November & December 2019 updates.

21/12/2019

November 6th, the pump finally comes out.

December 17th and the frustration of not being able to complete the job.

The restoration of the rear locker door and pump control panel.
BEFORE:

AFTER!

As we approach the end of a busy year, a limited amount of time has been spent on 240FLM for obvious seasonal reasons.. However, late into October, (30th) an initial but detailed look inside the pump housing revealed some worrying issues and it was felt that it would be sensible to take the plunge and remove the entire pump from the appliance. Continuing to attempt minor restoration and maintenance just wasn't going to be of any long term benefit.
You may remember that despite routine servicing and maintenance, including a rebuild of the fuel system, the pump continued to present issues and just would not run correctly, this really underpinned the decision as once the bodywork is restored we do not want to be trying to remove the pump.

On November 6th 2019, the team gathered at Romford and started the process of undoing and removing all the attachment fittings, and brackets which had remained untouched for over 50 years. For the most part, all went well until it was discovered that there was a restraining bar, welded in situ just behind the pump control panel. The pump was never going to come out with this in place so out came the disc cutter and a few moments later, the pump was attached rather precariously to the lifting cradle and very, very gingerly removed.

Once out, it was all hands to the tools to remove all the "bolt on" accessories and then strip all the components away to reveal the inner workings. With this completed, various parts were assigned to the team for refurbishment and off they went into peoples cars ready for the restoration. What was very obvious was the condition of the old mineral fibre gland seals. very dry and slip so this was clearly going to be an area requiring more than a drop of WD40!

Meanwhile, other team members were removing the trims that retain the side panels which sit above the new rear wings we fitted 2 years ago. Since the wings had to be hand made, the shape at the top of them never aligned properly with the original side panels that we had to refit, we have decided to replace these side panels with a matching shape which will then make for an original shape match prior to getting the body resprayed.

The inner face, hinge and securing chains on the rear hose locker door have now been restored offsite by Graham Pearce. The door looks fantastic and has a new stainless steel piano hinge fitted as we can no longer locate a brass original style one. Nevertheless, it is another piece of the jigsaw completed and means that in January 2020, we can commence refitting all the brackets into the lockers for the final painting and restow.

DECEMBER:
Also being restored by Graham, is the pump control, panel which was looking very tired and shabby. This work has now been completed and the panel will look fantastic once it is returned to its original position.

On December 17th, the team returned to Romford with all the pump parts restored, repainted, serviced and ready for the installation. All went really well until it was discovered that the replacement rear oil seals had been inadvertently fitted back to front on the splined shaft and they were not going to be able to be removed again without irreparable damage, a really frustrating end to this excellent effort and it means we now have to wait until the new year for the new seals to arrive and then we can reinstate the pump onto the appliance finally.

One of the shaped side panels that we need to remove and remake so that they match the new wings.