Fall/Winter/Spring Projects for 0248k

[steve lyle]

Back from the beach. Days 17 and 16 are done.

Yesterday I finished wet sanding, and did the initial buffing on the front of the body. This verified that it's a 5 foot paint job - get close and you can see where I tried to fix it, or still have flaws. But from a few feet away, it looks pretty good. No time to deal with it now, I'll probably respray it in the spring.

Then installed the wiper mechanism and windscreen washer nozzles. One of those was bad, so another part to order.

Then the dash went in. I think I'll still be able to install the washer nozzle with the dash in. The wire loom is in as well.

Today I replaced the right side motor mount. It got torn when I was put in the heater valve without loosening it. Lesson learned.

The exhaust went on as well. And fluids in the transmission and diff. The engine already had oil.

Tomorrow should be the steering column and radiator. Then it will be time to start the engine.

15 work days remaining before leaving for LOG.

While on vacation I called RDE about the windscreen seal. They said it was supposed to be oversized, that it would shrink over time, but could be forced in now. They gave me a measurement of 57 inches for the base - mine is a tad less than that. But I don't see how. I'll call them again tomorrow to discuss. Meanwhile, I have shears and glue on order, so the windscreen will go in one way or another.

[TWebb]

Progress is being made. Way to go.

This week I will be heading out to Monterey for the pre-Historics and the Historics. Good luck.

[steve lyle]

Day 15 is in the books. 14 to go.

Today the steering column went in, so the electrics circuits are in place to start the engine.

The steering column got some care during this process. The column in the car had been practically cut in two by a PO who tried to stop it from rotating by inserting a sheet metal screw through the lower clamp/bracket into the column. Unfortunately, only the tip of the screw got to the column, and it rotated anyway, slicing it almost entirely in half. So for this refresh, I wanted to address it. My first attempt was to have a shop Tig weld the outer column. Unfortunately, this altered the position of the bushings, adding resistance to the steering. So I got a replacement column from DBE. It was from an older model, so needed a hole for the steering lock, but otherwise was in good shape. I installed new bushings. The ones sent would have required massive force to get inserted in the column, so I sanded a bit of the outer rubber housing off to the point where I could push them in with some reasonable effort and soap. Part of the mod was also to trim the 2 retaining 'lugs' on the bushings such that they 'ramped' into the column. Finally, I sanded and smoothed the inner surface such that there wasn't any lateral movement of the column in the bush, but minimal rotation resistance. So definitely a steering column upgrade.

Also the clutch and brakes were filled with hydraulic fluid and bled, thanks to the help from my lovely assistant.

The was a 'gulp' moment with the clutch. I did that by myself earlier in the day before MLA (my lovely assistant) helped with the brakes. When doing the brakes, I saw a small puddle of hydraulic fluid directly under the bell housing. OMG - I must have a leak from the hydraulic throwout bearing that my T9 5-speed uses. A nightmare, at this point, since it would mean pulling the engine to get at the problem. Further investigation indicated that the puddle was likely leakage from the bleed screw that worked its way down the side of the engine to the bell housing before dripping to the floor. I cleaned up all the fluid, and worked the clutch like crazy, with no addition fluid showing up. So hopefully crisis averted.

And the radiator is in. This was quite a bit more involved than it sounds. The brace from the rt side turret/body bolt to the bonnet rotation 'cup' also has a strut I made to support the radiato, so it was time to install that brace. Tim may recall that when we joined the body to the chassis we had to disassemble the right side front suspension so that we could run a tap through the turret threads and into the body bobbin to enable us to get a bolt in to that mounting point. Well, I had to do that again - something must have shifted just enough that the alignment was gone. When Tim and I did that there first time, Tim had to use a Crescent wrench on the end of the tap, getting about 1/8th of a turn at a time, since there was no room for a normal tap holder. At the time someone in our crew told me about socket adapters to hold taps - and I ordered a set. So this time it was a lot easier.

On to Day 14. We should have a running engine by the end of tomorrow. Wish me luck.

