Unkel Kunkel

I think ‘85 seems to be the year there was a change from inertia to pre-engaged. As others have indicated that’ s the first thing to establish. An inertia starter’s Bendix gear can get stuck up with bell housing debris - clutch dust and a bit of oil seems very effective in doing this. A pre-engaged one might, as Pete says, have poor solenoid contacts- they can be a bit thin on some makes. -Let us know what you find

It’s peeing down; All my plans for today are thwarted .. - so pull up a chair and I’ll tell you what I’ve learnt about flooding SUs - a subject about I which I knew absolutely nothing a year ago… I see 2 main causes; sometimes a combination of both: 1. Needle valve problems: Poor sealing due to: a. wear b.debris under the valve seating. This can be fuel tank debris but often the “slivers” problem caused by fuel rubber pipe debris. This has been high- lighted by Pete who has coined the term. ( The” Pete slivers ” can be really tiny) 2.Excessive fuel pump pressure. The needle valves in good condition, and not compromised by debris, should hold up to the pressure as per manual to 3.5 psi The pump pressure is determined by the return movement of a diaphragm by a spring.The spring largely determines it and it can also be adjusted by altering the the “stroke” of the diaphragm by different thickness gaskets between the pump body and engine block. Unfortunately… New pumps are being supplied that develop a much higher pressure. I bought one which produced nearly twice the upper range pressure ( and both carbs leaked ++++) The cause is the spring under the diaphragm which is very noticeably stronger than the original spec. The solutions (in the absence of suppliers selling us equipment inside the required spec.* ) : 1. Salvage the spring from you old pump and use that.Tried that - it works. 2.Add spacer gaskets between pump and engine block, as per manual - ( tried that too and it also works) 3.Add a fuel pressure regulator - like the Malpassi Filter King: I ordered one of these. It was while I was waiting for it to arrive I fiddled around with options 1. and 2, which were successful. Having bought the thing and as it has a rather nice filter, I fitted it.: ( transmission tunnel is out ..) The pressure was OK then anyway but End result = psi in range: but more importantly.. No flooding. * 1.The suppliers surely must be aware. I emailed.I was very quickly offered a full refund but the bland , “ No other reports of problems ..”I found rather disappointing and dismissive. I declined. 2.Not only are they outside spec., it is arguable that the result of this -ie spewing fuel can be viewed as a safety issue. 3. There is another issue with some of these pumps-the actuating arm/lever which is operated by the camshaft is rough as ..the proverbial , needing finishing before installation to prevent cam damage. Good Luck!

Even thinking this will be deemed heresy by some, but has anyone ever done away with these awful boot things which never very satisfactory and fabricated metal box enclosures? They could have removable gasket sealed bolted tops for maintenance.

My decision was appropriate for the needs of the vehicle and its intended use. I don’t intend trying to increase the power of engine; There is not even a remote prospect of me going racing!

Debate regarding the GL4 /5 seem to focus on the issue of whether or not GL5 , in this particular application, could be disadvantageous ? To make my decision, I turned the question around, asking instead: “In this situation, is there evidence that using GL5 is advantageous ?” The answer seemed to be “No” …Therefore I chose GL4.

At risk of sounding boringly Health snd Safety I would urge you very strongly to to swing that balance in your decision making very firmly in the direction of “safety’. In 1976 due entirely to my impatience, carelessness and momental stupidity, I had a car slip off a jack onto me. I was incredibly lucky to get away with it.It was a hard and painful lesson.

CJ Autos hydraulic ramps.Not cheap, but do get around the problem of low front end clearance and they are reassuringly sturdy.

NPT thread - not a BSP?

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise to learn that a brilliant designer of one thing can also design something else - but it was for me to learn G. Michelotti designed a bus ! (Copied from Autocar 27 April 2022):

I recall a series of articles in Practical Motorist, I think -in the late sixties anyway .. entitled something like “Things to do at 40,000 miles” listing de-coking cylinder heads, valve grinding rebuilding starters fitting new shell bearings, “ Cords” piston rings overhauling carbs ,fuel pumps etc.etc. as if they became due at a certain point. Times were beginning to change.. And as for oil.. Remember this sort of thing (found last week it still remains half un-used !)

