My 1995 Caterham S3 X-Flow Emotional Support Vehicle "Beater" refresh and other journeys down the rabbit hole

[IamScotticus]

Got this in today from Pierce Manifolds.

 

 

 

This is called a "pressure regulator", but based on the function description,  I suspect its more of a flow stabilizer.  The benefit appears to be that rapid fuel pressure oscillations from engine rev changes are buffered to reduce hammering  on the float and needle valve.

I don't know if that is a problem typical of low pressure mechanical fuel pumps.  Anything that helps keep my float in check is a good thing. 

What I found stonking impressive is the frameable pincil art on the back of the paper.  They don't make stuff like this anymore. 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by IamScotticus

[IamScotticus]

I took a chance on a vintage Formula Ford dry sump I got for a decent price.  It needs work so I'm cleaning it up in a rust bath.

 

All done

Now its off to get it beat back into shape. 

Edited October 28, 2022 by IamScotticus

[DanM]

If the evapo rust doesn’t get it to where you want it.  Electrolysis will clear it right up! 😁

[IamScotticus]

I'm not really making a build thread here, but since I have neglected Beater for the last fifteen years, and severely neglected her the last twelve years in one of the worst climates USA has to offer, its amazing that I'm dealing with minor cosmetic issues and other items that would need rebuilding after so much time e.g. the master cylinder being 26 yo, lower seals etc, It's pretty much a given this ride isn't rolling until a lot of stuff gets taken apart.  So, its a lot like a build thread.

 

What I did right in my 7 journey is I bought the car mostly complete,  having to source the engine in Washington State and the rolling chassis on the East coast, and other bits gathered along the way, it all came together in Ft Worth at BAS where Jeff and cohorts know their stuff being Brit make specialists and 7 racers.  When I brought my pile of parts to BAS the lead mechanic asked me why I bought a Caterham?  My answer was "So I can bring this to someone like you and you know what you have".  And in short order I had a running car I proceeded to destroy.  Almost.  Actually I proceeded to upgrade several parts like seats, wipers, scuttle,  windscreen, all the bits to get close to Roadsport spec pretty.  Then I tore it up driving it onto a U-haul trailer hooking the muffler on the apex which removed the rear wing clean off.   My perfectionism was severely damaged and SDKLLKRSS got set aside.  Life, roommates, wives, careers and other toys got between us for the next twelve years.

 

Some guys get these cars as retirement toys and neglect them as they get too old or broke to enjoy them.  I got my car when I was young and broke,  neglected it, and am now back into it as I get older with more $ to spare.  Not the best way to go about it I'll admit,  but both me and Beater are still in good shape whereas had I kept driving,  we would probably be much more banged up by now.

I don't know.  All I know is (1) I should have bought a DeDion Xflow with T-9 and Ford hubs & (2) Im really happy with the chassis I have.  The mid 90s imperial Arch chassis with the top wishbone are probably the best live axle cars they made.  Although the powder coat was inferrior, as I'm discovering.

 

So I have had to come to a reckoning with my perfectionism.  The car will never be perfect; hell, it never was.  But if Im going to get progress going on it, I have to stop chasing the idealistic and just let the ugly bits be ugly.  The smiles will be there, the cell phones will come out of car windows,  I will be asked questions at every stoplight and fuel fillup.  I just have to remember they don't have my microscope for detail and won't care about the dents, dings and the pressed in carb fuel inlet barb that should be replaced with a threadded barbs or the calliper guide pins should be safety wired.  They won't know about stuff like that.

 

So she will be named "Beater" and she will be a rough and rowdy road warrior terrorizing the city streets once again.  Before Im dead.

 

Today I turned the engine and wiped down the chassis with WD-40. 

Why WD-40?  Its what I have.

Yes, those are rusty rotors.

The red cable wraps are flags to remind me the suspension is loosened. They need to be on all the front arms.  All this stuff needs to come out and the tubes touched up.  Rust abatement is #1 priority now.

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by IamScotticus

[MV8]

Beaters are the best.

 

Tighten everything back up and make it mobile. Fix one thing at a time only after you have the parts ready to put on and don't take apart anything but the one thing you can fix over a weekend. Don't disable the car for more than what should be a weekend project. Then you will get some use out of the tires before they crack. It should take less time to tighten it back up than to mark the loose bits. Treat everything like it was marked loose.

