Wool felt front wheel seal

Today Peter created new bearing seals for the 1934 Lagonda M45 Rapide. The seals of the day did much the same job as today’s plastic over steel equivalent. The main sealing surface is wool felt that, soaked in oil, does a good job holding most of the oil and grease in place. The tools of the trade are pretty simple ones: a spoon, a ball-peen hammer, scissors and a razor blade. The thick wool felt is traced and cut via razor blade.

To make the wool a bit “proud” – to stick out like the chin of a duke – paper gasket material can be cut and built up behind the wool. A spoon and a ball-peen hammer are all that is needed to make an imprint to cut out.

This twenties automotive seal technology was used in agricultural equipment for decades such as wheel seals on an Oliver or Cockshut tractor.

Using the ball-peen hammer to trace the inner lip on the gasket

A spoon has a nice radius for tracing the outer edge of the seal

Lagonda M45 Rapide front brake shoes and axle with hub removed

A group of three approaches the top of the pass.

We have a very close relationship with Rich and Jean Taylor at Vintage Rallies, and I wanted to create a video to promote and build their events. So, earlier this summer we gathered some favorite customers and friends together for a spectacular day of enthusiastic driving on wonderful back roads. We closed down the shop, and Nate, Casey, Peter and I were actually able to enjoy the cars we work so hard on.

We made sure that every car had a camera and a co-driver to run it. The result, a brief, but fun piece that shows just beginning of some of the capabilities that these cars possess. Video after the jump (click here).In case you thought that classic cars aren’t capable of being driven aggressively, have a look at this video.

Rear suspension 1935 Ford Amilcar

While Steve and Nate are at Northwest Passage; both the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb and the historic Mt. Washington Hillclimb are all going on simultaneously. The vintage cars at Mt. Washington are rich with ARCA history. They are the reason the Climb to the Clouds is a prestigious event. I, Bill, am at Mt. Washington and have taken just a few pics with my iPhone while walking through the pits.

Take a look at the gallery here on the Climb to the Clouds Facebook page.

The driving experience is great once you shoe-horn yourself behind the wheel (did they design these for people to drive?) and I was shocked by how strong the engine feels. We are working on a MG TD with a 1250CC engine so to compare the cars back to back has convinced me that the 1500 is the way to go!

If you are interested in this little jewel, let me know, I am asking $27,000 for the car as is.

MG TF 1500

What I do know about the car is that it is a blast to drive and a beautifully made little machine. The transmission is exposed as you sit in and drive the car  so you can see the nice castings and hear every mechanical noise whether it be a rocker arm tapping, gears meshing or the whirling of the rotating parts.

The car is so easy to drive and extremely responsive to where I wonder if MG went seriously backward as they developed the “T” series cars such as the TC, TD, and TF’s. The proportions on this PA are similar to the TC but with these super tall and narrow wheels, this is an adorable little car.

Very early production MG