Planning a rebuild

Post by **1954Etype** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:54 pm

Brilliant! Fingers crossed it fires up ok

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:11 pm

Get the beer in the fridge Mark - they're forecasting another mid nineties day tomorrow and we'll be thirsty :-)

Pete

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 12:38 am

Angus, if it doesn't fire up, I'll just blame it on Pete because he will have been too busy drinking a fridge full of beer to be of any use!

Post by **1954Etype** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:44 am

Just don't let him wear his leather shorts!

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 1:51 pm

Here's an update on where I am. I take Mondays off, so I had three days largely uninterrupted to devote to my feline mistress.

Right now, I am mired down in trying to figure out why I seem to have no electric supply to the dash. With Pete's help, I installed the engine on Saturday then attached the torsion bar reaction plate (two hours of fun!), bled the new clutch master cylinder and rebuilt slave cylinder, hooked up the cooling system, alternator, etc. As soon as I attached the battery, the starter motor began to turn the engine over. Turns out that I had it wired incorrectly. Plus, I noticed a slow drip of coolant which was coming from the hose connection to the pipe that runs beneath the carburetors and supplies water from the pump to the heater. That hose clamp was unreachable with the carbs in, so I pulled the manifold off, rewired the starter, tightened all of my coolant hoses and checked the starter function before replacing the manifold and carbs. Everything OK. Put it all back together, refilled the cooling system, retested starter function and reverse light switch function. Everything still OK. Installed the plugs and tried the first startup. No electric response from anything on the dash. No fuel pump ticking, no dash gauge deflections, no go from the starter button. Nothing. I checked for voltage from the positive battery terminal to engine, alternator and various points on the body and frame; all 13 V. Fuses all good. I gave up and went inside and watched the Nats get beat by the Phillies. That's how my Monday went. I may trade my Cat in for a horse.
:x :x :x

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 3:04 pm

OK. Everything is back together and running like since long before I owned her. The electrical problem turned out to be: 1. Dirty contacts on the ignition switch 2. Oxidation of the positive feed to the post where the other positive feeds connect and of the negative cable at the battery. All of the above cleaned and coated with dielectric grease.
The good news is the new engine starts instantly and runs quietly and smoothly. The idle speed is too high and I'm probably running too rich so a retune of the carbs is in order. The clutch is now a pleasure to use as it works much better than the old one did ever since I've owned the car (2008). The interior is all reinstalled (she looks pretty again!), but I've left the bonnet off until I get the carbs sorted.
The bad news is that I fear that I have the dreaded drip from the rear main crank seal. No evidence of any leak while the car was running on stands with the front end inclined downward slightly, but last evening I put her back on her own four feet and rolled her out of the garage under her own power for the first time since last October. Went about 100 yards up the street and turned around and as I was pulling back into the driveway, smoke started billowing up from the rear of the engine in front of the bulkhead. I'm guessing that I've got oil dripping down onto the exhaust pipes. It was getting late last evening, so I quit. I'll jack the front end up this evening and inspect for the source of the leak.

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:43 pm

A leak onto the exhaust is far more likely to be from the camshaft feed and/or from the screws which secure the blanking plate at the rear of the exhaust camshaft. These coarse threaded screws often go through into the oil gallery and the oil works its way along the thread quite quickly. A rear seal leak tneds to drip through the very bottom of the bellhousing, well clear of the exhaust

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:49 pm

Thanks, Christopher. That's good news if that is where the leak is coming from. My son and I looked at the top of the block beneath the rear of the head and didn't see any leaking of any kind, but a closer inspection may reveal the source. I will report back once I know more.

