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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:40:02 GMT
Table trim arrived yesterday but as I was covered in poop from doing the brakes I held off until this morning to cut the slot and fit it. Being a tight arze I cut the slots for the trim on all the doors previously with a cutting disc on an angle grinder, but this was too nice to risk messing it up like that so I spent £20 on a slot cutting bit for the router. With hindsight I should have forked out a month ago, but never mind. The trim is sold for renovating fruit machines, pinball table, table football etc. Just the job at 3/4" and was hard to find where 99.9% of trim sold seems to be 15mm. Thanks again to [USER=377] sANDYbAY[/USER] for the white stuff. :thumbsup:
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:40:48 GMT
Pottering at the front - Been having trouble fitting various acquired nuts to hold the arm on the steering box. Turns out that I crushed the end of the thread a bit getting the arm off when I pinched the original for the steering box conversion on my early. As I pinched the nut and lockwasher too I hadn't realised I'd damaged the thread. 20 mins careful filing sorted it out so I've got steering again, not that I'm going anywhere for a wee while yet... Back to mucky old brakes. I knew it was like this really, I've had the wheels on and off a few times. I did rears first because I didn't know what they were like, hiding in the drums as they do. The discs are nearly new but have gone a bit rusty over the last 5 years - only on this side of the disc as it turned out. The backing plates are ok, just dirty and surface rust. But I had some bought in error for another job so might as well (they're about £12 each so didn't bother returning them). I cleaned up the rust from the discs with one of those paint removing discs.The piston dust seals are buggered. Once I've refilled the system I'll give them some excercise and see what happens. It's a bit messy rebuilding calipers so I'll suck it and see for now. I have to pass an MOT fussy brake testing machine before I drive anywhere. I suppose I should do the other side now then. It also needs one balljoint boot. Perhaps a wee snack break first... Not heading for the show and shine here, I just want the thing solid, working and waterproof and maybe, just maybe a bit trouble free for a while.
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:41:38 GMT
I'm running out of things to do other than the engine which I'm not doing myself but is coming together nicely I hear. Because the pistons are so wide (104mm), to avoid pinking we have to get the compression ratio right down as far as we can. Rob's mocked up the bottom end and the numbers are working. Once the bigger valves have been unshrouded we'll do some more calculation and see where we are, but it looks like doing this work will also get the CR in the ball park - under 8:1. 7.5:1 would be good. Somewhere between the two acceptable. Bigger engine = less fins and same cooling air so keeping the heat generated down is essential. Having done some research into the effects of CR, there isn't a lot of gain power-wise. There is some though and this has caused confusion for the likes of me. I found a calculator on the net that told me if I go from say 9:1 to 10:1 I gain an extra 0.5 HP or something equally pathetic. This would make all the difference if you were racing - you'd be a few car lengths ahead at the end of the race all other things being equal so you'd run it as high as you could. So in theory high CR = better, but in practice probably just limit my top cruising speed for the sake of getting there a knat's whisker sooner. Meanwhile I need to be ready. All the tin/fan housing is together and powder coated, manifolds and linkage bought for my carbs, I have an extra cooler I could mount ready but it won't take more than 10 mins and I can't do the pipework until the engine is fitted anyway. That leaves the exhaust which I've been putting off dealing with. I have some grubby rusty holed original HX's and a fairly good silencer. Today I'll have a look at these and see what's what. Also need to get myself a limited PSI fuel pump and new fuel pipes for engine and the Eberspacher at some point. Otherwise I appear to be getting through it. The brake calipers are most likely fubarred beyong my patience so maybe I'll fill up bleed and give them a go before I do exhaust stuff. I didn't get the second side of the front back together until 10pm last night, then went late night shopping, cooked dinner and got to bed at 2am. I should really work a bit faster but at the same time I can't do anything much until I get the engine fitted and an MOT so I'll carry on pottering.
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:43:33 GMT
Funky mudflaps painted up and fitted.
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:45:05 GMT
Sum total of yesterday's efforts. Hopefully the exhaust will spit far enough that the inlet is ok where I have it. Found a good use for a bag of penny washers Roo gave me (yes Ricky, I did say I'd probably never find a use for them!).