[steve lyle]

Progress is being made. Way to go.

This week I will be heading out to Monterey for the pre-Historics and the Historics. Good luck.

Good luck! Are you driving, or coaching, or both?

[gjz30075]

Steve, why is there a cutout in the body at the top of the tunnel (behind the shifter)?

[TWebb]

Steve,

At this point coaching, but hope springs eternal!

Leaving Thursday for pre-Historics. Running three cars.

Hoping to meet up with Tony Ingram while there.

[steve lyle]

Steve, why is there a cutout in the body at the top of the tunnel (behind the shifter)?

Excellent question. I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps some PO could explain - or is this a 'feature' from the factory? The chassis tunnel is solid under there, so it wasn't an access issue.

[steve lyle]

Day 14 is burned. 13 to go.

Some painful progress today. Nothing visible, unfortunately, so no pics.

Before attempting to start the engine I wanted to set up the choke cable I installed with the dash.. Interestingly, Ken at DBE really didn't want to sell me one, saying they're unnecessary for Webers. So I got one from RDE. It had several problems - the base of it at the handle wouldn't fit in the bezel, so needed some grinding. And the outer sheath was too long, not leaving enough inner cable to reach the fwd carb. So the fix was to shorten the outer cable. But when I pulled the inner out, it was quite difficult, and I couldn't get it back in. Hmm. So the dash had to come out a bit to see what was going on. So the steering wheel came off, the column dropped, etc.. Pulling the dash back a bit showed that it was kinked, about 90 degrees, right where the outer cable is joined at the handle. Luckily I was able to straighten it out, and put everything back together.

I cut off about a 18" of outer cable, and 6" of inner. I cut both with a cutoff wheel on a mini die grinder. It left the inner cable end a bit frazzled, such that I'll never get it reinstalled should I ever need to remove a carb. Does anyone know how I can cut the cable and leave a neat end?

When reinstalling the steering column, I noticed that one of my mate-n-lok connectors had failed crimps. So that was another hour or so fixing that.

I also spent some time trying to smooth out the throttle cable. I removed it and lubricated it with cable lube, then carefully reinstalled it, trying to spot any reason for friction. I guess it's better than it was, but I still think it's not as smooth as my Stromberg throttle was. I think the problem is the outer cable termination at the carbs, and the return spring. I guess I have to live with it for now.

This afternoon I filled the coolant system, put 3 gallons of fuel in the tank, and hooked up the battery. It was kinda cool seeing the courtesy light come on, the radio come alive, etc.. Time to start the engine.

First I cranked it with the coil disconnected. It seemed to take forever, but eventually I got oil pressure.

Then I hooked the coil up and kept cranking. Nothing. I verified I had gas at the carbs. I pulled the #1 spark plug to check for spark. Nothing. 12v at the coil, but no spark. Damn Pertronix. So I pulled the distributor and reinstalled points and condenser, reinstalled the dizzy, and tried again. It fired, but wouldn't run. So I watched a bunch of videos on static timing (it'd been awhile), finally found one from John Twist that made sense, static timed the points, and tried again. It runs, but badly. By then it was 8 pm, time to call it a day.

I need to double check the timing, then focus on the carbs. They're currently set up per the Soft Mount instructions - mixture screws 1.5 turns back from seated, and idle screws 1/2 turn in from contact.

Meanwhile - any practical advice on setting the timing chain tension? I know there's supposed to be 1/2" of movement between the sprockets, but it doesn't seem like the tensioner has much of an effect on that. So right now I've got it set at what seems like a midpoint. Could that be a source of the rough running?

13 days left. I need to get the engine humming in the next couple of days.

George at RDE insists that the windscreen seal they sent is correct - that it's supposed to be too big, will shrink over time, and that I should be able to jam it in the windscreen flange. Does that seem right to anybody? I guess I'll give it the college try, but my miter shears showed up today, so that'll be plan B.

