Author Topic: Winter Engine build (Read 31951 times)

HFStuart · « **Reply #20 on:** February 20, 2012, 06:47:17 PM »

Ian,

Exactly my thoughts. With the engine over the right side I guess there's no help for it as there's nothing significant on that side that could be moved.

In a left hooker it's probably quite well balanced with just the driver on board.

WestonE · « **Reply #21 on:** February 20, 2012, 09:04:50 PM »

Oh Dear with my some what more than 70 KG I had better reach over from the passenger seat!

Eric

Slightly more seriously I will have to have the coil overs set up to compensate.

HFStuart · « **Reply #22 on:** February 20, 2012, 10:09:25 PM »

Quote from: WestonE on February 20, 2012, 09:04:50 PM

Oh Dear with my some what more than 70 KG I had better reach over from the passenger seat!

Leave the cam cover off - it's only 200g but it's a start

75coupe · « **Reply #23 on:** February 22, 2012, 10:20:11 AM »

Eric,

I am quite a bit more than 70 kg myself, although that is my target weight.......I had some Sparco Sprint V seats for Christmas and they are not built for portly fellows.....I hastily unwrapped them like a kid, sat in one on the floor, stood up and ended up walking around with it stuck to my **se until someone helped me out! I keep telling myself that if I lost 20kg, it would virtually compensate for the rollcage I am just about to fit!

Looks like I'll take up up clockwise oval racing....or take up rallying with a 100kg navigator!

Keep up the good work Stuart, hope to see your engine roar into life on youtube soon....

Regards Ian

HFStuart · « **Reply #24 on:** March 12, 2012, 07:33:37 PM »

A slight change of plan in the last couple of weeks.

The engine is going together, progress is slow but I'll get there.

Of more interest is that I asked my dad to machine the rear of the pulley I got from Millers Mule to give a touch more clearance. This he did and left it in my garage next to a box that turned out to contain a pair of Solex 40 ADDHE Carbs! Apparently they'd belonged to the father of one of his colleauges, he passed away and the colleague had no use for them. Bit of a bonus really!

They need overhaul but even so.....

I was thinking that if I'm going to buy a pair of Webers I might as well go for injection. A free pair of carbs though changes this. So I'm going to use them for a Megajolt controlling the ignition.

In the meantime I've been shimming up the cams and found that there was no clearance on two of the valves, the seats have obviously dropped back a bit when the head was ported. I'd have had to go too thin of the shims to get the right clearance and that was worrying me a little unitl I found there are two thicknesses of cambox gasket roughly 0.9mm and 1.4mm. If I fit the 1.4mm hey presto clearance again.

Next step final assembly of the head and timing.

Stuart

HFStuart · « **Reply #25 on:** June 02, 2012, 04:58:54 PM »

Progress at last.

With today looking like the best of the weather I decided it was time to pull the old engine out.

4 Hours later using an A frame and the engine out from above method I have an old engine sat in the garden (all the best gardens have engines) and a very nose up Spider.

One result of the thrashing I gave it at the Beta 40th was the plugs swimming in engine oil - not something it had done before but I get one of the cam gaskets cried enough.

So a build to finish over the next two wet days, a few bits to replace while I can get to them them and if I'm lucky I might be able to put the new one in on Tuesday or (more likely) next weekend
(edit to add pics)

75coupe · « **Reply #26 on:** June 04, 2012, 12:57:43 AM »

Hi Stuart,

Just noticed you have an alloy rad in there with plastic tanks, where did you obtain it?

Ian

HFStuart · « **Reply #27 on:** June 04, 2012, 09:29:27 AM »

I honestly can't remember as I got it for my previous spider but it's a Valeo one and it's a perfect fit.

HFStuart · « **Reply #28 on:** June 10, 2012, 10:53:06 PM »

OK so it's not in yet but some good progress today on the bits that are easier to get to with the engine out.

New Betaboyz steering arm bushes fitted
New Speedo Cable
New Throttle Cable (after clearing about 250g of Ziebart from the bulkhead where it goes through - no wonder the other one didn't seat properly)
Heater control valve removed (it's a bit of a sod to get at), dismanteld and repaired using the guts of another.
New heater hoses fitted
CSC Manifold re-drilled

Doesn't soung like so much - but it took the best part of four hours!

HFStuart · « **Reply #29 on:** July 08, 2012, 10:54:18 PM »

It lives, it lives...

