Another blog site.

Just to let other J type owners know there is another J blog out there. All about a 1961 JB planners van. Do take a look, its in its early days but if it carries on it should be a good one. I do like the mention of "waited a year for a rear cross member and then it was wrong" just about sum's up what we already know.
Link to this site is http://morrisjbvcan.webs.com/ and I will be putting it shortly with all the others on the right.

OBL 432 outside a period garage sales room.

On a lighter note, I have found a stockist of old Lucas items that have both Lucas 470 and 470-2 lamps in stock, new old stock. They think they also have new lenses, rims and gaskets and will get back to me shortly. They have new boxed lamps and at the price they are quoting it's no wonder they still have them. As nobody with an early van has indicated (no light pun intended) which is the correct square lamp for an early J type, I cannot pass on the correct part number for all you auto-jumble hunters but if you find either type new boxed for under £100 buy it! They are rare and sort after. Good luck with the hunt.

Could I ask that if you send me any pictures that they could be Jpeg's and please note do not send them as windows messenger, as all I get is a matchbox size image. Not all people use window's machines or have/use the in-line e-mail photo service that they are fond of promoting, separate attachments of 300k would be great. I can always make them smaller never bigger.

Front square lamps and My first van!

Square front J type lamps, which is correct type? This should be easy, I thought as many other people did they were the same as Austin Atlantic A90's. Not so, same lens and chrome rim but different holder assembly. This period Lucas parts book shows two types of the 470 lamps.

I was told J types need the 470-1 type which is not shown... just my luck.

So anybody out there with an early van, please identify the correct one and end this confusion.

A slightly better scan showing type 470 has terminals for the connecting wires and type 470-2 is pre-wired to the bulb holder through a rubber grommet.

My first J type.
While trawling the net, I came across a picture of VOU 562. This was my first J type. Its first owners were the Reading Co-oP laundry, in Oxford road, Reading. When they finished with it, it was bought by a small furniture restorers and upholsterers also in Reading. They used it for many years as their only works van. The name of the firm was Sibley and Chamberlain. They did not even paint the van, just used it in the black and maroon from the laundry. The old Co-oP sign had been painted out when sold off.

I got to hear of it. I had sold my two Albion Buses and was down sizing my fleet of commercials.

So I went to see it and meet nice old Mr Sibley, who was in his eighties and shutting up shop. The van had not run for a couple of years so armed with various things we set to. A charged battery was fitted and Mr Sibley showed me how to hand crank the engine. This he always did, turn the engine over a couple of times before using the starter button. Well like all Morris vehicles it started no problem. I drove it home, about 25 miles, no tax, no MOT or insurance. At a cross roads with traffic lights, I had to stop and the engine cut out. It would not restart and I had to push the van across the junction. I traced the fault to the fine wire in the distributor, from the side connection to points terminal. A temporary repair and we were off again. Of course I would never do anything like that again, I was young, 20 and knew no better. (yeah right).

I kept it for a few years but never took a picture of the van. Well not quiet true, in those days of film cameras when loading a new film you had to wind on and waste a couple of shots, you must remember this, your not that young, well I took a couple of shots out my bedroom window, and the second one showed the roof of the van.. I will have to dig that out, but after many house moves I wonder if I can find it?

I had to sell the van when I got my first house, sold it to a guy in Aldershot who was buying it for his 18 year old son to get him interested in old vehicles. They rubbed the paint down to bare metal and then lost interest in it. I heard it had changed hands and had moved to the Bristol area and now I understand it's with a guy who uses it for auto-jumbles and the like. Nice to see it is still around.
The second picture is of course OBL, taken in the 1985 well before I had found/purchased it. (Note) I have since removed the front orange indicators as I did not like them, I fitted a twin filament 5/21 watt bulb into the side lamp housing instead. Thus I have front white side lamps and flashers which is perfectly legal for this age of vehicle.

Keeps the front "original".

