Well, I bolted-on the sump (gasket, sealant and 15 bolts) and put the engine upright. Shall I drop in the tappets or put tape over the tappet wells? No, I'll fit the head studs. And, I'll drop a nut down no. 7.

But, not all was lost. I could see it sitting on the camshaft. I stuck my finger in the fuel pump aperture and got the nut on my index finger. Phew. Then I started to withdraw my finger and clunk, clunk, ching. A nut in the sump. What a tw*t.

I did think for a moment that I could get to it through the drain plug but no. Too big. I did a Basil Fawlty and squatted down with my forearms over my head.

I shall whip off the sump when I have 20 minutes to kill.

As I said, schoolboy error.

Zank you fur being open und honest viz us today, mien Herr Oxford 1360. I'm zure sillier things huv happened to our esteemed 'threaders' on zis vorum.

Now, lie back on ze couch, take a deep breath and azk yourself: 'Vy did I vant to stick my finger in the fuel pumpf aperture?'

'..and perhaps you could elaborate a leedle on vy you vish to vhip the Zumpf to death..?

(sorry.)

dont feel bad spent an hour last night wondering why the battery on Mrs Mac's Mg wouldnt charge until i spotted the little lamp on the charger that told me i had the clamps on the wrong way round!!

Do it. Do it now. Or you'll forget, finish the car, fire up the engine and...

Don't worry, T, I have decided it is my next job. Fortunately, I have several thousand packs of gaskets that came with the donor spares package.

I know exactly what you mean. :rolleyes:

But on the plus side, everyone on here thinks you will have built one of the nicest Sammios around when it is finished. :cool:

Good luck, Paul. :)

Crikey, is that an hour already? Can I come back next week? I have so much Sammio baggage to get off my chest.

..don't we all!

Mr T, here is the offending article........


But, but, but.........this little cloud had a silver lining. As I was undoing the sump bolts I noticed the dip-stick hole.......and I realised that I had not made a hole in the sump baffle for the dip-stick to pass through. So, much better that I realise now rather than when the engine and box are sitting in the chassis.

I had a good four hours today down at The Glade. The engine is together. Tomorrow it will get a coat of green and I shall add some pics.

Surely you could've just pushed a suitably long drill bit down the old dip stick tube and drilled the hole in your baffle without removing the sump. Sort of keyhole surgery for Sammios. Simple, huh?

What's that? Swarf you say. Hmm, hadn't thought of that...

No! The simplest way would have been to shorten the dipstick enough for it sit nicely in the block. Who checks their oil anyway!

If he drilled upwards through the bottom of the sump the swarf would be washed away as the oil gushed out. Problem solved!

No! The simplest solution of all is to run a 'dry sump' engine by, erm, emptying the oil out and running without it.

Think about it: no more surging on high G turns; no more irksome oil changes; no more black spots on the brick-weave for the wife to moan about. What could be simpler or more effective?

Just popping down to The Glade to apply all these ideas. The dry sump will be excellent - no surge, and plenty of money saving on oil and filters.

Any tips on running a dry rad?

A dry rad might overheat the engine causing bubbles in the paint work if you haven't checked for voids first

I think if you run dry sump and dry rad youll end up with voids in the block
:-0

I've run the heat gun over the engine and the gearbox (more savings on oil) and there were no bubbles. I'm going for it.

...a dull 'whump' was heard as the engine burst into flame, shortly followed by the unmistakable rustle of a voided insurance policy...leaving a large hole in a bank account.

If the EU wants greener engines, they can have them......and especially after the second coat.


Ancillaries to go on this week (Tuesday?), and as soon as I get my flywheel back from having its new starter ring fitted I can bolt on the gearbox. Then will come the ceremony of dropping them into the chassis. Possibly next weekend......and then I can start building a bl**dy Sammio.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice the fuel-pump blanking plate (from Rimmers). I shall be using an electric pump.

That looks the nuts mate, i am realy liking your colour choice mate.

That looks the nuts mat

Pistachio nuts?

Oxford - All looks good so far, so I hope you have a productive weekend.

Good luck, Paul. :)

Morning Paul - if all goes to plan (ha ha) I might have the bell-housing built-up with new arm and release bearing, and attached to the gearbox.

