Wolseley Hornet Special Club of Australia Inc

Hornet SpecialNewsletter

WHS Club ContactsSecretary

Bill Russell,ph (03) 9349 2262

Qld ContactHoward Kenward,ph (07) 3267 6046

EditorJohn Clucas,

ph (03) 9872 3330PO Box 475 Vermont Vic 3133

jclucas@topspin.com.au

HighlightsHighlightsHighlightsHighlightsHighlights

October 2004Issue 19

During the 10 years I raced my 14hp Hornet Special, I found, what I call, the“domino phenomenon” was present in prewar cars, as I’d found it in theMGs, Elva Courier, Merlyn II Formula Ford, and the Moretti I’d also raced,

and prepared for racing. When one makes a change to the original configuration ofthe car, often, more changes result than the one targeted.

Such was the case with my Hornet oil pump. It was worn, the case had beenbrazed, and it just didn’t put out the constant oil pressure racing requires. Evenwith the billet crank and modern insert bearings on custom connecting rods, 40pounds when hot didn’t give me much confidence.

After 90 races in 17 years, Californian Hornetracer Butch Bucciarelli has hung up his racing

gloves. Over that time, trial and error taughtButch a lot about which engine mods work andwhich don’t. He shares with us just one of his

stories about the Hornet oil pump.

Turn 2 at a historic racing event at Sear’s Point Circuit in the US in 2002. ButchBucciarelli’s 1935 Wolseley Hornet (far right) challenges Ferdinand Schoch’s 1953 MGTD. Robert F. Williams’ 1952 Siata Daina leads the pack. Tom Price’s 1932 Alfa Romeo8C Grand Prix car follows the group. (Photo courtesy of Tam McPartland)

A mother of all oil pumps

continued p2

Lessons with anoil pump ......1

Monty’s mightymission ......7

Qld News ......7

12hp wiringdiagram ......4

2004 AGM .....3

Headlampdipping ......6

Generatingcircuitry .....8

Page 2 Hornet Special Newsletter

So, I asked my machinist mechanic to build me a newoil pump. Eric is always inventive, and I saw the light ofinvention sparkle in his eyes as he said: “I’ll use Chevygears.” He made a beautiful aluminum case, milled froma solid block, with two large gears inside. It is approxi-mately the same length and width of the original, but muchthicker because of the gears. And, the polished aluminumlooked much more “Boy’s Racer” than the original, dullcast iron variety that came from Birminham.

With 40 pounds at idle and the pop-off valve set at70, I set forth to test the improved pump, anxious to see ifit held the 70 pounds at a high operating temperature. Ileft my shop and drove to the freeway which intersectsSan Diego and ends in Tijuana, Mexico.

The Hornet cruised easily at 70 miles-per-hour, withthe 4.3:1 street ratio in the MGB pumpkin which Eric hadfitted into the stock housing. To facilitate this, the axleswere cut and welded in a lathe, with the Wolseley splineson the outer end, and the BMC on the inner. It was nevera problem, and with this change, I had 3.9:1, 4.4:1, 4.55:1,and the 4.87:1 I used for racing, with a limited slip differ-ential.

Except for the slight wandering from the bias tyres,which try to follow the rain cuts in the pavement, I hap-pily watched the oil pressure gauge as it held at 70 pounds,even with 85 degrees of Celsius showing on its oppositeindicator.

My joy was suddenly shattered when the enginebalked, and in the rear vision mirror, I saw a trail of bluesmoke following me. Fortunately, I was near an exit rampso I shut the engine down and coasted off the freewayand onto a side street.

From years of experience with engine failures, I sus-pected that I’d blown a piston. Once safely parked I turnedthe key, and with trepidation, gently pushed the starterbutton. The engine barked to life in its normal manner,running smoothly and, best of all, with no smoke emanat-ing from the exhaust pipe.

Puzzled, I drove slowly, on side streets, back to myshop. I checked the compression and all cylinders wereperfect. So, I returned to the freeway, and after a few min-utes of cruising over 70, the same phenomenon resulted;this time, with so much smoke cars were honking at meas I coasted the air polluter off the freeway.

