Berlinetta Restoration 2015
 

Project Outline

I plan to make a thread up to the present time, this restoration started in June 2013, but I want to get this thread rolling from now, I don't have the time at present to go back over what I have already done, basically I have a really good rolling chassis with Cortina 3/4/5 running gear and an SD1 V8 engine with an LT77 manual gearbox. The engine is good as is the gearbox, I have to re-assemble the engine but basically all it needs is gaskets and seals.

I am moving on apace, this week I have done a multitude of 'log-jam' tasks and a couple of tasks I have been sort of dreading because I was stepping outside my experience and had nobody I could call to guide me really. I have made a new scuttle out of 1.5mm Aluminium on my English Wheel, substantially it was formed but needed trimming around the doors and fitting to the also new bulkhead, I need to make brackets and form the door opening.

I also needed to form a gearbox housing which I also made on the English wheel. It took me about 3 hours to form the flare for the clutch housing on the English Wheel and about three days to make and fit it

These and several other tasks are now completed, so I am moving to the back of the car and have mounted the fuel tank, loaded the suspension with concrete blocks and tightened the rubber bush bolts, these were loose and floppy when I stripped the car, two bolts were partly worn through and the holes in the chassis and axel mountings badly worn. All that has been rectified and the suspension is now in really good condition.

This is a photo of the gearbox cover, it doesn't look that good in the photo but it's a really good fit and nice and strong too.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8604/...cd36f0b5_z.jpg

This is sort of what I would like it to resemble...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7540/...b88eb677_z.jpg

Here is the chassis:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8668/...5a120d71_z.jpg

The state of progress at the start of 2015 is here, I am using a spreadsheet to keep myself organised and struck on the idea of a progress chart so I could see how I was progressing...

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8570/...a0b72e5a_z.jpg

A question follows...

I have a question...
 

The Berlinetta has/had inertia reel seatbelt fitted. They seem very low where they are mounted on the 'B' post. The slip through fitting which the shoulder belt slides through seems to be about 6 inches BELOW my shoulder.

I am using very low seats mounted directly to the floor. I am concerned, not just about the regulations/MOT but also if I were involved in a collision, I would like the seat belts to provide some protection, NOT to make the chance of a back injury worse, which I suspect a very low shoulder mounting could do.

Has anybody come across this before?

I have considered installing a roll hoop but at a later stage, I could use the roll hoop as an upper mounting for the shoulder point mounting.

Otherwise I seem to be faced with creating a turret above the side of the car to mount the shoulder mount at a suitable height. Is this 'Done' and can anybody point me towards a successful example please?

A couple of pix, the black kneeling pad is about the same height as my shoulder, 8 inches above the sliding top mount of the seatbelt. Way too high in my opinion.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7524/...dd6cc46e_z.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8580/...097c35a5_z.jpg

As you probably know there is a requirement in the IVA of a minimum height for the turning point of the seatbelt - presumably to avoid back injury as you mentioned. On the Sportster most of us fitted a horizontal bar between the two uprights of the "roll over car" to acheive this. I used a welded in CDS tube.

Cheers, Robin

I will have to solve this challenge on my Royale Sabre build which also has an upper mounting point too low to meet the current regulations.
The ROC chairman suggested one option is to use Mk3 MX5 setas that have a seat belt upper mounting intergated into the seat back.

Example picture below.....(I don't own these seats)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7539/...65f155d6_c.jpgMazda MX5 Mk3 seats by marlinpeter, on Flickr

Presumably these seats are reinforced to take the forces in a crash situation.
I have no idea if these seats would fit in Berlinetta but offer it as another idea to consider.

BTW I'm enjoying your updates so keep them comming.... :smile:

I have a soft spot for Berlinettas so keep the progress photos coming.

A couple of thoughts on the seat belt issue.

The Berlinetta was never designed to meet the current safety requirements of kit cars: it is too narrow to be able to raise the turret height for the seatbelt mount, as the tops will then stick out of the side of the hood/hard top.