I picked-up my flywheel yesterday that has had a new starter ring fitted. I shall fit this to the engine, whack on the clutch and I hope to bolt box to engine. If I achieve this I will be happy.

Then, one evening next week......engine and box in chassis. Hurrah.

Tidied the man-cave in readiness for tomorrow. It meant pushing the chassis outside into daylight for the first time in six months........and the bench is ready.

Looking amazing , top work mate:yo:

A few more hours this weekend. I'm just about where I planned to be.


From this pic you can see that the fan belt is too long. I ordered a Spitfire Mk IV item because I had switched to an alternator. Stupid me; the dynamo/alternator pulleys are very similar sizes, but the crank pulley on a Mk IV is much bigger than a 13/60....hence the belt is too long.

The pic also shows the problem of having gone too green. The alternator stands out like a sore thumb. Might just flat-off the plastic back-casing and give it the treatment.


Spot the really embarrassing item above.......yes, once I'd spun the oil filter on it just looked too white so I flatted it off and gave it a coat of green.

And, of you think that is bad, this takes the biscuit. The obsession is now out of hand.


I don't want to fit the distributor just yet as I will probably damage it when I lift the lump into the chassis...........which should be this week.

i thank this car is going too look fab ..that how to do it .....very nice

Paul, Mike,Phil - thanks for the positive comments. They help to keep the spirits up and to keep things moving. I'm actually hoping to start on the floor pan this weekend which is proper Sammio/Ribble stuff rather than restoration. Then it's frame fabrication which I am really looking forward to. Cutting, welding and grinding is good for the soul - especially when you have a new chop saw.

Put the green paint brush down, and step away from the fumes.

:icon_wink:

Jokes, aside, I'm looking forward to seeing how you are going to build the frame.

IIRC you were planning both a flip front & back, or am I mixing that up with one of your previous builds?

Good luck, Paul. :)

Coming along nicely Rob, its errr very green! :-)

Thank you, Dr Viatron, you may have saved my life.

Paul, yes, the plan is to go for a flip-back which will include a boot. But, I may be being over-ambitious with my glassing skills. Whatever happens, it should be fun viewing for you guys. And, getting the removable roll hoops to look OK will be even more comedy.

Roll on the next 18 months.

Pictures.......
 

They say that a picture speaks a thousand words. Well, two of those are "f*****g hallelujah".


And, just a little reminder of a year ago.


"Operation Floorpan" should begin next week.

I'm very pleased with the ride height. The front of the siderail sits 1.5cm lower than the rear which, in my book, is perfect.

O, looks amazing... those wheels are going to look great. Have you squirted an waxoyl into the chassis?

So nice it seems a shame to put a body on it!

Gary - thanks - Waxoyl is on my "to do" list before the floor goes on.

V - I know what you mean, but I'll still know what is underneath. I've always liked that Triumph promotional picture of the chap sitting on a Herald rolling chassis.

top work love the be for pic its going to be a fab car great stuff

Oxford - That before & after photo looks very good, you have really brought that back from the dead. :cool:

Good luck with the floors, Paul. :)

O, did you just cut your springs?

Gary, no I didn't cut them. Whilst I have no reason to question the practice (it's how I lowered my Beta HPE when I was a lad, and it was fine), I just don't like the way that a cut spring doesn't have a flat head.

I bought a pair of these (see below) on eBay as "upgraded" Spitfire springs. They had been purchased as part of an abandoned project. Like you, I was looking for ~280 lb (or even softer) springs in this length, but could not find them anywhere. Hence, I assumed that the red ones are 330lb. I was able to fit them to the shocker (just) without the need to compress them.


I have a 1" lowering block on the rear and, now that the engine is in the chassis, I am very pleased with the stance. I did do the unscientific test of standing on the front cross tube and bouncing up and down. It did not feel anything like as stiff as I was anticipating. However, I still expect it to be a firmer ride than I would like when it is finally on the road.

And, of course, they are not red anymore We'll just have to wait and see how much flex the paint can deal with.


This site is interesting if you haven't already seen it -
http://auskellian.com/paul/links_fil...hancements.htm

I'm not saying that I agree with everything, but it is interesting background reading.

On the point of springs does anyone know definatively what the standard front spring poundage is on a spitfire? I found this:

http://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/springs.htm

Based on the standard of 180lb 330lb sound very hard, hence im now questioing the info in the link.