JohnCh

Just hoping it's not in the water. Glad to hear you both made it through unscathed. Hope that's a pattern on the forum. -John

I know we have a large number of members who live in the Northeast. I hope everyone made it through yesterday's events without incident. -John

The Supertech LC-60-250 is 6mm ID, 2.5mm thick and 2.5mm deep, so close. Might be worth a call to see if you can get exact measurements. BTW they make custom valves, so they might also make lash caps to size. https://www.supertechperformance.com/contact -John

All kinds of parts are custom fabricated for vintage race cars given replacement items are NLA or extremely difficult to find. It's worth digging into to see what's feasible. -John Just did a quick search and found this. I'm sure there are many others around the country: https://www.titaniumvalve.com/lash-caps

I'm trying to think what part you need that only costs $6. is it the lash cap? If so, wouldn't it be easier and ultimately cheaper to have it machined locally? -John

Here is another easy to make design. Flat aluminum stock folded to make the tray, Aluminum flat stock for the tie downs, and wing nuts to speed removal. The bends on the flat stock apply some tension to the wingnut assembly, acting like lock washers, so no need to torque them down too hard. It's a little easier to fabricate something for a small Lithium battery like this, but I previously used a similar design for a PC680, which worked fine for years. -John

Glad it worked, and nice looking car. I'm a big fan of eye-searing colors on a se7en! -John

Glad you are making progress. Do you have a wide band O2 sensor feeding into the MBE? If not, it's very useful for trouble shooting, particularly if you can log events vs. only seeing live data. -John

If it is cold start, and the MBE manual doesn't provide much info, this guide from Emerald may prove helpful from a methodology perspective. The most relevant section starts on page 9 "Coolant temperature injection corrections." -John

In the video, the idle seems very stable for the first 5 seconds, then slowly drops off. I'm used to immediate idle instability when it's a cold mapping issue and a lumpy drop off. @sf4018 are you able to keep the car idling by blipping the throttle? If so, then I'd start by looking for the idle settings in the map. Typically that's handled by adding a certain amount of advance when the revs fall below a certain amount and fuel enrichment tied to coolant and air temp. Emerald has some good guidance on how to attack this on their site. The software interface is different, but conceptually the same process is the same. I can dig out a link in a bit. -John

It almost sounds like it's running out of fuel. Is the pump still operating when it dies? What happens when you immediately try to restart it? Any change to the behavior shown in the video? -John

That was a bargain at just $21,500! -John

Glad you were able to connect with the builder. Hopefully he can fill in the rest of the gaps so you know exactly what you have (pistons, rods, cams, head work). -John

Given the ones from Burton Power appear the same as yours, it might be worth a call to see if they can provide more detail. The page I linked to earlier states "Tappet shim to fit our solid tappets. 0.160" thick (machine to suit) and 6mm stem. Will also suit any tappet/valve with a 6mm stem." Looking at their solid tappets, it appears they are referring to those offered by Kent in standard 30mm, and a slightly larger 32mm sizes. Seems like a reasonable lead to follow. -John

Between work and personal commitments, any longish blats are likely out for me for a while. -John

That's such a great area, particularly early in the morning when traffic is lightest. Have you tried the road from Randle down to Mount St. Helens? Great corners, but the road surface can be pretty bad in places. Or at least it was about three years ago when I last made the trek. -John

Is it possible someplace like McMaster-Carr has shims that will work? -John

Could this be specific to @Vovchandr's Zetec version? A quick search found a part on Burton Power's website that looks identical to his first photo. https://www.burtonpower.com/shim-160-x-6mm-stem-top-hat-type-ford-zetec-e-fz215.html -John

No clue, but might be worth contacting a few manufacturers. They typically have pretty tight charging voltage windows, so the generator could be problematic. -John

I converted to LiFePO4 over 9 years ago. I still shake my head in awe when picking it up. -John

The owner of LithiumMoto contacted me yesterday asking permission to post about his LiFePO4 batteries. I don’t want to turn this forum into a place where vendors post ads, but given this product is in a category that has a lot of interest, and I’ve never heard them mentioned in prior threads, I thought I would share the link for awareness. https://lithiummoto.com They are a boutique manufacturer based in FL who make custom batteries in addition to their two production units which include a Battery Management System, low battery restart feature, an aluminum case that aids in thermal management, and are repairable. I've found positive online references dating back to 2012, so they've been around for a while. Does anyone have experience with them? -John

He was probably referring to the low-volume manufacturer exception that SEMA helped push through Congress about 5 or 6 years ago. Implementation was on hold until the NHTSA published their own associated regulation. As I recall that happened early this year. However, given this was done at the Federal level, I imagine each state can implement their own additional provisions that render the legislation moot. Any bets on the state most likely to do that? -John

Quick search shows CT is equally concerned about your car's safety when parallel parking. These pictures might serve as inspiration: -John

I just had an antique clock damaged in interstate shipping, but have always been fortunate in orders from the UK. One trick is to never write the word "Fragile" on the outside as some shippers seem to take that as a challenge. Looking forward to your next update! -John

Wow, that's a lot of damage! Did you buy that from Caterhams' scratch and dent bin, or did that happen in shipping to you? -John