Our technician Julian has been working on getting our barn-find 1953 Austin A40 back on the road after laying dormant for over 60 years. You can see the short film we did here of releasing the car from its hiding place.
To begin with, Julian worked on freeing up and rebuilding the entire brake system with new wheel cylinders and replacing any lines which had corroded or cracked. The previous owner had done a sterling job at preserving the cars bodywork and also its mechanicals, but over time rubber will perish and degrade regardless of its upkeep.
Next, Julian began to work on getting the original engine to fire up. This involved gently adding oil to the bores over a period of time and applying gentle pressure to the crank shaft to free off the pistons which had become corroded to the cylinder walls. Once it span over freely, he could check for spark and ignition which required a replacement coil and the little engine fire straight back into life. We couldn’t run it up for too long as Julian noted that the water pump and thermostat had been packed solid with corrosion and debris, so these were removed along with the radiator to be recommissioned.
