TR4Mark

892 wrote:Excuse me. What is waterless coolant? I am only aware of two; Air or hydrogen. is there another? Cheers, Ian. Hi Ian, I am very new to this but hopefully the link below will shed some light on the matter for you. http://www.waterlessenginecoolant.com/pages/about-evans-coolant

2601 wrote:Hi Mark,                 you've now put a slightly different view on things. Before you take it off the road do a compression test to see if anything untoward is happening. Don't worry about highh or low readings they je=ust need to be fairly even. Take the big end caps off and have a look at the shells/bearings and mic up the journal - if all is well then fine. The mains are a little more awkward to check but if you have oil leaks then lift the crank out and mic the journals and inspect the shells. The oil seal can now be reapplied. If you are in France during the summer then you may benefit from an electric fan. If you don;t want to remove the mechanical one then fit the leccy fan in front of the rad as a pusher. The rebuild can be as big or small as you dictate. Roger Thanks again Roger for your input, I will definitely look into it, and check this out. I don't want to throw too much money at it (its not my money but my dads but still) obviously within reason, I'm from the prevention rather than cure school of thinking, so Id rather make sensible choices now rather than wait for things to go wrong

AndyF wrote:Mark, If the engine was running okay with half way good oil pressure (10 to 15 lb/ins on tick over and around 50 lb/ins @2700 to 3000 RPM), as long as it is not throwing out loads of smoke unless just after start up and not making any frightening noises put it back in and test drive it for 10 000 to 15 000 miles. Remember these engines will do well over 100 000 miles on a crank regrind. The advantage is you will then know what annoys you and what you want changed and be able to make better decisions. To put short, if it is not broken do not fix it   :) Have fun AndyF Hi Andy it does appear that's the general consensus so far, short of maybe and upgraded fan, a new gasket set, and through a little digging of my own (waterless coolant, silicone hoses, dual exhaust to compliment the webbers) and a little cosmetic dressing to tidy things up, perhaps its best to leave things as they are. On a slightly different note and perhaps a long shot but are you by any chance the AndyF or AndyFRSX from the Mitsubishi Lancer Register?

thescrapman wrote:Mark Mike beat me to it. You could also pop up to the North London meets at Crews Hill quite easily from where you are. Me, I go to both.... :-) As for the engine, if it seemed Ok (loads of torque from low down) then I would put it back in and run with it. Cheers Colin Thanks Colin, the car seemed to run fine. had a couple of small oil leaks that i just attributed to the cork gaskets perishing as the car had been standing for a few months. The engine is looking a little tired aesthetically which will need addressing. Its running webbers at the moment and I did notice there was a hell of a lot of pressure from the single rear exhaust which is brand new. It has had the relevant conversion carried out so it can run unleaded fuel. I just felt if the engine was coming out the car, that it would be an ample opportunity to do whatever was necessary. The aim is to get the car to a very high standard. Also the car will be spending at least 6 months of the year in the South of France mainly in the summer months. I was concerned that the steep terrain and hotter weather might be too much for the standard cooling setup. I am sure when my Dad and I get to meet you all, you'll be able to offer some advice and experience which will help us make the correct decisions, and or point us in the direction of a reputable tuner/restorer  :)

2601 wrote:Hi Mark,                  go to your local group as they know the area for services etc. Regarding upgrading your engine to be more efficient/reliable - most of the standard components are OK and work well. If there is a choice in main and big-end bearings then go for the best quality available. The usual pistons being touted at present are 'County', these are very good, stick with them. If your existing cam is in good order keep it as some of the 'new' stuff is iffy, otherwise consider Newman cams. There is a lot of talk about getting the crank rear oil seal sorted with a split Dowty/lip seal. In theory these should work well but there have been the odd issue and  will require machining the crank - there is a German mod that uses the standard crank - stick with the standard TRiumph design The standard oil pump works well. Better still, check yours out to see if it is still OK - they can last forever. Consider a spin-on oil filter mod. Be careful with new water pumps. Make sure that the impellor fins are a good fit in the body. The standard inpellor is fine, the upgraded version not so. The head would benefit from unleaded valve seats on the exhaust valves. If you are not racing/rallying then use the standard valve springs otherwise you may eat camshafts. Get the crank and attachments balanced but not lightened. Whilst the work is going on get the block pickled/cleaned to ensure ALL the water/oil paths are spotless. Consider a thin belt upgrade for the front pulleys. This will make fitting new belts easier. The old belt often required the engine to be jacked up in order to fit. Remove the mechanical fan and fit an electric fan to the rad. Remove the dynamo and fit an alternator - 65amp. You could consider a tubular exhaust pipe. Even on a standard road car it allows the engine to breath better especially with the single box straight through sports megaphone - wow. Consider a Hi-Torque starter motor. Roger Wow Crikey Roger, obviously a man you need to know round here! Thank you for the information, I will try to digest as much as possible but will certainly need some guidance as I am fairly new to all this, apart from a little time messing around with a mitsubishi evo, I'm at a loss with classic cars. There was me thinking it would be nice and simple :B

michael wrote:welcome to essex why not come to our meeting last wed of month and we will point yuu in right direction regards michael Hi Michael thanks for the invite I will try and make the next meeting, as you can imagine its a tad daunting restoring a car when you are doing it for the first time, admitedly fun but daunting none the less  :)

Forgot to add I'm in the Essex area, Chigwell to be precise and the car is currently being painted in Romford.

Can anybody recommend a reputable specialist who can rebuild a TR4 engine, and perform subtle upgrades to increase the life and efficiency of the engine. The engine and transmission are being removed from the car while it undergoes a re-spray and so think its an ample opportunity to give the engine some TLC. Thanks Mark   PS apologies if I have posted this in the incorrect section, new to the forum so still finding my feet :)