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:45:48 GMT
I was bored today so I popped over to bother Rob and stop him working. I had a few bits and pieces to take over sometime so... There are some ruddy great holes in my engine case [USER=603] paul Weeding[/USER] - not much left to perch the barrels on, but I'm not concerned. And these barrels and pistons are just silly. They look stubby because they are so f'ing fat! :lol: Can't wait. :cool:
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:49:01 GMT
Fiamma brackets... First set of gutter crushers bent and chopped to fit-ish. I was going to take them off for a pic to show what I've done but they appear to have jammed themselves in place. :thinking: I've bent the little one straighter and chopped off about 4-5mm from the bit that sits in the gutter. The big bit was raked back about 10-15 degrees - I crushed it straighter in a vice + a couple of sharp whacks with a lump hammer for luck. It works better than I thought it would, but it's not a good feeling tightening up that bolt (that had to be lump hammered into the too small square hole in the bracket) when you've just painted everything! Think I've got away with it so far. I think when I'm done I'll treat them to a powder coating as I have the time. Or maybe just a dab of paint on the bare metal. They are almost vertical I think I took a wonky picture. It looks like it'll be quite close to the poptop fixed part which is good as I have to figure how to stop the rain getting through the gap or [USER=377] sANDYbAY[/USER] will be able to rib me when I see him next. The whole slider will be under cover when it's open which to me was another must have feature.
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:49:51 GMT
Massive thanks to [USER=9238]@the Bobdogs[/USER] for the bracket pictures (twice!). I may not have gone for it otherwise. :thumbsup: I did exactly the same though I had to do some bending of the big brackets to get it upright and cutting and bending of the smaller one to fit it in as designed (as far as I could see). Front chopped to fit just the same as Bobdogs did his. It could look worse? It's quite a heavy big thing. And it's position couldn't have been better really. Simplicity itself, a well designed piece of kit.
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:51:25 GMT
Talking of which... 1st 2 were for Paul Weeding, the rest or general amusement and the answer to why you are cold (if you are). Original Repro Original Repro Original Repro and finally...
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:53:36 GMT
Big holes. First the block being machined for the barrels... That was my engine case. :eek: And one head to show before and after cutting for the barrels. Whoppers! :cool:
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:55:10 GMT
Pratting about with heat exchangers... I sourced a pair of almost new repro skin and flange donors and set about the flange on the worst one first, so if it went a bit awry I'd have some hope of matching it with the easier one. The first 10-15 mm of one pipe was particularly bad so it made sense to me to replace flange and pipes as one. The repro pipes are thicker stuff and slightly larger diameter inside too - 1-1.5mm bigger? The join will end up inside the skin so it had to be done before I can mock it up on the engine - I don't want to be overly held up at that stage. The skin was originally fitted to the larger pipes so it should all work out. The other one's pipes were both in much better condition so I removed the flange, cleaned it up forgetting the old pipes were smaller and now have a big gap to bridge on one pipe. :rolleyes: I found out in time and made the other a tight fit. This one gets welded inside the flange so I can mock it up, tack the other side then fully weld while the skin's on. Skins: Original skins, the two halves were mostly just crimped together. The repro have a weld each side of each downpipe as well - presumably to stop them rattling as there was nothing inside them. Makes getting them off a bit messy. Looks like the only paint inside is what blew in while the finished heat exchanger got painted. These are now coated in phosphoric acid, we shall see how they come out later... Oil does soak into rust rather nicely and protects it from the acid! I've degreased as best I can first.
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:56:13 GMT
Here's the top one in the last picture - going well :thumbsup: It works quicker the deeper it's pooled so have to kep wetting the sides.
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:56:52 GMT
'course after washing the acid off it goes rusty immediately so I ended up painting with k-rust as well after all. and a couple of coats of rusoleum "galvanising" paint. I have no idea if this is any good for this purpose, but paint is paint and if didn't have any before so it must be better than that. I've only painted the insides as the outsides will get a battering when I put them back together. Boring, boring, boring...
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 16:58:03 GMT
As was my post, glad someone got it. Seam sealing - I'm not keen. Under the rear arches, under the front arches, sills to floor, valances front and back. I've done it, my back hurts, my hands are stained black and so is my hat, I'm not keen. This is something one should pay "someone else" to do. Don't mind underseal so much, I can spray that. Still not keen though and that's to come next. I've also replaced the rear suspension donuts so if the beggar doesn't drive nicely I'll know it's not that and also I'd rather get semi-heavy jobs done while I have a comfortable workshop. Generally though I seem to have slowed to a crawl. I need the engine, that'll give me a lift. Any day now...
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Post by Zed on Nov 21, 2016 17:00:11 GMT
I wouldn't dream of it. Fink my dash has got a bit dusty. It looked like new, hmmm when was that? oh yes, 2 months ago.
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