Never. (unless part of rebuild)

I have not heard that about spark plugs. I can see it might apply to modern cars where plugs seem to last huge mileages so if they are thought troublesome, then just replace them. In their day, ancient cars, needed their “sparking plugs” cleaned very frequently - before every outing - and this is still the case now. In which case, one would get through an awful lot of plugs! Old cars with their magneto ignition and carbs like Claudel-Hobson, early Zeniths and Autovac things etc can be a bit pernickety -if ignition or mixture is a bit out, then the state of the plugs becomes the critical factor. In such a case, If they aren’t super clean -( or new ) then that small change can have have a big effect and you can crank away until you’re blue in the face, they won’t start. Don’t know much about Amals, but they are in effectively “ two carbs in one” (or three for later ones) and both bits have to be set. There are guides on-line for setting these and there is an Amal guide which is printable and makes into a little cut-out with a little wheel to turn to aid settings. Magnetos should give a good fat spark at cranking speed. Magnetos can gradually loose power over years as their magnets weaken with time, but they can still produce a visible spark which gives some false reassurance- At least outside the engine, ie under atmos. pressure but not under the compression of inside a cylinder. A cheap adjustable ignition gap tester will show how long the spark is (based on 30,000 v per cm. at atmos pressure) so say a spark is visible - great, but only I mm that spark is only 3,000v and would be very marginal to fire an engine.- really need a spark that will jump a gap towards a cm. ( very old cars with induction , “trembler “ coils, rather than magnetos, when properly set up can produce quite impressive sparks of over 2 cm and then arcing state of the cable and plug insulation can then be the issue) The points gap in the mag. is critical. The condenser in the mag can short internally and fail though older mica insulated ones seem to last. Very old magneto armatures were insulated with shellac and set in petroleum wax or bitumen and this can degrade causing shorts between the wires.The insulation can sometimes be seen to have liquefied and even dripped out. I think I would check the ignition. Then get an an Amal guide and set the carb(s) Good Luck!

We enjoy these cars; they are a source of fun.Reasons enough. There is no logical reason for having one, indeed there is no logical, commonsense reason for any sports car. - Enjoyment and fun. Rare and precious things.

Thank you everyone for your advice. The weather has suddenly become colder again, dammit- I’ll put aside paint jobs for now anyway for now.

A combination of low temperature, high humidity and a low level of skill have provided some really exasperating failures spraying small bits from aerosols recently., Apart from “ blooming” when it’s damp and cold, mainly these failures have been the sudden appearance of a “fish eyes” despite “wet and dry”preparation and careful wiping. Is the area contaminated with silicone ? -and the “arguing” between coats ( there is probably a more precise technical term) that results in wrinkles when cooler spray used over primer. Advice will be really very welcome ! -How can these be : 1. avoided 2.When established., how can these problems these issues be remedied or salvaged ?

The Bendix is a such a neat design: The pinion is attached to the starter shaft by a “quick thread”. When the starter motor is turned on, the shaft begins to quickly rotate.The pinion gear has inertia - there is sufficient mass for it to resist this initial spinning so instead to spinning with the shaft, it winds its way down the thread and meshes with the flywheel: If the engine starts, the ring gear speed exceeds the pinion so it gets flung out of engagement, down the thread and against the buffer spring. It so rarely gives trouble. The pinion can stick meshed to the ring gear. = Put the car in top gear with the ignition off. then rock the car backwards and forwards - this doesn’t need a great deal if effort and can be done quite gently and easily by one person.It should free easily or at most a very few rocks should free with a click and more free movement. Usually, the cause is the Bendix gear is gummed up with dirt and crud and a bit of oil from inside the bell housing. cleaning and degreasing and leaving it un-lubricated sorts most. Sometimes the pinion gear is chewed up and ocassionally the ring gear. A new Bendix gear can fitted (though the buffer spring is a bit fiddly unless you have the special compressor) Have a look at the brushes- if they are worn and the starter pinion is a bit chewed, maybe time to completely overhaul the starter - or go for new one.

A Guardin Angel is probably the best thing to have. Last year, a couple of us old bodgers were so pleased to get an old car finally running we set off in a pale blue cloud of smoke to give it a quick spin. A beautiful warm sunny day, a quiet road and all going really well, no exhaust smoke, engine humming along sweetly , gentle whine from the gearbox , so we just pressed on further into the countryside. Then .. back firing through the carb, splutter, splutter.. then coast to a silent standstill. No tools. no phones.Nothing No one about. We were embarrassed to release we had run out of fuel… We were contemplating the 3 mile round walk “ one of us” would need to get fuel.. ”What we could really do with is someone just to pull up and take us to a garage and back” Almost on cue, a car pulls up - driven by my missus… ”What are you doing out here?” ”Such a nice day, thought I’d have a drive out after doing the shopping.Haven’t driven down this road for years” My daughter wasn’t surprised to hear we had run out of fuel - or that her mother had rescued us, “ Your guardian angel, Dad, she’s always getting you out of trouble..”

