Herald coupe

  • Model:Herald / Vitesse
  • Year:1959
  • Purchase Date:2002-10-01
  • Reg:20606H
  • Comm No:Y13958
  • VIN:A55099
  • Engine No:C74063P
  • Paint Name:French blue
  • Mileage:79467miles
  • Location: AU
 

7,8,9 June 2014 Long week end trip 1088 Kilometers 14 classic cars left Maitland Saturday morning travelled to Dorrigo Via Tamworth Travelled home Monday via the Pacific hwy. Only problem was I lost 2nd gear about an hour from home
via qu8,9,10 June 2013 travelled to carcoar in heavy rain on the saturday Sunday was fine travelled to orange for lunch on the way back to Carcoar i was pulled up in the back steets of Blaney by a guy driving a 1960 Herald coupe Left Carcoar in heavy rain Monday morning travelled home via Mount Panarma quick trip around the track change wiper blades and fueled her up at Bathurst it rained untill we reached Jerrysplains we travelled 1250km over the weekend
12-9-2012 changed engine oil machined adaptor to suit a Z9 oil filter OEM gasket fitted under the the fuel bowl cover old gasket failed attacked by fuel replaced with a pure rubber unit hope this works Then a major problem found. The fluid that was drained from the gearbox contained metal and some oil. Repalced gearbox whith a reconditioned unit i rebuild about 10 years ago from the best parts i could salvage from 3 gearboxes i had in stock at the time. Speedo cable cleaned and oiled speedo now stable Replaced clutch slave cylinder rubber boot on tunel cover and glued a vinyl cover to the carpet to cover the rubber boot .new timber consule cut of timber and varnished oil AMP Vacuum and taco Gauges including a radio/cd mounted in to it
8-6-2012 replaced welsh plug behind distributor Install new electronic distrubuitor ex England Travelled 500 miles Saturday Sunday and Monday the improvement in over all performance was noted in the heralds ability to climb hills without changing gears and returning an average of 35 MPG

30-9-2011 Rego time again passed no problems Rear brakes overhauled drums machined soft lining fitted replaced oil seals packed ready for a 500KM trip this comming long weekend
4-01-2011 replaced disc pads softer material found pads were deeper and scrapped on casting of disc rotors fix machine rotors
rear brakes machined drum fitted new shoes softer materials big difference
on the to do list is machine adaptor to suit Z9 oil filters
23-06-2010 long time no entry
Dismantled engine fitted new set pistons bearings replaced head with a low compression std unit. Run engine in by driving bit to Sydney and return a run of about 230 miles no problems.Still running well have just come back from a 300mile weekend run of which was over 60 miles of dirt roads creek crossings and 2 mountain ranges.

21-07-09 Missfire number 2 cylinder removed spark plug found piece of piston ring lodged in electrode
started to remove head
jobs to do
rebuild engine
repair cracks in chassis
replace rear brake shoes and machine drums
replace disc pads with softer linings
03/02/08 Still running strong body and chassie getting very tired will be carry out some major chassie repairs this year it has stared to crack in several places ( temp repairs have been done) drivers side door will be replaced it has bad cracks in it.
a full respray is on the cards bright work to be replated and on it goes

16/12/06 installed an igniter system replacing points and Condenser coil replaced with a 40,000Volt unit plug gap set at .030

27/04/06 mileage up dated
15/10/05
install DD needles No joy still have a mixture problem o well back to the drawing board

19/9/05
The 1959 coupe went for her maiden after her engine rebuild last weekend .A club run of about 60 miles. I will be driving every chance I get this week before re tensioning the head and setting the tappets next weekend.
The only extra works done was the installation of a new oil pump rotating element and port matching the inlet and exhaust manifolds
My wife and I intend to take the coupe to Armidale on the long weekend via thunderbolts way a trip of about 600 miles
Will let you all know how she went

