anduril3019

I've always wondered if Porsche 914 or Lotus Europa seats would work. They both have a one-piece shell with head-rest, and are relatively narrow and compact overall. Just a thought.

That's the problem with these fancy new engines and their functioning oil seals. On a classic British engine rust is one problem you don't often have thanks to the fine coat of oil everywhere.

Don't forget to check the shaft seals on your Webers. Seals are not always included in a basic rebuild kit and can be a source of annoyance if worn.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet. If you are referring to item 4 in the illustration, that should either be a press fit, or be staked in place. If it's loose, and you are trying to keep it in place while installing the pump, I could imagine it getting out of place and preventing the pump from seating properly.

Here are a few more. (mostly pre 1970s) Stafford Vehicle Components (UK) https://www.s-v-c.co.uk/ Components for classic and vintage cars. Lights, switches, mirrors, wiring accessories and washer and wiper systems. New and replica lights. Mike Brotherwood (UK) http://www.mikebrotherwood.com/Parts.html Mechanical, electrical, suspension bits, etc. for 7s and other Lotus sports racers and formula cars. Also, parts made to order. Retroford (UK) https://www.retroford.co.uk/ Cortina and Escort focused, but lots of applicable bits. Drivetrain, axles, Duratec and Zetec components. Autosparks (UK) https://www.autosparks.co.uk/ Wiring harnesses, electrical components. AES, Auto Electric Supplies (UK) https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/ The name pretty much says it. Batho Sports Cars (UK) https://www.batho-sports-cars.com/caterham_lotus_seven.html Aluminum (aluminium?) body panels. I think Batho may have been related to Xtra Special Sevens somehow, not sure, though. Axminster Specialist Panels (UK) https://axminsterspecialistpanels.com/home/ Axminster Specialist Panels produce high quality panel work in alloy, steel and other metals, using the traditional craftsmans’ panel beating methods. MDR, Mark Davies Racing (UK) https://jacobengineering.co.uk/index.php/steering-wheels-2/ Reproduction Springall steering wheels, Lotus steering wheel badges, Coventry Climax parts, misc. parts. Lotus-Mistry (Canada) https://www.lotus-mistry.com/ Lotus Twincam, Kent, Cosworth, engine parts. Other random parts. Funky website. Nisonger Instruments (US) https://www.nisonger.com/smiths-parts.htm Smiths instruments Melvyn Rutter Limited (UK) https://mogparts.net/ Morgan parts. Lucas, Kent engine, and other crossover stuff. Woolies (UK) https://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/ Trim, upholstery, fittings, etc.

If you're willing to share, I love pictures of basket cases! I think others will agree. Plus, you never know what someone may see and say, "Hey, I've got an extra one of those...". (Understood if you prefer to avoid unsolicited commentary on your project!)

Any chance the release bearing is returning too far due to engine vibration? Not sure if it's possible with a concentric release, but I had something similar happen with a standard release bearing. Everything seemed fine after bleeding, but after running for a little while, the clutch wouldn't disengage. Turned out there was a stiff spot in the slave cylinder, the external return spring on the slave cylinder that keeps tension on the fork and pushrod seemed fine while cold, but it was actually stopping at the stiff spot in the cylinder. When hot and vibrating, the plunger would move past the stiff spot, returning farther than normal, leaving a gap between the clutch and bearing and not enough travel to disengage. Also check your upper pedal stop (whatever is stopping it, master cylinder, chassis, etc.) make sure pedal is all the way up when adjusting everything.

That looks better!

Is that the before or after shot? Just asking because typically you want to back the grub screw all the way out, and then the two parts of the clamp will tighten without a gap between them. Contact, or near contact, with the flat of the shaft is what keeps it from rotating. The grub screw is then tightened, and it's main job is to keep the shaft from sliding in and out, except in an accident. Again, that's just the typical fit, yours could be different.

Have you decided to get the head surfaced? The area where the gasket failed definitely looks suspect. (based only on the photo, of course) Back to the can of worms theme, you might as well measure your compression ratio while you've got it all apart and determine if surfacing the head will affect it. It may affect it negligibly, but you won't know if it matters, unless you know where it is currently. General note: All the advice and collective knowledge your getting may be overwhelming (or it may be just what you were looking for?), but it's all the small details that help eliminate potential failure points when it's all back together and you turn the key. You could potentially yank the head off, clean it all up, put on a new gasket and be good to go. It might work, and get you on the road, or it might not, and you'll be right back to where you started, or worse off, and trying to troubleshoot again.

A drop of oil or assembly lube on the threads and under the bolt head will also do the job. What you don't want is any collected oil in a blind hole, it creates a nice little hydraulic press as you screw the bolt in.

Not impossible, but pretty tough to snap a head bolt unless they have significant rust or other damage. If they've been stretched beyond their elastic limit by over-torquing, let's say you're trying to reach 75 ft. lbs., at some number below that, like 60 ft. lbs., you will continue to turn the bolt, but the torque reading won't get any higher, it will stay at 60 (or even drop slightly) as the bolt continues to stretch instead of providing more clamping force. Any engineers out there, feel free to correct my terminology (and add depth) in terms of yield, deformation, stretch, elasticity, torque angles, etc. With all that said, Ford pushrod head bolts are pretty stout for the job performed. Twincam head bolts are a little more delicate, as are the heads.

Sorry for the can of worms, but how does the block deck surface look? I'm guessing it's corroded where the failure is.

After removing that gasket, you'll want to carefully inspect the head surface where it failed and around other water passages that look corroded. Some rust/corrosion is to be expected and acceptable, depending on how it encroaches on the sealing surface. But try and determine if it's the head or the gasket (or both) that failed. Depending on how the new gasket matches and seals around the water passages, you may be ok. But the sealing surface around each cylinder needs to have zero corrosion. The spot where your blow out is looks a little suspect from that photo. Not likely that you'll need head bolts unless you aren't able to bring them up to torque. But you should chase the holes in the block with a tap and clean them well. Completely tape off the top of the engine to keep debris out, and gently run the tap in each hole, just to remove dirt and rust, you shouldn't be removing any metal. You might be able to accomplish this with a wire tube brush instead of a tap, but in the end what you want is for the head bolts to easily go all the way in and out by hand. With each hole, thread a bolt all the way in and measure from the block surface to the underside of the bolt head, make sure this measurement, minus the gasket thickness, is less than the thickness of the head. This may be overkill since all these components were working together, but it's nice to know what you have. Heads can get swapped or milled too thin over time, resulting in head bolts being too long for a particular head and bottoming in the holes. Worst case is that they just barely bottom, causing the torque to look good, but not actually clamping the head sufficiently.

When troubleshooting, don't forget to use the tools you've got at hand, the ones attached to your body. You're nose is one of the best! I'm not advocating for you to inhale exhaust fumes ... but, burning oil, burning coolant, and "burning" water will all have very distinct smells.