[smo17003]

Steve,

I found this YouTube video to be helpful with the initial tuning of my Webers https://youtu.be/FoUOcPYqDmU

Mike

[RichardHawkins]

Steve,

To cut your choke cable inner to length I have used “ Parrots Beak “ wire cutters. I am not sure if this is the correct description, but is the term used here in Britain. My cutters are by the German tool company CK. I cannot give more detail as away from my home/tool cupboard at the moment.

Another method I have used is to solder the wire and then cut it with a junior hacksaw, but the cable needs to be held in a vice so it can be cut.

Hope this helps,

Richard Hawkins

[RichardHawkins]

Steve,

I just did a google search and I think my cutters are T3744 by CK. The advantage of these cutters is that due to the shape of the blades the strands of the wire are held together while being cut rather than spread apart as with side cutters.

Richard

[steve lyle]

Steve,

I just did a google search and I think my cutters are T3744 by CK. The advantage of these cutters is that due to the shape of the blades the strands of the wire are held together while being cut rather than spread apart as with side cutters.

Richard

Thanks, Richard!

[steve lyle]

Steve,

I found this YouTube video to be helpful with the initial tuning of my Webers https://youtu.be/FoUOcPYqDmU

Mike

Thanks, MIke.

[steve lyle]

Day 13 gone. 12 to go.

Mixed day. Mostly non-productive.

I took the windscreen seal and did what George suggested, and voila, it worked! No need to use tape to hold it on the body flange - it's so compressed that it pushes itself into the flange. So the way is clear to get the windscreen in - I've got someone coming over next Tuesday to help with that.

Otherwise - bad day. In the morning the engine would start, keep running if I kept pumping the throttle, then die. So I went down wormholes. I pulled the valve cover, set the crank at TDC, and the marks on the cam pulleys were a tooth or two off. So I pulled off the intake sprocket to reset them. I forgot everything I knew about engines, and tried to turn the intake sprocket 360 deg, of course it wouldn't go all the way, try as I might. Eventually I realized I might snap the bolt off, and realized I had interference - so I dropped the pistons halfway down the bores to turn the sprockets to TDC. I needed an impact wrench to get the intake sprocket retaining bolt out to put the sprocket back on. But eventually I got the sprocket marks where they need to be, set the crank at TDC, and got the chain on.

But now the engine wouldn't fire. I tested for spark and got it. I called Ken @ DBE to discuss - he suggested I probably threw off the distributor timing when I was screwing with the sprockets. Good catch - it was about 180 deg out of phase. So I pulled the dizzy, repositioned it, did the static timinig thing again. and still no start. Back to Ken - how's your compression. So I checked it - 115/120/160/150. He wasn't too worried about the two low #'s, he's seen it before with an engine that has sat for a few months. And certainly good enough compression to fire. If I had messed a valve up when screwing with the cams, I wouldn't be getting 115/120 worst case. Go try some starting fluid. Still nothing. So I checked for ignition again - nothing. And the coil is really hot.

Out came the ohmmeter - showing a short between the + and secondary contacts. A fried coil. I must have left the ignition on after one of my various tests. Off to the parts store for a $40 coil. Hooked it up - now I have a spark, but still no start, even with starter fluid. Is the timing still off? Off with the valve cover - the sprocket mark are in the right place. I double checked the chain tension and reset it - I think it's perfect now, fwiw. By now I'm beat. It's hot and I've sweat gallons and it's time to watch Justified.

Tomorrow I'll double check the static timing. Assuming it's still good, I guess I'll start pulling my hair out. Knoxville and LOG look to be pretty far away at this point.

And to add insult to injury, it looks like my heater valve is leaking. I guess when I get to the point where that even matters, I'll be in good shape.

It fits!

[gjz30075]

If you have to keep pumping to keep it going, it sounds like not enough fuel. If you have the 151 Webers,
I found 1 1/2 turns out on the mixture screw is not enough. I have three turns on mine. The mixture
needles on the 151s is long and slender, hence requiring more turns out to get the proper idle
mixture. Something to check when you get the other niggling problems out of the way.
Good luck!