From Smoker to Sssssmokin’!

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
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Club Member
Sent you the wrong gaskets - those blue ones are distributor base gaskets!!! :(

No sweat at all Mr F., so did MSA, easily done given the shape. In fact I wonder if there is a part number labelling issue given they also sent me the dizzy ones!?

I was very glad for the other stuff you sent me, so again, big thanks !! [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
 
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Farmer42

Club Member
Nice job so far Ali:thumbs:

I would make sure you have plenty of clear lacquer over that VIN number otherwise if it is open to moisture, the Tin Worm might eat it!! That pic of the oil filter has reminded me I need to change my oil so thanks for that. You have also prompted me to have a go at tidying my engine bay a little. Just wish I had done it when the engine was out last year:(
 

Woody928

Events Officer
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That engine is looking very smart! Really looking forward to seeing this on the road :cool:

Showing my ignorance here I've not seen the gasket sheets before, great idea to get you out of a hole. Wouldn't be able to tell it was hand made with some scissors and a craft blade.
 

AliK

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Nice job so far Ali:thumbs:

I would make sure you have plenty of clear lacquer over that VIN number otherwise if it is open to moisture, the Tin Worm might eat it!! That pic of the oil filter has reminded me I need to change my oil so thanks for that. You have also prompted me to have a go at tidying my engine bay a little. Just wish I had done it when the engine was out last year:(

Absolutely right there!! Jenolited and many layers of lacquer on top [emoji6]

The problem with tidying up the engine bay is it takes WAYYYYY too much time and at least you are actually driving yours on these lovely sunny days!! [emoji106] Oh and I doubt it will keep very well either so wasted effort maybe!?

That engine is looking very smart! Really looking forward to seeing this on the road [emoji41]

Showing my ignorance here I've not seen the gasket sheets before, great idea to get you out of a hole. Wouldn't be able to tell it was hand made with some scissors and a craft blade.

Thanks dude, I too am looking forward to driving again.

It really does bling in real life too [emoji6] just need to find a way to drive lots AND keep it looking smart. I suspect with no oil being burned, manifold actually bolted up properly and no water leaks it should fare better than before [emoji6]
 
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AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
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A crazy busy day again. Tonnes of progress but still not ready enough!!

First up, discovered my lift weeps now when I pump it. [emoji20] so I set about building a make shift stand which was very practical and a lot stronger than it looks.

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And I never imagined i'd see the day when i would show off my ginger nuts on the internet! Copper flashed manifold nuts - supposedly less likely to seize and better for the hot end.

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There's something about a ceramic coated manifold that does it for me!!!!

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I had no idea how over 100lbft would feel with the torque wrench. Defo need to go to the gym more. The very handy little tool to lock the flywheel in place was left for me by the very kind PMAC and works a treat! Bolts also had the green threadlock thrown in for good measure.

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Clutch plate sat there beautifully but it did vex me as to why I had a spare roller bearing. The kind PMAC had already installed one.

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The new clutch didn't seem to have come with bolts - thank goodness I had the old ones plated. I tightened all diagonally finger tight then to 1/3 of required torque then full on. Paranoid? Me? Yes very! It's my first clutch. Also wiped down the face of the pressure plate with a quarter of a can of brake cleaner and then thinners until the rag started to come off the plate clean! Now it will rust in the next few days [emoji6]

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Finished this side too and now you can hopefully see why I don't like the colour of the filter! [emoji6]

Except for the rocker cover (the final one is very shiny!!!) and a small fuel hose (rail to pump) everything that needs to be on the engine is on. I am purposely leaving the fan and it's clutch off so that I have more wiggle room on transplant day.

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The new engine mounts have me vexed! My old mounts looked as if one was upside down relative to the other but the new ones both face the same way up I.e the gap side is down on both sides. They do have locating pins so they are not installed incorrectly - starting to wonder if I have been sent wrong ones (two of the same rather than one of each)!? [emoji848]

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AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Update - I LOVE SGS Engineering where I bought my engine hoist!

Just rang them and they are sending me replacement parts FoC!!! Not the cheapest hoist but beautifully engineered and great customer service.


https://www.sgs-engineering.com/ec1000-1-ton-folding-engine-crane

When I get the car running again, I plan to send them my boot struts to re-gas. They will do a group buy discount so I will start a thread in due course.
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Another couple of hours last night:

I bought a poly steering coupler a while back and this seemed like an ideal time to fit it - what an absolute beast of a job!!! At least it's never going to just fall out!

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You can also see how much the rubber compression rod bush has compressed by. Definitely going to need tracking looked at.

As much as I was wondering if it was worth it at the time, the bling going on is starting to take shape and look nice! Oh and notice the new plastic sleeves on the throttle linkage.

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Spent a little while slopping out the bell housing and washing down the gearbox case. Lots of brake cleaner was better than hot water and fairy liquid! The outside I set about with alloy wheel cleaner and rinsed well.

