pethier

A search locally turns up BCPR6ES. which MAY be the same thing in a "resister" plug. Is this OK?

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In Minnesota you can buy 100% gasoline for your lawnmower or your old car. Gasoline sold here for modern cars is 10% ethyl alcohol (E-10). Ethanol is an "oxygenator". 100% gasoline has no added oxygenator (ethanol), so is often called non-oxy. Non-oxygenated gasoline is kinder to old-school cars and small engines, stores better, and contains more energy. The flip-side is E-85. It has less energy per gallon, but nearly immune to pre-ignition knock. The turbo crowd loves this stuff because they can turn up the boost. Of course, to keep up, they need huge fuel injectors. In any case, you can buy both these kinds of fuels here.

Went to drive it around the block without bonnet and nose to test. Seemed to run just fine. I stopped to help some folks pack up a borrowed easy-up. While I was helping them put it in a car, one of them made an unexpected move and injured my thumb. I noticed I was bleeding. No good deed ever goes unpunished. /s Bandaged the thumb. Installed nose (love those push-buttons), popped on the bonnet, and snugged-up the outside mirrors. Tomorrow I'll go to Kwik Trip for 91-octane non-oxy.

You never know. The best alignment tech in the Twin Cities is impossible to reach on his shop phone, Email works the best. You just never know.

The job looks essentially done. The car up fired on the first try. Lots of oil pressure indicated No leaks noted so far. The car is still on ramps. I need to move some stuff around and get the car back on the floor before a test drive. Checked the compression while I was there. Looks OK, but my compression checker is past its prime years (well, decades), so I will revisit that later. I posted about spark plugs. I'll go check again to see if anyone answered.

I assume that is Houston Texas, not Houston Minnesota. Do you ever see/hear Hamilton Loomis playing around town? I met him in Saint Paul at a crossharp seminar he ran. He's a great musician with an interesting backstory. He's from Galveston, but I think he lives in Katy now.

I had no difficulty getting the oil pump past the engine mount. I had thought that maybe I would have to move the steering column (RHD car) out of the way, but that just cleared. I had originally thought I could get the oil-cooler sandwich-plate to come out the top without taking the hoses off of it. It would not make the corners around the steering column. Since the plate was already loose, it was not practical to break the hose connections at the plate. I solved this by removing the hoses at the cooler end. With all the oil drained from the cooler and hoses, I re-attached the cooler to its mounts so I could get enough torque on the hose connections to disconnect the hoses at that end. Threaded each hose back through the bottom of the car and plate came easily out the bottom.

If I were to use the car the way I have used sports cars (pleasure driving on the road and USA-style autocrosses) AND also do long-session big-track days, I would certainly want to go with a thermostatic oil-cooler system. Since I won't be doing long-session big-track days, I have decided that the oil cooler is not worth its weight in the front of the car. I have it boxed up and on the shelf. I had originally thought I could get the oil-cooler sandwich-plate to come out the top without taking the hoses off of it. It would not make the corners around the steering column. Since the plate was already loose, it was not practical to break the hose connections at the plate. I solved this by removing the hoses at the cooler end. With all the oil drained from the cooler and hoses, I re-attached the cooler to its mounts so I could get enough torque on the hose connections to disconnect the hoses at that end. Threaded each hose back through the bottom of the car and the plate came easily out the bottom.

Yes, there were three bolts holding on the oil pump. Two had very-tired lockwashers. The third had a useless-looking internal-star washer. I have fresh lockwashers on-hand.

If I do anything, it will probably be Accusump.

Pegasus Racing and UPS have really come through. I was told the gasket was to be at the UPS Center in Eagan on Tuesday by 7 PM. I got a call this morning (Monday) that it was in. I have the gasket home and have had lunch. To the shop!

As I recall, the passenger footwell in my 1979 Caterham 1600 was shortened to make room for the oil tank. Fortunately, these cars are long on passenger legroom and I never heard any complaints.

My previous 1979 Caterham 1600 crossflow had a dry-sump and no oil cooler. My present 1700 Super Sprint has no dry-sump.

Thanks!

You use too many TLAs. /s

LOL

To be clear, by "sealer", do you mean Hylomar on the gasket? Nothing needed on the bolt threads?

I drive it hard for 60 seconds at a time spread out over an autocross day. I drive respectably on the road, If it had a thermostatic bypass, I'd be more-inclined to leave it in.

I did a clutch master cylinder replacement on a Miata 1800 and I never touched the bleed screw. I just pumped away. like mad on the clutch pedal until I finally felt the clutch action. Clutch worked perfectly thereafter. Not saying this would work with other cars, but it worked just fine in this instance.

My 1700 Super Sprint is used for autocross and pleasure drives. Long trips to distant places is done in a trailer. I don't drive it for long distances. I don't race or do track days. Is the MOCAL oil-cooler worth its mass in the front of the car? I'm about to disconnect the oil cooler sandwich to change an oil-pump gasket, and it would be quite simple to take the whole thing out. Is there is an extension of the threaded part that holds on the oil filter, or was that entire bit removed and replaced with a longer one when the oil cooler was installed? I guess what I am asking here, is there anything I would have to buy to make the oil filter fit if the cooler sandwich was not there?

My 1700 Super Sprint came to me with NGK B8EC S spark plugs. It seems to run well. Should I stay with these, or is there a reason I should use different plugs? Torque is probably not critical in an iron head, but what should I shoot for? What spark-plug gap should I use? The car is used for autocross and pleasure drives. Long trips to distant places is done in a trailer.

I have an oil-pump-gasket failure on on my 1700 Super Sprint. The new gasket from Pegasus Racing is due here Tuesday. I am assuming the process is: Drain oil. Remove oil filter Remove oil-cooler sandwich by removing large central nut I don't know what to expect here, since i have never installed or removed an oil-cooling setup. Remove pump mounting bolts Pull pump straight out of block I hope the pump will clear the RHD steering column. Clean both block and pump mating surfaces Coat both sides of new gasket with Hylomar and stick it in-place Reinstall oil pump Reinstall bolts What torque? Should I use blue thread-lock goo? Reinstall sandwich plate What torque on the big nut? Reinstall oil filter Put fresh oil in engine Squirt a little oil in each cylinder With spark plugs out and ignition off, run engine on starter motor in short bursts to spread oil throughout the system Check for leaks Replace spark plugs Start engine. Please fill in all the little details for someone who has not done this before. I don't know what I don't know.

In West Saint Paul O'Reilly's, it is $7.60/qt when bought in 5-quart containers.

Sidbar: I used to have an Elise that color. Bordeaux Red Pearl was supposed to be rare, but at one time I knew there were 4 of them in the Twin Cities.