. That's mass production for you; such refinements come at a price so were quietly dropped. So yes, getting a child to do the greasing would be preferable.

I see what you did there, Squire!