"Deathtrap" Armstrong Siddeley Chassis Repaired BUT There's Some NEW ISSUES

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching - great to see so many people sharing some love for my little Armstrong Siddeley - thanks as ever to Dad for his hard work getting this fixed - part 4 is coming soon which sees us tackle those quite frankly dangerous brakes!

[@ptonpc]

Thanks Dad!

[@paultaylor9652]

It's always rewarding to see a job well done, and I think "dad" is being modest on his engineering skills Jon 😊

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching Paul

[@briancomer2653]

Bought one of these cars some 55 years ago and I remember her starting up within a minute after not being run for 5 years. Certainly needed a lot work the wooden floor had all but disappeared.I eventually donated her to the Armstrong Siddeley club and didn’t hear anything more.

[@JonCoupland]

Oooh I wonder where it is now?

[@peteredwards338]

Your dad deserves a whole tin of Werthers.

[@JonCoupland]

He's crunching Jakemans 😂👍

[@bradjohnson1627]

No longer a death trap 😊 nice work. Dad always hated the non asbestos brake linings, said they were rubbish.

[@JonCoupland]

Dad's been working hard 💪

[@johnlloyd1028]

A lot of old 30-40style cars ran with positive camber! Take it to an alignment shop and put it on the rack for a full alignment, worth the effort!

[@JonCoupland]

We have alligned using our Dunlop guages :)

[@asa1973100]

I adore the car , my late mother was brought one new by her father when she married. So to me think it is absolutely beautiful as my childhood memories as sitting in the back of one .

[@JonCoupland]

Oh what a lovely comment. Thank you 😊

[@jimbo2629]

It reminds me of problems I had to solve with my first few cars. I was offered a Sapphire once. I went for a test drive and was struck by how pleasant the ride is in modern cars. My garage was full so I didn’t buy it. Been there done that etc and I don’t have a father who is a helpful mechanic. I hope yours continues to enjoy himself. Keep the videos coming.

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching - love a Sapphire!

[@SuperLittleTyke]

It's a fantastic looking car! I hope the chassis repairs have made it all good underneath as well.

[@JonCoupland]

Absolutely 😁 thank you

[@interdec]

Suspension and alignment is a funny thing. Fixing that side has probably pulled everything back into shape overall….I guess it probably had a “lean”. A bit of sorting out of the ignition system and some new plugs/leads and she’ll be back in the game. Y’know…it’s important that people like yourself make content about cars like this, because as time goes by and Grandpa’s and Great Grandpa’s pass into history, the knowledge vanishes, and folks get a bit wary to get involved in vehicles from earlier eras. Imagine sixty years from now…people might be too scared to try and save a Morris Marina??? Here’s a thing…y know what would be great for your fleet…and you do seem to have a thing for the compact cars…a Hillman Imp…maybe a posher version…a Singer Chamois? It’s hard work running a yew choob channel, but I for one appreciate the time and effort you put in, and it’s fun content…not too serious…and it’s free for anyone who wants it too. Top notch mate…and “Dad” adds a bit of down to earth tinkering that’s very watchable and I love it. I watch a bit of Hub Nut too, but it’s a painful hair pulling arm throwing up in the air watch for someone like me that can’t handle seeing things get bodged. Anyway…this is a novel now. U got Patreon set up?

[@JonCoupland]

Thank you for your support and thank you for your comment - ive toyed with the idea of a Patreon but hate the idea of 'asking people for money' for what we enjoy doing. Some people send us 'super likes' and a few people are 'members' on the channel (i want people to feel like they get something back though and at the moment - thats not happening) - the YT revenue is a lovely added bonus. (Im actually putting it away for Dad to surprise him - but he doesnt know yet!)

[@2760ade]

@@JonCoupland You could do the 'buy me a coffee' thing a lot of KZbinrs do for a little extra income from the channel. That's not really asking for money on a regular basis? I enjoy your content, and I think given time, your subscriber numbers will increase drastically anyway!

[@Gary-Seven-and-Isis-in-1968]

"In Sixty years time" you'll have an Electric Donkey like the rest of us. 🐴 🔋🔋🔋🔋🔋🔋

[@derekdee9592]

Old school mechanic & welder combined, rare as hens teeth these days 👍 repeat the reinforcement on the bracket on the other side 👍 great old car needs a few more miles to bed the brakes, I’m sure dad will solve the ignition gremlins. Great video keep up the good work guys 👍

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching :)

[@paulleaver8820]

Well done dad nice when you know how well the panda in the back seat likes it 😊😊😊😊

[@JonCoupland]

That's Bruce 🤣

[@davidbarnsley8486]

It’s only a death trap because it’s an old car But at least you go out in style 😂😂

[@JonCoupland]

Hopefully not going out at all now dad's fixed it 😀👍

[@darkgreenambulance]

I expect the tappets can be quietened which will make the engine a little more responsive. Good to see this lovely car, (I like also the Hurricane) being rejuvenated!