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Finally, I did buy some "restored" horns a while back that I never fitted. I did have to take them apart and exorcise the rust inside so clearly restoration means very different things to different people. Also, unlike my original horns they didn't have the bolt sticking out of the back at the centre. So as an experiment I tried a cut down bolt with JB Weld in the same place. Not fully convinced yet but it seems plenty strong, so let's see if it lasts!

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There are a couple of unused wiring loom connectors there (were thy for fog lamps!?) one of which is earth. So I will use that as the original horns earthed through the screw at the back and bracket bolts.
 
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Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Ali - it's looking good.

Your clutch hose looks twisted - did you fit it to the slave cylinder last and it twisted whilst tightening?

Either unbolt the slave from the bellhousing and turn it or disconnect the flexible at the bulkhead (re-bleeding needed then though).
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
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Thank you Rob - getting there slowly and hoping weekend will be smooth-ish. Albeit we have a birthday party for my eldest that will undoubtedly curtail any over-time possibilities.

Hoping to get new throwout bearing on tonight and start on / finish wiring loom tomorrow, then I'm set.

Finding other PO nasties that I can't live with even if under a lot of electrical tape [emoji12]

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Well spotted on that clutch thing, I did notice but didn't think anymore about it. It is a PO special. I plan to flush/renew the fluid anyway so I will add this to my to do list!
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
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I also learned a new tip from an antipodean old timer S30 club-racer/winner; which frankly I am totally gutted about not figuring out for myself earlier.

He was recommending using a couple of drilled out fibre tap washers either side of the fuel rail stays to reduce heat transfer to the fuel rails from the head.

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And when I look at it, the middle stay and the end stay have no insulation. The last one on the fuel return comes off the front of the head with no insulators. I doubt it will totally eliminate vapour lock but reducing surface areas should dramatically reduce "conduction" heat transfer and ensure cooler / denser fuel hits the carbs.


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I assume given he raced, that fibre washers can withstand the heat but I will do a little sandwich between two metal washers and gas torch experiment at the weekend!
 
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Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I also learned a new tip from an antipodean old timer S30 club-racer/winner; which frankly I am totally gutted about not figuring out for myself earlier.

He was recommending using a couple of drilled out fibre tap washers either side of the fuel rail stays to reduce heat transfer to the fuel rails from the head.

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And when I look at it, the middle stay and the end stay have no insulation. The last one on the fuel return comes off the front of the head with no insulators. I doubt it will totally eliminate vapour lock but reducing surface areas should dramatically reduce "conduction" heat transfer and ensure cooler / denser fuel hits the carbs.


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I assume given he raced, that fibre washers can withstand the heat but I will do a little sandwich between two metal washers and gas torch experiment at the weekend!

I like the idea of this, great little tip, where are you getting the washers from?

I'll be curious to hear back the results!
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
This looks a decent 'eye' to tow from.
 

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AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
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This looks a decent 'eye' to tow from.

That's it Rob! [emoji106]

That's the one I have too. It is awfully low though and the air dam will get wrecked if it's used. Now I can see it better you've given me and idea to look at how to extend it. (But not before engine work is done!!!!!!! [emoji38]

It looks just screwed on to me.
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
So an interesting eve, a game of two halves.

Experimented with the fibre tap washer between two washers and reached over 600 degrees before it started smoking. My infrared thermometer stopped there!

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And installed

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I shined up all electrical connectors for power and started to connect electrics up again ready for engine install.

Thrust bearing replacement a doddle with a 30mm socket which fits like a glove and gentle persuasion with a rubber mallet ...

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A 32mm socket worked a treat for getting the new one on

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Clutch fork needed a clean up and my VHT fetish took over. Replaced both springs in fork and collar for new.

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Flushed the master / slave fluid and you should have seen the crud that came out ...

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Cleaned up master and refreshed with clean fluid.

Sadly failure arrived when fitting the fork and collar in place. It seems the clutch pedal has been pressed while engine is out and the slave cylinder has popped out as I can't get the fork back far enough on the input shaft sleeve for collar to sit properly. Tried to take it off with a socket set but it won't budge. I can get impact wrench on but it's too late to use it.

Friend arriving at 08:00 so let's see what we can achieve.

Also sadly SGS Engineering let me down and didn't get the parts to me as promised twice to have them here by Friday. So let's hope the engine lift behaves tomorrow. Bed time !
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
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A VERY long and equally successful day but utterly shattered and slightly sunburnt. Fingers are aching amongst all other muscle groups and had to ask my wife to open my pull ring drink this eve!

All the hard bits were easy and what should have been easy caused issues!!!

Sorted out winding back the master cyl with a vice and a socket but couldn't help wire brushing off corrosion + rust treating / VHT-ing. Also sorted the twisted line - thanks again for pointing it out Rob [emoji106]

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Photo-bombed my own selfie while checking it.

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In and ready ...

