Winter Projects

[Al Weyman]

Got engine and gearbox sitting nicely in the chassis in the IROC-Z just need to bolt everything up and she is ready to go, just bought a very nice 2nd hand ebay purchase 750 Holley Double Pumper for it which should add a few horses over the 650 Edelbrock AVS Thunder carb I was using. Something caused this engine to detonate badly which is why I had to rebuild it and the smaller carb may have been part of the problem as its the first time I used it although mixtures seemed OK so i would think it was over advanced ignition and a tad too much compression that were the likely culprits. I will back it off to 34 degrees all in and have lowered compression a tad.

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Would rather not put a big ugly piece of metal right over the top of the lot the car's going to look bad enough anyway...

I thought we had "a big ugly piece of metal right over the top of the lot", but had a look at a pic of the roof of the car and of course I was wrong - so I spoke to my mate (whose car it is) and he confirms that the original panel - which he describes as "plastic" - has been retained, but that as it was electrically operated, and the entire capsule was pretty heavy and in the wrong place for unwanted weight, the whole thing was removed, with just the panel being replaced, glued in with adhesive, backed up by internal rivets and a couple of bolts. Never been an issue with leaks, movement, or scrutineers, and of course it looks totally standard.

[Al Weyman]

Re sunroofs, On my IROC-Z it came with removable glass T-Tops like the tomcat so I took the panels to a metal works and they fabricated on a wheel a couple of curved metal panels and we welded them in and finished the joint with dum dum all looked very neat. Didnt cost a fortune either.

[delta]

Here are some pictures of the Escort head before and after.The head took me over 30 hours of polishing and i could of gone on but got bored. The std pinto head is over ported as is and all i do is smooth all the surfaces.I had the seats cut as well as the valves which came out of the rusty old head.The combustion chambers measured and valve spring heights shimmed up the same and thats about it.

[midgetman]

Sunroofs - delicious irony that appeals to my sense of humour. Looks like I'll need to do away with it anyway as the channelling fouls the roll cage...sorry for the pointless diversion! Sounds like I need to take the Lancsbreaker route.

Next winter project - front ARB bush failed on daily driver MG ZS. Then there's MOT on Mrs MM's Peugeot, then I suppose it will be time to prepare The Boy's kart for his first race. Never stops, does it?

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Sounds like I need to take the Lancsbreaker route.

Sounds like a plan to me. I know the sun always shines at Snet but......

[zefarelly]

Originally Posted by delta

Attachment 30646Attachment 30647Here are some pictures of the Escort head before and after.The head took me over 30 hours of polishing and i could of gone on but got bored. The std pinto head is over ported as is and all i do is smooth all the surfaces.I had the seats cut as well as the valves which came out of the rusty old head.The combustion chambers measured and valve spring heights shimmed up the same and thats about it.

Iain, you plonker! I could have derusted that in my magic tank while you drank tea!

[Peter Mallett]

Iain,

Are you using solid valves or cast? I recommend solid.

[delta]

Hi Peter.We have to use the standard valve in our FF2000 engines.Have to say i don't think i ever recall anyone having a failure. Sure someone will put me right.
Feeling miserable today as i had planned a long old day in the workshop. Think i have gone down with what Zef and Arthur had so I'm just going to take it easy. Years ago i would of battled on but I've learnt the hard way that when you are not firing on all four cylinders you normally cock something up.
Thanks for the offer Joe i will know next time.

[Peter Mallett]

Obviously not a Pinto but I lunched two engines before I learned my lesson. Solid valves and they comply with the regs for PH and Grp1.

Hope you feel better soon.

[zefarelly]

Day Five Ian and I'm just starting to feel vaguely normal, I did battle it for a few days, but agree, trying to do anything important is counter productive. a stack of 60's/70's car porn and music kept me sane(ish)

pre and xflow std ford valves are alright if your not revving through the roof or using too much spring, all the precrossflow 'big' valves where just moved from bigger engines . . . . I've run std 1500 ones in an anglia head to 8000rpm for the 6 hour succesfully. the big 1500 valves are consul ones, shortened. But I agree Peter, one piece are a safer bet, especially if they really are one piece, I've seen a few shattered exhaust valves this year that didn't look like what it said on the tin!