[@JonCoupland]

We have adjusted them previously but apparently to get them done right its whilst the engine is running - thanks for watching

[@danielrussell446]

Well done Pete on all your hard work on this old girl it will be ready for many more miles when you have finished! It’s done well to last all of those years! Sorry to read yesterday about the mr2 and the rally Jon must see the mr2 soon! All the best Daniel

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks 👍

[@dancostello6465]

Glad to see these repairs. Now your driver can return to racing the junior rice rockets.

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching - got to keep her on the road

[@Dave-cn2fo]

The royal families including the Lancasters were pretty inclusive with some German and French interminglings so I'm sure the 406 boot feels right at home!

[@JonCoupland]

Ah very interesting

[@NormanStanleyNew]

Offside bracket broken allowing car to drop giving negative camber on nearside.Repairing shock os mounting raised offside of car there by returning nearside to positive camber.

[@JonCoupland]

Of course! I knew someone would be able to work it out and explain it to us!

[@interdec]

Yup…a more technical description of what I meant when I said it had a “lean”.

[@glynluff2595]

Well if you alter the inclination of the chassis the suspension will react especially I would think if you have torsion bars that run along a chassis rail. The fractured bracket possible imparted a twist to the chassis.

[@JonCoupland]

Yes! That makes sense!

[@billywhizz98]

Well done Dad he knows best

[@JonCoupland]

He's on the case once again!

[@benc8386]

Great job! If the breakage was jacking it up a bit on that side maybe it compressed the suspension on the opposite side. Camber usually designed to become negative as you load it up.

[@JonCoupland]

Great point!

[@davidwellden1881]

Raised the offside by fixing the top mount effectively spreading the top geometry ( the bottom arm hasn't moved) hence +I've camber both sides. You could check the tracking with string lines the old fashioned way.

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for confirming 😀👍

[@anonymuswere]

congratulations, you just introduced me to the first new obscure make I've seen in a dog's age. unfortunately, all I could hear was wind roar on the test drive.

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching - sadly we HAD to have those windows open this time as it was a scorcher!

[@a310man]

I heard every word on the test drive!

[@peterlangridge4639]

I have a 1933 Armstrong Siddeley 15 Long. At 90 years old it is an incredibly well engineered vehicle and as tough as old boots. I think your assumption of metal fatigue is wrong and that cracked bracket is a result of circumstances the carhas encountered in its long history, possibly damage, but at least you'll never need to do it again. Best brake linings are woven linings. You can get them from brake people and unlike themodern composite linings, it wont wear out your brake drums and provide a better feel to the brakes. Probably a good idea to check tracking.

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching. Tracking guages have been out 👍😁

[@davidwelch6796]

When I had a Whitley I was dissatisfied with the brakes even when properly set up. Narrow cross-ply tyres will never be as good as modern radials for braking. I took my brake shoes to a specialist and he relined them with a slightly softer material and this gave a definite improvement, although I had to be careful not to lock up the wheels when braking hard. Biggest safety factor is to always make sure that you have a big gap between you and the car in front, and this applies to driving modern cars as well. With your current brake problem I wonder if giving the hydraulics a thorough going over might help. If cars are left undriven for long periods cylinders start sticking, and old fluid absorbs moisture which reduces efficiency and can lead to rusty brake cylinders.

[@roberthocking9138]

Plug leads or the condenser in the distributor can cause that missing under load. That’s a great job on that welding repair

[@JonCoupland]

Thank you. Latest update sees us find and fix the issue 😊😃

[@chrisdavies3572]

God it was sad to see one of these at a banger track. I wonder what it's past life had been like.

[@JonCoupland]

Oh that's very sad :(

[@stevenjohnson6082]

i drove an armstrong siddley and and armstrong sapphire in southend they were a matching pair back in the early 90s as wedding cars they were pre select they took some getting used to

[@JonCoupland]

Absolutely! Great though when you have the hang!