 

Rotor rust cannot be prevented. The temps and friction remove any coating you could apply. The pads clean them each time you drive.

You could spray some metal prep (phosphorous and water in a spray bottle) on the spring seats then rattle can clear or just brush some grease on.

 

One step/project at a time. Running and driving between steps/projects.

[NSXguy]

Get it better than good enough and go have some fun, Scott. They'll never be "perfect" and thats part of the fun of it!. I came to that realization during my own refresh.

Cheers,

Des. 

[IamScotticus]

@MV8

I totally get what you've said about keeping the projects small but she's not a runner until some big things get done. 

 

Motor needs to come out for lower seals and a flywheel surface as I was leakling oil and chattering.  Master cylinder is frozen and brake lines have corrosion on tops of many lines.  I don't trust them.

 

I have a few upgrades and side projects lined up.  I have a V6 T9, clutch parts and prop shaft ready to go in.  I have this crazy idea of a downdraught carb (who would do a thing like that?) so I have an original Cortina manifold and 32/32 DFM I rebuilt.  I have a few other minor projects to toss in during the refresh.

 

For an individual, I have ammassed a respectable collection of spares, seals, gaskets, etc.  I have almost everything for a dry sump but that will wait till after I have a runner going.

 

So, yea, I will need to avoid having a multiple project quagmire going on, but I won't be driving before engine and brakes. 

 

The 15 yo tires are already cracked.  You don't see cracks on the surface but when strapped down on a trailer, they open up under compression.  I doubt they're good for anything but slow test running. 

[IamScotticus]

I have chosen to go the four port oil pump route on my dry sump build.  This requires that the pressure line be tapped into the oil galley.  Not scary at all, this has been a regular thing on BMC A engines for some time, in fact they come with an oil port (5/8-16) for such purposes.   So why not follow suit on the Kent block?  I had the option of machine thread or NPT fir the fitting.  Asking around,  the NPT is a common practice but could crack the block if overtightened.  I decided on the 5/8-18 with a sealing washer. 

A quick internet search dug up a AN 10 to 5/8-16 adapter that looks like the item I need.  I want to show it off here and ask if anyone knows rhe stamp marks to identify the manufacturer.  I will try to mate this with a female hose end of the same manufacturer.   AN is supposed to be universal and consistent,  but good practice is to join with same make.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Mini Mania for this awesome part!

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by IamScotticus

[IamScotticus]

Gurus,

Having sat for eleven years, psrtvof that time still holding the engine coolant, part drained, and at some point I may have mixed orange and green coolant, when I took the coolant pump off, I found the impeller chamber and hose inlet passage completely cloged with a hard waxy congealed goop.  I did not see any on the engine side.

Therefore,  I am asking if it is necessary to hot tank the engine to remove any other blockages?  I didn't see any goop in the radiator or lower hose, only similar corrosion and scaling in the aluminum upper coolant outlet thermostat housing.  Is this corrosion and jelling only an aluminum thing, leaving the iron safe?

I am planning to connect a pump and hose circuit to the upper and lower to circulate a rust removal solution in lieu of a dip.

Edited February 13, 2023 by IamScotticus

[11Budlite]

8 hours ago, IamScotticus said:

Gurus,

Hsving sat for eleven years, psrtvof that time still holding the engine coolant, part drained, and at some point I may have mixed orange and green coolant, when I took the coolant pump off, I found the impeller chamber and hose inlet passage completely cloged with a hard waxy congealed goop.  I did not see any on the engine side.

Therefore,  I am asking if it is necessary to hot tank the engine to remove any other blockages?  I didn't see any goop in the radiator or lower hose, only similar corrosion and scaling in the aluminum upper coolant outlet thermostat housing.  Is this corrosion and jelling only an aluminum thing, leaving the iron safe?

I am planning to connect a pump and hose circuit to the upper and lower to circulate a rust removal solution in lieu of a dip.

I think I recall having a similar issue with one of my old BMC A-series engines with an aluminum water pump. I ended up removed the freeze/core plugs to see what the block looked like and there wasn't any of that goop in the block passages, just some rust scale. Before having it hot tanked, maybe remove the core plugs to see what it looks like? 

