Berlinetta Restoration 2015

[8 Valve Ed]

Good story Ed! Great days doing hay timing and stuff... Look forward to the pony and JCB tale...

Yes it needs a cool head (Ed!) and some thought, I am sure this can be resolved, I haven't cut louvers in the bonnet sides yet but not convinced they are essential. There is no clutter in the engine bay, it isn't over hot. I think it's probably running weak due to the over free air filters and that's causing it to get a bit warmer than optimum. I think fuel vaporisation is the reason for the failure to start when hot, and unrestricted breathing the reason for gasping on acceleration in high gear.

I am concerned I may blow a hole in a piston running it weak, it can happen so easily. That would be a disaster.

Currently planning to try to restrict the air intake with some sort of sleeve, possibly an old jumper sleeve or tracky pants leg. These filters are pretty un-restrictive, the standard air filter is two paper drums inside a steel housing with about a 45mm dia. air intake. I think that is the clue. Without an exhaust gas analyser I am groping in the dark, so I am going to have to be lucky to hit a sweet spot, not too weak for the pistons and valves and definitely not too rich for the test.

[a big scary monster]

Yes, He was a tyrant to work for but looking back he certainly moulded my approach to life and taught me many skills, just not people skills, Jimmy Savile once threatened to throw him off the drop by the church in heptonstall.
Try it on straight petrol in the middle of the night, im pretty sure without the use of Google that petrol stays liquid a good 15 or 20° higher than ethanol. I have seen those engines with various heat shields under the inlet, the land rover trailing boys have all manner of issues and solutions for it, try a peak on their forums or diff lock forum. Wait till the emissions test then wind it up to the Max richness allowed. My mot man loves tinkering with my Jeeps when he is testing them, last year I got under and painted some bits while it was over the pit and it cost me 6 eggs ha ha he is retiring soon though so I'm a bit worried. Ed.
Edit.... Is your lad still messing with the wind turbine? I am going to get a job lot of solar panels and things today for a sun/ battery powered incubator project for my daughters chicken and quail hatching addiction, so I recon il have some blocking diodes spare if you want one posting? Can post you some quail too just looked and she has 48 eggs in. Ed

[8 Valve Ed]

Good stories Ed, I have just reset the advance, that was one of the things I messed with yesterday. Once the boss gets back I will ask her for something to wrap around the air filter then I will give it a try.

One of the features I built into the car was the fuel line runs well away from any heat source, until of course it gets into the carbs. I am thinking in terms of longer studs and more heat resistant packing between the manifold and carb flanges. Maybe stainless studs too. A heat shield under the carbs might do some good but I will take your advice and check out the LR forums.

It seems the latent heat when the car is standing for a few minutes is the problem but that said I stalled it when setting off from a lay-by then it refused to restart straight away, although it had been stood ticking over for a few minutes.

Can you still buy 'real' petrol???

[8 Valve Ed]

Originally Posted by a big scary monster

Is your lad still messing with the wind turbine? I am going to get a job lot of solar panels and things today for a sun/ battery powered incubator project for my daughters chicken and quail hatching addiction, so I recon il have some blocking diodes spare if you want one posting? Can post you some quail too just looked and she has 48 eggs in. Ed

I think they dropped it for now, but I was given a battery powered fluorescent lamp yesterday, with some spare car batteries it would be handy in the shed. Lets get this MOT out of the way then I come back to you on that one...

Living right on the coast we almost always have some wind, it's an interesting project for them.

[garyh]

You could use some tin foil?

[8 Valve Ed]

Good idea, will have a look, I don't think the boss has any but a call via Aldi will probably secure some.

[8 Valve Ed]

OK, got to the test station, the tracky pants seem to provide close to the right mixture.

Bit of a slow test but the outcome was what I had hoped for, it passed. They let me loose with the exhaust gas analyser so I adjusted the carbs so they were both about 0.2% CO, which they thought was about right.

I went into the office to collect the paperwork and there was a shout from the workshop, it let go a rad full of water (and anti-freeze) all over the garage floor. :-(


I bought a bottle of rad seal and put it in, I drove about 4 miles to a garage to get some fuel and it was just pouring out, so I cut and ran to a friends house, he is in the IoM watching the racing but I pulled the rad and managed to get back here. I need to solder the rad again then recover the Marlin.

It's been a long day.

[Paul L]

8 Valve Ed - Congratulations on the MOT pass Robert and the last few car photos look great.

Sorry to hear about the radiator problem, hopefully it wont trouble you again.

Good luck, Paul.

[a big scary monster]

Super job on the MOT, lucky it didn't pop on your 45 mile run the other day, my friend was in the IoM racing his side car outfit, apparently radiators where popping there due to the heat. Ed

[8 Valve Ed]

Thanks Paul, as ever these jobs are a challenge but that's what I enjoy.