One option would be to fit a 4 point harness secured behind the seat, as in "racing bucket seats" - the seat must be strong enough to take the loads imparted on it in the event of an accident. I guess the praticality of this depends on whether you want to make use of the Berlinettas "rear seats"?

Another option to help is to make seat recesses in the floor. Marlin used to offer these at 25mm deep for the taller driver.

I welded recesses in my Cabrio with 65mm drop depth at the rear (25mm at the front) - this would solve half your problem, and make it easier to find the the remainng height from an additional modification?

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2080/...b5d4282b_n.jpg

Another solution might be to reverse the seat belts, having the shoulder straps in the centre of the car with some sort of hooped support between the B posts across behind the seats.

In the wife's convertible Lexus the belt passes under a leather strap atop the seat in the front ( pretty sure that is just to make it easy accessible and so it can be moved for rear seat access, but maybe an option.) And in the rear they come from the middle I always presumed it was so you could sit sideways but now I am thinking its to get the required height. I can email you some pics after 6pm if you like. Ed.

Hey guys, so sorry I haven't reacted to your posts, I had set notifications on for this thread but I didn't get any? I'm a bit pressed for time right now but your input is very helpful.

In short, after trial fitting the hood I have decided to investigate raising the rear tub. I raised the floor two inches because I want to be able to 'hide' the exhaust above the bottom of the chassis to improve ground clearance. I don't want to loose that by lowering the seat into the floor, also I want to sit a little higher rather than being 'sat low' with my bum on the road. More of a Land Rover than a racer... At present the seat has no runners so that means in reality the seat is only an inch higher that it was, also my floor is now only 3mm aluminium rather than the 12mm ply which was installed when I got the car, so that has saved a little too.

I don't want a seat belt turret protruding above the 'B' post, it will be unsightly and spoil the car. While I regard function over form, there are limit's! If raising the tub works I will reinforce the 'B' post structure and raise the seatbelt top anchor at least five or maybe even six inches. A small protrusion above the top of the tub will be acceptable, maybe two or three inches, but not six or seven which is what it really needs raising.

Long term I do expect to fit a simple roll bar with two back braces but not at this stage.

This will give me quite a lot more room in my boot and raise the profile of the car, which for me is good. It's very easy to achieve and low cost. <vbg> :smile:

Hi Robin,

Ultimately that is what I have in mind. There is a roll cage manufacturer at Barnoldswick, not that far from me, they specialise in Land Rovers, but they are happy to bend a CDS tube for me to my specs and supply a couple of pieces of tube for back braces for me to cobble something together myself. I could easily add a cross tube at an appropriate height to pass the seat belts over.

Hi Peter, I used something similar in my Roadster but they were very heavy and a bit tall compared with the somewhat basic bucket seats that were fitted in the Berli. I had to make very robust mountings to make the tester happy.

I will do my best to keep up the updates but i have many distractions, they may not be as regular as many of the build accounts I have been catching up on. I do enjoy producing a build story, it keeps me on my toes and may help other readers see solutions to their own problems. Sometimes I find explaining my problem in a thread focuses my mind on the issues and the solution appears obvious once I read the post.

Hi Mike, the Berli is slowly growing on me! I have now replaced the scuttle and boot lid, with aluminium panels. If I can develop my skills with the wheel to create my own wings; if I only get part way to the original concept of the 1930's Alfas I will be well pleased.

The Berlinetta has many issues that wouldn't meet current safety requirements, not least the front cross member. yet I haven't heard of a single report of any consequences resulting from that component. I am minded to install a brace between the two sides to add some rigidity.

Although I am sticking with the V8, I am doing so not for speed but for pulling power. I grew up driving large capacity cars. A Riley engined Healey, several Alvis 3 Litre's, Mk 3 Zodiac auto, Rover P6's auto and manual, SD1's etc. An enduring memory is of riding in the back of my fathers 1936 Alvis Silver Eagle down Oxford Street at about 70 in the middle of the night, about 2am! The sound from the 2 inch copper exhaust reverberating from the tall buildings. I was probably about 7 or 8 years old then. I may have grown older but I still haven't grown up yet! LOL

Copper exhausts are on my list!!! <vbg>

I have considered this option, there is more height to play with in the centre of the car. Mr. Towed did this in his build but apart from the issues of encroaching on the rear 'seating'. I feel that the seat belts should prevent the upper torso from being allowed to be thrown out of the side of the car, as it is when the shoulder belt is attached to the 'B' post.