I know the picture was taken in Newbury at the start of The Ridgeway Run. The driver is not David Elan the owner. Sad to say David who saved this van is no longer with us. He had promised to sort out many rally pictures of him and this van and also his 1952 Morris Minor.

The third picture I found was of OBL with the roof mounted speakers. The cheeky bugger had taken a copy of the picture from this site, posted it on Flickr (I have no problem with anybody copying anything on this site, but a credit would be nice though) but he has claimed copyright for the picture!! He has dated incorrectly and even listed it as an Austin, what an insult. Its a mad world.

No work done on OBL, apart from using it everyday for work, and last night using it to collect a new double glazed window frame from the suppliers.

I have just been touching in the paint work where the paint came off when I removed the last of the R G Jones stickers. I hope your projects are progressing.

At long last I can report that Tinworm has started back on his project. So the link to his blog has been re-activated on the right, do take a look. Also Rodney has made an entry on his blog, do check them out. Please note as requested I have now uploaded the sidevalve J type workshop manual in two parts on the right.

More parts for export.

In my quest to assist fellow J owners I have of late been finding spare parts for far flung J types. I was tonight cleaning up the bracket that holds the fuse box and regulator unit underneath the instrument cluster.
While I was wire bushing the loose rust and cobwebs off the panel I noticed there was something under the fuse box. Is it a packing washer?
It looks like an old sixpence, these were last in use in this country in 1970's. It must have fallen off the tray above this bracket. I wonder how long its been there and how come it did not short out something.

I was tempted to remove it to find out what it is exactly. I have decided to let the new restorer have the fun of the discovery and maybe it will be a "lucky token" for his restoration.
The fuse box will clean up easily unlike the regulator, apart from the spiders the contacts and the limiting resistor in the base of the unit were damaged beyond repair.

Still no problem this old (December 1954) regulator is only fit for the bin but looking around my junk filled garage I spied a nice new one on the shelf so that will be a nice surprise as well.
Only got to box it up and save up for the postage, then more J type spares on the way to a far flung outpost.

The Uruguay J type is back on and at lower price!

The Uruguay J type is back on and at lower price!




A nice cab view of a left hand drive 1951 J type, seems to have kept its side valve engine but has lost its air cleaner and a couple of its dash panel gauges.

In the background you can see some more vehicles, one being a nice 1952 Morris Oxford which of course has the same engine as the J, so spare parts on site. A bit of fixing up and drive it home.

What's new?

Well I'm using the Magpie Van for work every day this week. It has developed a small problem, one of the clutch springs has snapped. This is one of the three that holds the pressure ring, the ring the carbon thrust bearing presses on. This means the pressure ring is not being held "flat" and so touches the carbon thrust bearing all the time. As the flywheel turns the carbon bearing and clutch fork rattle side to side.

This means a gearbox out job, most annoying as the clutch is only a few years old and has probably only done about 10,000 miles.

I'm just not in the mood to do the job. I also have been forced by this to think about upgrades, yes a five speed conversion. That would give lower engine noise/rpm for a given speed and slightly better M.P.G. on a long run.

I'm not interested in a higher top speed.

Here is a very small picture of a JB gear box and the 5 speed conversion in a kit. You get a reconditioned Ford gearbox with a new bell housing to suit the "B" engine, a new clutch plate to suit the input shaft of the gearbox and three items which you might not need.

A clutch cable, I would prefer to keep it as Hydraulic. A gear box support frame and a modified propeller shaft. You would only need the gear box end of this.

At the moment the suppliers will not split down a kit or supply individual items. I will keep you posted on the outcome.

A Ford type 9, 5 speed box close up.

On to another thing, since starting this "new layout" blog at Christmas I have received over 12 thousand hits. It is rather nice to know having looked at the statistics that many viewers of this blog have also down loaded some of the manuals. As you can see below some have been very popular. I hope they have been of some use/interest to you all and when I get time I do intent to expand that section of the site.

