"Ruby" the Riley
Her new life from 1 Dec 2019 - Rick & Joan Fletcher

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UPDATED:     22 August 2021


Here is one job I could fit in with the maze of other buts and pieces. The front of the bonnet beds down on 1/2" wide webbing strap which is threaded through the holes in the radiator shroud. The end passes through the last hole and back underneath to a 2nd hole where it is riveted together.
The rivet is clearly visible in the LH photo. This was the same way the bonnet on my Bullnose Morris was fitted to the radiator.

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I thought I would tackle a simple job (silly boy!). On the left is the pair of dustcovers for the steering rack. Mine were slightly past their use-by date as can be seen below. To cut a long story short it was impossible to remove the 2 tapered balljoints fitted to the "track rod double eye" with it in situ. That had to be done to fit the dustcovers. It also became very clear that the steering rack was in poor shape. So the whole damn thing had to come out so it could be dismantled.

At first I thought I could take a short cut and fit the dustcovers by removing the n/side split bracket (shown Right). Not so!

I got the bracket off OK but it was a struggle of one bolt interfering with another and what I ended up with is what is shown to the right.The tapered ball joint seats were well and truly frozen in place. So I elected to split the tie rod ends at the steering arms first. That's them dangling down in the RH photo.


At this stage I contacted Paul (Spare Parts man - Riley Club). He didn't say "don't be silly" but that was the basis of good advice. With the age of the car, there was likely to be considerable wear in the steering rack and that was so! Plan B - remove the steering rack completely. The ball joints were impossible to separate without getting it onto the bench.
This is one of the best splitters I have used and is very robust + at a good price from Super Cheap


I prefer not to press directly on the end of the thread, rather to add a nut with its top surface level with the thread end. In this case I just flipped the castellated nut upside down,



The main parts of the rack and steering column have been coaxed out.
First step is to remove the 2 track rod ends as seen in the next photo.

Much easier to do on the bench.


All the parts of the rack are now dismantled and spread all over the bench. There is considerable wear in parts requiring new parts which, fortunately are available courtesy of the Riley Club NSW.
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This is the main wearing part of the Rack & Pinion. The steel tube is slotted at the bottom to accept the track rod with double "eyes". The slot in the tube wears over time as does the sides of the sliding track rod.

Don't you just love getting filthy dirty??
One control rod (tie rod to me) with the ends in place & one to go.
It is satisfying when a bunch of parts are cleaned up and refurbished. The rack components are at the rear, some needing to be replaced. Other bits are almost ready to be painted.
The oil filter on my Riley has been changed to a paper element type as fitted to Morris Minors. The element is a Ryco R2053P, cheap and readily available.

The steering rack has now been finished - almost ready for reinstallation.

I did a quick lash-up of the steering wheel to check any free play in the rack and was relieved to find all was well.

Periodically I launch off into another part to tackle. This is what Riley calls the air "silencer" ... it does look a bit like a muffler and in terms of "cleaning" the air, club members have described it as good for stopping rocks!
This is a conversion done in the UK to convert the filtering to a renewable paper element. The photo on the LEFT shows the filter at the left end. It is a layer of mesh with a felt pad inside the end and no easy means of cleaning it. The LH end is fixed in place and cannot be opened.
This is the very neat job done by Paul in the Sydney club...
... a closer view.
This is the first step in modifying my air cleaner. I cut the end off after ordering 2 paper filter elements that would fit. Then the supplier apologised and advised they could not supply the filters!

PLAN "B" WILL APPEAR LATER!

It will use an attachment method similar to the ones above. I have sourced some s/steel mesh to provide a cover over the filter (not really necessary).
The casing has been reconditioned. Plan "B" is shown HERE


Here is the steering R&Pinion back in place.
Mini Spray Booth - so that I could respray the brake fluid reservoir without draining the fluid & dismantling everything.
GOOD NEWS - THE WIRING LOOM
HAS ARRIVED

 

The Control Box, Fuse Box and Junction box have been renovated and replaced on the bulkhead. The use of an ultrasonic cleaner is good for cleaning up all the metal components in these boxes. All of the holes have a function - and I have taken "before" photos of the old loom in place which will hopefully help?

The battery and tool box has been cleaned up as much as possible and rust proofed. More repair work required to stabilise the heater mount under the the 2 bolts in the centre.

The wiper motor is mounted on the far side of the toolbox area. It is suspended under a metal frame and is a standard Lucas design. After 67 years of sparse maintenance, because it isa difficult to remove item, most of the grease has coagulated and has to be scraped out.
The dashboard itself has gone! It was remarkably easy to remove and only required 2 nuts undone and 2 brackets from the instrument panel to the parcel tray.
The full size photo shows the location of the main 2 nuts which can be unscrewed from below.
That has left good access to service the windscreen wiper drive cable whichhas been removed by releasing 4 screws. The cable drive was cleaned and lubricated. The parcel shelf is now easily accessed and this is where the wiring loom for the instruments will be done.

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