I am not a safety freak but ever since a goof friend was involved in a very serious crash on Mull and had to be airlifted to Glasgow I have always worn my seat belts and treated them as an ally to be embraced, rather than a nuisance to be accommodated and tolerated. My friends life was saved by the fact she was wearing her seat belt when driving her Mini when it was hit head on by a big Merc being driven at speed over a blind crest. Since then several friends have been saved by their seat belts which has reinforced my feelings in this direction.

If you could post some pix it would be good, some way of locating the shoulder belt would be good, it would prevent it from slipping off and probably make it more comfortable to wear.

Berlinetta
 

Isn't there a problem with trying to get a Berlinetta through the IVA ?? thought they had rejected the use of the Cortina front suspension and were trying to get them to fail an MOT ??

I know of one very well built one which was rejected at IVA due to the way the Cortina cross member is used in the design, but there are many Berlinettas on the road and have never heard of any issues relating to the front suspension.

I am not aware of any regulations in the MOT which could cause a fail due to the Cortina cross member and although I am aware of the issues, given the greatly reduced weight and therefore lower forces present in the Marlin setup I don't have any concerns about it's integrity.

I know of many far worse examples of poor implementation of parts in kit cars which seem to have gone unchallenged.

A Little Progress...
 

After much chin scratching and thinking, I came up with my solution to the seat belt issue.

I decided to raise the rear tub by 4" and create a new, much stronger 'B' post. The original 'B' post is basically a piece of flat steel 1.5mm sheet with a slender reinforcement brace behind it. I have effectively raised the top seat belt anchor 195mm, almost 8".

The top of the rear tub is now exactly level with the highest point of the scuttle, purely by accident. There are several side benefits of this approach. I have a much enhanced capacity in the boot, the rear passenger has a better seat with better back support with more enclosure, I also welcome the more 'upright' and higher profile which makes it more closely resemble the original 1930 Alfa Romeo lines which the Berlinetta is said to be modelled upon.

I have used 120mm X 80mm hollow section with 5mm wall thickness as the material for the 'B' post. While it may be a little over the top in some ways I know it will be man enough for the job and since this is safety critical I will accept the slight weight penalty. Given it's at the back, a little extra weight over the back axle is not a bad thing anyway, in moderation!

I have tapered the box section down to about 50mm X 70mm at the top and when it's finished I will cap the post and blend in the corners. If I do decide to use a hood I will have a perfect platform on which to mount the hood hoops.

The first stage welding in the new 'B' Post.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8582/...2aaefae9_z.jpg

The weld at the base.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8662/...7141d36f_z.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8588/...e32bc0d7_z.jpg

This is the 'Before' picture with the black kneeling pad standing in for my shoulder...

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8580/...097c35a5_z.jpg

The effect on the angle of the seat belt over my shoulder is to make it almost horizontal, even after I raised my seat 45mm.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7505/...9b379ac3_z.jpg

The robust nature of the new 'B' post can be seen here.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7467/...5fcf3a01_z.jpg

It only remains to do the same at the near side and I can tick another task off my list.

I will be ordering the gaskets for the engine and gearbox soon, so I can start re-assemby, the metal for the bonnet and bonnet sides will be in at my suppliers now, so I need to collect that. That will provide another challenge, forming the louvers in the bonnet side panels. I may need to make a press to do that, I haven't decided exactly how I am going to make them yet. I intend to have a play once the 'B' post task is completed.

In the mean time I am doing MOT remedial tasks on my ex wife's Vectra replacing the front-rear brake pipes with the car perched on ramps in her drive, at least it's not raining, although snow forecast tomorrow. Big incentive to get it finished today!