Are there any manuals/handbooks/parts books you would like to see on this site?

Do let me know.

Listed below are the number of downloads of each manual.

Austin 101 handbook.pdf -- (149 all time views)
Graphoref 3.pdf -- (24 all time views)
j handbook pt1.pdf -- (42 all time views)
j handbook pt2.pdf -- (20 all time views)
jb clutch.pdf -- (18 all time views)
jb engine.pdf -- (45 all time views)
jb ignition system.pdf -- (26 all time views)
Motor Trader.pdf -- (53 all time views)
Repair charges jb.pdf -- (21 all time views)

Water pumps.

Just a few of the many water pumps I have collect/purchased in the last couple of weeks. With so many engine versions no wonder there are so many "B" series pumps to choose from.
I wonder what you call a collection of water pumps? A Drip, A Puddle or maybe A Squeal.
Water pumps, water pumps every where. Trawling the Internet, checking parts books and contacting fellow J owners to measure their pumps.
Which is the correct one?
The correct water pump, measured from mounting face to front of pulley mounting face should be about 94-96 mm.

Later "B" series pumps for the 1622,1789cc engines are at least 106mm, you can even get some slightly taller than this. They are taller as they have bigger bearings and seals inside to cope with the higher power. These will fit our engines but if you have tired engine and gearbox mounts or if the retaining damper on the gearbox is out of adjustment you could find during an emergency stop the whole engine and gearbox will move forward and the fan will damage your radiator.Whats going on , well I was using one of these "panel spray" aerosol in the garage to spray a couple of items when the damn thing would not shut off.
It was one of these giant cans, although old it was over half full. So in blind panic mode I ran out of the garage round to the van. I had already de-greased the engine bay before I fitted the new water pump and fan belt, just to make it cleaner while working on the engine. I had also intended to paint various parts of the chassis while the radiator was out of the way. Well this can of "Red Oxide" certainly covered everything.

Anyway the new pump is fitted and everything works. I now have to paint the engine the correct colour and the engine bay I think will be black.
The MYtH Blog has been updated again with a further 10 pictures.

Yet another J type for sale!

Yes a very nice 1951 Morris J type. Star of the small screen and it looks in very good condition and from the photographs, I can hardly fault it.

Item number on e-bay is 330352019091.

Is that the correct Solex Carb? Also incorrect petrol pump.
So a fine vehicle and with a starting price that is very reasonable compared to some of the very rusty projects that have appeared recently. So what do you think its worth? And more to the point what will it sell for? I think it will reach about 9K, I would be put off by the non original number and one or two very small items but overall a very charming van.

Dr Who again.

Sorry to do this, for all that have seen it before, Yes my J type was on Television again.
The episode was repeated again last night, I wish I had repeat fees as this seems to be a popular one.
I did not know it was going to be "on" the television I only found out the next day when I was walking the dogs and a neighbour let me know.

So I missed it again, never mind it will/should be all sign written up again as the Magpie Van when it goes on its holiday to the Isle of Wight in early September. He is booked in at a Morris Minor gathering at the local Steam Railway Centre. So old vehicles, Auto Jumble, Steam Engines, Road Runs, Hog Roasts, Jug Bands and vintage open topped Buses doing trips round the island. Should be a rather nice weekend event.
Up date on water pump progress is that OBL 432 now has a nice new water pump.

Details of where to order (the best price/quality) and some part numbers and also things to check when buying old stock items at auto-jumbles (the late MGB pumps are no good for our vans) will be posted shortly with pictures.

I have also been chatting with "Rodney" via face book and he has made a promise to post a picture or two of the parts he has acquired for his van restoration. The boys will be round if he fails....

Gearbox tail shaft oil seals.

OBL has a slight oil leak from the the rear oil seal on the output shaft of the gearbox.Not a big problem, I had ordered a new seal the other week but when I tried to fit it, I found out it was the wrong one. I was unaware there are two types. So do check which gearbox type you have. Current part number for the early one, item seven, is 11G3147Z while the current part number for the later type (item 8) is RTC447A.