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We then got onto the staring line:

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Mating the engine to the gearbox was shockingly easier than I expected and went very smoothly. In fact within 15-20 mins of starting we had the bolts tightening up nicely.

Bizarrely the bumper had to come off - which it didn't when we pulled the engine. I suspect the hoisting point we used was different.

The engine mount on the passenger side needed to be taken off and the threads re-tapped; note to self and anyone else doing this job, check and double check all threads!!

The fan would not clear the damper bolts once on! So an extra long set of 4.8 bolts and some makeshift spacers later we had clearance. Not happy with the solution but happy with the result. So will have to make proper spacers in the future but at least I am confident it will spin safely for the time being. Will likely get a 1cm deep circular aluminium spacer made between pulley and fan clutch

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The vac hose had a split so it got superglued and heatshrunk - quite pleased with the outcome and hopefully will improve cruising economy.

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The header to rest of exhaust also needed some BFI (brute force and ignorance) but finally we were on.

We also made the wiring for the headlight relays and I need to wrap the loom but more of that anon.

And this is how far we got before children's bed time got in the way. Strangely the water hose at the top of the rad seems too long and I need to take an inch off it!

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So the open heart surgery went well. The patient is in recovery and resting for a couple of days before receiving vital fluids and looking for a self sustaining heartbeat!

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AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
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Club Member
Right then ladies and gents, long story short, she fired!!!! And without fuss.

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Fluids added. Being totally paranoid, I took off the rocker cover before cranking to see what cam lube we had and as ever, PMAC's work was spot on with the builder's lube.
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Cranked for 15-20 secs without plugs in or pump to fuel rail connected, to ensure we got spark, oil pressure and primed the fuel pump / see the fuel coming through (which pumped with vigour into a collection jar). Oil pressure started raising fast at around 7 secs. Pete had primed the oil pump already.

Then we connected up the fuel rails, added plugs and cranked to fill carbs and see if she catches.

The first video shows the first start. The accelerator was responding weirdly as if stuck half way or not fully returning. Sadly I had the balance bar connected incorrectly and it was holding the rear carb open so the revs rose rapidly to c. 2800RPM but wouldn't drop off. Note to self don't do detailed work when shattered late at night!!! My explanation of the smoke in the video is incorrect and just thinking out loud; it would have been the builders' lube etc coming out.


Once sorted out the second video shows the engine responding better and getting some heat on without idling. The new bearings on the alternator are a little vocal - this was also the case the first time I replaced the alt and it took about 500miles to quieten down. I will have to check tightness of the belt again just to be sure.

Excuse me for sounding like a bad porn movie while getting in and out of the car, I managed to twist my knee badly chasing the children at the weekend, so I couldn't easily bend my accelerator leg/knee [emoji849]


Got the bonnet back on by placing flat with some support bars to take the weight. Put on the top two bolts, then raised to get the other two on.

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Spent about half an hour aligning and while the bonnet sits near perfect at the front, the catch is about 5-10mm out and I dare not close it down for obvious reasons.
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The catch, the striker plate and bonnet bolts are adjusted to their max positions, so I'm a little stumped as to why bonnet has shrunk [emoji6] any advice is most welcomed. I do have two bonnet catches and I suspect I may have mix and matched them when they came back from the plater's - but need to check.

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Bled the clutch M/C and managed to select gears - moved back and forth about a foot or two to test. I couldn't do the same again later when on my own, so no road test yet. Will need more bleeding I suspect as the pedal is loaded up but feels a little softer than when it was working before.

Being wifeless and childless this week I will get the rest of it together in the evenings after work, ready for that first drive with lots of accelerating and backing off + bedding the new clutch / flywheel in. It's nice to see it looking like a car again!

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Thankfully, no leaks, no fuel smells or mixing of liquids. Quite pleasing is how clear all fluids look now - had gotten used to orange / rust laden rad juice and dirty oil!

Oh, one other note to self - never get a dipstick plated, it's the same colour as fresh oil and you can't easily see where it is on the stick! [emoji13]
 
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toopy

Club Member
Bled the clutch M/C and managed to select gears - moved back and forth about a foot or two to test. I couldn't do the same again later when on my own, so no road test yet. Will need more bleeding I suspect as the pedal is loaded up but feels a little softer than when it was working before

Dont forget, the clutch flexi pipe was horrendously twisted by PO, so could explain why it's now a bit softer/easier under foot ;)

Looking good Ali :driving:
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
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Thanks Mr. T. Sadly I'm in a hotel tonight so can't experiment but will look at it again tomorrow eve. Looking forward to being able to have a few drives with you before this summer.

@Jon - He didn't break it in. Is there something that makes you think he had? Someone did suggest I should get it broken in on an engine dyno. Now that would have been cool!
 

jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
Ali, you need to run it at 2500 to 3000 for 20 to 30 min to break the rings in. I think starting it and blipping it at idle per the video isn’t ideal for a new engine.
 
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