Ed - Sorry it has taken me a while to spot your build thread. :rolleyes:

That is a nice bit of welding on the "B" post and a HUGE improvement on the seat belt routing. :cool:

How did you raise the rear tub to match? Is it a separate piece?
( Sorry I am not familiar with the kit you are using. )

Good luck, Paul. :)

Hi Paul, welcome aboard!

I am very slowly finding my way around the threads here.

Thanks for the compliment on the weld, purely a fluke! LOL I have been welding for nearly sixty years so I deserve to get the odd one right... You don't want to see my oxy acetylene aluminium welds.:dizzy:

I am much happier with the seat belt alignment now, it was a fundamental issue which had been troubling me since I got the car. I decided to grasp the nettle and make a decisive improvement, rather than tinkering at the edges.

The back tub is a one piece fibreglass moulding, quite heavy, not bad quality for f/g, the main attachment is down each side on flanges to the massively solid chassis (makes a Land Rover look flimsy!!!). I simply made two plates of aluminium 6" high and bolted them across the gap caused by lifting the tub.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7573/...904c5bb0_z.jpg

I had been considering it for a while, I am looking for a sort of more 'upright' style which the 1930 Alfa's had. I have dumped the f/g boot lid and wheeled up an aluminium replacement. It is a bit floppy at the moment but I plan to make a backing frame by beating some sheet into shape or maybe a tubular surround linked to the outer panel.

Paul, I am away from home at present at my ex-wife's, on my main computer at home I have a page of your main thread open at a point where somebody showed an open car with new aluminium doors, there was a comment that they have been professionally made. Right now I can't find the pictures. The frame was tubular, with a panel beaten flange riveted or welded to the tube, then the door skin folded round the flange. I am not sure where you are with your car in that regard, I am at about the beginning of 2014 and up to date, if that makes sense, I have yet to read most of 2014. I plan to use the idea I got from that picture to make my own doors and may be able to give you some ideas how to make your doors from aluminium depending on where you are at with them.

Working with aluminium is really quite easy, unless you decide to try to weld it of course!

Ed - Here is a link to the car build with the alloy doors and there are more photos there.

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/146-oth...omp-build.html

As for my own doors, I've sealed them shut!

So I will be climbing in over the side in the same way that the original Sammio Spyder was designed.

Good luck, Paul. :)

Thanks Paul, that's brilliant! This is the other side door. Shows the lock mechanism a bit better.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8654/...a86b41cb_z.jpg

Even better they have used a similar technique for the boot lid...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7500/...fe9940dd_z.jpg

That's a really useful link Paul, thank you.

As for sealing the doors shut that was my plan, but my son Michael outvoted me, he is nearly bigger than me now! He also wants doors on his little Land Rover...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7487/...fd26fd3d_z.jpg

All great fun!

# 450

The Bonnet...
 

Picked up the hinge for the bonnet today, 16 gauge stainless, a tad over 2" wide and 72" long. I was a bit concerned the flats would be too narrow but they seem well wide enough. Tomorrow I hope to collect the sheet aluminium for the bonnet so there will be no reason not to crack on with that aspect of the project.

I am still unsure how I am going to make the transition from flat to curved profile but my usual trial piece with scrap will hopefully reveal the technique.

I haven't decided whether to use dome headed solid aluminium rivets or 4mm stainless dome head cap screws. I very much like the way solid rivets pull the panels together and make a really rigid joint. I think it's because the rivets expand in the hole and that makes the whole thing so much more rigid.

Unexpected Visitor.
 

Having lost the last two weeks to MOT rectification on my ex wife's car, replacing half the braking system in less than ideal conditions, I resumed work on the Berli yesterday. I fabricated the new nearside 'B' post ready to install it today but ran out of MIG wire at the last minute. I reverted to stick welding, nothing wrong with that, but messier and not as quick/easy. Will post some pix soon.

This morning I welded the 'B' post in and buffed up the welds, I was about to break for lunch when a chap peered into the gloom of my garage, wondering what the angle grinding was about...

My visitor asked me what I was working on, he was very interested in the build. Much admired the rolled aluminium panels and the rest of the car too. He told me he was working on a similar project and that he had some experience of car building.

