Saltddirk Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 Welding and the finished product... Piece of art! Could not have done better myself 8) 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 also with the floorboards removed it became clear that the offending bracket was only supporting part of the floors, so it was swiftly cut of, a new one made and rewelded a bit further away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 Et Voila!Piece of cake, with the tunnel out re-installing the engine was piss easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 forgot to attach the pictures :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 some more,And proof that I did up the bolt correctly! Just in case it falls off during the RBRR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 Today I have been busy with installing the Propshaft, starter motor, connecting up the gear selection mechanism and clutch. And spending even more time in wiring up, the relaybox for the lights, horn, overdrive and kenlow is completed, now remains to be done the dash and indicator box and we are singing! But I first needed a bit of a change so switched to doing up bolts first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Long overdue for an update....Last things firstIt IS ALIVE !!!!!Seen here leaving the workshop, Just in time also as the workers had started to remove the pavement to redo the driveway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 It did not come without a struggle,With the engine in I started bolting on all the auxiliaries, fuel pump, oilfilter and cooler take off, water pump....The water pump which was in OK condition when dismantled started to leak as soon as we put the water in the engine. I guess the packing has crimped when drying out. Still I had a spare pump on the shelve, so quicker to change out.Re-installing the radiator I had noticed that there was a small dent in the top hose connector, so using an old round hammerhead (where the handle had broken off) as a dolly i started bumping the dent out. and then I dropped it! Sod's law dictated that it went into the header tank and defied all attempts to line it up correctly so it would come out through the same hole it went in (angry)(angry)about half a day later, using magnetic pick up, long nose pliers, seizing wire and a few, well actually quite a lot, well chosen encouraging words, it came out through the radiator cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 With that out of the way we went on installing the oil cooler.The previous discussion was where to install the thing.My position of choice was inside the front fender, behind and above the wheel, probably protected by a deflector.However we found a better spot by removing the horns and using one of the mounting on one side and welding in a new bracket on the chassis side. It would just fit, it is sitting low but not that low, actually the steering arm idler and drop arm are lower than that and still catches a bit of the air stream. We might install some extra mesh as protection or even have the flow directed by a light weight dam which also will protect the bottom of the radiator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 The spitfire has donated his horns as a temporary / permanent less bulky replacementI had bought an adapter kit to use a Lucas ACR 18 alternator in stead of the original C 39 dynamo but struggled with it.Firstly the ARC came pre-mounted with a narrow pulley which I could not get off. I guess that the bolt must be glued in with Loctite and getting a spanner on the nut with some Stilsons on the pulley just made the pulley spin on the shaft ( No clevis pin in that one!) Shaun thinks that with a shock wrench we could get it off. however in the mean time I had tried mounting the Spitfire's one (again! soon there are not enough parts left to complete her rebuild :B ) and found that the length of the inserts to make up the difference in length between the old and new mounting points was totally wrong. Also the ACR is bulkier and the tension arm is touching the top of the body, it needs to be more of a half moon than the old one (which is only slightly curved)so again out came the credit card and I ordered a Dynamator from BB Classics on ebay. I have one on the Roadster and it just works fine. The output is only a claimed 45 amps as opposed to the 65 amps of the ACR, but still this should be plenty compared to the meager 18 amps from the original C39. For now we have the C39 installed, i actually incorporated both wiring options in the new loom so swapping over is only a matter of minutes.What was not a matter of minutes was the installation of the new fan belt, for some reason the new belt is slightly shorter and a lot stiffer than the old one and working on my own I could not get it over the pulley. Shaun came to rescue and eventually we managed to get the belt on.The new engine is also equipped with a Dizzy from 123 Ignition, nifty piece of Kit out of Holland! It has a USB port allowing you to hook up a laptop and change the curve on the fly. What I did not anticipate was the fact that it uses a Bosch "Delco"as base and that the plug leads are connected more conventionally plug in type. The old Lucas uses a washer you bent the core over and then a screw in connector. Foolishly I took the new head and the old one to a shop to get new leads, business with home mechanics must be slow as they now had changed from a spare part shop to a tuning and accessories shop selling upgraded fog lights, adhesive go faster stripes and big boom boxes for the parcel shelve. But he still could get the leads with a friend of his he said, leave it all here and I have a new set made up. What he did not tell me was that his friends' shop was just behind the corner and that he eventually needed 3 days to turn up a set of leads which was not only too long for all of the leads, but also was missing the coil to dizzy HT connection.Again Shaun came to the rescue with his magic suitcase yielding HT crimp connectors caps and other goodies. Luckily the leads were too long, so by cutting the longest to make up the #1 lead there was enough left over to make the HT coil connection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 one more hurdle on the 123 Ignition is that the shaft has a beveled shoulder at the top, increasing the diameter to 36 mm, whereas the old Lucas uses a straight shaft with an 28mm clamp.Opening the clamp from 28 to 36 was not a big issue using a template and a mill on my drill, but the bevel at the shoulder was. Every time I tried to tighten the clamp the bevel would push the dizzy upward until it disengages from the drive slots. Once I figured out what was happening a few washers to space out the clamp so it sits at the "square" part of the shoulder and we were in business. Almost.Some not to be named home mechanic had installed the dizzy 180 degrees out! But only to check if my mechanic is worth his salt and would have picked up on this! and to throw more spanners in the works I told him wrongly that on Roadsters the cylinder numbering is with #1 at the gearbox end. Which is only partially true, as it is the norm for the 1800 engines but was changed to the more conventional #1 at the front for the 2000 engines.Ah well all well that ends well, and the professional passed his test flying colors and we were ready to test! