326 replies to this topic

[Pitcrew6464]

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! looks great on the road everythings crossed

[apbellamy]

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! looks great on the road everythings crossed

Thanks

My pant's are brown!

[John H]

Shouldn't that be black after all the guinness you've been drinking?

[apbellamy]

It passed!

[John H]

Woohoo!

[apbellamy]

With the MOT out of the way, it's time for the fun stuff!

We've started with the engine. We've got a spare low mileage 1275 and John's stage 3 head so, we've chucked them in the van today.

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 engine15.jpg   193.64K   21 downloads

We still need to repair the Janspeed exhaust, fit it and the inlet manifold/carb and a bit more wiring. Then Bob's your Aunty. Fastish rough looking Metro Van

[John H]

Wiring sorted for the starter now. Just waiting on the exhaust and then hopefully we should be up and running!

[apbellamy]

Wiring sorted for the starter now. Just waiting on the exhaust and then hopefully we should be up and running!

Or is that 'Just waiting for Andy to fix the exhaust'?

[John H]

That too.

[John H]

We had a decent Janspeed exhaust for the Van so decided to use that. After 10 years of sitting on someones lawn it required a few repairs so Andy welded the exhaust up.



He got it fitted without any leaks after a couple of attempts. Just knocking on the floor slightly (requires adjustment with a BFH!)

Now looks like this!



Once that was done we tried getting the engine running. It didn't like starting and pretty soon we ran out of electricity. So 3 batteries and a few cups of coffee later we called in the big guns.



With some funny wiring sorted, 2 coil swaps and the dizzy from the 998 fitted, it sprang into life.

Before we cooked it, we decided to get the cooling system plumbed in and sorted out an air box that fitted, chucked in a K&N element and fitted a standard MG needle to the carb.



It's was running fairly well and went a lot better.

Andy had a fettle on Sunday morning while I was at a christening. He re-fitted the exhaust and an MG rocker cover & cap amongst other things.

He also tidied up his garage getting rid of the lovely carpet.

The 998 dizzy had the wrong advance curve for the 1275 engine, so on Sunday afternoon I fitted an electronic one from an MG Metro.

I then got the timing light out and set the timing and adjusted the mixture with a CO meter. Matters improved further when I changed the piston damper for an MG one and put some oil in the dash pot.

The cooling system and heater seems to work fine and the radiator fan now kicks in.

Re-assembled the front end job done!

Tax is in the window ready for it's maiden voyage tonight.
I have some subframes that need shifting and my garage is full with Andy's black clubby and a load of parts.
The van is going to start earning it's keep from day one!

We still have a bit of fine tuning and maintenance to perform however we are now in a position where we can use the van which is nice!

Keep watching for updates as we further improve it!

Items I can think of at the moment are:-

Replace rear hubs and wheel bearings,
New rear brake shoes,
Fit Turbo body kit,
Full service,
Fit rear Anti-Roll bar
Poly bush front Anti-Roll bar
Wiring tidy-up,


Before the rally next year we will probably have to replace the front brakes too.

We are also planning in the future to individualise the rear suspension, replace the front end + rear valence and one day we may treat it to a paint job!

Edited by minimadmotorman, 01 December 2008 - 01:23 PM.

[apbellamy]

I think we should start a sweep stake on how long it takes us to get pulled by the Rossers!

They'll take one look at it and think that we must be *Drunk or yellow human water*!

The carpet had to go. It kept setting on fire!

[John H]

I declare the test drive a SUCCESS!!!

It will easily do the national speed limit (and more! )

It drives really well. Fairly quick, but not rocket ship fast. The ride is good. The steering is very direct. Plenty of grip. We just need to sort out the naffed rear wheel bearing and a few other bits and pieces then job done!

John is a happy chappie!

At least now it is on the road we have plenty of time to get sorting out the little gremlins before next years rally and do quite a bit of performance tweaking.

Edited by minimadmotorman, 02 December 2008 - 09:30 AM.

[buddylove]

Sounds fun

[apbellamy]

Sounds fun

It is.

A few more little bits and pieces sort out, but it's neally ready to get some miles on it.

[John H]

Over the christmas break, we got round to fitting new front brakes. The old ones wern't bad, but new is always better!



That's Andy's brother helping out (he's the one with the thining hair )



It stops really well now. Until you run out of grip...

Then we used it for what it was made for. Shifting stuff.

We needed to get an engine over to my house, so we chucked it in the back and ratchet strapped it down.

Unfortunatly, one of the ratchet straps trapped the lighting wire and this happened on the drive over to my house



Somebody had put a 30 Amp fuse in place of a 5 Amp one, so the wires burnt out and the stalks melted!

So we ran new wire from the number plate light to the rear light and all the way back to the fuse box and then from the fuse box to the dash and the front light side light.

The moral of this story... Use the correct rated fuse and don't let Andy near ratchet straps!

Safe to say, every fuse in the van is now the correct one!

We've been and bought new nuts etc to fit the body kit so hopefully that will be going on soon.