His name is Mark, from near Rugby. He was involved in the building of the Dunsmore - Jaguar specials of the early to mid 90's. Apparently they built about 15 of these cars, until DVLA decided they were a manufacturer. Being a manufacturer meant a big step up with all sorts of issues like crash testing and stuff, so they packed it in.

http://www.classicmotor.co.uk/dunsmore.htm

My visitor, Mark told me that sadly, Bill Hines the originator of the Dunsmore, passed away some years ago. He told me how they made the curves on the bonnet by tacking the panel to a welding bottle and rolling it on the workshop floor!!! All high tech stuff!

Bearing in mind my little workshop is tucked away in a very remote corner of Cumbria, I do attract some very interesting visitors. We had a really nice chat about interesting cars.

Speak German?
 

I have a little puzzle, my brake master cylinder is from a BMW, I don't know which, although I think I was told once...

I have started to pipe up the brakes and the old chestnut of which port goes where arrises once again. It would have been very convenient if the front brakes were connected to the back part of the master cylinder because that has two ports, and the back circuit to the single port at the front of the master cylinder.

However, given the rear outlets are marked 20 (mm?) and the front outlet is marked 19 (mm?) I am assuming the front outlet should go to the front brakes via a 'T' piece and the rear outlet with one outlet port blanked off, to the back brakes. That assumption because usually you need a greater pressure to the front brakes, the back brakes just assisting, also you don't want the back brakes locking up well before the fronts have started to bite.

I have made a photo of the m/c; beside the 19 and 20 markings there is a letter, my query relates to the letter, does it indicate H and V to indicate F and R (front and rear)?

Also, can anybody explain why there are two outlet ports on the outlet marked 20?

Any suggestions will be appreciated, while I could look a word up, H and V are difficult to look up! ...Just thought, perhaps I just look up Front and Back in German?

Anyway, any suggestions still appreciated.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8608/...ae4382f9_z.jpg

Ordered the gaskets for the engine today, may start assembling that tomorrow. :icon_biggrin:

Doh!
 

:doh: Vorderseite means front...

zurück apparently means back. Mmmm, still unsure. :icon_frown:

Knowing what little I do about German they probably have a special word for 'Rear Brakes'.

... Like, Bremse hinten is this the H?

Still think I would rather have the smaller piston going to the front brakes. Unless of course somebody here knows otherwise?

Reminder; the brakes are Mk 3-4-5 Cortina, disk - drum; while the master cyl is BMW.

When I did my Sumo I used a Cortina master cylinder. It was the other way round to yours though with the two outlets at the front and the single one at the rear.

The twin outlets fed the front brakes, one for each side. The single outlet for the back brakes. The pipe for this one goes to one of the rear cylinders and then back out again to the other rear cylinder over the live rear axle, hence why only needing one outlet.

Hope this makes sense.

John

Thanks John, makes a lot of sense. In a way I would prefer to use the dual outlets for the front and the single outlet for the rear, however I am concerned about line pressures.

I just calculated it and the difference in piston area (output pressure) is 10% between a 19mm bore and a 20mm bore.

20mm bore = 314.16 Sq. mm.

19mm bore = 283.63 Sq. mm.

My guess is that BMW will have used a very small rear piston at the back, which are also probably disks. I have about 17mm piston (not actually measured it) drum brakes. So to keep the pressure differential safe I feel I should be keeping the bias towards higher pressure at the front, else I may have trouble with back brakes locking up in the wet even under light braking. I once had a Mini with a seized pressure limiter at the back, that was a regular for swapping ends unexpectedly! :icon_lol:

While with a Mini that's kinda acceptable, with a Marlin I think I may loose friends and passengers pretty quick. LOL

That looks like the BMW master cylinder that came off my BMW 320i donor car. The two ports nearest the pedal pushrod are for the front disc brakes. The single port is for the rear brakes which were drums on the 320i. The rear brakes also have a pressure reducing valve (BMW part number 34331152494) between the M/C and the tee piece in the rear brake line.

You can see it here fitted in my Marlin Sportster.....