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Got spark.... checkgot fuel.... checkandnothinga slight sputter a few coughs and that it....Bugger....Bugger....More checks.In the mean time we had worn the battery down and even with the booster pack the pre-engaged starter would not longer spin the engine quick enough to fire before disengaging with a Hu-eeurghhhh.The Roadster came to rescue this time to donate his high torque starter.Still no joy.Carburetor suspect? Not really, it was rebuild a few years ago for the Roadster by Burlen. The throttle linkage however had a nut stripped so we changed it out for a spare carb I had bought on Ebay.Still no joyStart from square one and we checked plugs. Good. Exhaust free... good.Then let check the valve clearances again... Joy!Although they had been set correctly when the head was installed all had shifted slightly and 3 were really off! I can only think of the tappets and push-rods not have been seated correctly when we installed them and now after a few (or quite a few) turns on the starter motor they must have shifted to the correct position.Cover on... Ignition... Yipee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 It is running but a bit rough,The beauty of the 123 is that you can actually see what is going on so it will take a few tweaks on the curve to make it run better. we have started off by a curve from a dizzy measured by the Distribution doctor on a friends Roadster, but I since have found one as actually used on a 123 by a friend of mine so will upload that later to see if it makes a difference. You can program 2 curves on the 123 and switch between them by putting 12 volts on a control wire. I will find a spare switch somewhere...Difficult to see in the picture but it is puffing putting a nice oily layer on the window panes!Shaun also had tuned the carburation using his gunson color tune so we get nice "blue"sparks and with all that done we were ready for a test drive, Hotrod style with no bonnet. American Graffiti! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 with all this out of the way I have booked the crossings!we'll be taking the 1150 train to Folkestone on Thursday.Not that I think we shall break down, but I will bring her over on the trailer, so that, in the unlikely event she fails to proceed, then we can have RAC to recover her to the trailer. I do have international break down insurance but then we will have to leave the car behind as happened in France, and they can take up to one month to repatriate your car depending on availability of their trucks.A bit more job to be done though, Cleaning...then finish off the body work, great for cooling but hot rodding is not really my styleand also we still have the brakes to check and some loose ends to be wired up. plus a few gremlins I did not manage to cure yet!As I am again away for work for a month now the week before will be busy!D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkuser Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Very entertaining thread and you succeeded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Thanks Mall,Trying to keep looking at it from the bright side. Still morale was low quite a few times.To keep focus I bought, top gear challenge style, a back up car to complete the journey with if this one would not be ready.sometimes you wonder where all the hours go! how long can it take to bolt a few parts back on, to grind down a few nuts and rewire a few cables...But as said before we feel better now confident that we will at least make the start line! That much at least we own to the sponsors who have donated to Just Giving so far!We also have a few pledges to pay a sum per mile we actually achieve. The doubters!!!!The back up car, it has a hood to keep most of the rain out, and 4 seats so the 3 of us could still go What more do you need? : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Man Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 The 123 dizzy will make the biggest difference to reliability. Try to get as many miles on the car as you can before the run. The T6 belonging to Chris is a case in point. A good shakedown will reveal more problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Bennett Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Top work!! Well done!! You are an inspiration to us all. Look forward to seeing the car at the start!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP72 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Great work!One thing you might consider is to put an additonal support on the oil cooler. The way you have mounted it will allow for a lot of flex when the car is on the move. I had one oil cooler fail in the past, because it had been flexing around too much.Goodl luck for the RBRR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 stage3 wrote:Great work!One thing you might consider is to put an additonal support on the oil cooler. The way you have mounted it will allow for a lot of flex when the car is on the move. I had one oil cooler fail in the past, because it had been flexing around too much.Goodl luck for the RBRR.Thanks, We'll need the wishes I think.We were debating on putting some extra protection below and in front of the Radiator, perhaps a shroud each side with some mesh in between. Problem is that there is not much to start off from.Shaun will be working on the brakes later, he'll come up with something I hope... :)dirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepy Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Well I have been quite busy lately, have a new job, still lots to do in the house, plus I had to visit uk at short notice because my mum is not well.I will hopefully get to work on the car next week. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkuser Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltddirk Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 well spend one long night getting the last bits bolted on, cured a exhaust leak, checked all oil levels and got round with the grease gun.we had to replace one brake caliper and the front shoes, not that they were worn out, but a bit too uneven left to right so while we had the new ones handy fitted them.Now the only thing remaining to be done is to fix the indicators.... passenger side will not work.... traced all my new wires, no mistakes here, renewed the last bit of old wire to the trafficator, no success... ah well, there is still tomorrow..And if anything else fails we give 3rd driver on the back seat a flashlight and he can stick his arm out of the window as required signaling.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkuser Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpeg.b15b81ef10abeea1c3039ae03c4a9f3a.jpeg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.