Update on EUF 618, by Alan Gidley
Foreward, by Peter Bowler | |
| This story which is in three parts is of great importance to both my wife Audrey and myself as
we have fond memories of Warren, Sue and the car from the sixties, and the many trips out and good times we allhad during those halcyon early days, when life was a bit more carefree than it seems to be now. Sadly Warren died suddenly in early 1993, but as one of the Architects of our club during the formative years of the sixties this article will help to ensure that his efforts will not be forgotten.Right at the end is a letter from Warren, written three months before he died. | |
 Warren under the bonnet! 'photos psb |  Warren working on EUFs engine |
Part one, January 1994 | |
| Some years ago my wife Linda and I
had seriously considered buying a
BSA threewheeler so as to give her
the chance of competing in her own
right at Vintage Motorcycle Club
events, rather than just navigating for
me in my sidecars. I have to admit
that Linda is an excellent navigator,and she didn't make me say this!However, in 1989 I had taken part in
the Irish Rally on my 1937 750cc
OHV V-twin BSA which was thenstill solo, and Linda had navigated for
Monica Mitchell in her BSA threewheel car. Linda was not very impressed with the car's performance and it ran out of petrol when going up steep hills even though there was a quarter of a tank remaining. It also broke down. We eventually decided not to look for one. In June 1993 Dave, a friend and neighbour, told me he was considering buying a BSA Scout car,which I knew to be a four wheel car,and he asked me to go and have alook at it with him as 1 knew about BSAs. I told him 1 only knew about BSA motorcycles, but that I wouldlove to see the car. I have to admitto being envious of Dave at the time.A month went by and as I hadn'theard anything I asked him what was happening and he said he had decided not to buy it. I asked him for the name and address of the person who was selling the car as I was very keen to buy it myself. He said he wouldgive me his son's telephone number and we could make arrangements through him. I phoned David's son Guy soon afterwards and arranged that Linda and I would meet at his house and he would then take us to meet the lady who was selling the car.It was fortunate that both Guy and the lady who was selling the car both lived in Braintree, only a little over 20 miles from our home. Linda and I had already discussed how much wecould afford to pay for the car if it was still for sale. We duly met Guy at his house and he showed us the way. I fell in love with the car immediately.The only question was could we afford it. Luckily for us. Sue Hasel,whose late husband Warren's car it had been, was reasonable and wanted the car to not only go to a good home, but she wanted to have a ride in it when it had been rebuilt. Guy had already told Sue that I had restored several BSA motorcycles and three sidecars, and that I still had allof them as I was a BSA enthusiast(addict). A price was agreed which was a little more than I wanted tospend and a little less than Sue's sonNick thought the car was worth.The car had been standing in their garage for 23 years and was in sad need of a complete rebuild. The reason that the car was being sold was that Sue's son Nick had recently bought a MGB GT and the BSA car had to go so that he could get his MG in the garage. The car was almost complete, the only things missing being the dynamo, fuel pump and rear luggage carrier. Sue told us that the car had been driven from their previous home 23 years ago butthat the dynamo had packed up and Warren had spent so much timerebuilding their house he hadn't had the time to repair the car. It had dents in the bodywork, the wings were cracked, the upholstery in a terrible state, the green paintwork past salvation and the chassis was very rusty. However, it had a lot of potential and Sue said that there were a lot of spares that I could also have which made the price we agreed reasonable. We joined the BSA Front WheelDrive Club and attended the National Rally at Stanford Hall whereeveryone made us very welcome.Particular thanks to Godfrey Slatter for giving me a short drive in hisSeries 6 car, even if I was only in the passenger seat it was most enjoyable.I also met Steve Mansfield, who itturned out only lived a few miles fromus and who has been a gold mine ofinformation and help. I called back eight weeks later, aninterminable length of time, withMick, a friend of mine, and aftergiving Sue the money she left as shesaid she couldn't bear to see the cargo, as apart from anything else shehad been on her honeymoon in it. We loaded the car on to a trailer Ihad hired, and filled the back ofMick's van with a veritable gold mineof spares. I drove back homegrinning from ear to ear.Firstly, I took numerous photos of thecar and arranged insurance andtransfer of the log book into myname, and then I asked SteveMansfield to come over and have alook at the car. Steve's first thoughtswere that the chassis was wrong,although we found the number on thechassis; and that there were severalother things which he thought werenot right. Admittedly the car hadbeen much modified by Warren Haselas he used it in hill climbs, but evenso I was disappointed. However,Steve said that my car was a Series 5four seater and he had never seen aSeries 5 before, only Series 4 and 6cars, but that he had a Series 5 partslist which he would copy and bringover the next week. I heaved a sighof relief when the