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/50/15...4aaac184_o.jpgBrake line sand fuel lines by marlinpeter, on Flickr

Sorry that this old photo is a bit blurry. You should be able to get the pressure reducing valve from any scrap e30 BMW if you need one.

I hope that helps?

...peter
P.S. i don't know what the letters stand for :noidea:

That's the one Peter! together with the servo, off camera...

It never found it's way onto the Roadster, I had intended to fit it after it went on the road but that never happened of course. :pout:

Thank you for clearing it up, especially the photograph, a picture tells a thousand words! I will go search for a pressure limiting valve, shouldn't be too hard to find.

I am still struggling to find the rubber seals for the header tank, my local BMW place quoted £100 + for a kit... LOL Perhaps if I find a regulating valve I will also find another master cyl and header tank, with seals.

You probably know that servo is off a BL Metro which were a bit limited in the amount of boost. (lots have upgraded to Dual Diaphram boosters from the USA, but that's another story...)

The seals should be available separately and should be about £5 each. (Part number 34311160133)

Just been looking again at realoem.com and BMW fitted 19,05/20,64MM M/C up to 07/1986 (like yours) and after that fitted 22,20/17,46MM. I don't have my Sportster anymore so I can't tell you exactly which one was fitted. The pressure reducing valve goes with the later 22,20/17,46MM master cylinder so you may not need one on yours?
Maybe other BMW Sportster builders will be along to comment as my memory is a little hazy from about 10 years ago :lol:

Peter, sorry for the delay replying, been a bit distracted.

Yes I am aware of the dual servo but I feel the car being so light, circa 700Kg and my being well used to non servo brakes, even prefer them, it shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the part number of the seals, I will follow that up, if my local dealer can't (or won't) supply is there an on-line source of BMW parts?

For now I am going to try the conventional layout of the rear piston for the front brakes and the front piston for the rear brakes. I think the rear piston area will be reduced by the shaft which links the front and rear pistons, so that will reduce the effective piston area. I may even do some pressure tests just to see what happens.


Now for the bad news, I have found that my 'best' engine block isn't so good after all. I have been de-greaseing and cleaning it carefully. Now it's cleaner, I have discovered the bores are badly scored in their lower half's and worse, #8 cylinder sleeve has dropped by 12 thou. My engine man isn't too concerned about the scoring but suggesting topping the block on both sides to get the deck down to the top of the liner. We discussed trying to pull the liner back up the block but I am apprehensive about that it seems it can take 20 tons force to move them, and that's down, with a good face to push on. To pull one up would need a special dolly and there is very little room to play inside the crankcase.

I do have another SD1 block, so tomorrow I intend to clean it carefully and see which is the better block.

Otherwise making good progress, crept over the 60% complete this week, I think Easter is a realistic target. :flypig:

Another project...
 

A friend has just eMailed me to say he has collected a new project today, a Mini based trike which built by Reg Curley in 1968 and turned up in an article in Mini World for March, 1994. Reg has passed away but the trike was handed down to his son. However he hasn't made any progress with it since then so my friend followed it up and has eventually taken it on. It's ripe for restoration and I hope to be involved in some way.

It was used for racing but wasn't very successful, largely due to the engine etc. not being very well developed.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/...f71e5aa4_c.jpg

I've always found BMW parts departments very helpful guys. (my local one will even deal with request by email). They once ordered in a 29p part for me from Germany without any extra charge.
However, there is a BMW shop on ebay....http://stores.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Direct-Store You could try them if its more convenient. This part is not currently listed but they do say to contact them for any part not listed.

BTW that mini based trike looks very scary to me!!

That mini trike looks exciting, I assume it's not road legal?

Hi, the Mini based trike is really nice, I saw it on Sunday and had a really good look. I am still digging trying to find it's origins. It's purely a track trike, it would originally have been use alongside sidecar outfits. Once it's back in running condition it will be racing in the British Historic Championship alongside three wheeled Morgans, other three wheel specials and historic sidecar outfits.

Here it is with my two boys at the helm! It was hard prising them out of there after the photo shoot I can tell you...