[zefarelly]

I'd add that I don't know 'out about pintos other than they eat bits up top for fun and are good for holding boats still in rough water

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

Day Five Ian and I'm just starting to feel vaguely normal, I did battle it for a few days, but agree, trying to do anything important is counter productive. a stack of 60's/70's car porn and music kept me sane(ish)

Take it easy Joe, I started to feel better after a few days but suddenly felt like crap on Wednesday evening and today I felt so bad I couldn't even get out of bed to go to work. I now have back ache from lying in bed so long.

[Mike Bell]

I've just decided on another winter project- (try and) stay healthy! My sympathies with you all that are suffering or are just about to suffer. Personally hoping to avoid it all, but high probability will catch a bug from someone in the gym (healthy places- not!) or at the Racing Car show.....

Just ordered more stuff from DT, so back to project Porkey

[Mike Bell]

Crikey, looks like I will be ready to start the Porker engine very soon. The front suspension and brakes were all back together yesterday, and tonight both rear corners are rebuilt. Finished off by bleeding the brakes, as always reckon a bit of a milestone when they are done. The exhaust system that was on the car when I bought it looks like a standard one, although the rear half is stainless and front not. It's quite heavy but also quiet so will refit for running in- wherever that will be. Forgot no Snetterton at mo!!!!

Bit of guesswork involved in setting timing statically as my 'lamp' doesn't work with the transistorised system. Unless someone can suggest a way to do it before engine is running will have to keep fingers crossed and check with strobe after it has hopefully burst into life.

[Al Weyman]

I have to do the same thing on my V8's Mike with HEI ignition systems. Get the engine at TDC with the valves floating on number 1 cylinder and simply set the rotor arm pointing at the Number 1 cylinder electrode on the dizzy cap and that should get you in the ball park unless its one of those modern things with no dizzy then I aint got a clue and why I race old cars!

I would have had the IROC-Z running today if i could have bought a Chevy oil filter over the break but no worries it will be ready next weekend and just needs the clutch bleeding, topping with coolant, oil pressure ran up statically after filling with oil, dizzy in and timed up and fire up! Just hope the 2nd hand Holley I have topped it off with is as good as it looks!

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

I have to do the same thing on my V8's Mike with HEI ignition systems. Get the engine at TDC with the valves floating on number 1 cylinder and simply set the rotor arm pointing at the Number 1 cylinder electrode on the dizzy cap and that should get you in the ball park unless its one of those modern things with no dizzy then I aint got a clue and why I race old cars!

Just hope the 2nd hand Holley I have topped it off with is as good as it looks!

Thanks Al, that is what I resorted to doing. Maybe there is a way using circuit tester but

The modern setup with ECU and coils is scary- My Sis broke down in her little 1.6 Ford a couple of days ago. Turns out a coil failed and has fried the ECU. Cost- £1200

Talking of Holleys, do you use their fuel pumps? Wondering if they have filter built in or not.

[Al Weyman]

I dont think there is any other way of doing it thats how Vizard and GM tell you to do it. It can be a fair way out and will still fire up if its way too advanced you will hear it kick back so just turn it way from the direction the rotor arm turns to retard it a tad and try again. Yeah pain in the butt those modern systems.

I have twin Holley electric pumps on the yellow car and they have a built in screen filter but I also run them through twin ford fuel filters, on the black car I have a Holley high performance manual pump and that then runs through a regulator and an AC Aston Martin fuel filter believe it or not. Oh on the twin Holley pumps I have twin Holley regulators and a single Holley regulator on the manual pump you MUST use regulators with these pumps.

[delta]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Thanks Al, that is what I resorted to doing. Maybe there is a way using circuit tester but

The modern setup with ECU and coils is scary- My Sis broke down in her little 1.6 Ford a couple of days ago. Turns out a coil failed and has fried the ECU. Cost- £1200

Talking of Holleys, do you use their fuel pumps? Wondering if they have filter built in or not.

Those coils pack up all the time Mike . Very comon first time i have heard of the ECU failing. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Oh on the twin Holley pumps I have twin Holley regulators and a single Holley regulator on the manual pump you MUST use regulators with these pumps.