5/10/05
I had to install a remapped distributor more total advance needed (problem solved)
The S.U. Carbs starved above 50mph. The fix was to machine the needles with a flap wheel with the needle spinning in a lathe.
I have ordered DD needles (recommended by Midel)
The trip went well. Will be installing needles this weekend

15/8/05
The blue coupe dropped its lunch the photo tells all
In the process of rebuilding motor
Modifications to take place
– Balance crank lightened and balanced flywheel
– Replace cam with a more road friendly mk2 spitfire cam
– Head has been stripped hardened inserts fitted exhaust valves
– New clutch and pressure plate to be fitted

1/4/04 – Fitted koni shocks to the rear and modified centre pivot point on the Camber Compensator and clocked up another 400 miles over Easter The new Shocks have made a huge Difference the handling of the rear end. Will be driving her to Mudgee and Bathurst during the June long weekend ( more Modifications and Up grades to be undertaken before I go)

7/12/04 – the 1959 coupe has just now travelled 13000 miles since I purchased her. The exhaust valves are starting to recess. I a have machined and fitted blank hardened exhaust valve seats to a mk2 spitfire head, machined the valve throats out to take larger inlet and exhaust valves, ported and polished re shaped combustion chamber ready for k liners to be fitted and seats machined.

This car was owned by a young Girl from Dubbo the car was re-sprayed white in 1988 taken back to bear metal . She sold it 1992 to the person I purchased it from. They drove it from Nyngan to Brisbane and the Engine failed. British auto care reconditioned the 948cc head and fitted it to a reconditioned 1147cc block

The car went so well she decided to restore it. The restoration consisted of a re-spray over existing paint work (colour French blue) and new white upholstery and soft top.

She stored from 1992 in a farm shed until October 2002. It took me 3 weeks to get a road worthy for club plates. Over the past 18 months I have rebuilt all the suspension.

– Installed disc brakes front and 8″ dolomite drums to the rear.
– Replaced diff with reconditioned 4.11 diff.
– Modified rear springs.
– Rear track 50mm wider than standard.
– Front suspension height adjustable using Holden gas shocks.
– Installed new carpets all chrome work was missing.
– Replaced head with head from 1200 motor.

Update on drive train rebuild 1959 coupe – with the motor removed I decided to fix oil leaks the sump and from engine plate, modified front engine plate and aluminium sealing block it now has two more counter sunk screws to help seal engine plate at the bottom to the aluminium block no more oil leaks the original sump was replaced with a built in strainer type. Donated head from 12/50 coupe specs mk2 spitfire ported polished big valves etc. Had trouble with holly carburettor, the motor is now running a 32/34 Webber down draft carburettor still in the process of tuning to suit. Have modified a Honda electronic distributor will be installing it and a set of sonic extractors to engine when carburation problems fixed.the extractors have been install along with a set of hs2 su carb,s iam now trying to tune the su,s
1/9/03 The su,s were a set i rebuilt about 12 months ago the kits came with seats gaster butter flys etc .The problem With the su,s is the set size was to large .Have install old seats tuned the engine fitted new exhaust .very happy with its performance the radiator is getting cleaned to day and will be install tonight with a water pump i reconditioned on sunday.
A tapping point of a thermostatic fan control has been installed in bottom tank of radiator and a suitable fan has been installed wired up with a manual overide switch
Saturday 20th september fabricated and install z spring camber compensator.Drove the car through the back blocks it,s a great feeling to drive on rough pot holed roads and the rear end not dance all over the place.october 2003 drove her 1200miles over 7 days It was a good test of man and machine .

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(21/05/2015)

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Long weekend with a Herald coupe

Rebuilding and modifying the drive train of a 1959 Herald coupe. She has just turned over 12500 miles since I purchased her. The run to Armadale went without a problem she averaged 40 miles per gallon going to Armadale and 32 miles per gallon on the return trip the difference is driving at 60 miles per hour and 70 miles per hour. The front brakes will be fitted with new rotors, a new Right hand link the existing is bent, a new heater tap existing leaks and an unleaded head.

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