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8619/...81015d7e_c.jpg

This is what they get up to... The Morgan is running on Methanol, the Berkly is a Mini based special. One of my better snaps!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/...25f8abec_c.jpg

I have been hard at it doing numerous jobs on the Marlin but it's been extremely cold for the last few days, the cold seems to draw all my energy, when I have finished about 9pm I am deadbeat, a little supper and bed.

Today I have cleaned the small parts of the engine ready for the build this weekend. I have cleaned both SD1 blocks and finally decided to run with the one with a dropped liner, it's only 12 thou and the head gasket does not grip on the liner so I will take a chance. The other block has several bad dings in one deck right where the sealing ribs of the head gasket are, so it either needs decking severely or find somebody to put some dabs of TIG weld in the dents. I have taken the bulkhead and pedal box out to paint them, I will probably fit the engine and gearbox first before I re-fit the bulkhead and pedal box.

A big relief.
 

Today I tested the radiator, one of 'those' tasks I have been putting off. I had gradually gathered all the gear I needed and decided since it was such a nice morning I would tackle it.

I suspected it would leak because the water pump had been trying to drill it's way through. When I collected the car the water pump shaft was almost touching the core where the damage is so I was expecting the worst.

Apart from the fact the water pump was far too close, I later realised the main cause was that the back axle moves forwards and backwards as the axle rises and falls, in that order. That isn't unreasonable but, it moves over 50mm, The Rover SD1 propshaft which was fitted only telescoped 25 to 30mm meaning that on full bump the engine was pushed forwards up to 25mm, into the radiator. I know the suspension has been at full bump frequently because the propshaft has been gouging bit's out of a crossmember.

I have moved the engine back by 125mm (5 inches) so that won't happen again!

Anyway, I have a few pix of the operation on the rad. Four of the core tubes were damaged by the water pump and had been rather badly soldered. The Rad is actually in quite good condition, it has been specially made by Serk, with their label on it and it's own serial number. I ground out the bad soldering with my Dremmel type tool, I tried to melt it with my Weller gun but it wasn't hot enough and I felt the blow lamp might do more damage than good.

I had already soldered two of the tubes before I took this pic.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/...effae321_c.jpg

This was my setup with a pressure test using air inside the rad and soapy water to test for leaks. It's easier than filling the rad with water, especially when you are expecting to have to solder.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/...035d5245_c.jpg

This was the result after I had finished soldering, there were no more leaks from the damaged area, even though I took it over 15 psi.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7315/...abf90f40_c.jpg

This is what it would have looked like if it had been leaking! This was only a tiny leak but it created a lot of pretty bubbles.

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After lunch I switched to painting mode... I prepped the bulkhead and gave it it's first coat of paint.

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All in all a great day, very satisfying. The rad will have to be watched but I'm pretty confident it will be OK. Once the dust settles I may have a new core fitted but probably not this year.

Tomorrow I have a little welding to do under the scuttle. The brackets which hold the scuttle on need trimming and final mounting a bit better than they are. I am planning to build the short motor this weekend. I have the block to hone and polish up the big ends but otherwise I think everything is ready.

:icon_biggrin:

I like your bubble sculpture :D Looking good :)

Thanks Patrick, I have to admit I was rather taken with it myself. Bit like a Christmas tree, I liked it better because it wasn't a leak!

I forgot this should have been posted on the first Feb.
 

My updated progress chart to the end of January. Just crept over 60% overall.

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With Bill Tuer at the controls and Maggie his passenger there is nothing that touches this Morgan - he is completely without fear - and Maggie must be too to be his passenger! He'll pass on either side, and go off the track and do it on the grass if he has to. He is just brilliant to watch, and you can not see Maggie as the passenger as she gets down so low! Just fabulous to watch at our local Cadwell VSCC meets.

Yes, I miss my visits to the classic circuits, Bill is without doubt spectacular, as you say Maggie is rarely seen above the dash. An interesting 'feature' of Bills Morgan is that on the overrun it spews Methanol out of the carb inlets and sprays any following riders generously. The visors aren't just to keep the wind out.

Oh, and the smell of Castrol 'R'. :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen:

Once we get the Curley Trike back in competitive condition we will be back. :icon_wink: