old diff new diff. better ratio for crusing
The Snail
- Thread starter sunbeamsam
- Start date
Still waiting to fit my 4.22 and hoping for 70mph quiet cruising! That’s the dream
Yes changing the diff is a bit of a faff. Fortunately I wasn’t in a rush, it wasn’t raining and my half shafts came out easily.
I’ve been faffing with the carbs, I invested in a set of vacuum gauges to try and balance them properly, this wasnt as successful as I’d hoped. The oscillation of the needles make it very hard to get a clear reading. After a bit of pondering I concluded they were all pretty similar and didn’t make further adjustments. I then started to fiddle with the idle speed and pilot jets.
found this really helpful diagram on bike carb fuelling
under each carb is a little screw that adjusts the pilot jet, the manual says to start with it unwound 3 turns, this seemed to give me a slightly rich idle so I tried 2.5 which was too weak, then 2.75 which is still a bit weak. Grr. What’s really annoying is I can’t adjust them when it is running as they are too close to the exhaust manifold meaning I have to take them off each time to adjust them, something that takes about 20mins. Have started trawling eBay for a suitable tool...
found this really helpful diagram on bike carb fuelling
under each carb is a little screw that adjusts the pilot jet, the manual says to start with it unwound 3 turns, this seemed to give me a slightly rich idle so I tried 2.5 which was too weak, then 2.75 which is still a bit weak. Grr. What’s really annoying is I can’t adjust them when it is running as they are too close to the exhaust manifold meaning I have to take them off each time to adjust them, something that takes about 20mins. Have started trawling eBay for a suitable tool...
also fixed the metal fracture in the seat frame. I’d previously failed to find suitable replacement rubber diaphragms- the ones from an MGB don’t fit- but instead opted for rubber strapping which has done the job quite nicely.
Having got it running okay I wanted to see if connecting up the vacuum feeds made a difference.
made this, fitting the dizzy vacuum take off on one end and the brake servo on the other end. Seems to work okay.
made this, fitting the dizzy vacuum take off on one end and the brake servo on the other end. Seems to work okay.
have welded some brackets into the bumper for future spot lights with captive nuts
So i’ve started a job I wish I hadn’t and taken the pop top off. The spine and side panels are all bowed and I thought I could add some reinforcement to make them straighter.
annoyingly the side panels have been well glued together so are proving hard to take apart without damage. It’s also been raining.
originally were these long side panels wood on the inside and body colour on the outside? I’m tempted to do the opposite. Waiting on some sample of stick on faux leather cream headlining type material I need to do the ends, kind of makes sense to do the sides too.
annoyingly the side panels have been well glued together so are proving hard to take apart without damage. It’s also been raining.
originally were these long side panels wood on the inside and body colour on the outside? I’m tempted to do the opposite. Waiting on some sample of stick on faux leather cream headlining type material I need to do the ends, kind of makes sense to do the sides too.
Harvey's were exactly the same. They are originally stained wood finish on the inside and body coloured out but I painted the new ones white on the inside and it makes a big difference in how light it makes the interior.
Old one
New ones
There are, IIRC, tree small hinged holding each side on behind the wooden trim
Old one
New ones
There are, IIRC, tree small hinged holding each side on behind the wooden trim
You’ve inspired me Panky. I’m going to line the sides, think that’ll look neat.
Oh I thought that was just naked fibreglass. Guess you could glue some white 4 way stretch to it. Mines got the same diamond pattern white vinyl glued to it which is mostly ok.
has got me wondering though. Below is a picture of the Beaulieu van, interestingly the top isn’t painted which allows load of light through.
when I look closely at mine there is a clear paint suggesting mine used to be like this but that it got dusted over when the van was repainted.
going to try and scrape it off and maybe put a fresh gel coat on. Shouldn’t take 5 mins....
has got me wondering though. Below is a picture of the Beaulieu van, interestingly the top isn’t painted which allows load of light through.
when I look closely at mine there is a clear paint suggesting mine used to be like this but that it got dusted over when the van was repainted.
going to try and scrape it off and maybe put a fresh gel coat on. Shouldn’t take 5 mins....
Also interesting that this van has no roof vent and that the screws go through the side rather than the top
There were different designs of roof for the Auto-Sleeper. Some were smooth gel coat on the outside with bare strands inside, some the other way round, some had the flock coating and of course the narrower roof on the early ones. I was toying with the idea of using headlining material on Harvey's roof when I renewed the side panels but got distracted with other things
They didn't come with a roof vent as standard, does The Snail have one
They didn't come with a roof vent as standard, does The Snail have one
This is taking ages, motivation has also started to ebb.
after some intense jet washing most of the paint in the wrong places remained and an annoying amount of paint from the right places was accidentally removed. Then tried paint stripper, which had no impact.
so had to use a heat gun and scraper. Three evenings of scraping and its got this far. Still some hours with a sander to go. Plan is to put a new gel coat on top of this.
after some intense jet washing most of the paint in the wrong places remained and an annoying amount of paint from the right places was accidentally removed. Then tried paint stripper, which had no impact.
so had to use a heat gun and scraper. Three evenings of scraping and its got this far. Still some hours with a sander to go. Plan is to put a new gel coat on top of this.
I’ll get some photos of the vent for you Panky, it aint pretty. Think the fibreglassing on my van was done on a Friday afternoon by a drunk apprentice... I‘ve some work to do. You can kind see here.
S0updragon
Well-Known Member
Oh dear. Keep at it. Just think how much better it will look when finished
i spent a while thinking of what to do and changing my mind a few times. Did think of bolting aluminium box to try and straighten things up. gave the sides a varnish.
then stuck cream leather effect vinyl on.