Go to Page One of Y20797LCV's Makeover.
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Go to Bulkhead rebuild and wiring update page
Go to Bodywork refurb page
Go to Electrical System Upgrade page
Go to Chassis Assembly page
(09-08-07) Eight weeks ago work on the Herald came to a halt and I am just now starting to get back at it. I had several unexpected events this summer. First my brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly on July 13th. We had to deal with his estate, selling the house, cars and personal property. On August 12th, about the time we finally got his estate sorted out I woke up with severe abdominal pain. After suffering for the day, I went to the hospital and found out I had a burst appendix. I came home 5 days later and have been slowly getting back up to speed. Today I actually did some meaningful work on the rusted out Sport 6 donor car. I got all the salvageable bits off it and cleared some space in the shed.
I moved what is left of the frame out behind the shed.
Here's the gutted bulkhead with outrigger remnants still attached.
Not much was left of the rear tub floor. There weren't even any outriggers evident.
(9-14-07) Back to work on the Herald this weekend painting the floors and underside of the rear tub and bulkhead. I used a very durable polyurethane finish intended for use as a pick up bed liner. The stuff takes 4 to 6 days to setup completely but bonds extremely well, seals the surface and is very chip and scratch resistant. I selected the smooth finish instead of the one containing grit and the color very closely matches the powder coat on the chassis. I painted both the top and bottom surfaces of the tub and floor pans and the front of the bulkhead.
(10-4-07) I started reassembly of the bulkhead components tonight. I got the foot pedals and pedal boxes, master cylinders, bonnet support brackets, starter solenoid and ignition coil clamp installed. The clutch M/C has been rebuilt and the brake M/C is a new piece to accommodate the upgraded front brakes.
(10-8-07) I finally got the motor back into the chassis this afternoon. The lift I borrowed was almost too big for the job barely fitting between the front wheels. I'll finish conecting up the fuel line and and work on getting the exhaust pipe fitted. The SUs are off getting rebuilt and should be back in a few weeks. Next the bulkhead will go back on, the rear tub and doors fitted and aligned and then on to installing my redsigned wire harness.
(10-10-07) I had a rather frustrating evening with the Herald last night. With the motor back in the chassis I thought it best to fit all the fuel lines before I refit the bulkhead in place. The main line to the fuel pump went in with ease, of course
it is a pretty much straight line along the frame rail. I put a fitting just in front of the rear cross member and left the tag end of the tube extend out along the rear outrigger. When I fit the rear tub later, I can remove the rear section of the fuel line,
bend it to fit up into the tub to the fuel tank and refit it.
Then came the run from the fuel pump up to the carbs. It took me over 2 hours of bending to get the line to fit around the dizzy, back towards the block, over the dynamo mounts, up and around the front of the valve cover and finally to the carbs, more than
half the time making the bends exactly the opposite direction they needed to be. I eventually got it to fit and look like it was meant to fit but it was an ordeal. I just can't seem to visualize the bends after I fit the tube and mark it. Over half the
time I picked up the tube, aligned the bender to my marks and bent the tube in EXACTLY the wrong direction. At least when I finish the rear section I don't think I'll have as many chances to bend it wrong.
(10-17-07) After my battle with the fuel lines I attempted to reassemble an exhaust system using bits from the three cars worth of old exhaust pipe I've got. Some of the pipes are so thin that attempts to weld them into something that would work resulted in burning holes instead of welding. I turned the power way down and spent at least an hour stitching the holes shut. About the time I got the front half of the exhaust piping bolted in I found that I did it again, putting a bend going the wrong way. I was too frustrated by then to cut it apart and start over so I decided to leave the exhaust alone while I still retained some sanity and set the bulkhead back on the chassis. I'll replace the entire exhaust system later. I did get the clutch hydraulic line in and next up will be the brake master cylinder hook up.
Bulkhead back in place. 
Wrong way exhaust pipe(ARRRGH) 
(10-18-07) I got a few more bits fitted this evening. The lower steering column is installed, the brake hydraulics plumbing is finished, the wiper motor got mounted and the engine bay valences fitted. I needed to do a bit of cutting on the valences to acommodate the new plumbing for the upgraded front disc brakes. I really hated cutting into the nice powder coat but hopefully the coat of chassis paint on the cut edges will slow down the rust. Now that the brake hydraulics are all together, I'll finish rebuilding the front calipers. I didn't want to open a can of DOT 5 just to rebuild the calipers and waste the rest so when the calipers are done, I'll fill the master cylinders and bleed the clutch and brake systems.
