Gwynne

Advice

What advice can be given? Well a simple start will be to provide notes on maintenance of the cars. One basic thing to remember when working on a Gwynne is to consider how they would have dealt with it. So out of respect to the original manufacturer and future generations who will be the subsequent guardians of the cars use appropriate techniques and materials. So no cross head screws, or Allen key bolts. Keep to BSF and Whitworth.

Please contact info@gwynne.info with any questions or information you can make available to the site.

In the UK advice can come from www.vscc.co.uk. Other useful sources are www.dvla.gov.uk and www.fbhvc.co.uk

In other countries other resources exist.

The link on the left 'Servicing the Gwynne 8' from Motor Commerce of 1926 is a good summary.

Lubricants

Engine oil is straight SAE 30 or 40. Change it frequently as there is only a strainer in the sump, no modern oil filters of course. Gearbox and rear axle use D140, again a straight version. Over the years there have been D140s that have been deleterious to bronze and these must be avoided. Modern D140s are available usually carrying a statement on the packaging declaring their safe use with bronze.

Oil Pumps

You should be sure to keep any eye on the oil pressure especially when starting. The pump might need to be primed if the car has been standing for a while. A commonly recommended starting method is to crank the engine first to get some oil pressure then to switch in the ignition.

There are people in the Gwynne community who have repaired oll pumps to hand so if your oil pressure is lacklustre then please contact info@gwynne.info.

Engine Removal - time allowed 2 hours.

Take off the bonnet, radiator and all the ancilliaries. The next step is to put an engine crane in place with slings round the front and rear of the engine.

The tricky bit is to move the engine backwards so that the nose through the frame can come clear of the frame. To do this you have to get the back of the engine clear of the clutch thrust forks. There may be floorboards to remove. Lift the rear clear of the clutch forks and move round to the side away from the steering column. Get the nose clear of the frame by moving the engine back. It has been said that some chassis have been modified to allow the front cross-member to be unbolted allowing the engine to be lifted straight up, but so far only one car has been identified with the modification and it was not used to allow the engine to be taken out, the move backwards technique was used instead.

Foot Pedals

The pedals are on long threaded sections through the operating lever as this is intended to be the means whereby the pedals are adjusted to suit different drivers. The business of easily movable chairs came a lot later after Gwynnes were made.

Springs

These connect to the chassis through shackles and these are steel pins, fixed in the frame and the movement is against the bronze bushes in the eye of the spring. The shackle pin must not rotate in the frame and this is achieved through various methods, for example a pin locating the shackle pin. You must keep the shackles greased. There are 28 grease points on most Gwynnes - how many can you find on yours? Are the grease nipples in place on the driveshaft or have they spun off. Can you reach all the grease points on the spring shackles? Every shackle pin will have a grease nipple on it.

Rear Hubs

These are awkward. On the rear axle they hold a bearing that holds the outer end of the half shaft in place. On the right hand side, usually stamped R the thread is right handed and the left one has a left hand thread. This allows the hub carrier to stay done up with the normal rotation of the half shaft.

They bolt onto the back plate on the end of the axle casing. They are unscrewed from the axle casing usually by gripping with a belt type modern oil filter wrench. Remove the grub screw that holds the insert in place and with special tool no. 17 engage the two lugs of the tool in the holes in the insert and unscrew it, lh or rh accordingly.

The bearing in the hub carrier will have a felt oil seal that can be replaced with a modern oll seal by machining out space in the hub carrier and fitting a modern oil seal and using a sealed bearing.

Contemporary manuals on the car suggested not putting too much oil in the differential as it would otherwise find its way out onto the brake drums.

Grease Points

One on each front hub - you have to unscrew the screw and screw in the greaser.

One on each shackle pin, there are 14 of these, seven down each side.

Splined shaft to clutch, one.

The two steering control arms have spring loaded ball joints, these have a greaser each, 2 on each of the 2 arms.

Greaser on top of the gearbox.

One on each of the rear axle trunnions.

King pins top.

26 so far.

Gearbox steady bar to frame. - 27.

Plus two screw down greasers on the brake shafts at the back plate.