Once it's sorted it's going to be a joy to have. It's the first time I have driven an open top car since I can't remember when. Must have been the late 60's in my fathers Alvis TC21 Tickford drophead.

I am really looking forward to driving it in the Lakes, over the classic passes, Hardknot, Wrynose, Blea Tarn, Honister, Winlatter, etc. Take a picnic and have a nice day.

I seem to have joined a community of soft top drivers! My most enthusiastic admirers seem to be the drivers of modern, expensive cars like Merc's and BM's, who throw admiring looks my way! Despite the incomplete and somewhat rugged appearance of the car.

Keep plugging away at your car Paul, you will get there, I am missing your regular updates but I understand your position.

Once I have completed the shake down jobs and snagging I plan to start an 'On the Road' thread as Mr. Towed has done. While it's good to share the car build side of kitcar ownership, the fun doesn't stop when it's finished, in fact on the road is the main event. If I can share that and provide an insight into the usage side it may provide additional incentive for others to push on with their builds.

[8 Valve Ed]

Originally Posted by a big scary monster

Super job on the MOT, lucky it didn't pop on your 45 mile run the other day, my friend was in the IoM racing his side car outfit, apparently radiators where popping there due to the heat. Ed

Still not sure what has gone on the rad, just got home in the 'boss's' car, about to investigate. It must be a biggish hole because Radweld did no good.

Will update later.

[peterux]

Originally Posted by 8 Valve Ed

Can you still buy 'real' petrol???

I believe 'Super Unleaded' or 98 Octane petrol doesn't have any Ethanol added.
But read the last few lines of this article...
http://www.groups.tr-register.co.uk/...ol-update.html

It might be worth trying some E0 petrol before you change too much else.

....peter

P.S. congrats on the MOT - I'm glad that old metro servo is still working

[8 Valve Ed]

Hi Peter, just got in from rescuing the Marlin. I soldered the rad again, not sure how good it is really, I think it needs rebuilding. In a way it's a good rad but it's pretty old and despite being a genuine Serk specialised radiator with perforated fins I am not convinced of it's integrity. The top and bottom tanks are flat with no stiffening beads to prevent the sides and top of the tank bulging when the internal pressure rises, the flat parts of the tank are quite rounded as a result of the bulging which has occurred when the heat and pressure has been on. I am concerned about fatigue cracks in the brass header tanks at the edges and around soldered joints

I am getting the feeling that a completely new rad may be the best way forward.

I don't believe the engine is overheating, it's coming up to thermostat temp and holding it steadily. I am however concerned one of the the tanks or the core could let go unexpectedly. If that happened a long way from home I am stuffed

The old Metro servo is good, once again many thanks on that one, the outcome of our discussion about front and rear balance of the BMW master cylinder held good. The front/rear balance seems good, in the dry at least. The axle weights front/rear are close to 50/50. The fronts lock up easily at low speed and do so well before the rears and in a controlled manner. On the rollers the fronts went well up towards 4-500 and were both the same, the rears were both about 200. The car weighs just over 700 Kg according to my improvised hydraulic jack weighing scales.

On my way back home I tried stopping the engine, still refuses to start but not for so long now. Pretty tired right now will try to explain better tomorrow...

[garyh]

Have you seen this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3713513107...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[8 Valve Ed]

I have to admit I hadn't! LOL

Seems an interesting project but grossly expensive for what it is. Me thinks it would be a nightmare to finish having started from the wrong end...

Surely a rolling, running, working chassis first, then create a body around it?

The creator has now probably realised that and want's rid, AND his money back.

[8 Valve Ed]

Have been having a bit of a break from the Marlin while I re-group for the next phase of the restoration.

The radiator burst immediately after the test and caused me to have to leave the car at a friends and be 'rescued'. I did a temp fix on the rad next day, to get the car home.

This is the temp fix I made.



Today I pulled the rad out again and have made a much better repair. There appeared to be cracks in the lower tube plate next to the tube I had to disconnect and blank off. Today I removed all the solder I had applied as a temp fix and had a good look at the metal underneath.

This is what it looked like after grit blasting:



It is now obvious that the 'cracks' are in fact surplus tube holes which have been closed up and soldered up to seal them. Trouble is the solder has cracked and has been seeping, then leaking.

I soldered a small brass patch over the worst one.



However it still leaked so I had to solder another patch over the other three slits.

I am going to mount the radiator on it's base, I have removed the side plates because I feel they are stressing the tanks. I have a quote for a new radiator and I think I will go that route later in the year. Until then I want to get it usable so I can address the fuel vaporisation issue. I may not do any long trips this year, depending on how it works out. I don't want to get stranded miles from home.

I am also planning a remote header tank to be fitted on the bulkhead, which will take the place of a heater if I had one (which I don't!). The two pipes at the back of the inlet manifold will be a perfect place for the header tank to connect. I still have to decide if it will be brass, aluminium or stainless...

