Lagonda Rapiers

3 minute(s) of a 484 minute read

Now for a change!
Not required to Take the Lagonda into England & Europe but nesessary to enable me to bring the car home again. The Australian Border Force (Customs) require me not only to state that there is no asbestos anywhere in or on the car BUT I have to be able to present the necessary paperwork to prove it.
Yesterday I spent FIVE MINUTES showing a"Licenced Inspector" the internals of the gearbox and the newly relined componemt parts. In the process of his inspection he took THREE photographs on his Mobile phone.
The cost Aust $220.00
 
AND he could not even get the spelling of my Name or the Make of the car correct.

OK the "Hob-goblins" have been at work. As a result one of the centraliser springs "popped out".  To replace it in the correct position I have now dismantled the reverse band,  putting me back at least half a day in my (imaginary) work schedule. In the tightly packed gearbox there is very little margin for error.
 
In the absence of Peter Meyer's much anticipated Manual, I am finding the 1930s Crossley equivalent extremely helpful. Their photographs in particular are very useful. Allowing for the quality of the reproduction. The upper (Forward 1st 2nd and 3rd gears) diagram shows the action of both the cam and the bus-bar and the positioning of the band centralisers.
The lower diagram shows the difference with the Reverse "Thrust Pad" (strut) etc.

1-10-2019

It is now very nearly 5.00 PM EAST*. After a very frustrating afternoon I finally have the case sitting on the base of the gearbox with about half the nuts in place.  I finally managed to hold all the "pull rods" in place with the aid of four or five large rubber bands. We have a very kind post-man, every time we have three or four letters for him to deliver, He places an official Australia Post yellow rubber band around them to hold them together as he places them in our "letter box". Helen has been saving these in a container on her kitchen bench. At last I have found a use for them!  Well! at leastfour or five of them. The worst part is that to retrieve them I have to cut them first in order to pull them out with a pair of long pointed-nose plyers. They can then go straight into the bin.......
 
*EAST:- Eastern Australian Summer Time.

1-14-2019

Another day and a little more progress with the gear=train now back into the case, all that is needed now is for the top-gear mechanism to be fitted and then the oil pump and finally the front cover. Another day's temperature in the high 30sC is not helping.