(10-21-07) I spent the better part of the day working on the hydraulics. The clutch was done in minutes. I spent most of the time rebuilding the front calipers. Whoever came up with those piston dust boots needs to be taken out and flogged. I spent hours on each caliper just trying to get the dust boots fitted. I also found that my new brake pads were .030 inch too thick. A bit of work and in the end I succeeded and got the calipers rebuilt, the brakes back together, filled with DOT 5 and bled. With Speed Bleeders (TM) on all four corners, bleeding the brakes was the easiest task of the day.
(10-27-07) This is the first anniversary of the refurb of Y20797LCV. If anyone would have said then that I would only be this far along in the work I would have laughed. I know better now!
I made a bit more progress on the Herald today. Added a lot of the small bits as well as the prop shaft, heater core, heater fan, radiator, all the hoses and transplanted the coolant recovery system from one of the donor cars. I flushed the engine block with water and
I need to refill the system with antifreeze mix before it gets too much colder around here. Still waiting on carbys but I think I am ready to refit the rear tub!!
(10-30-07) I was quite surprised at how easy it was to mount and align the Delco 12SI Alternator. The 'mounting lug face to pulley V-groove center' was almost exactly the same on the alternator as it is on the old dynamo. All that was required was a 3 1/2 inch spacer between the two lower mounting points on the engine and an extension for the upper adjusting bar. I found that the various belts I have on hand are either just too short or just too long. A trip to the auto parts store will solve that though.
(10-31-07) I've got CARBS!! I mounted the front carb on the engine and find that my plan to use the coolant recovery system from the Sport 6 donor car is not to be. The coolant reservoir will interfere with the air cleaner. I did locate a correct length fan belt for the new alternator today so that is ready for wiring. I ran into one more issue tonight when I tried to install the aftermarket coolant temperature sender unit. I thought the mounting hole in the thermostat housing was a 3/8-18 NPT thread. The old sender screwed into a 3/8 NPT coupling quite nicely. It turns out that the thread is a 5/8-18 UNF thread. I do not want to drill and tap the hole to 3/8 NPT as I may want to convert back to the original gauge and sender at some point. I located a source for the proper adapter (5/8-18 UNF to 1/8 NPT), as part of an Asia/European Adapter kit from EQUUS Gauges, but no one had anything in stock locally. The kit is available on-line from Midway Auto Supply under part number EQU-9862 for $6.99 plus shipping. The kit includes three metric adapters and the elusive 5/8-18 UNF adapter.
Front carb in place and the coolant recovery tank has to go. 
Equus 9862 (6862) Asia/European Adapter Kit 
(11-03-07) The new coolant temperature sensor is installed, the Sport 6 coolant recovery system removed and the system topped off with a 50/50 antifreeze mix. I drove the water pump with my hand drill for about 20 minutes to make sure I circulated the antifreeze solution throughout the engine block.
(11-09-07) I am almost ready to fit the bonnet back on. I mounted the bonnet adjustment bars and the bonnet stays from the Sport 6 donor after fabricating a couple of mounts for the turret end of the bonnet stays. I am waiting on a few fittings to connect up the vacuum advance line and fuel lines to the carbs. The fittings are supposed to be here tomorrow so, I should be able to refit the bonnet this weekend. Then I'll need to round up a couple mates to set the rear tub back on.
(11-10-07) The fittings for the carbs didn't show up today so I spent some time reworking the exhaust. Rather than weld it together wrong again, I cut it apart and clamped it back in the proper routing. I mounted a spare muffler from my Harley Davidson as well. I figure if it can tame the thunder of a 1550 cc V-Twin it should be able to quiet down the 948 cc Herald quite nicely. I decided to fit the bonnet today as well.
(11-12-07) The missing fittings showed up today so I finished installing the carbs. I fashioned a hard fuel line to both carbs and routed the vacuum advance line to the distributor. Except for linkages and wiring, I think I am done under the bonnet!! I was half tempted to put in a battery, rig a fuel tank and hot wire the coil just to hear this thing run for once.