Again, the slow return drive was without incident.Back in my shop, I ran the engine and for some reason, Iremoved the large oil filler cap on the camshaft cover. AsI revved the engine, I saw the oil which normals flows fromthe rockers into the troughs, rise. Further RPMS broughtthe oil level to the bottom of the filler hole, at which pointI let the engine idle and watched the oil level recede.

When I consulted Eric, his reaction was surprise, thenas I again watched his thought process work, I again sawthe light come on in his brain. “What a dope,” he said.“The Chevy pump runs off the cam at half engine speed.The Wolseley’s running off the crankshaft at full enginespeed, lots of flow.”

He had directed the excess flow of the pump onto thecamshaft chain. There was so much oil, it filled and pres-surized the camshaft area, forcing oil through the valveguides! By simply routing most of the excess back intothe sump, the problem was solved.

Again, as I always say about building a vintage racer:“Two steps forward, two steps back. But, every now andthen, two steps forward, only one step back. That’sprogress.”

A mother of all oil pumps, cont’d

Reproduced from Sports Car Market magazine’sreport on Bonhams & Butterfield’s motor auction

at Brookline, Massachusetts in May, 2004.

Roy Crow’s 1933 Hornet coupe, which fea-tured in Issue 15 of this newsletter, has beensold to Bob Anderson in Melbourne. The

car won the Pre-War Award and the Peoples ChoiceAward at the Combined Wolseley Car Clubs of Aus-tralia 12th National Rally at Muswellbrook last year.Bob already owns a Nine and a Series 111 18/85.

Issue 19 Page 3

WHSAnnual Weekend Away

(and AGM)

The ItinerarySaturday November 6

Mid morning: gather at Bill Scherek’s property at Ferguson’s Lane, Bungal (south of Ballarat) for an inspection of the sea ofWolseleys (pre- and post-war).

Lunch will be a sumptuous BBQ at Bill’s place followed by an autokhana on the Bungal International Raceway.(Tickets for grandstand seating on turns 2 and 3 only are still available through Ticketek)

Late afternoon: travel the 20 minutes into Ballarat to your room at the Ansonia Hotel, for a freshen-up before the AGMand then a well earned three-course meal.

Sunday November 7Sightseeing around beautiful Ballarat and beyond, lots more chatter, Hornet photographs and lunch beside the lake

Accommodation/AGM venueThe Ansonia Hotel32 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat 3350(not far behind the Town Hall)Telephone 61 3 5332 4678Facsimile 61 3 5332 4698email: ansonia@ansonia.ballarat.net.auSecure parking is available if you park your car before5:45pm and depart after 10am.

HotelsBy way of explanation:• our first choice for a hotel was found to be undergoingrenovation and they are not taking reservations• our second choice of hotel was found to have a nightclubthat blasts through until 5am• our third choice of hotel was more expensive (and muchmore luxurious) than either of the first two, but we wererunning low on options and an executive decision had to bemade. It is a grand old hotel and it promises to be fantasticand, because the proprietor’s father used to own a Wolseley,we’ve got a big discount off the regular rates.

The dealAt this stage we have reserved two family rooms and sixdouble rooms, all of which have ensuites.The double rooms have a double and a single bed.The family rooms will accommodate a family of 4/5.Any blokes on their own for the weekend, could share adouble or a family room and all have separate beds (orwhatever).

In the deal at the Ansonia, the cost of the accommodationincludes our hire of their conference room, your three-coursemeal on the Saturday night, a fantastic night’s sleep and abuffet breakfast in the morning.

For a couple in a double room it’s $145.00 eachFor a single in a double room it’s $220.00For singles sharing a double or family room it’s$145.00 eachFor a family in a family room, the two adults pay$145.00 each, the kids’ accommodation is free,but the kids’ meals need to be paid for

When you’ve decided what room type you want, call thehotel and let them know which of the WHS rooms you arebooking. First in best dressed. You’ll need to provide adeposit. Closer to the date, if we haven’t filled ourreservation, our rooms will be allocated to other bods, sodon’t leave it too late.

Ballarat has a wide range of other accommodation types ifmembers wish to make alternative arrangements. You canstill attend the dinner if you are staying elsewhere.

Let us know your plansRegardless of where you are staying, you are asked tocontact Bill Russell well before the event so he can cater forthe Saturday BBQ, confirm numbers for the Saturday nightdinner and send you a map showing where to find Bungal.Bill’s contacts are: phone 9349 2262, emailewrussell@hotmail.com

Page 4 Hornet Special Newsletter

Issue 19 Page 5

Page 6 Hornet Special Newsletter

Nothing looks worse on a classic car than wronglights, and yet you see only too often, in maga-zines or at shows, well-restored examples with

either incorrect or modified units.During the thirties many British cars were equipped

with Joe Lucas’s electrically operated dipping reflectors– a black art to many restorers who usually opt to fit dou-ble filament globes and modify the wiring to suit. In Britainthe dipping system was to dip the left (or near side) head-lamp and switch off the right (or offside) lamp, which canonly have been designed by an escapee from an asylum.

Cars for the Australian market were required to haveboth lamps alight and have both lamps dipping. Howeverany privately imported car would normally only beequipped with one dipper.

When I began the restoration of my 1935 Fourteen Iwas lucky to have both original head and side lights (withdipping reflector units) and was able to purchase two ST38Lucas tail lamps.

So I had no hesitation in making up a wiring harnessfrom the remains of the original one, suitably modified toaccept a slightly later regulator unit because the originalwas missing.

My troubles began when I tried to get the dipper unitsto work, and I spent hours trying to find the problem. Ifinally had success when I obtained a wiring diagram ofthe dipper solenoid and notes on problems in operatingthem. This is my fifth car to have dippers. The othersworked well and I was determined to get these workingas well.

The following notes should help anyone facing a simi-lar problem.

...........................................

Don’t be misled by the names on the various terminals onthe solenoid unit. The one marked “lamp” can be ignored,since it only refers to English market vehicles where theright lamp goes out when the dip is operated. If you fol-low the diagram accompanying this article you shouldhave no trouble getting the unit to work. Both lamps arewired the same way and there is only one live wire toeach unit - from the headlamp switch. The wire to the dipterminal leads to the dipswitch then to earth. The unititself must have a good earth.

There are a few points that can cause problems with

Let there be dipped light .... and there wasPeter Wells reflects on the headlight dipping systems installed in

British cars of the ‘30s and demonstrates that it certainly is possibleto have them working effectively.

this system, but it is basically quite simple. The first thingis to check that the dipping parts are quite free and arenot distorted. Oil the pivots, plunger, tappet rod and thestriker pad with the lifting pad, with a small amount ofthin oil. See that the contacts are separated not beforetwo-thirds of the full plunger stroke. Too early separationcauses chatter and fuse trouble. Mounting screws mustbe tight. To overcome difficulty obtaining old style fusesI fitted modern inline fuses of 10 amps between the dipterminals and soldered the other fuse fitting.

Note that 6-volt units have yellow Empire cloth cov-ering the windings. 12-volt units have black. You can cleanthe contacts using a magneto or nail file and can alter theopening of the points by careful bending of the long con-tact strip or where the lifting pad is fitted. I found it helpedto fit various wires by soldering their ends, thus avoidingstray strands.

Correct focus of the bulb is essential. Check focus-ing with the lamp lenses removed. The focus can beadjusted by loosening the clamp on the bulb holder andsliding the holder. If the lamp filament is too far back,its rays meet the reflector at too narrow an angle, leav-ing a dark spot in the middle of the beam. If the filamentis too far forward, the beam will form a conical pencilof light to a point where the rays cross and a convergingbeam with a dark centre beyond. When the bulb is cor-rectly focused, the beam remains parallel for aconsiderable distance ahead.

