escondidoron Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Pretty slick solution for pre-emission socially conscientious engineering. It just tries to slow down the air flow enough to let the oil collect on the mesh in droplets that then drain back into the sump. Or make a mess on the side of the engine and then on the ground. the constant coating of oil has kept is nice and corrosion free. That's a big plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 Good results on compression test. Got close on tuning, but still have some afterfire. I know the scorcher/bosch distributor is a good one, but I don't have any idea what advance should be to compare against. I have rebuilt the original lucas and it has been tested for the correct advance curve, just need to get and make some leads. Other than the afterfire popping, it is running pretty well. And looks ok, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
escondidoron Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Mmmm. Shiny. Lookin' good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagamore Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Proper looking car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Car definitely looks more than just ok....looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 Thanks guys. I'm back to focusing on the timing - starting with dwell, which was a bit lower than expected when I checked. I'm going to pull the scorcher/bosch distributor apart tomorrow and make sure the advance weights and springs are clean and moving easily, reset the points gap, and make sure there isn't too much play in the spindle. I've also realized I've been misinterpreting the timing marks on the chest as TDC when they really represent 10 degrees BTDC. So, I've been starting with too much advance and don't know how the distributor in place was setup - too many variables, no wonder I can't set my carbs right! I'll keep horsing with it while waiting for some new leads from magnecor for the Lucas dizzy, maybe I'll come on it by luck. I have some of Keith Franck's latest emulsion tubes to try out, too, but really want to maximize stock first so I have a good basis for evaluating his tubes. It is really hard with these cars to stick with just changing one thing at a time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 Dizzy was pretty clean,, but could use some new points. Also replaced the HT leads after finding one with much higher resistance than the rest (though still under 12k ohms). Made some good progress on the running today, thanks to some help from Keith Franck and others. Surprisingly found a primary contributor to my afterfire/popping were the replacement idle mix adjustment screws that came with my rebuild kit. The newer ones are more narrowly tapered than the older, blunter screws - and it seems they were letting in a good bit of air. Going back to the old ones almost completely eliminated the afterfire. Also tried Keith's non-frothing emulsion tube replacements - they had a huge impact on lowering the transition point at which the main jets kick in and went a long way towards eliminating the sub-3k rpm flat spot. I still have some tweaking to do but quite happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Between replacing old with new mixture screws and a bit of ezturn fuel lube, I seem to have knocked most of the afterfire. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do much experimenting with different main fuel/air jets or idle jets to find the best fit for this engine due to a cracked neck in my swirlpot (revealed as a nice vertical spray when I removed the thermostat and made the swirlpot to head connection leakproof). Mick Beveridge at XtraSpecialSevens makes a spot-on replacement, which I hope to have in hand this week. In the meantime, I got my draft tube and elbow installed - had to replace an oddly bent SS fuel pipe with a piece of cunifer to keep them from fouling, and the original breather in my engine isn't a perfect fit so probably not intended for the elbow, but with a little rtv I think it will work (will be better than spraying mist straight up, regardless, will see whether enough draft to pull air and gases out). I may change to a later Cortina/Capri breather "box" if this doesn't work as I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 As is so often the case with old cars, messing with one thing to fix another just leads to problems. In this case, trying to clear the "new" breather draft tube I crossthreaded the connection back to the fuel pump so when I cycled the starter to get it pumping it sprayed gas. Though I had an old one (from my Elan) and a spare gasket in my toolbox as an emergency backup, when installed the old pump it filled nicely to the carbs, then promptly began leaking (old glass bowl gasket had hardened). So a couple weeks of waiting on parts, but finally carved out a couple hours on Saturday and got it put back together and running, and started testing different idle jets and main wet/dry jets. Got a great idle, tips in very well at WOT above 2k rpm, and pulls like a train above 3k rpm. Just a little stumble when hitting WOT below about 1800 rpm, but plan to tweak a little more. This is also still on the Bosch distributor, about which I know little about the advance curve built in - but now that I have it close I'll switch over to the rebuilt original Lucas and see what fits the engine better. I realize it doesn't have the hp of the current crop of Sevens, but it really is an amazing little car, you just can't help but smile everytime you put your foot in the accelerator.:driving::driving::driving: Makes me sad I waited this long for a Seven! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 No more playing and testing today, couldn't get the engine to turn over though starter clearly ran. Wonder why... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anker Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Also check the state of the ring gear on the flywheel, but usually it is the starter gear that gets chewed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anker Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 That looks like a Ford long shaft starter motor. I have a couple of those sitting around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Fortunately the ring gear looks ok, at least what I can see through the "window": It is an M35G-1 starter, built in 6/65 so probably the right/original one for the car. I'm going to start searching for parts for a rebuild. Didn't look too bad internally when I took it apart for quick inspection, but definitely well-used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panamericano Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Do you have an external solenoid? That's my current problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) Well, the original pushbutton "manual solenoid" under the dash, but not a coil-solenoid. Edited July 12, 2020 by SENC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 Have been accumulating bits to rebuild the starter for my Seven - a Lucas M35G-1. I got lucky and found a NOS armature so don't have to try cleaning up the old one on my wood lathe. Would love some advice from those of you who've rebuilt these before - both any general advice and tips but also have a few specific questions: Any recommendations on removing the drive end bushing? Also need to clean up the body. The coils look just fine, can't think of a good reason to dismantle further. I assume a bath in kerosene or mineral spirits is the best path and wouldn't hurt anything inside? Last, any guidance on removing and replacing the brushes? I plan try to desolder them but not sure how crammed in that tube they are nor how to work the replacements back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted July 20, 2020 Author Share Posted July 20, 2020 While the guys with new toys were out adjusting their vibrating day/night mirrors and plugging in fuel injectors, I made progress in my analog world. Removed the bushing with a hacksaw blade (slow and tedious work to avoid damaging the end cap) and made the brush removal simple by drilling them out. Cleaned everything with CRC electric terminal cleaner and about ready to start putting things back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 At risk of being called soft like the Caterham lads, I've upgraded my fuel gauge and added some rain protection for when not moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Ingenious:)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 +1 on the color coordination Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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