More than a few issues of the one step forwards and two back type but it finally sprung into life this evening. There's no water in it so I only ran it for a few seconds but very satisfying for all that. Some of the issues:

The CSC four branch manifold isn't the best fit - I've had to shim the engine mounts to get it missing the anti roll bar and off the floor of the car
Discovering a ripped driveshaft gaitor just after I'd put it back on and torqued everything up (I had checked before fitting but must have missed it)
No spark at all - turned out to be a random loose connection
Timing 180 deg out. Once I got a spark I also got an impressive backfire through the carb

I'll fill the cooling system tomorrow and try for a (gentle) test drive.

MattNoVAT · « **Reply #30 on:** July 09, 2012, 08:19:50 AM »

I'm imagining Dr Frankenstien type activity in Stuarts garage now

Well done Stuart, nothing as satisfying as an engine bursting into life after some major surgery.

Well done sir....

HFStuart · « **Reply #31 on:** July 12, 2012, 10:27:56 PM »

Bum,

It runs well pulls well but it's also generating it's own personal oil slick.

Somewhere from the top of the engine at thie back as the oil is dripping off the rear water rail. Sadly I've only just found the leak (it's 20 past ten!) so I'll have to cancel the exhasut appointment tomorrow.

Hopefully it's nothing too serious but I need some daylight and a cooler engine to see/feel where it's comming from and I got bored lying on the drive in the rain :-(

Stuart

Neil-yaj396 · « **Reply #32 on:** July 13, 2012, 07:18:19 AM »

Exhaust Cambox seal? Sounds like too much oil to be just the cam cover gasket.

HFStuart · « **Reply #33 on:** July 13, 2012, 09:58:05 AM »

I suspect so - the front one is certainly weeping so it's possible I've used a duff pair. They were both ones with red sealant lines on them, some of the other thicker ones I've used before don't have that. Annoying if I have to change them as I'll almost certainly have to re shim the cams.

Also I know I torqued the carrier bolts up to the specified 16lb/ft (IIRC) and that didn't seem very tight. I'll check in more detail this evening.

Neil-yaj396 · « **Reply #34 on:** July 14, 2012, 11:49:22 AM »

Maybe the bolts have loosened off? As you say, not very tight and lots of heat and vibration back there. The thinner gaskets you describe were used to cure my Cambox leak a while ago and have been fine. I was warned off the thicker cheaper ones.

HFStuart · « **Reply #35 on:** July 15, 2012, 12:03:57 AM »

I had limited time between rain and daughter today but long enough to establish that most of the carrier bolts had slackened off to only 10lbft or so - very odd as I re-torqued them a day after I first did them to account for the gasket settling. I'll do them back up tomorrow properly and see what happens.

HFStuart · « **Reply #36 on:** September 23, 2012, 09:11:17 AM »

A man could go off this car business you know.....

Yesterday I took the sump off (very fiddly with a baffled sump and the engine in the car) and found the baffle trap door was not stuck open by the pump in fact there was nothing at all obvious wrong. It's possible the pickup was stopping the door from opening so Mr Croft has oferred to mock up the assembly and see.

More seriously is that the while the big ends were scored the mains are shot in less than a thousand miles so the engine needs to come out again. Bugger.

Time pressures also mean it's unlikely to be back on the road for the NEC. Double bugger.

Trying to see the positive it'll allow me to replace the valve guides....

rossocorsa · « **Reply #37 on:** September 23, 2012, 03:26:21 PM »

I have my engine stripped as well scored big end bearings and a couple with shiny patches suggesting oil starvation, crank and pistons seem to look ok though but of course looks can be deceptive GC described it as a typically ***** example from my photos. Not sure what to do at the moment as i dont have any spare funds for parts and even less skill to do anything myself looks like the car will sit around for a few more years yet!

WestonE · « **Reply #38 on:** September 23, 2012, 09:28:13 PM »

Stuart

Chin up you spotted it and acted before destroying the engine when many people do not . You may never know the cause but I bet you will be systematically cleaning every gallery and channel on the re-build. I use sealed plastic crates for the cleaned parts and still clean them again with brake cleaner before building having created a working environment suitable for brain surgery!!

Good Luck

Eric
PS if you only need bearings, gaskets and time it is still a result

rossocorsa · « **Reply #39 on:** September 23, 2012, 09:39:59 PM »

I think i'd be happy to be operated on in a workshop as clean as GCs the question is how the hell can that be replicated in a typical home garage full of junk? I can quite see how many home rebuilds are 'dirty'

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Author Topic: Winter Engine build (Read 31951 times)