As a myope, by far the most important spare I carry is a spare pair of glasses

Pressure: The mechanical pumps now supplied develop more pressure than original specification resulting in carb. flooding. (I posted about this the other month or so) I checked my new pump .. = nearly 7 psi Should be :2.5 -3.5 : This is well outside spec. ( The suppliers must be aware of negative feedback about this. 1.They have a responsibility to supply goods to spec. 2.They are ignoring the obvious safety implication caused by fuel leakage) I reduced it by gaskets as per above- it is in the repair manual as above - and does work. The root cause is the spring under the diaphragm - it is stiffer in the” new” pumps .( I tested them with weights needed to compress) So, next I swapped the spring from my old pump, went back to a standard thin gasket. It was fine but by now I had a Malpassi Filter King on order to regulate the pressure -and filter, so fitted it too: The other disappointing thing about these pumps - the pump operating arm which runs on the engine cam shaft = disappointingly finished - very ridged/rough - does need a bit smoothing/ finishing before installing to save excessive wear on the cam.

Last week I saw someone determine TDC in an old side valve engine with no timing marks and where the plug is not anywhere near the piston. I hadn’t seen this before: The base of an old sparking plug hollowed out and a small balloon attached. The inflation/deflation transition determined TDC. Seemed to work.

Road Accidents Before even the most clever, talented ,or those who consider themselves superb drivers, pull away from the side of the road into traffic, perhaps there is a need to consider something in that fleeting moment. 1.The only characteristic shared by all human beings - past, present or who have yet to draw breath, is the capacity to make mistakes. At best, It is the way we learn- from our very first faltering, stumbling steps. 2. If you are human, and you have learnt anything at all, you will have made mistakes - and you will make mistakes in the future. 4.If you do not accept that you have made mistakes and have the capacity to make very serious mistakes, you are a potentially dangerous(to your self or others),deluded, deceitful, dishonest or demented individual - or any combination of the above. The way for us to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents/ incidents is for us all to recognize, acknowledge and address these characteristics and then modify our behaviour.

Occasionally, my car and I become transparent. Pedestrians as well as drivers can be the problem then. On those “transparent” days, they can come up to the kerb, either not look or even do the full “green cross” and then step off, looking the other way or into their phone or blankly in my direction. The ultimate was last year when a young woman slowly sauntered off the pavement into my path whilst on her phone.Looking the other way the whole time, she was unaware of my presence and fact that I had stopped very quickly to avoid hitting her. Now a bit wary, I decided to wait until she approached other kerb before moving off. Just as well.She had just passed the bonnet when she did a sudden about-turn,to retrace her steps, now at a faster pace and engaged in a very animated phone conversation and hurried away - still completely oblivious of me sitting in my stationary, transparent car…

I agree. It is superfluous. I would remove it. I would also hesitate, just briefly, to reflect on how someone has used their inventiveness and to try and follow their thinking, and not rush to be too disparaging of other peoples’ ideas.

I I can echo exactly this - and also Josef’s comments. My car had been previously re-silled which I think certainly added to my problems. I also assumed that parts just “fitted”. Very obviously they didn't - so obviously I must have cocked it up. To get around the door “Step- Out “ issue I nervously decided to widen the new sill. This was beyond frontier land for my metal-working experience and skill and the only direction signs all seemed to say “ This way to Bodge Land”. Oh well.. So after it was fitted, I cut along the top edge and pulled it out: so that it was inline with the lower door edge and then inserted metal. Wider towards the rear as per diag. Then joggled and plug welded, to fill the gap: The other relevant thing is the relationship of sills and floor depths: Well It seemed to work, anyway. Welcome to Bodgeland!

The pick up pipe, or the outlet in a gravity feed system, is always a bit higher than the very lowest part of the tank. There is going to be some debris and a bit of water below that point. That works pretty well - often for decades. Water in tanks seems to be largely from condensation from the top and sides of partially filled tanks. This has relevance for old cars that aren’t in frequent use or stored. It is something that becomes more of a problem as these tanks continue to age. It is a problem that may be exacerbated by ethanol- added fuel. There is also a further factor regarding infrequent use / storage. The phase separation of water / petrol is influenced by temperature and ethanol - water/ petrol phase separation, so more “ comes out “ to settle in the tank in lower temps. From this , it would seem best either to keep the tank well- filled if you’re not using it much - or for lengthy periods of storage - drain it, but drain it completely. There are issues to consider with both these approaches. I wonder if we will see “tank pumping - out kits” appearing on the classic car market.