Refusing to move
My dad came to visit with his tools so I got off my butt and popped the bonnet on Lucy. We ran various tests determining that we needed to replace the starter motor. It took the best part of a week for the new starter to arrive (covid delays) but when we fitted it to Lucy we had the same problem. Oh no! So the problem is not the starter motor and now the new one has been fitted to the car I can't return it. Well, I guess it's always useful having a spare. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has replaced something that didn't need replacing. If you've done something similar let me know by dropping me an email.
I removed the battery again and connected it to my charger. It still said that it was fully charged so I took it to a mate that owns a garage and he ran some tests and found that the battery was faulty. It would not charge but kept saying it was fully charged. He sold me a new battery at cost. Back at Lucy I fitted the new battery. The engine would still not fire but the clicking sound was no longer present. After checking the HT leads and coil the engine finally started and didn't sound too bad.
Next step was backing Lucy out of the garage. Easier said than done. The clutch pedal was hard as a rock. I'd parked Lucy without the handbrake on and in neutral to avoid anything seizing but this didn't stop the clutch sticking. With a metal lever and my daughter working the pedal I tried freeing the clutch. The problem was that when the pedal was pushed down once, it would jam again. I removed the water reservoir bottle and respositioned the coil to get better access. The clutch slave cylinder was pretty rusted and the rubber seal was shot. Lucy wasn't going anywhere today.
Rather than rushing out and buying a new clutch slave cylinder I left the bonnet open and a can of WD40 sitting on top of the engine. That way, as I'm always in the garage once a day for something or other I'd see the can sitting there and it would remind me to spray the mechanism. After a few days off this the pedal now works but the clutch isn't engaging the flywheel, which makes me think there is something else going on.
So Lucy is still in the garage for now and she's not moving. I can't shift her anymore as I really need to work on each wheel hub to see what is seized and I can't do that until I can get her out of the garage.
Stay tuned for the next update!
Dave
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