853 replies to this topic

[timmy850]

I went out to Wings Over Illawarra (an air show that also has classic cars). And I got a flat tyre on the way there but it was pretty good once I got there! It was too windy for most of the aerial display to happen unfortunately












I picked up some bits this afternoon too. Some good hubcaps, wipers, a side mirror, indicator stalk, blinker lense, chrome trim for the speedo, door strap and a vacuum gauge. There is also a 7.0" disc set complete except the calipers and ball joints. There is also two old discs and an extra drive flange that looks almost new. I'm not sure whether to try find the calipers and run the 7.0s to keep the front track and driveshafts I've got now, or to get some 7.5s.

[jamesmpi]

I picked up some bits this afternoon too. Some good hubcaps, wipers, a side mirror, indicator stalk, blinker lense, chrome trim for the speedo, door strap and a vacuum gauge. There is also a 7.0" disc set complete except the calipers and ball joints. There is also two old discs and an extra drive flange that looks almost new. I'm not sure whether to try find the calipers and run the 7.0s to keep the front track and driveshafts I've got now, or to get some 7.5s.

Good days hunting 😉

Edited by jamesmpi, 04 May 2014 - 04:10 PM.

[timmy850]

 

I picked up some bits this afternoon too. Some good hubcaps, wipers, a side mirror, indicator stalk, blinker lense, chrome trim for the speedo, door strap and a vacuum gauge. There is also a 7.0" disc set complete except the calipers and ball joints. There is also two old discs and an extra drive flange that looks almost new. I'm not sure whether to try find the calipers and run the 7.0s to keep the front track and driveshafts I've got now, or to get some 7.5s.
https://farm8.static...db897d054_o.jpg

Good days hunting
 

Yep, I had a good afternoon hunting through all the boxes of bits that he had! 

Edited by timmy850, 09 June 2014 - 10:46 PM.

[timmy850]

In addition to the nice Smiths vacuum gauge I picked up the other day, I've found a mechanical oil pressure gauge in a box of bits from grandpa.

I had a little free time again this morning so I had a go at the gauges. Before I had an SW water temp, Fleet oil pressure and an IIC ammeter. The ammeter hasn't been any use for years since the alternator went in, and I disconnected it last year.

I've always wanted one of these Smiths vacuum gauges. Not that I've ever felt the need to check the readings on it, I just like the style of the graphics on it!

The oil pressure was a simple swap over as the old gauge had the same thread on the back of it. While I was swapping it over I had the oil line dripping into a bucket and there were a few chunky bits too. The vacuum went in easily too. Best if all, they all worked first time!

The gauge holder could probably do with a polish up and I need to straighten up the middle one as it's a bit wonky...

I've pulled apart the disc hubs too. The drive flanges look ok, and so do the hub uprights. Not sure what I'll be doing with them yet though

[timmy850]

I went down to the National Motoring Heritage Day at Berry on the weekend. We had a great run up and down some fantastic country roads on the way there. On the way home the car re-developed the miss through the engine. It was between 2-3000 rpm and the rev counter was oscillating and not stable. I suspected something in the ignition. The spark plugs are new, but I'm not sure about any of the rest. The distributor looked like this inside after I scraped most of the corrosion off. The rotor arm looked fine

It looks like a 45D cap? I'm not sure if the electronic module is making it run hotter and that's ruined the contacts, or if it's just a cheap quality cap (it's brown and I can't see a brand). I'm going to order a new cap and lead set


I took out the spark plugs and three were nice and white, but number 2 was black.


The other thing a bit strange was the vacuum gauge I put in the week before. I'd never used one before. It looked to be reading fine under full throttle (in the red) and at part throttle (orange to blue). At idle it's reading about 8 on the dial, which isn't right, and under deceleration it's also in the orange. I do need to re-check the ignition timing, as I'm not certain I did it right the first time. It might also be the miss in the engine causing it?

[bpirie1000]

She is a beauty. The little things that make this car.. Well done..

[timmy850]

She is a beauty. The little things that make this car.. Well done..

Thanks! I've got a little trick up my sleeve coming up soon. I've always got my eye out for parts that are available in different markets and I've managed to locate some bits I've been looking for at a reasonable price. I'll have an update on them in a few weeks when they come in...

[timmy850]

The new parts turned up this week. I got an extra cap and rotor while it was at it. They are just the standard issue parts from Karcraft, nothing high performance.

I got the spark plugs on the right way first time, which is great for me as I always seem to mix them up.

It runs much better now, nice steady tacho and no more stuttering. I need to double check the timing next as I'm not sure it's right at the moment.

[timmy850]

The car was fine on the driveway and on the smooth road yesterday, but the miss in the engine returned today on our run today. For some reason it seemed to be worse over the bumpier roads, and the engine was surging and the tacho was all over the place again.


At the end of the run another guy had a look at the engine with me as I was obviously missing something. At the bottom left of the picture is a blue crimped wire on the coil. There is a double sided spade connection, and the wires go to the electronic ignition module control box and the tacho. He pointed out that the spade connection was loose and wasn't always making contact. I gave it a squeeze with some pliers and connected it back up and drove off home. Amazingly, that made all the difference!

It explained why it was only intermittent previously, and why the new parts hadn't cured it. Sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes to look at a problem!

[timmy850]

A bit of an update on the engines:

Number 1 is the 998 with the 12G295. I've cc'd the head and it is around 28cc on all four chambers, but it has also been skimmed a fair bit as well. I've split the engine and gearbox apart and it looks to be in good condition internally. The bores were still very smooth, and inside the sump was still mainly oil. The only snag has been one piston that has refused to leave the block. The crank looked to be in good condition:

Number 2 is the 1098. It was very crusty and it had been stored with no oil in it. I can't get the crankshaft bolt undone to take off the timing cover as I don't have the right size socket.. It's bigger than 1 1/4 and smaller than 1 1/2. You can see the high tide mark on the crank here...