On a further note of early and late items, did you know there are 3 types of water pump you can get for a "B" series engine and I don't mean one for the 1498/1622/1789 cc versions. Yes 3 for the 1498cc "our engine".

I'm investigating part numbers and compatibility and will get back to you with the current part number of a pump that fits.

I have had a few people ask me about the engine mount rubbers, well it turns out that these are series one, 2.25 ltr Petrol engined Land Rover ones. Part Number NRC2054.

Manufactures number GR0700097.

The MYtH blog has been updated today with a further 18 wonderful picture which brings the story up to June this year.

The re-match me verses the near-side engine mount.

Well I attacked the near-side engine mount again, what a nasty job. With the engine off-set there is very little clearance to even get near the three bolts on the engine bracket with a set of spanners.I knew I would have to undo the four engine mounting bracket bolts holding it onto the chassis rail. This was because there was no way to undo the single nut at the bottom of the engine mount rubber block.

So all seven nuts and bolts played hard to get and as normal they would not undo with the fingers till the very end.

I struggled for over an hour but at last won and the rubber engine mount was soon changed. The next job is to give the engine and engine bay a good degrease and a repaint would be a good idea.

Also some of the wiring needs tidying up and the broken fuel pump cover needs replacing. Still lots of pottering jobs that I can fit in over the next few days.
I sprayed the engine bracket white just so it would stand out a bit better in the pictures.

You can see I have already changed from a dynamo to an alternator and if you look closely you can also see the spin on oil filter conversion. Easier when doing an oil change, less chance of a leak and much better filtration.
As normal Captain Chickenzie came to see what I was doing. That is just one nosey chicken.
More pictures have been added to the MYtH site and the J type van picture album site, enjoy.

Engine mounts.

Engine mountings. It was my intention while I had the front of the engine exposed to investigate the engine mounts. I have never been able to find any at auto jumbles and wondered what other vehicles had these fitted. Well the answer is as yet I have not found what else these round mounts were fitted too. DO YOU KNOW? So trawling the Internet, looking at many British vehicles of the same age and checking on-line parts books I spotted what looked like similar mounts.
So I found a stockiest and had to order four, as they had a minimum order value for credit cards on web site orders. (I now have two spare if anybody needs them).
So here is old and new engine mounts. Apart from the threads on the new ones being metric and the actual diameter being slightly larger, which if anything it is a good thing they fitted with no problem.
The off-side mount was easy to change, just three bolts on the engine bracket and the two nuts on the mount. I had supported the engine on wooden blocks with a pad of folded carpet to protect the sump. This was just to take the weight of the engine without actually "jacking it up".
I then moved on to the near-side mount. What a xxxxxxx. Not helped by the constant rain I gave up after half an hours fight.
Round two of this fight will continue tomorrow night.

Radiator removal.

Picture showing the location of the top right hand radiator mounting bolt.At last the front of the engine is exposed.

Water pump removed, so much rusty water came out when I removed the lower hose I think its time to back flush the radiator and also wash out the block.

The engine mounting rubbers look a bit tired so I'm thinking of changing these as well.

Polly pick up progress and OBL's water pumps.

Polly the "B"Pick up is in the garage while OBL432 can use the carport. This constant rain is a right pain.
It is a shame that polly is "in doors" as it is now very hard to work on the pick up as we are rather tight for space.
So I turned to OBL, yet more out standing jobs. To replace the water pump and fan belt.
So off with the front panel.
Off with the top shield over the radiator, this makes sure all the air at the front of the van is forced throught the radiator when driving and does not just pass over the top of the engine.
Next job remove the radiator, which is held in place by five bolts. Four can be undone from the front and last one is found inside of the cab. Once all the bolts are removed undo the drain pipe and tap and the last little job is to remove the sheild and gasket from around the filler neck.
Next episode tomorrow! (if I get home in the light).