thermostat housing

Funny what you find under layers of grease… I left the thermostat housing in a bath of running degreaser overnight and then gave it a bit of a scrub with a toothbrush and i found it was made of bronze. Very nice, thank you I like pretty metals. Naturally when i tried to undo the

Big Cleanup part 2

Today I enlisted the help of a professional engine cleaner, a man with a van and copious amounts of steam under high pressure. A few hours later and the entire chassis, suspension, engine, gearbox, steering…. everything is now squeaky clean and those 80 years of grease are a thing of the past and I can

Big Clean & water pump part 2

Its surprising how tenaciously 80 year old grease sticks to metal.. i am finding that the only thing that shifts it is neat petrol and a stiff brush, followed by metal cleaner, followed by a strong stream of water. My (recently deceased) jet wash didn’t shift it… Its time consuming and very messy but its

Waterpump destruction

Here it is, a bit grubby but a genuine 30’s water pump which not all Riley’s had and some would argue never needed anyway as the radiator was more than capable of keeping the engine cool.The faceplate with that vertical pipe is completely wrong as it should point 45 degrees down and to the right. You