[MV8]

Disconnect the radiator from the circuit to prevent it from being clogged and flush it out both ways with water. At least pop out the bottom rear most freeze plugs to break up any collecting crud. Flush through those plug holes and reinstall with new plugs. Flush the engine both ways through the upper and lower hose ports until the water runs clear, then pinch closed the pump inlet hose and fill the engine with your rust remover/phosphorous, premixed in a bucket then poured in and let it sit a few days, drain and flush until clear water comes out. Then change the head gasket as it has the smallest holes.

If water is not breaking down the congealed material, you might want to let it sit with the least reactive solvent/weakest solution that will slowly break it down over a few days and not dissolve aluminum.

[IamScotticus]

Unfortunately,  i didn't save any of the solids from the pump cleaning to use as test media.  but there isn't any evidence of it in the block inlet water pump mounting face, where coolant did pool for years.  is it possible that this concealment is in reaction to aluminum components only?

 

The engine will get a flush, Im hoping to not have to go to the extent of a hot tank, yet.

It will get tanked eventually for a dry sump galley tap.  But for now, I just want to get running.

Edited February 13, 2023 by IamScotticus

[MV8]

I suspect it is some sort of additive; possibly diy stop leak. Aluminum is more anodic.

[IamScotticus]

Sorry everyone,  auto correct does things after I submit.

[IamScotticus]

1 hour ago, MV8 said:

I suspect it is some sort of additive; possibly diy stop leak. Aluminum is more anodic.

I had the engine installed when I got the car and none of that was used.

[MV8]

I don't know. Maybe minerals in the coolant as the protective additives broke down. I've never seen that in my cars.

[IamScotticus]

In the process of building up a set of replacement front hubs (Triumph Spitfire parts) with a set of alloy hubs and new rotors.

The hubs have bearing races fitted, but because some dummy, probably me, touched one years ago, one race is rusted.

 

I went to Moss to look for these races and I see that they offer only caged bearings with no separate races.

Does anyone know if these are direct replacement press fit into the Spitty hubs or if machining is required?

 

Another question, is this an improvement?

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by IamScotticus

[IamScotticus]

I have this:

 

But this is growing on me:

 

 

OK, I know its a graphic rendering to imitate bare alu.   But its growing on me.

 

I don't have to preach about the maintenance of bare alu, you know.  But there's more I dislike about bare alu than just the maintenance.

For one, I don't want to look like an experimental airplane project.  For another, there are many flaws and defects in my panels, even a streak across my bonnet I can't polish out.  My build spec was a race car after all, those cars probably got some cast-offs to keep the price down.  Who knows.

Im thinking a nice rattle can coat of light grey would be a start.  No, I have no intention on taking my Beater to a professional paint job.  It has to be  a paint I can apply, touch up, take off, do repairs, reapply and blend in myself with something readily available or better left alone.

My Criteria:

-A color supported by a manufacturer for a very long time

-Supply available almost everywhere, or a close substitute can easily be obtained

-No, I don't want black

-Be confusingly similar to a brushed alu appearance from a distance

 

So far, the thing I am looking for is a light gray primer that bonds to metal, preferably more removable than an etching primer, of which most Ive seen are green.

 

Any suggestions?

Sarcasm is always welcome!

 

 

[ianashdown]

Many years ago I was introduced to a guy who had two P51 Mustangs. One was flying the other being rebuilt.  Frame 30 feet away flyable plane looked like polished Aluminium, with black and white checkered nose.  As I got closer I realized that it was actually painted in just the right shade of silver!  I’ve thought this might be a good practical solution for a 7.

 

Ian

[MV8]

On 3/4/2023 at 9:13 PM, IamScotticus said:

In the process of building up a set of replacement front hubs (Triumph Spitfire parts) with a set of alloy hubs and new rotors.

The hubs have bearing races fitted, but because some dummy, probably me, touched one years ago, one race is rusted.

 

I went to Moss to look for these races and I see that they offer only caged bearings with no separate races.

Does anyone know if these are direct replacement press fit into the Spitty hubs or if machining is required?

 

Another question, is this an improvement?

 

Do you have a link? I just looked on the Moss site and didn't see bearings like that, just the standard parts which have caged rollers and a separate race with steel/felt seals. It sounds like you are describing sealed bearings with an integral seal that can be metal or rubber and not as easily repackable.