If I could get some large brass or copper tube, it would be quite easy to make one. I still don't have argon so stainless would be difficult, aluminium is another possibility but it really needs TIG welding which I can't do myself on aluminium, even if I had argon.

[8 Valve Ed]

The radiator is back in the car, I have made some aluminium pipe connectors to replace the temporary joiners I had used which were close to popping off. They have served their purpose and were only ever intended to be to get it to the MOT.

The main issues I detected on my 100 mile round trip to the MOT are as follows:

1 - The steering wheel is too low and needs turning one spline to the left to be straight. This causes me discomfort because in 5th gear I can't lift my knee high enough to relax, resulting in severe cramps.

2 - The engine 'gasps' badly under heavy acceleration.

3 - The engine refuses to start when hot. Takes about 30 mins to cool sufficiently to re-start.

4 - Tick over is too fast but the adjustment screws are fully backed off.


1 - I haven't dealt with 1 yet. Need to resolve the engine issues first. The solution is to remove the spacers I fitted to lower the steering wheel. However I may need to adjust the lower dash to allow the column to rise.

2 - I have found the original SD1 air filter housing and fittings. I have fitted them, the acceleration 'grasp' is now gone, it accelerates impressively and smoothly, it pulls very well as one would expect.

3 - I have fitted a lower temp thermostat, 82ºC, although I think the engine is actually running hotter now than it was on the MOT run. The 'new' thermostat may not be opening as wide at the previous one which was 88ºC, despite opening at a lower temp.

I plan to monitor the temperatures of the carb float bowls to experience and discover at what temperature it refuses to start. After todays run the rocker covers were 85ºC and the float bowls were 65ºC, I understand ethanol can boil/vaporise at 78ºC They are separated by about 12mm of air. I was also concerned to discover that the fuel pipe was 45ºC despite being at least a foot away from the exhaust. That supports suggestions for a full return circuit system and insulating the pipes in the engine bay. Some rethinking in this area may be called for. I am planning for heat shielding of the carbs and insulation of the fuel pipes, with the possible novel provision of a water jet screen wash directed at the float bowls to cool them with water if the need arrises.

I am also intending to create the louvers in the engine side panels, although I feel it may help, I believe the problem needs solving at root as much as possible first, getting the carbs isolated and controlling their temp is I feel the key to the solution.

I still believe the carbs are cooled by the Venturi effect while the engine is running but they will absorb heat very quickly once the engine has stopped. I plan to monitor temps while the car is being driven. I need to understand what is going on temp wise.

4 - The carbs need servicing, with new throttle spindles, bushes and seals. I believe the inability to set the tick over to be adjusted is a combination of wear and drawing air through the worn spindle bushes and missing seals.

I plan to start an 'on the road' thread once I have overcome these teething problems. The car is nice to drive and certainly turns heads. I am sure not having a windscreen at all is better than having a windscreen without door windows. It's windy but does not have the buffeting I have experienced with just a windscreen.

Having read in another thread that the Metro servo is inadequate, I can only say that last night I tried a high speed (50MPH?) heavy brake, I easily locked the front wheels on a dry, very grippy tar and chip road, the car pulled up with little drama, leaving two big black lines on the road.

I need to do something about ground clearance... I need a set of standard springs!

[a big scary monster]

Did you keep on soldering the rad or get it re cored? You could always just badge it up as a mor9an or other British "classic" and drive it as is, it would probably be one of the most reliable on the road, don't forget this warm weather may be making you doubt the thermostat my diesel van runs 3 increments hotter this weather. Ed

[8 Valve Ed]

Originally Posted by a big scary monster

Did you keep on soldering the rad or get it re cored? You could always just badge it up as a mor9an or other British "classic" and drive it as is, it would probably be one of the most reliable on the road, don't forget this warm weather may be making you doubt the thermostat my diesel van runs 3 increments hotter this weather. Ed

Hi Ed, I just soldered it as in an earlier post, above. Nobody wants to re-core my rad because the headers have been created from flat sheet and they are just folded at the corners. As soon as you go near it with a soldering iron or a flame, the joints start leaking. I have had a quote for a complete new rad but it's a lot of money. Despite that I think I may well go down that route, on the whole I have been very miserly with the restoration, the radiator is key to reliability, especially with such a large engine so what I have saved during the build might justify the investment. I just want to have time to look at alternatives like perhaps a Series Land Rover rad to re-core, or something like that. Even a pair of tractor header tanks, which would be narrow enough. The max width is about 18" or 450mm, which by todays standards is very narrow.

The day I took it for the MOT must have been one of the hottest. It's early days yet, I need to live with it for a while and get used to it's ways.

[MartinClan]

I used a standard (early) BMW E30 325 rad in the Sportster. Its fairly narrow and keeps the 2500 6 cool with no problem. I can measure it if you like. It was pretty cheap as I remember although that was several years ago.

Cheers Robin