Mister Towed's Tai Chi build

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by andrewhush

Hi all,

a few years ago I got a herald speedo recalibrated by speedy cables for about £60.

http://www.speedycables.com/calibration.html

Nice one. I'll give them a try if my GT6 speedo is wildly inaccurate once it's fitted.

[Charman.tech]

Originally Posted by andrewhush

Hi all,

a few years ago I got a herald speedo recalibrated by speedy cables for about £60.

http://www.speedycables.com/calibration.html

I have used speedy cables in the past, I found them to be really good company, just as well we do not have to SVA took me three attempts to have the speedometer calibrated to enough accuracy to satisfy them on my Hawk 289

[Mister Towed]

OK, so it's my wedding anniversary and I did promise I wouldn't spend it in the garage.

But my better half was feeling a bit under the weather when she got up and, after spending the morning watching day-time telly with her and criticising her favourite programmes, she suggested, nay insisted that I go out and do some work on my Spyder.

So, fuel tank and boot fitted, new fuel lines plumbed in and the London Taxi heater control valve fitted up using the original Triumph heater hoses and enough jubilee clips to make the pipes look like Mickey Carroll's fingers (Google him if you don't know, it'll make you ).









Plan for tomorrow is to get the electrics finished and fire up the engine. Once that's all done it'll be time to fit the body...

[tlrtone]

looking good Mr T, the MoonRover is nearly complete

[Mister Towed]

Spent today tidying up those small but surprisingly time consuming jobs that need doing prior to firing up the engine again. Started by heat wrapping the exhaust to prevent the cockpit getting too hot in summer. I guessed at ten metres of 2" heat wrap and really had no idea whether that was too much or too little. As it happens it wasn't enough as I ran out about half way along the car. I've ordered another five metres which will comfortably cover the rest of the pipe as far as the back box. I wrapped the downpipe and intermediate pipe while they were off the car by the way as it would've needed a contortionist to do it with them fitted.





I also fitted a new rocker cover gasket (there wasn't one to replace ), put the engine oil in, filled the coolant system and put a gallon of petrol in the tank. When I bought the donor it was leaking oil from the sump and rocker cover, petrol from the fuel pipes and carburettors and coolant from the radiator. Now I'm very relieved to report that it doesn't leak anything. That was after finding that what I thought was a pressure activated overflow on the Honda radiator filler neck is actually an open outlet, presumably to connect to a header tank, so the coolant just piddled out of it A length of hose with a plain shaft bolt pushed in the end as a stopper soon fixed that though.



Back to work tomorrow but I'm hoping to get the electrics to a stage where I can start the engine again on Sunday. I can't wait.

[tlrtone]

race ya, 'cos I want to start mine at the weekend too!

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by tlrtone

race ya, 'cos I want to start mine at the weekend too!

Twelve hour shifts for me today and tomorrow hand you the advantage...

Good luck getting yours going Tony.

[froggyman]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

A length of hose with a plain shaft bolt pushed in the end as a stopper soon fixed that though.

I would replace the aroused dog look with one of these as i've seen the bolts work their way out under pressure. They are obtainable in different sizes from various suppliers. Link for visual only as you may need different size.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-CAPRI...#ht_500wt_1206

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by froggyman

I would replace the aroused dog look with one of these as i've seen the bolts work their way out under pressure. They are obtainable in different sizes from various suppliers. Link for visual only as you may need different size.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-CAPRI...#ht_500wt_1206

Ha ha, yes, I suppose it does look vaguely phallic.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll see how it goes with my hose with a bolt in it bodge first but I'm guessing I'll end up with a proper fix in the end.

[Jerome]

Hello again.
Not much news;lots of small jobs ,measuring ,thinking and reading this forum
I've got a question:in order to lower mij suspension I need longer studs,I've
become studs from Rimmer but they are not long enough.
I see You all use very long studs(UNF3/8?)but as that is not metric it is not available in Holland.
Does anyone have a adress were to get these?The things You use are they strong enough(4.8 r better 8.8)?

Thanks in forward

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by Jerome

Hello again.
Not much news;lots of small jobs ,measuring ,thinking and reading this forum
I've got a question:in order to lower mij suspension I need longer studs,I've
become studs from Rimmer but they are not long enough.
I see You all use very long studs(UNF3/8?)but as that is not metric it is not available in Holland.
Does anyone have a adress were to get these?The things You use are they strong enough(4.8 r better 8.8)?

Thanks in forward

Hi Jerome, try ebay for the 3/8" UNF threaded bar -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-8-UNF-TH...item870b5e5f93

Failing that drop Gary a line as he supplies bolts with his lowering blocks. I only went with the threaded bar because I lowered mine further than recommended.

[Mister Towed]

Connected all the electrics up this afternoon, drew some fuel through to the carburettors, getting a mouthfull in the process, connected the battery and turned the key...

The engine turned over with gusto and I left the choke off for a while to make sure some oil pressure built up before the engine started. Once the oil pressure light had gone out I opened the choke and gave the throttle a couple of pumps to prime the carbs but it wouldn't start. It kept on turning over but there was no sign of it actually firing.

A quick check through all the ignition leads and wires showed everything connected, but then I took the distributor cap off and found this -



Now, that's the second rotor arm that's failed in the same way. Is this just bad luck or is there a fault in my distributor? Does anyone know if there's a problem with the Vitesse dizzy that causes rotor arms to break? If so, what's the cure?

[Ben Caswell]

check that the rota arm is not hitting your powerspark unit!

[Alpha]

If you can't find any obvious mechanical reason (like the rotor touching the cap) it might just be a duff part. There are quite a lot of cheap chinese reproduction rotors around that fail with abandon - get a replacement from a reputable supplier - for the couple of pounds extra cost, you should be able to get a decent quality part.

Baz from Brussels

[tlrtone]

I'm with Baz, I buy mine from Rimmers and never had a problem..

Try not to put the next one on with a hammer!

[Mister Towed]

Thanks for the suggstions guys, the red rotor came free with the electronic ignition module so I guess it wasn't a top quality part. Will be ordering a more expensive replacement today.

[Mister Towed]

Rotor arm arrived from Rimmers today and was fitted in seconds, turned the key and the engine fired into life instantly! I actually did a little jig.

Engine runs sweet as a nut and sounds terrific through the standard stainless system - really rorty but not too loud. It's still leaking oil from the sump gasket and a little water from the thermostat housing though

Will have a go at posting a video of it running tomorrow - anyone know how to post video directly? Or must I put it on youtube first?

[phil9]

nice to here your car runs well as for rotor arm if you can use lucas ones black as the red ones i had just give up car is come in on nice open road awaits..

[Mister Towed]

This is a test to see if I can embed video without having to go through youtube.

If it works, this'll be footage of my engine running...



I'm able to view it, but can you?

[tlrtone]

very good Mr T, sounds sweet.

Although I technically got mine started before you, yours is running and fully piped in, mine is without a radiator so I can't run it for long!

You win!