An Inspiring new Contact

Part of my reason for starting this blog was the hope of making new contacts in the J Type world. Earlier this week I was emailed by Peter Bateman from Sydney. Peter is clearly mad about J Types and has been for a long time! His enthusiasm is infectious and I really appreciate him getting in touch with me.

One of the side benefits of Peter's contact is that he mentioned a book by David Allison and Harvey Pitcher from the J Type register. I'd seen this book advertised many years ago, and it immediately grabbed my attention because the photo on the cover was taken here in Hobart, and was of the three 'working' Js that I used to enjoy seeing around the streets in the early '90s. I always wondered how this photo came to be on the cover of a book produced more than 10,000 miles away. It turned out that Peter took the photo, and better still, was able to send me a copy! Less than 24 hours after the first email from Peter the book was sitting on my desk.

These vans were part of my inspiration for wanting a J type and I remember tracking them down at their businesses and having a good sticky-beak. The red "Globes Lighting" van was the most prominent of them. It was famous for the sign on the rear that read "Warning: Light Commercial Vehicle ahead". Peter was able to give me a lot of background about each of the vans and their owners at that time, as well as where they are today. Peter tells me that the bronzy coloured one at the rear, which belonged to the Village Dry Cleaners, is now in Sydney, working for the Online Party Shop, it appears in the footer of each of their web pages.








Now that Peter has made contact, I'm looking forward to being able to pick his brains, down the track.

Reference Material and a Carby

I haven't made much progress on the J, I've been landscaping the yard and trying to get my shed organised and set up ready to work.

I've received the carburettor from Tim S, and given it a clean up and a check over. It seems to be in reasonable condition and the outside cleaned up pretty well. Its handy to have the banjo bolt and fuel line as well. There is a stripped thread and a missing screw and the spindle bosses on the body may be a little bit worn. I have a set of replacement gaskets on the way from the U.K. Once I get my workshop in order (and find my thread gauges) I should be able to work out what the missing bolt is meant to be like, then I'll be able to repair the stripped thread and replace it. Hopefully I can re-bush the spindle shaft and it will be ready to go.

I also received a nice little descriptive booklet about Solex FAI carburettors with some useful details and tuning and troubleshooting information. It should be quite a useful addition to my reference library. I'll scan it and make copies available to anyone who needs them.

Another piece of reference material I received this week is a document from Lucas published in 1951 with wiring diagrams and electrical test data for Nuffield Group vehicles. It includes both cars and commercial vehicles, and is useful because it allows cross-referencing of the components. Its surprising how simple the J type wiring diagram was in 1951. The booklet is in amazing condition, it shows no signs of ageing and had never been opened before yesterday. Again I'll scan it and make copies available.