The amount of dip can be controlled by the thicknessof the rubber grommet in the mechanism holder and alsoby small end-way adjustment of the solenoid unit itself.

Issue 19 Page 7

from Howard Kenward

Monty Schofield has most of the action from here.The process of fitting a sanction 203 motor into a

114 chassis and the incredible number of changes in the203 motor have kept me fascinated for some time.

John Ireland is shifting house and his early verticalgenerator engine spares have been incorporated with my’33 and ’34 stock.

The Sydney Telegraph’s Wings and Wheels trophyhanded to the club by Mr John Arter at the WellingtonAGM has been refurbished and I will bring it to theBallarat AGM. My fingers are the size of Queenslandbananas and removing dents from the wafer thin brasswas a daunting task.

Lyle and Margaret Cooper have not yet returned fromwandering northern Australia, but I understand they willbe present at Ballarat.

See you all there.

Qld News

by Monty Claxton

Firstly let me admit that I am very much a newcomerwhen it comes to Wolseley Hornets. The commentsI am about to make are based on examining a very

limited number of cars - there being only a handful ofHornets here in Queensland. If I say something that is notcorrect for the vast majority of cars, put it down to inex-perience on my part and let me know where I have gonewrong.

My first Hornet was the Kuranda car 106633-65which I acquired as a part exchange on the sale of aRailton. It was a complete basket case and I began try-ing to collect the missing bits and pieces to restore it. Idesperately needed a good sanction 65 chassis, but whatI kept finding were bits from sanctions 127 and 114;from Chris Pike I got a reasonably good body, a rustychassis with a Riley engine in it, fair front and rear endsand a steering box.

Then, from Graham Wright, I got a good chassis, front

You have to start somewhere

Monty’s Sanction 114chassis. The presence ofa can of CRC beside tothe nearest wire wheelsignifies that restorationis underway.

and rear ends, suspension bits and another steering col-umn. Geoff Taylor in Victor Harbour S.A. practically gaveme an engine (513-203) which I brought home on the backseat of my Falcon. It turned out to be a 1935 “new” Hor-net engine with large head studs and steel rods, but still a12hp, not 14. Howard Kenward then gave me a free wheel-ing gearbox, starter and generator.

I now had enough bits to start work. To build a carthis way is virtually impossible without the help and gen-erosity of a large number of WHS club members whohave come to my rescue time and time again. The first caris going to be the 114 chassis with ’35 engine, ’34 gear-box and the best of the brakes, springs and steering, allfitted up with the body off 7/127. I am still short one wheel,if anyone has a spare 18” knock-on.

The best way to get the job done was to set myself agoal – so I decided to enter the car in the VCCQ 50th YearRally, which is in June 2005. I have a year to build a carfrom a giant heap of bits and pieces. So, look out for thecontinuing saga in future articles.

In the third of John Ireland’s articles with technical tipsfor owners of vertical generator model Hornets,

he looks at a car’s charging circuitry and how it can be improved upon.

Secrets of the generating circuitry

The Lucas dynamo (to give it its original name) issturdy enough. The top ball bearing takes a lot ofstrain and should be replaced.

The books say the maximum charging rate should beset at 8 -10 amps with the engine running. Some of youmay have a summer/winter switch to cut down the charg-ing rate - if you don’t use the car at night you willovercharge the battery running on 10 amps all the time.

If you don’t have any means of reducing the chargingrate it is easily fixed by placing a 3 - 4 ohm resistance inthe field circuit.

I used a couple of ignition ballast resistors in serieswith a by-pass switch. The field wire is the smaller one

attached to the small terminal on the generator. Whilstyou are about it, you should put a fuse in the field wire(about 5 amps - no more) which will protect your valu-able generator (about $350 to get rewound) where thatsilly fuse in the fuse box is in the main supply, and if itblows so will your generator.

The output of a third-brush generator is controlledby the battery it is connected to. Take out that connec-tion - or have a loose battery terminal - and the outputgoes through the roof. A simple field fuse will preventthis.

A simple plastic fuse holder can be purchased at anyaccessory shop.