Thanks Al. I may try a Holley on next project, and looking at the latest DT catalogue they list a couple that appear to have built in regulators. I guess you use the biggy 'Black' ones that do need seperate unit!

Thanks Iain, am always worried about garages pulling a fast one but hopefully not as they are Ford Main dealers.......

[Al Weyman]

Actually yes you are right there are two types one has the regulator built in and is more for a street application but inside are identical accept for the regulator which is just a spring and a plunger if I remember.

[Moosehead]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Thanks Iain, am always worried about garages pulling a fast one but hopefully not as they are Ford Main dealers.......

Coil packs are a very common problem but agree first time I heard that it has genuinly cooked the ECU. Ford main dealer or not I wouldn't trust them. Fit coil pack then see what happens.

- mate of mine recently had his 3 yr old Passat cut out. Towed to VW dealer who reckoned it needed new set of injectors, ECU and loom (cost £1500+). Turned out to be 1 duff injector sorted for less than £100. Whilst in the dealers it 'developed' a brake fault. it took them 2 weeks to discover the pads were worn out. They had replaced a supposedly faulty caliper at the start of their repair. Hence, don't trust the main dealers!

[ascona i2000]

Originally Posted by Moosehead

Coil packs are a very common problem but agree first time I heard that it has genuinly cooked the ECU. Ford main dealer or not I wouldn't trust them. Fit coil pack then see what happens.

- mate of mine recently had his 3 yr old Passat cut out. Towed to VW dealer who reckoned it needed new set of injectors, ECU and loom (cost £1500+). Turned out to be 1 duff injector sorted for less than £100. Whilst in the dealers it 'developed' a brake fault. it took them 2 weeks to discover the pads were worn out. They had replaced a supposedly faulty caliper at the start of their repair. Hence, don't trust the main dealers!

The VW dealer doesnt sound like it knows mud from clay. The injectors are "pump unit" injectors and cost £470 each!! Quite common failures on the VW/Audis and when one fails the engine will not run.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Moosehead

Coil packs are a very common problem but agree first time I heard that it has genuinly cooked the ECU. Ford main dealer or not I wouldn't trust them. Fit coil pack then see what happens.

- mate of mine recently had his 3 yr old Passat cut out. Towed to VW dealer who reckoned it needed new set of injectors, ECU and loom (cost £1500+). Turned out to be 1 duff injector sorted for less than £100. Whilst in the dealers it 'developed' a brake fault. it took them 2 weeks to discover the pads were worn out. They had replaced a supposedly faulty caliper at the start of their repair. Hence, don't trust the main dealers!

Hmm. My experiences with main dealers over the years have been along the same lines. The guys I use for the ageing Saab seem reasonable but a few years with VX before that produced some horror stories and even earlier experiences (when things were much simpler) with Ford were just as bad. Toyota seem to be largely OK so long as nothing goes wrong (mostly it doesn't). Fiat, hmm, marginal - though the daughter's Punto apparently suffered with a serious electrical system design problem that afflicted many of them but seemed not to be common knowledge to the dealer.

Other daughter's brand new Golf (now about 16 months old) produced a 'brake failure' message intermittently but no one seemed to know what it was. By the time a dealer had had the car for several days 'to check it' before they picked up the phone to call VW, I had discovered, via a forum, that this was not an unknown problem (on Audis too of course) and someone in Denmark with the same message advised that it was a known software error giving a false message on startup check. Quite why VW had not bothered to advise UK dealers I was never able to discover. (Of course I assume VW probably did advise them but it didn't register with the people we spoke to at 2 different dealerships.)

I reckon that another few days working on yor project(s) might mean to could take on your sister's Ford as a side project Mike. You would probably find that you have just as much modern technology competence as the dealer by then.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by ascona i2000

The injectors are "pump unit" injectors and cost £470 each!! Quite common failures on the VW/Audis and when one fails the engine will not run.

Good grief. (Makes mental note to never buy a used VW/Audi/whatever without a decent warranty package in the deal - if there is such a thing. Or maybe buy 2 and use one as a donor for the other?)