1955 Traction 11B "Barn Find" Project

You didn’t glue the radiator hoses on did you? I don’t see any hose clamps. Jubilee clips, you call them, right?

@tripyrenees wrote:

Installed the first section of “original” exhaust having had it repaired where it had cracked near the lower bracket. I also taped it with heat shield to try and prevent some of the heat near the alternator.

The alternators are shorter than the original dynamos so are further from the exhaust.

I tried the heat shield tape on my car and after 6 months or so it had gone hard and brittle and started to ‘crumble’ so I took it back off as it didn’t seem to make much difference. The one thing to make sure of is that the front down pipe has the support bracket at the bottom fastened to the engine otherwise it moves back and forth and will eventually crack the manifold. Looking at your picture it seems to be in place, but is hard to tell as it looks like a ‘down’ piece only and should be forming a triangle back to the exhaust on an original one.

My custom stainless one is a bit different (the cat litter in the tray below is to keep the garage floor clean as even after an engine rebuild the engine still ‘drips’ 🙄 )

@tripyrenees wrote:

And if my engine drips, I am selling it 😆 😆

Before the rebuild mine did more than just ‘drip’ as I was getting circa 60-70 miles per litre of oil and used to leave a ‘trail’ on the road 😮

Neither of my cars have that triangle on the front exhaust pipe. Both came from one of the usual suspects. I wonder why it’s not there if it’s so important. I should deal with that one of these days but I have to buy or make the tie rod. The rod can be made out of a piece of flat steel, maybe one inch wide, length I’m not sure. A round hole in one end, an oval hole in the other I would think.

Thanks Den, I’ll have to deal with that as soon as winter’s over. If that ever happens. 😈

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That is what I have but my central section is bent like a banana, so the flange is twisted. So when lined up with the silencer the silence goes off at an angle. I need a new central section.

So the tail pipe is below the axle.

When the car is lifted up (on my lift for example) the axle hangs lower than where the tail pipe would be, hence my question. Once I have installed the tail pipe, I won’t be able to lift the car without the axle dropping onto the tail pipe.

Right, I have some issues which I could do with some help on.

ISSUE 1 – oil leak from both output drive shafts. I filled the gearbox with oil yesterday and this morning there was quite a pool of oil underneath. Checked everywhere to find it leaking from the driveshafts on both sides. It has slowed now, but what need to be done to rectify this (I am thinking engine out, gearbox overhaul 🙁 )

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ISSUE 2 – On dry start of engine i.e. plugs out and checking the oil pressure and on first start of engine and then a couple times more (Without Coolant) the oil pressure on my gauge ramped up to just above 2 on the scale. I put coolant in and restarted, but it struggled to start (could be anything) but the oil pressure is only just getting to 1 on the scale. What could have happened to reduce the oil pressure.

I did have a decent leak and I think it was from the small hole just behind the fuel pump heat guard. I have subsequently put a bolt in it (I didn’t see it before). I also removed the fuel pump and remade the gasket seal and tightened to reduce any leakage there. But since this work, the oil pressure is not good (and no start accomplished)

What is this hole / plugged hole

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ISSUE 3 – leaky water pump. I did pull this unit apart and cleaned it all up but I am getting a drip drip from the shaft. What needs to be done ?

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Was on a high for 10 mins and now it is all bad again…… 😕 😕