I was a bit worried until I took of the big end caps, and I saw that the bearing shells and the crank weren't as bad as I thought.

I also had a bit of time to give the gearbox a quick scrub. It started off like this

And after. It turns over and all the teeth look fine, although there is a bit of gunk in the diff at the moment and it can be hard to turn the driveshafts occasionally. There is a lovely oil sludge at the bottom that needs a bit of a soak with degreaser to shift out

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the gearbox came up, as most of the orange wiped straight off. Hopefully when I get the crank out it scrubs up ok too...

 

The plan at this stage is as follows:

Block bored out between +60 and +100

Flat top pistons

1098 crank

12G295 head

Not sure of cam yet

Freeflow exhaust manifold + single box RC40

Torquemaster intake manifold

HS4 with a standard air box and KN filter

The aim is about 50hp at the wheels. When new the 1098 was rated at 50hp and 60lb/ft at the flywheel with an 8.5:1 compression ratio and an HS2. I figure with the better flowing head, stage one kit and a bigger carb I should easily be able to get to 50hp at the wheels.

[timmy850]

I did some measuring today. First up was the 12G202. It was a little rusty on the bottom. It had standard 1 5/32" intake and 1" exhaust valves. It was 2.75" thick, so it hadn't been skimmed before and was completely standard. I haven't got a valve spring compressor so I couldn't get it apart.

I'd already measured the 12G295 head and it was 2.67" thick, which is skimmed a fair amount.

The intake valves are 1 9/32" (32.5mm), which are up from the standard 1 7/32 (31mm)

The exhaust valves were 1 5/32" (29.4mm), which is up from the standard 1" (25.4mm)

The valves should clean up ok

Can't fit much bigger valves in there!


Intake ports. Not sure if these are standard


Middle exhaust port. Not sure if this is standard

The oversize 295 valves compared to the standard 202

And the port size comparison.


I've got them both soaking in a vinegar bath overnight so I'll be able to see how well they scrub up.

[racingenglishcars]

Great read, this thread.

 

The 12G295 head has been skimmed around 72 thou inch assumed from the head thickness you gave, 68mm / 2.677 inch.

This is an odd number and probably not accurate and due to some inaccurate measurement or surface rust

 

The original chamber size was 28.3cc but with an approximate 0.072 skim, the chamber would have been reduced to around 23cc.

 

The chambers appear to have been ground. One can see the angle of the chamber sides. This was probably to restore the original combustion chamber size, you mentioned 28cc. Please compare the combustion chamber shape to these standard but rusty units.

 

 

[timmy850]

Great read, this thread.

The 12G295 head has been skimmed around 72 thou inch assumed from the head thickness you gave, 68mm / 2.677 inch.
This is an odd number and probably not accurate and due to some inaccurate measurement or surface rust

The original chamber size was 28.3cc but with an approximate 0.072 skim, the chamber would have been reduced to around 23cc.

The chambers appear to have been ground. One can see the angle of the chamber sides. This was probably to restore the original combustion chamber size, you mentioned 28cc. Please compare the combustion chamber shape to these standard but rusty units.

Thanks, it's hard to find photos of standard heads. Do the intake and exhaust posts look similar to standard?

The heads had a soak overnight in vinegar. I gave one of the chambers a quick scrub and the gunk came right off...

Port face cleaned up nicely too

I was able to borrow a socket to get the crank out of the 1098. I needed a pretty long breaker bar to get it undone...

Thankfully the crank ended up ok. It will probably need to be taken a size under, but I need to confirm what size it is now. The 1098 one is on the right and 998 on the left.



It had +40 pistons in it already

The last 998 engine was in good condition internally, and had been stored with oil in it. Unfortunately the bores have a bit of rust in them. It had definitely been apart at some stage, the lock tabs on the big ends were a bit dinged, and there were new style gaskets throughout. It was in a similar condition to the other 998, if they had been stored indoors it would have been as easy job to get them going again.

At this stage I'm still not sure of the next plans for them. There is an option to pick up another 1098 for spares, which might be good even if that just yields another crank...

What to do with a spare 850 grille with flakey chrome?

Paint it white to match the wheels. I think it looks ok?

Special one for you guys from the UK. I was driving along a bumpy road yesterday and I could see something moving out from the sun visor... It is perfectly harmless, but they can be a bit of a surprise when you don't know they're there...

Edited by timmy850, 01 June 2014 - 10:19 AM.

[timmy850]

The 295 head cleaned up nicely after another few days soaking. Most of the rust and scale came straight off with a little scrub.

Top

Bottom

Exhaust port

Intake

Centre exhaust

Intake

Exhaust port



The Red 202 cleaned up alright too. The dark bits are pitted, but would come good with a skim.


The next 202 was sitting bare out in the elements. Looks like it came from the bottom of the ocean! I thought this one would only be good for scrap.

After. I'm surprised by how well the head has held up!

Chamber

After

I haven't seen many 202 heads with the cut outs on the port face?

After




Once I've finished cleaning and organising what I've got and what I need and I'll be able to formulate a plan... I really enjoy bringing unwanted junkyard scrap back into something presentable.

Edited by timmy850, 04 June 2014 - 07:29 AM.

[Rickie]

Lovely little mini (wish I had a mk1!) and background story, it'll go well with a modded 1098 in it :)