parts list showedthat apart from the enginemodifications the car was original,and as a complete spare Series 5engine had come with the spares itwasn't going to be a problemrebuilding the car to its originalspecification. The Club archivist wasable to tell me that the car hadoriginally been delivered to a dealerin Brighton in April 1938 and wasblack with red upholstery and silverwheels. I determined to restore thecar to its original colour scheme. A second visit to Braintree filled theboot and back seat of my car withmore spares, which luckily includedthe burnt out dynamo and an Amalfuel pump, but alas no rear luggagecarrier. I have since obtaineddrawings of the luggage carrier fromTony Meade, another very helpfulfriend that I already knew fromVintage Motorcycle Club events, andhoped to be able to make one if I can'tget one.I must admit to being rather dauntedby the prospect of completelystripping and restoring a car, despitethe fact that I have restored severalmotorcycles and three sidecars.However, I am doing a bit at a time,stripping and rebuilding individualcomponents rather than completelydismantling the car and then trying toremember where all the parts go. The spares are a godsend. Work hasproceeded fairly well up to now as Ihave restored all the front wheel driveand transmission and the engine isfinished. The body has been removedfrom the chassis and the chassisde-rusted and repainted. Lastweekend a friend gave me a hand andwe got the engine back in the chassisand at this point in time I havealmost completely re-assembled therolling chassis, apart from the wheelswhich I have taken to be re-spoked.The wooden body framework is quiterotten in parts and will need a lot ofwork doing on it. Many of the older Club members (interms of membership, not necessarilyage) will no doubt rememberWarren's car and Linda and I intendto use it regularly both within andoutside the Club when I have restoredit. I estimate that if all goes well we may have the car on the road by thespring of 1995.Amongst the spares were some thatwere peculiar to BSA trikes, andthese have been donated to the Clubby Sue Hasel. When I have finished restoring my car I will, if I can, helpout any active Club members whoneed parts to keep their cars running. If I have any significant developmentsto report before I get the car on theroad I will write to the magazineagain. Alan GidleyPart 2The radiator has now been repaired and fitted. Unfortunately it needed a newcore and the total cost was horrendous, £534 including VAT. I could have had amodern core fitted but it would have looked completely wrong as soon as anyonelooked under the bonnet. I have beaten the dents out of the doors, rear wings and running boards and theyhave been primed and undercoated ready for spraying. The front wings were ina terrible state. They were held together with dozens of rivets and small nuts andbolts and then liberally covered with filler. After this had been removed I wasfaced with a major welding and panel beating job to replace all the cracked androtten metal with new steel. After effecting the necessary repairs I have weldeda new heavy duty steel bead round the edge of the mudguards, and this will, fingerscrossed, hopefully prevent further cracking of the front wings. My company sent me abroad from 10th November to 22nd December, and againfrom 4th January until 4th February, so work on the car came to a standstill.Having returned from my three months business trip my wife and I went onholiday for three weeks in the middle of April, and on return I suffered a recurringneck problem, so work on the car has been further delayed. Due to this enforcedfour months lay-off it will probably be next spring before the car is finished insteadof this year. The body was again removed from the chassis for spraying but my first trials withthe borrowed spraygun were not very successful. Spraying the car with celluloseis an art that I haven't got the hang of yet, too much orange peel effect, but havingrubbed the body down twice I hope it is third time lucky.The body shell is now back on the chassis and I have carried on with re-assemblywhilst still trying to get a good paint finish. Having said this, I have got a goodfinish on the doors and running boards so it is just a matter of time before I getthe body paintwork to my satisfaction. The chromium plating has been finished and I have re-assembled and fitted theradiator grille, dashboard and instruments and the windscreen. The windscreenwas probably the hardest job physically that I have had to do, I followed JohnChadwick's method of using superglue to stick the new rubber to the glass, andthen fit the chrome windscreen surround over the rubber, but found that evenusing half a bottle of washing up liquid it was such a tight fit it seemed animpossible task. I solved the problem by using an old inner tube and makingseveral very strong elastic bands which I wrapped round the windscreen. First slidethe top windscreen surround down over the glass with rubber fitted as far as it willgo, then wrap the large rubber bands from side to side which will pull the surroundover the rubber (with the help of generous amounts of washing up liquid). Thenfit the bottom windscreen surround as best you can and then wrap rubber bandsfrom top to bottom. With a bit of gentle persuasion the entire surround will thenslide over the glass fairly easily and the side fixing screws replaced. After havingwasted two hours without the use of the inner tube rubber bands it only took meabout fifteen