Carbs fitted and fuel line run 
Vacuum pickup fitting detail 
(11-22-07) I got the rear tub placed on the chassis today and noticed something missing - the hand brake lever mount. I will have to either cut it off the old tub or buy a new replacement piece.
What's wrong with this picture? 
(12-01-07) I located a standard exhaust system for the Mark 1 Hearld that Bill Davies (Rarebits for Classics) happened to have in storage in the U.S. It showed up today and will replace the patched together system now on the car along with the motorbike silencer.
(12-21-07) Scored on a set of Lucas 20/20 50 watt halogen fog lights for the front of the Herald. I had planned to use a set of Hella fog lights but the Lucas units will keep with the heritage of the car.
(01-06-08) The weather warmed a bit this weekend to the mid-30's so I spent a bit of time on the Herald. I hung the doors and started alignment of the body panels. Of course the first thing I had to do was put some spacers under the bulkhead mounting points to get the doors to fit properly. I used straps, blocks and jacks to move the bulkhead, bonnet and rear tub around until the gaps looked decent. The right door was hanging low in the rear with the vent window frame tight to the windcreen frame. Following the factory service training notes for body alignment, I raised the right rear bulkhead mount 3/8 inch and the right front 1/8 inch. The door then could be adjusted to align with the windscreen frame and the B-post. It is still a little low but I think there is still enough adjustment at the hinges to raise it. I still need to add some packing to some of the rear tub mounts before I tighten it all down. Once the main body sections are secured, I'll jack it up good and high and replace the exhaust system and if the weather starts cooperating, I'll get on with the body work and paint. Here are a couple of before and after pictures of the progress made today. Pretty foggy today so the picture quality is rather poor.
(02-13-08) I haven't accomplished much on the Herald this past month. I am still gathering up bits with the most recent additions to the parts bin being; a NOS gearbox tunnel cover, a set of pristine crossed flags for the rear wings, Bill Davies Oil Filter adapter and some miscellaneous seals, grommets, and other small bits. I did get a pair of 1993 Volkswagon Golf Mk3, Wolfsburg Recaro seats modified to fit the Herald seat tracks. They are bit thick in the seat area and will need the seat foam to be shaved down quite a bit to be comfortable in the Herald. They do look quite nice in there though. Now all I need is for the weather to warm some before serious work can resume.
(02-19-08) It's been ungawdly cold around here again and I am getting a bit stir crazy so, I started fooling around with a photo editor to see what the front end might look like with the new driving lights. I still haven't found a suitable image of the fog lights so those will have to wait to get added to the concept photo.
(04-21-08) I am finally getting back to work on the Herald. I finished getting the body aligned, the gaps respectable and everything tightened down. It will likely need some tweaks later after the paint is done. Everything under the bonnet is now done with the exception of the main wire harness. I got the patched together exhaust system swapped out with the proper one for the Mk1 Herald. The only part I was missing was the 'bean can' resonator. I fabricated a replacement tube using two exhaust pipe adapters butt welded together. It replaces the resonator can just fine.
(05-17-08) I replaced the dodgy floor mounted, organ pedal, foot feed with a bulkhead mounted version from a Triumph Stag. Thanks to Ian Johnston for the tip on this great mod. I put a 2 inch block between the bulkhead and the pedal assembly to lower the pedal to be in line with the brake and clutch pedals. It looks like it was meant to be there now. Other than the new foot feed, I have been a bit lax in working on the Herald lately so I thought I needed something to get my interest up. Driving the car might do that! So, today I finished getting the fuel tank cleaned out and mounted, got the rest of the fuel line and fuel filter connected up, primed the fuel pump and rigged some simple toggle switches for ignition and starter and much to my surprise it started right up. The carbs are adjusted to the 'default' settings, timing was where the distributor looked about right and the motor just purrs. Now I am torn between putting in the proper wiring or finishing the bodywork and paint. I scored a bargain on a new Robbins hood (convertible top) thanks to a lead from Andy Mace. With the new top coming soon, I guess it is the bodywork that should get finished up. I can always work on the wiring on those rainy days that are sure to come. The Recaro seats are not going to work out. The seats were just too thick and trimming them down left a horrible gap between the seat and the base of the seat back. They are now destined to be my new recliners in the hunting blind next fall.
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