I Took The Plunge

[jonnyconcrete]

Well, I did it!

Picked the car up from Sheffield on Friday evening (1972, +2 S/130, 53k)...sorted out the commercials and headed South, car lost all power on the M1, took me 15 mins or so chatting with the previous owner to get it sorted (main fuse). Left hand headlight blew too.

Saturday; Few spots of oil, and I mean spots, under the car, including the diff! Car had been standing for 3 years, and the fuelling was horrible coming home. Spent Saturday morning following the set procedure for the twin 40s in the manual...no suck gauges though, so had to do it by ear...once done, solid tickover and lovely acceleration...doesn't cruise to well though...hunts around a bit at 65. Think I'll get a Weber service kit and a synchrometer to finish the job.

Also, new plugs and a H4 conversion kit from Matty's.

Blown heater hose too...that was a quick fix with a stanley knife and a new jubilee clip.

Sunday, No oil under the diff...little bit concerned it might be empty...so I took the plunge, spent ?60 at Halfords and did, GB/Diff/Engine oils. 30 mile shakedown (4 speed GB for sure quieter)...we'll wait and see about the diff seals...I did have a good smoochy around down there and couldn't spot any obvious leaks. And, when I popped the drain, oil did come out, not as much as I put back in though. Car has done 53k and judging by the black sludge that came out of the GB and Diff I have a sneaking suspicion that may have been their first change!

Washed the car...found out the Webasto sunroof leaks like a sieve! Any cures out there?

On my immediate to do list;

Electronic ignition
Weber service kit

I'm hoping that will sort the lumpy cruise...

Anybody got a synchrometer for hire!!

Stuart

[CBUEB1771]

I'm hoping that will sort the lumpy cruise...

Welcome aboard. Hunting at cruising speeds, by that I assume you mean light throttle opening, is usually caused by a broken Thackeray washer at the carburetor mounting flange or a perished o-ring between the carburetor and inlet manifold. Either will cause a vacuum leak at the high manifold depression conditions encountered while cruising. Both are easy fixes when you overhaul the carbs.

[elansprint]

Where do you live
Ian

[alexblack13]

Stuart.. You are welcome to 'hire' my one if no-one local to you can help. 'Hire fees' to go to my charity which is British Heart foundation..

I would only need the postage returned. You can give a donation of your choice to BHF. But.. you will no doubt get an offer of help locally.

If any help to you, PM me and I can send it off to you....

Alex B.....

[jonnyconcrete]

Thanks for all the offers of help, very much appreciated...and for the warm welcome.

I have ordered service kits for the carbs, so I'm hoping the the Thackery Washer??? and O rings are part of the service pack. I also stumped up ?35 for a synchrometer of Ebay...

Now I need an air filter...I've just dug the old one out and it looks like the one the car was born with!!

I live in Amington, J10 M42.

Stuart

[terryp]

so I'm hoping the the Thackery Washer??? and O rings are part of the service pack.
Stuart

Probably not but readily available from Susan Miller or others
http://www.mickmillerlotus.com/

Terry

[paddy]

I've used these people who are on ebay and always seem to be knowledgeable:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FAST-ROAD-CARS-LIMITED

They will have everything you need that isn't in the service kit.

Paddy

[davidbalkwill]

"Washed the car...found out the Webasto sunroof leaks like a sieve! Any cures out there? "

I might be able to help. I had the same problem on an MGB, so I've bought several roofs, and made tooling to replace the steel rails front and rear (that rust away) with glassfibre.

I have now renovated several weathershield sunroofs, so I can make new inner and outer covers to fit yours.

Here's one I did recently for a Mini

And here's one I sold on eBay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 1136wt_934

I can also send you some scans of the original fitting instructions that show how to adjust the fit.

I'm in France at the moment, but I'll be back in Manchester in september, so let me know if I can help you then.

David

[alaric]

Hi. My car had a 'webasto' sunroof when I bought it that turned out to be a Britax. The Britax variety, I was informed, will always leak, whereas the Webasto won't - at least not when new. I don't know if this is true or not, but did look into getting a webasto replacement. In the end I decided to fill in the hole and get rid of the sun roof completely. A shame in some ways as I like having a sun roof, but it won't leak now. I have seen some on the forum with a modern glass sunroof that can be lifted out.

Regards.

Sean.

[stugilmour]

Stuart, if it turns out you have a Britax/Weathershield sunroof I should have the instalation instructions around if needed. Mine is leaking at the moment as well; will be fixing in the next month. Try to determine source of leak (front or back) before removing. Expect my leak is just the caulking bead at the rear of the soft roof around the bolt holes, so hoping for an easy fix.