[@johnclay4811]

Hi Jon It is good that your Dad recognised the bracket was not strong enough, so repeating on the n/s will make things a lot better. With your brakes again your Dad is bang on, the linings you have will be a lot harder and not as good than when new. It will take a lot longer for them to bed in. Rough the inside of the drums up. Your brakes will never be as good as a modern, try coming down the gears using the engine to brake the car also. You mentioned uprating the brakes, be aware you you may well break something else on the car as it will not be built for that sort of retardation. Misfires can be a pain again start simple and move upwards! New coils can give trouble they are not as good as they used to be. If you are thinking of long term ownership get the distributor looked at and rebuilt if it has not got electronic ignition. I had a constant misfire on my Riley Falcon I had changed everything then got the dizzy rebuilt. Turned out the automatic advance was pleasing itself! Apparently they are only good for 160000 odd miles. Is the heater standard with the car or an add on? It depends how it is plumbed in. You can fit stop taps but if it comes from the water pump you will have to build in a loop so that when your heater is off the pump still operates. It may be prudent after all the carry on to get an MOT. It is always good to get fresh eyes on it and see how the brakes are getting on. Have fun! Cheers John

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching - some work on the brakes is coming soon - we have already rebuilt the distributor (long story) and thats on the channel. Great to have you with us

[@thomasfrank280]

What's that black thing at the top of the screen in the in car shots? A Norden sight?

[@JonCoupland]

Ha! I had to google that! - its the rear view mirror but it also contains an electric Smiths clock :)

[@delukxy]

New linings may still need more bedding in but the drums maybe glazed. A quick skim up on a lathe would fix that. I know that linings with asbestos can no longer be sold but it's not illegal to have them on your car if you get my drift. Old ones can still be found. Not sure why you can't switch of the heater. A simple Taxi style valve in the input hose can fix that. The rad looks as if it could be bigger but there is plenty of room for an electric fan. Kenlowe is no more but used ones can still be found, even the old ones with a motor on a couple of bent arms if you want to keep it a bit period. Go for it. Run the car in complete darkness and spray some water on the plug leads. A sparky light show will prove they are bad. Might also spark across the dizzy cap. That can happen internally too and may show carbon trails. Wipe around the inside with silicone grease, just a film. I look forward to the next video.

[@JonCoupland]

Great things to think about and thank you for watching :)

[@davidwelch6796]

Also there are a lot of poor quality rotor arms on the market. Make sure yours is a good one.

[@chrislewis4830]

i think i know why when the mount was under preasure the gap would increase causing the whole front of the car to slightly tilt to the right throwing the left wheel alignment off

[@JonCoupland]

Ah that makes sense - Thanks for watching

[@chrisdorrell1]

If you strengthen up one side then the weaker side will cause this. It stands to reason. Do the same to the near side. Again it wasn't the chassis it was a bracket for the suspension hence the difference it made.

[@JonCoupland]

Absolutely! Nearside will be being done also :) - stay tuned for more fun

[@sarahjoable]

Great video but you must stop saying that the chassis was cracked, we have all seen that the chassis is as solid as a rock, it was the bracket that was split, as your Dad knows, bless him.

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching 👍 but remember ... Dad classified that bracket as part of the Chassis

[@lucythemoggy1970]

Jon when you test drove it in an earlier video, didn't you say it pulled to the left? So if dad welded it up, i would assume it would have sorted that out?

[@JonCoupland]

Yes thankfully it fixed the issue - we werent sure why or if that was the problem :) - more videos to come

[@lucythemoggy1970]

@@JonCoupland it might have been stress on the nearside chassis leg causing it to veer to left cos of the crack on the offside leg?

[@SuperLittleTyke]

The second photo really shows the fracture. Looking along the edge of the crack, it looks like the metal has been flexing up and down for maybe years, because there is what looks like rust along the edge. So it started to fracture, rain got in, a few more weeks or months of flexing and the area was becoming weaker Eventually the top part pulled away from the bottom. Maybe the forces on that bracket were never properly calculated during the design, or the quality of the steel used, or the manufacturing process itself was not good. It looks like a very heavy car with a heavy engine.

[@JonCoupland]

It certainly is weighty! Id agree this has been weak for a while and even weak from manufacture and design - thanks for watching

[@garrypritchard1658]

How level is the driveway

[@JonCoupland]

Rather

[@a11csc]

dad --and son let loose in a sweetshop

[@JonCoupland]

Absolutely!

