My next project "La Petite Chanteuse"

3 minute(s) of a 82 minute read

Patience John

You cannot get rid of me that easily. The car has to be ready for shipment late March-early April. The ship takes six weeks so we leave on the 10th May. and our first event is the Rapier Register's Annual General Meeting on May 18th.

Todays task has been one of those mind numbing jobs. For some little time I have been concerned that every so often the hand brake would slip off while the car was parked. I should explain that like a number of English sporting cars the Rapier has a "racing style" fly off hand brake. You press the button at the end of the lever to lock the brake on and simply lift the lever slightly to release it. Very handy for doing "Handbrake turns" where you briefly apply the handbrake at the apex of the corner in order to promote a tail out slide, getting you around tight corners faster. Don't try this in your Caddy or Lincoln Town Car.

To make it easier to remove the pawl and ratchet plate the entire lever assembly is removed from the side of the chassis. This done, it is a moments work on the grinder to clean up the tip of the pawl and a few more minutes with a triangular file to sharpen up the ratchet plate. While re-assembling the lever I noticed that the spring under the button seemed excessively strong and may well have been the root of the trouble, so in typical "Belt & braces" style I nipped about 3/16 inch off one end before replacing it. It is all back together again and only time and parking the car on a steep hill will tell if it has all been worth while.

Bj.

Seen from above the hand brake lever is close to hand between the drivers seat and the side of the body. (RHDrive) In typical 1930s Lagonda fashion there is NO door on the driver's side of the car.

11-14-2013

As a complete change of pace today's project was changing/replacing the washers in the taps over the hand basin in our en-suite bathroom. I am sure that the Australian terminology will have many of you baffled but for once I am completely at a lost as far as translation goes. The nearest I can come up with is, the valves in the faucets.

Bj

11-18-2013

"I can only wish to be a fly on the wall [ windscreen??] while you are in Europe. Will you cover the tour with a dedicated thread?"

Ben.

Just to whet your appetite some more, another photograph from our 2009 visit.

Bj