Let's start fixing things.

The first thing I looked at was the air cleaner, my first run in ROD last weekend showed me what other side valve J owners had told me, the induction noise from the air cleaner is louder than the engine. It is after all a very basic design, a tin can with wire-mesh in it. So how to make it more efficient? Well what do they do on newer cars? Fit a paper element. Now I like to do modifications to vehicles to improve safety or ease of servicing so I think I will try to get a circular paper air cleaner element to fit over this housing. If it does not work it will be easily removed with no damage done. That's a job to do when I'm down the car spares shop.
The reason I had the air cleaner off was to make sure all was tight as ROD had been running "weak" so I had to check for air leaks on the carburettor. I moved on to the faulty speedo, I removed the inner cable and one end was chewed up. Having removed the speedo head I fitted a new inner cable. I took this opportunity to replace both dash panel lamps.
I took the speedo head into the garage while we had yet another light rain shower and stripped the speedo down. It was at this point my wife Caroline asked "why not fit a new one" I explained I did have others but I wanted to see what was wrong with this one.
Well I found three problems, 1, the input shaft was very stiff, 2,the magnet on the end of the input shaft has lost its magnetism and 3, the rotating cam driven by a fibre gear is worn so that's its movement does not quite engage with the ratchet wheel to advance the mileometer.

I also took out the oil pressure gauge, this was full of dust where the inner blue light shield had slipped down allowing years of dirt to gain an entry.

Here the engine (on fast idle) is holding good oil pressure and you can now see the needle on the gauge having removed all that muck. Even the battery is getting a charge.

I still have to decide what to do with the original speedo, make one out of two? or try to get the parts. I would like to refit the original unit, I would , as I have done with ROD so far, to conserve whats there than just keep replacing and throwing much of him away.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I hope to have both rear wheels off and double check the rear brakes, shoes and drum, refit and adjust up now the shoes have bedded in a bit.