[@Jaxs2]

Your dads made a nice job of that, Jon 👌 ... please just never ever eat or drink anything on camera 😬 😄 take care guys 🙏

[@JonCoupland]

I keep telling him off for crunching sweets! Thanks for watching

[@Jaxs2]

@@JonCoupland 😄

[@interdec]

I think the opposite… a Pistons Podcast with fish suppers and several beers down on a Saturday afternoon would be top notch viewing!

[@davidwelch6796]

I do not agree with your Dad about the pre-select gearbox. They were introduced as an option in 1929 when the only alternative was a crash-box as synchromesh had not been invented. The Wilson pre-select gearbox (the company was 50% owned by Armstrong Siddeley) did away with grating gears and made driving much easier for many owners. Pre-select gearboxes were fitted to many other cars, buses, military tanks and even ERA (English Racing Automobiles) racing cars. They are usually very reliable and long lived. If they do start to give jerky gear changes then attention will be needed and that is the only drawback with these boxes, rebuilding a pre-select gearbox is a skilled job and expensive.

[@JonCoupland]

Thankfully this gearbox was fully rebuilt in 2019

[@michaelconduit5893]

I also have a classic car (1970) I do all the maintenance. It will easily keep up with current traffic (117bhp/ton, with a mild non factory camshaft fitted, rest of engine is std.. The brakes are however something else with original material pads.. If the lights change on a 2 or 3 lane carriageway at 50 or 60mph I cant stop within the orange phase however hard I press the brakes. The car has all manual single circuit brakes, discs on front and 9 inch drums on the back.Never a problem for the mot when I bothered. So my conclusion is traffic light timngs have changed and I must drive very slowly where I expect traffic lights..

[@JonCoupland]

Thanks for watching - i agree, and people are a bit less tolerant of classic cars on the road i find ... which is sad

[@lordleonusa]

VERY hard to even buy a car in 1949! Unless you were in a special profession, like a medical doctor! Looks like a Surrey registration?

[@JonCoupland]

Yes absolutely! First owner was a Doctor

[@lordleonusa]

@@JonCoupland I'm not quite that old, just interested in motoring history!

[@carldietz9767]

The drive way isn't as level as the shop floor.

[@JonCoupland]

We agree 👍

[@davidaustin2172]

If you painted the entire chassis with Finigans Waxoyle it will never rust again!

[@JonCoupland]

I bet!

[@fhwolthuis]

Well done! Maybe the measurements before were not 100%?

[@JonCoupland]

Yes its a potential

[@clvecooledge2407]

John Coupland you mentioned to dad about modern brakes i think so to i would put calipers & pads all round i dont think your viewers would complain after all if your having your wife & children in the Armstrong Sidley it needs to be able to stop perfectly

[@JonCoupland]

Keep watching for some interesting updates about the brakes - Dad's worked his magic ... again!

[@settertwo]

Hydraulic front brakes with mechanical rear , as you press down on the pedal the master cylinder slides which pulls on the rear brakes.......not the best idea in the world and it takes a bit of getting used to . Engine tappets need checking....early models had Hydraulic self adjustment.....ahead of its time then !

[@JonCoupland]

Tappets are all good - check out the previous video from last year (Dad adjusted them :) ) - Thanks for watching

[@caspardelint3511]

I’d like to see a bit out of the front window when you’re driving. 🤓

[@JonCoupland]

A few have asked for that - must be something we can do in the future! Ill look into it

[@haigha-qb4kf]

You wouldn't dress up like downtown abbey while driving and vlogging by any chance? 😇😂

[@JonCoupland]

Not this time round ;)

[@chrisdorrell1]

It wasn't the chassis though was it? It was a bracket on the chassis. Very big difference

[@JonCoupland]

That bracket is welded to the Chassis and therefore is part of it in our opinion - either way, its been repaired (Hooray!) - Thanks for watching :)

[@Roger.Coleman1949]

Yes I agree Chris , the description of this video is an unecessary form of click bait in my opinion , almost critical of the quality and soundness of this lasting and quality engineering .

[@JonCoupland]

@@Roger.Coleman1949 Whilst i MASSIVELY disagree with the allegation of 'clickbait' (that's NOT what we are about) - there is clearly an engineering oversight here, which has been discussed before by Penn Bradley in his book - either way - thanks for watching and following our progress. Stay tuned for part 4!

[@Taz-wf4jl]

Fusion motoring

[@JonCoupland]

:) Cool huh

[@dog8nut]

A very nice 40s car ,good job guys.

[@JonCoupland]

Thank you