My 'new' '67 - what to do first??

PostPost by: Johnfm » Mon Sep 23, 2013 11:56 am

So, picked up a '67 +2 yesterday.

It has a small number of issues. I have done a search - but is it best to put queries below in the specific tech areas (ie fuel, suspension etc)?

1) stinks of petrol. Not inside, but the garage. I will assume the breather need some corks.

2) temp gause shows sometimes runnig at 120degrees - sometimes at 85. Need to check if gauge is accurate. If it is, sort cooling as I don't like 120 degrees!

3) Did I mention the smell of petrol??

4) locate and fix the source of the oil leak which has covered dynamo and the wiring/relays under the brake servo with oil.

5) repalce dynamo with alternator and put H4 halogen units in

6) Sort out the smell of petrol.

7) Solid drive shafts

8) Get webers tuned / stripped and tuned.

9) electronic ignition - is there one that doesn't mess with the rev counter?

10) check if negative or positive earth - how do i do that?

Will be quite nice once sorted - just hope I can limit the smell of petrol. The smell has made its way into the kitchen and bedrooms above the garage!!
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PostPost by: jono » Mon Sep 23, 2013 12:16 pm

John,

This is what you need to sort the petrol smell.
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+2 Petrol Tank Mod.pdf
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Breather.JPG and
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PostPost by: Johnfm » Mon Sep 23, 2013 12:37 pm

Is that all....

looks like a bit of a job!
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PostPost by: tcsoar » Mon Sep 23, 2013 12:41 pm

John,

Quick simple solution to petrol smell is Corks but have a look around the carbs and air box in case you have a problem there. When I first got mine going again the floats (webers) were set to high and the carbs leaked back through the airbox.

Negative or positive earth, have a look in the boot for the battery and see which side is bolted to the earth point, should be a cable going to the boot floor and bolted to one of the chassis mounting points, thats your earth.

What part of London are you in, if not too far I am always looking for excuses for a trip out :mrgreen:

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PostPost by: Johnfm » Mon Sep 23, 2013 1:38 pm

I'm in the London borough of Leeds... ;)

A bit further than the extent of the north circular...
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PostPost by: tcsoar » Mon Sep 23, 2013 4:05 pm

I'm in the London borough of Leeds


Must have got your location mixed up with someone else's :oops:

Although a trip up the A1 to Leeds does sound good opportunity for a run out :wink:

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PostPost by: TeeJay » Mon Sep 23, 2013 4:59 pm

10) check if negative or positive earth - how do i do that?

Check what's on the Tacho.
My car is positive earth and it states this on the Tacho as shown in the photo beneath the red arrow.

Dash RH side.jpg and
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PostPost by: pharriso » Mon Sep 23, 2013 5:17 pm

TeeJay wrote:10) check if negative or positive earth - how do i do that?

Check what's on the Tacho.
My car is positive earth and it states this on the Tacho as shown in the photo beneath the red arrow.

Dash RH side.jpg


The car could have been converted to negative earth! Just find the battery & see which terminal is connected to the chassis.
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PostPost by: TeeJay » Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:38 pm

Agreed. The battery terminal connected to earth will indicate if negative or positive, this point also being made in an early post by Chris.

The point I was making is a check which establishes if it's been changed and been changed correctly.

The 67 car if original would be positive earth.

If the car has been converted correctly to negative earth then the Tachometer should have also been converted. This would include changing the dial plate with one that states "negative earth".

Trust this explains it better.
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PostPost by: Johnfm » Mon Sep 23, 2013 9:25 pm

Thanks all.

It is definitely negative earth.

One less job to do.


Ordering lots of suspension bushes, alternator, electronic ignition and other goodies tomorrow...
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PostPost by: stugilmour » Tue Sep 24, 2013 2:21 am

Hi John. Welcome aboard. Must be a very early car; what number is she? Yes, probably better to post future questions as you go in the correct section. Not a big deal, but you will get more answers.

For a few tips...

The vent lines for the tank run under the headliner. Try the corks, but bets are the lines themselves are past their best. They used a clear plastic tubing that degrades. Jono's post shows a common solution; details available.

Solid drive shafts are great; transform the car.

Big thread running right now on the electronic ignition / tacho issue. Tend to agree with Rohan that a stock tach in good condition will work. Trouble is, after close to fifty years, doubtful yours (or many others) is in good condition. The issue exists with any of the popular electronic ignition brands; I used Pertronix. Try it and it might work for a while. Note the wiring recommendations in the thread though.

First step for the temperature gauge is to check / replace the voltage stabilizer. This is located on the outside of the tach body, and delivers 'stabilized' 10 v to the temp and fuel gauges. Reliable solid state replacements are readily available; I would just change it as pretty cheap & easy. Stock unit can't be measured with a voltmeter. Gauge still may read high; common problem. Check the gauge readings against a known standard before assuming the car is over heating and spending tons of dough on the cooling system. There are several ways to do this covered in various posts.

Check around the dip stick tube for oil. I got rid of a lot of the oil with a rubber thimble on the top of the tube. Lots of other spots, but that is an easy one to miss.

Cheers! HTH

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PostPost by: Johnfm » Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:08 am

Car is number 0168.

So quite early.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have hours of fun in the garage and hours on here! Looks like I need a thermometer of some sort to calibrate the water temp gauge.

Thimble idea sounds like a winner!

Petrol smell could also be the engine. I think it is running quite rich judging by the smell of petrol in engine bay (especially the 4th cylinder- are the plugs in pot 4 always a bit black/sooty?)
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PostPost by: tcsoar » Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:20 am

There is a breather from the head that goes into the air box right by the trumpet of the fourth cylinder, this does tend to make that plug blacker than the others. Another search for you to do :wink: will reveal plenty of suggestions on how to prevent this, from hidden mods to the tube that vent to a concealed catch tank through to an elbow out of the head and a piece of tube venting out under the car.

Any chance of some pictures though as most replies assume standard set up and a lot of things can change over 40+ years of use.

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PostPost by: Johnfm » Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:34 pm

Will take and post some pics - but all looks very very standard:

Still on dynamo
23D distributor
twin Webers

Only mod looks to be change to negative earth.
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PostPost by: stugilmour » Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:41 am

Johnfm wrote:... Looks like I need a thermometer of some sort to calibrate the water temp gauge.


I used a candy thermometer from the grocery store. Has the correct range and accurate enough. I also adjusted the temp gauge by adding a couple of resistors in the wire from the sensor, but more important to know if the gauge is simply reading high or you have issues with cooling..

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