With the engine fitted last weekend, I had the opportunity to spent my time on all kinds of small jobs. I now could go over to the shed in the evening and work for an hour or so and return home. Which I found rather relaxing after the rush of the two weeks work holiday before that.
The first job to tackle was the gear lever. Should have been straightforward, but I had to dismantle part of the centre console because the carpet at the back of the gear lever opening was in the way. The offending carpet can be seen in this picture ...
But with the console out of the way the carpet could be trimmed easily, after which everything fitted nicely. Love the looks of the interior ...
With the interior bits sorted I switched my attention to the engine bay, to finish everything there. First job was finishing the engine itself, by fitting some freshly coated parts to it. I did have some mixed feelings about using the engine as it is, but that was mainly because of its looks. Due to its age it proved rather difficult to get it cleaned properly. And I didn’t want to take it apart because it is a very sound engine which produces 135 BHP with good torque and fuel economy. So I was well pleased with how the internals underneath the cam cover looked ...
When I removed it to replace it with a nicely coated black item ...
Followed by connecting up the accelerator and choke cables to the carburettors. Even though the choke cable is very slightly frayed at the end connecting the cables went very smooth indeed. I’ve made a mental note though, to sort out a good linkage in the (hopefully near) future and have it zinc plated, together with a set of refurbished SU’s maybe ...
Next on the to do list was fitting the alternator. But before that I used the opportunity, and the remaining bolt hole on that side of the engine, to fit an extra earth strap between the engine and the car’s body. As good earth points are essential for a cars reliability I usually add a few extra ones. Another one is connected from the bell housing to the transmission tunnel.
Sorting the wiring to either the alternator and the starter motor properly took slightly longer though ...
Due to the loom’s new tape wrapping it had lost its original shape, resulting in a bit of a puzzle how it should go around the back of the engine. But with a bit of reshuffling I got all connectors lined up pretty nicely, so I could fixate them with the ties at the back of the engine.
But with the console out of the way the carpet could be trimmed easily, after which everything fitted nicely. Love the looks of the interior ...
With the interior bits sorted I switched my attention to the engine bay, to finish everything there. First job was finishing the engine itself, by fitting some freshly coated parts to it. I did have some mixed feelings about using the engine as it is, but that was mainly because of its looks. Due to its age it proved rather difficult to get it cleaned properly. And I didn’t want to take it apart because it is a very sound engine which produces 135 BHP with good torque and fuel economy. So I was well pleased with how the internals underneath the cam cover looked ...
When I removed it to replace it with a nicely coated black item ...
Followed by connecting up the accelerator and choke cables to the carburettors. Even though the choke cable is very slightly frayed at the end connecting the cables went very smooth indeed. I’ve made a mental note though, to sort out a good linkage in the (hopefully near) future and have it zinc plated, together with a set of refurbished SU’s maybe ...
Next on the to do list was fitting the alternator. But before that I used the opportunity, and the remaining bolt hole on that side of the engine, to fit an extra earth strap between the engine and the car’s body. As good earth points are essential for a cars reliability I usually add a few extra ones. Another one is connected from the bell housing to the transmission tunnel.
Sorting the wiring to either the alternator and the starter motor properly took slightly longer though ...
Due to the loom’s new tape wrapping it had lost its original shape, resulting in a bit of a puzzle how it should go around the back of the engine. But with a bit of reshuffling I got all connectors lined up pretty nicely, so I could fixate them with the ties at the back of the engine.
After that it was the turn of the various coolant hoses to be fitted. But I forgot to get the proper jubilee clips to fit the smaller diameter ones. So those have to wait till that slight omission is sorted.
And to finish the main bulk of connecting up everything, I turned my attention to the exhaust manifold. As I have had some pretty bad experiences with tubular manifolds in the past I tackled this job with some reserve. I had a tubular manifold on the car, but that was well and truly past its prime by now. So I was going to use my spare manifold, which I bought from S&S Preparations a few years ago. I shouldn’t have worried, it dropped in with very few problems indeed ...
After which I moved underneath the car to fit the rest of the exhaust system, the prop shaft and the speedometer cable.
Only real problem so far is that a nipple from one of the back axles brake pipes is incorrect (to short), as a result it doesn’t seal properly. So I’ll have to get myself a new one. Also as you can see the cable between coil and dizzy is too short ... But all in all well pleased so far. The car should be ready for its MOT within the next one or two weeks.
After which I moved underneath the car to fit the rest of the exhaust system, the prop shaft and the speedometer cable.
Only real problem so far is that a nipple from one of the back axles brake pipes is incorrect (to short), as a result it doesn’t seal properly. So I’ll have to get myself a new one. Also as you can see the cable between coil and dizzy is too short ... But all in all well pleased so far. The car should be ready for its MOT within the next one or two weeks.
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