The Dark Wob

You could indeed, using a courtesy light switch or automatic mercury tilt switch but against these are the extra work for placing a courtesy light switch. Mercury switches aren't 100% reliable in my experience. Plus I only need the light every so often. Fully automatic operation is more ideally suited to the boot and interior.

Point taken, if it gets out of adjustment and stays on you're likely to have a flat battery.

I took the rivet out of my Minor bonnet stay and replaced it with a bolt. It's still a bit of a work-up but I can undo the bolt and tie the bonnet handle to the back bumper, over the top of the car. The Dorset Minor Club were flogging adjustable stays but they're £35, the nut and bolt were pennies....

Now that's a damn good idea. I have seen these telescopic stays you speak of and thought they were a pricey solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. But that nut and bolt idea is a great mod and, as you say, cost pennies.

As I have been indoors much of the time I turned my attention to a Lucas Screenjet I have, which didn't work with power applied, and it was 6v but came with a 12v motor to replace, also inoperative. These were the first electric screenwasher and are an ingenious device, requiring only a momentary push of a button to deliver water for about 5 seconds. This is unlike what came afterwards where water is only delivered for as long as you press the switch. I have the 2SJ model with the glass jar in my collection, though I am unlikely to use it because all my cars have screenwashers, I still wanted to get it working.


All I had to do was clean the contacts and adjust the brushes. In the top photograph a pin is missing which screws through the brass block and this is how continuous automatic operation is achieved. Once the button is pressed the motor starts, developing upward thrust, which closes the permanent live contacts shown under my thumb against the pin. Once the delivery chamber is empty of water, the motor shaft drops down again opening the contacts. After about 10 seconds the delivery chamber fills up again and the operation can be repeated.

At last I took the cylinder head off and have the news we've all been waiting for.

Came off very easily because it is bolted down as opposed to sliding down studs.


Immediately apparent, as diagnosed by the compression test and what people said, the gasket here has blown clean away. Fortunately the block and head look OK.


The cylinder head is going away for any necessary work and hardened valve seats.

Salutations..Glad to see thee back on t wob
That will make your snipe very super when it's done.
Keep up the good work old bean

Superb news. Head skim, block clean and a nice copper gasket.

That's been burning a lot of oil though. I wonder if glazebusting the bores would be a plan?

Have you had a straight edge on that block it looks to have been blowing for a very long time.

The Reverend Bluejeans wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:04 pm Superb news. Head skim, block clean and a nice copper gasket.

That's been burning a lot of oil though. I wonder if glazebusting the bores would be a plan?

I would like to clean the bores up a little. But they aren't bad at all, certainly no ridge to speak of. It used to billow out a fog of blue smoke on the overrun at motorway speeds, which was great fun if some cunt was tailgating or otherwise being a dick. They soon dropped back after that. The work I am having done on the cylinder head may deny me this party trick.

DodgeRover wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 5:20 pm Have you had a straight edge on that block it looks to have been blowing for a very long time.

Not yet, I do need to get one on it though.