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:39 pm

I think that I have good news to report. No oil leak from the rope seal or cam oil feed pipes, but I did find that most of the sump bolts had a drop of oil on their heads. I removed them and applied RTV sealant and will allow it to cure over night before attempting another start. It was very clear from underneath the car where the exhaust pipes were getting dripped on and it was well forward of the rope seal and about 1/3 the way forward from the rear of the sump. The bell housing access hole was dry. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that is the only source of oil leaking. I do have a slow drip of coolant from the front somewhere that I can't see. If I can't find it, I will dump a can of Bars Leak Stop in. I was hoping that with modern gaskets, sealants and my expert assembly skills, Bars Leak would not be necessary. Yeah, right!

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 2:54 am

Some of your hoses are soggy Mark and there are a couple of non-standard joints like the front right bypass one held by that plug lead clip. Hoses are pretty cheap and it usually pays to buy a kit although you could do a few of yours from a role of generic heater hose. Barrs Leaksxmay seal up a weep but in the medium term they won't prevent a tired hose from failing. I'd be budgeting to fix that 'ha'penny worth of tar' during the winter recess so you don't spoil the newly re-engined 'ship'.

Pete

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:22 pm

Another update. Bars Leak stopped the slow drip from the cooling system. I never did find out where it was coming form, but it's gone now. Unfortunately, I do have a few oil drips. One appears to be coming from the rear of the inlet cam cover, so that should be an easy fix. The other is the dreaded rope seal. Very slow, but I do find some oil when I stick my finger into the access hole on the bottom of the bell housing. If it doesn't worsen, I will probably live with it. I sure don't want to pull the engine again.
After several attempts to tune the carbs, I threw the towel in and took the car to Pete for his help. It took him about thirty minutes to get them balanced and idling at 700 rpm, but I still have a bit of a "splashy" misfire. That may be due to worn throttle bushings on the carbs. Another flaw that I will probably live with for the time being.
The good news is that the car is now running like I've never known her to. I replaced the original Lucas distributor (which shattered during the initial startup. Apparently something internal came loose and jammed) with a 123Ignition. The car starts instantly after sitting for several days and there is no pinking. The acceleration is phenomenal and best of all, no burning of oil! I have almost 500 miles on it since the rebuild and the rings appear to be well-seated. This past Sunday was a gorgeous day, 80 F., low humidity, sunny skies, so my son, Scott, and I went for a real shakedown run. We drove to the Shenandoah Mountains for lunch in a small village tavern on a combination of Interstate (motorway) and secondary roads. Plenty of hard braking into turns and hearty acceleration on the way out. The engine constantly was asking for more throttle. With the replacement of the badly worn engine mounts and stabilizer bushing, the car was a tight, solid pleasure to drive as it was designed to be driven. Upon returning home after 118 miles, no oil level change was found on the dipstick. After the first one hundred or so miles following the rebuild (before the rings were seated) I had to add about a quart of oil, but the level has been pretty stable since.
Again, I want to thank the forum members for their help and advice on this project and previous problems that I have posted. And a special thank you to Pete Crespin. Without his encouragement, advice and hands on help I never could have done it. Now I'm looking forward to the end of the hot, steamy DC summer and the great autumn driving weather that will be arriving in about a month!

Durango2k · Post by **Durango2k** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:05 pm

Hi Mark,

thank you so much for the Front Royal Route trip- it was absolutely worth it.

We stayed in Skylands for 2 nights- it was sooooo great.

Carsten + Family

P.S.- I still have to get Pete?s pistons in my engine....

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:12 pm

Carsten,
It was a treat to get to meet you and your family and I am glad that the Virginia portion of your trip went well. The Skyline Drive that you took is particularly beautiful in mid-October when the leaves are changing color. With all of the twists and turns, I would love to have it blocked off so that I could run it in my E at speed.

Durango2k · Post by **Durango2k** » Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:30 pm

Hi Mark,

yes, surely, but then you?d miss all the dozens of viewing points.

We had the sunset just opposite in Skylands (and a racoon eating our stuff at night even on the 2nd floor- lesson learned - they love cinnamon !).

And we met a black bear, on the road, not far from "Stony Man"...

Carsten

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Planning a rebuild

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