minutes and was infinitely easier. A visit to Woolies has supplied me with various new rubber trims and wing piping,and I am now in the process of spraying the wings. I will leave fitting the doorsuntil I have sorted out the wiring. Real progress is being made and I am lookingforward to getting the car on the road next spring. I have had no response to myoffer of the discarded wooden frame for use as patterns, so when the car isfinished I will throw them away as I need the space.It was nice to see so many cars at the National Rally this year and hopefully Lindaand I will be able to attend in our car next year. Safe motoring. Alan GidleyFinal Update on EUF618 January 1996I enclose some photographs of my 1938 Series 5C Scout, now fully restored andrunning, apart from the spare wheel cover which I am waiting for suitable weatherbefore spraying. Some of you will notice that the car has 10 inch Lucas Biflex headlamps, twolouvres on the top of the bonnet to deflect warm air over the windscreen, and rearlights fitted to the rear bodywork. These were modifications carried out by theprevious owner, the late Warren Hasel, and as they were probably done in the1950s I have decided to keep them to retain some of the individual character ofthe car. I am at present arranging agreed value insurance for the car before I can take itfor its MOT and am looking for ward to attending events as a participant ratherthan as a spectator. I would like to express my special thanks to Steve Mansfieldfor his help and advice during the restoration, and also to John Chadwick for hispatience in answering my numerous questions. Safe motoring. Alan Gidley | |
| EUF as it is today | EUF 618 as I remember it---on Galley Hill, "Icknield", early sixties 'photo psb |
And finaly A letter to the magazine from Warren Himself, November 1992 | |
| Den Haag Holland Dear Sir, I am sitting in a so-called Turkish cafe, run by a Pakistani, near the Hollandspoor Station in DenHaag, Holland, reading 'Front Wheels' over a menu of shoerma and salad and chips... a more incongruous combination would be difficult to find. Apart from one Aussie customer, to whom explanations of the picture on the front are easily made, the magazine gets some odd looks from the regulars. That, however, is not the mainpoint of the letter. I suddenly read with compassion John Chadwick's article where he desribes the demise of his gearbox/diff casting the day before the Nautical Rally, and 1 know just how he felt, 'cause it happened to me too. A (relatively) young whippersnapper at that time,I worked at STC's (now ITT's) New Southgate,London facility, and had reason one lunchtime (45minutes only) to pop over to North Finchley in the BSA, the same EUF618 Series 5 1 have now, to get a switch from some little electric shop I'd found.Having made the purchase and being parked in a little delivery bay on the wrong side of the road,I estimated that, even with the Scout's largish lock, 1 might get a U-turn in to retrace my earlier journey from work. No traffic visible, so I chanced it, but as the car moved off in an arc I noticed a trolleybus coming round the far curve inthe road. Now, as some older readers will know from an article of mine in this mag of some twenty five (yes, 25) years ago, an LPTB trolleybus had a fair turn of speed and startling acceleration. As I arrived at the opposite kerb at an angle, my estimation of the Beesa's lock having been over optimistic, the trolleybus driver must have given it plenty of wellie in the kilowatt section, and he was bearing down, already hooting. At times like this, Scout drivers tend to flick at, and miss, the spring 'reverse barring' and, no different from the others, so did I. Eventually I crashed it into gear - horrible noise - up came the clutch and ..... no reverse movement. After acouple more tries, to the accompaniment of wierd noises from the bonnet area and strange mouthings/hand movements from the other driver, 1 got outand, lo and behold, the oil puddle. Opening the bonnet showed the horror of the bare shaft and worm surrounded by little wisps of black smoke. Suffice to say that the trolleybus got round mewithout unhitching his pickup poles, but hewouldn't help push, so I only got EUF parallel tothe kerb after ten minutes hard graft pushing. The first phone call got a guy from work (in Triumph Roadster) to tow me back to the STC carpark. Second and third calls informed home and persuaded Bill Sullivan to kindly raid my parents'shed for another gearbox assembly that evening and "could he take the afternoon off tomorrow andbring the thing some 50 miles to where I wasstranded?". Of course, every wary Beesa driverhas a full set of tools, including sockets, onboard 'in case', so we managed to swap boxes the following afternoon, Bill very kindly offering to stay and help. STC were very forgiving about thewhole thing, including the oil stains in the Company car park, which luckily was across the road from the main site and behind some trees. Ofsuch things are made the thrill of driving Beesas. I've got to the end of my greasy shoerma and alsoto the end of 'Front Wheels', on page 16 I noticethat Jenny Pod is for sale! I have had the honourof falling out of this great car as PSB will wellremember. It's sale represents the end of an era!(editor's note, this incident is described in detail in "trials and tribulations", in the magazine articles collection. psb). Regards Warren Hasel (Mag Ed about c1ickety-c1ick years ago) | |
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