Fairway taxi.Welding inner wheel arches and floor.

My taxi had badly rusted inner wheel arches. Really only visible with the rear wheels off and the interior trim and seats removed from the back. I've already welded up much of the bodywork,links to more photographs etc are on this page.

 

 This was the hole in the drivers side inner wheel arch,the area just in front of the wheel where the seat bottom rests was also rotten. These holes were made just by pressing the rust bubbles with a finger.

Using a thin cutting disc in an angle grinder the rot was cut out and cuts made to get back to sound metal.Using a depressed centre disc in the angle grinder the hole edges were cleaned up. A piece of card was pressed down onto the hole to make a pattern for a plate,cut approx 1/4 inch larger all round to sit under the hole.

The metal plate was curved and some cuts made to get the sharper bends,these cuts were then welded back together when the shape was finalised when the repair plate fitted accurately in place.The raised section or flange replaces the original which had started to rust badly and enabled the plate to fit accurately and strengthen the section it is welded to. 

The plate was welded in place and the welds partially ground down.The area is concealed so it seemed pointless to spend time making an invisible repair. Some seam sealer was used to stop any water access between the new section and the original panels.The plate is thicker than the original metal it replaces would have been and the arches are now considerably stronger than they were and probably stronger than when new.Supposedly the MOT (test for fitness) on these vehicles is very strict. I have seen enough of these vehicles (even ones in service) with extensive corrosion that I believe this is a myth.

Using an old ex london black cab as a daily driver.

For a long time I've been using an old London taxi as a daily driver. The old Nissan 2.7 engine has proved ultra reliable but the bodywork has needed welding constantly.

I started a taxi owners forum  for other owners of these old vehicles and found there are examples of these cars all over the world.Few are now used as fare carrying vehicles and many were scrapped when the British government and the idiot of a London mayor (Boris Johnson) decided they polluted too much yet replaced them with taxis using the same nissan diesel engine.

Spares are slowly becoming a problem. Most body parts are now unobtainable although most are relatively simple and can be patched with welding. The servicing items are still easy to source as are tyres as these were carried over to the later models.

As with any diesel engined vehicle starting in cold weather requires a strong battery and these are fitted with a seriously large one under the bonnet.Taxis have a weird electric lock system that locks the doors automatically when the foot brake is applied,this prevent passengers in the back (there is no front seat and the back is partitioned off seperately from the front) from hopping out as the taxi stops and thus avoid paying the driver. The rear doors are the 'suicide' type with the added bonus that the driver can put his hnd out of his window and open the rear door without leaving his seat. You can see this on many old films based in london or some of the larger UK cities.

Under bonnet blanket on Rover P5b

The under bonnet blanket on my Rover was missing,these keep the heat from the engine from damaging the paint on the bonnet.
I made a blanket from fire resistant wadding between black cotton sheet. The cotton was treated with a mixture of Borax and Boracic acid to make it fireproof. The sheet was held in place with thin steel wire. It tucks under the bonnet supports.

Keeping the patina on an old classic car.

I've started a facebook group for the owners of classic cars who would rather use them than keep them locked away or take them to shows on a trailer. If you have a car you've restored on a budget,where you've adapted parts,sprayed and welded outside don't be shy,be proud of what you have achieved.

If you have a car that you've restored without spraying and chroming to within an inch of its life,join the Oily Rag restoration group. The link to it is here.

Polishing stainless steel.

I bought a metal polishing machine (grinder with cloth wheels) and the compounds etc. I had a go at polishing the seat trim and the kick plate on the drivers side. It came up quite well,I think I need a bit more practice, so I'm looking round for other bits to polish.

Cleaning fouled spark plugs.

Some people say there is nothing in a spark plug to wear out.That might be true but they do eventually get covered in a layer that can short them out so that they don't spark.This gives a misfire at best or stops the engine at worst.These plugs I removed from my V8 engined P5b Rover. The choke mechanism was faulty and the engine was running on a mixture that was too rich.

 Using a combination of a solvent and oven cleaner it is possible to make the plugs almost as good as new.This avoids using a grit blaster (which most of us don't  have) and avoids any grit or sand being left behind to damage the engine.

No wire brushing or need for machinery and fancy chemicals. Details are on a spark plug cleaning page.