Dammit, Jim, I wanted to see that '53 Alpine before it left my neighborhood.
Just last week, I started to call Mark Steele to see if I could drop by to
take a look. I didn't - and now you've taken it away before I had a looksee
at it.
Your question about tools to start the restoration process -
In hindsight, I don't know how I managed to do the work on mine with only SAE
and metric wrenches and sockets. Manytimes it was a real pain in the
patootie. Well, yeah, I resorted to a crescent wrench and pliers much more
than common sense should allow.
Starting this new project, I highly recommend your spending the relatively
few bucks to get the right sized stuff. Basically, the mechanical parts are
put together with Whitworth fasteners and the body parts with BSF (British
Standard Fine). The hex sizes are generally the same but with different
callouts, the threads are the difference.
As an example on hex sizes - 7/16" SAE is .4375", 3/16" Whitworth and 1/4"
BSF are .445". How can all these Anglo-Saxon measurements be so different?
It took me a long time to figure it out, but then it started to make sense.
We Americans measure the head size, the British measure the shaft. Now, I'm
not too sure who is correct. Example, an American 1/4" bolt uses a 7/16"
wrench. A Whitworth 3/16" bolt uses a W 3/16"and 1/4" BSF bolts use a 1/4"
BSF wrench, which happens to be the same size. It's just that one has a lot
more head than the other.
You'll also run into some BA (British Association) stuff, but most of that is
slothead screw, so it doesn't matter unless you need to tap it out.
If you are in a hurry to get started, call Phil Brown at (805) 528-0418 or
write for his catalog - British Tools & Fasteners, 2030 Andre Avenue, Los
Osos, CA 93402. His prices seem on the high side, but he is quick and
convenient and you don't have the overseas shipping costs when buying from
England. He carries the line of King Dick and Britool wrenches and sockets
as well as Whitworth sized stuff from Spain and Japan, not to mention taps
and dies and nuts and bolts and - a tool I have really used a lot - a British
thread restorer file.
"Ole" Olson
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