johny

Delboy, assuming this is a filter for a spin on adaptor dont forget to try to get it hanging down near vertical (the length of the filter chosen might affect this) so that it stays full of oil which then helps to get the oil round the engine quicker on start up.....

Have another look at Paddock site as its not very clear but they do stock both engine types bearings (not sure about there being different widths of main bearings used for the same crank though.....). You can tell the difference because unfortunately the earlier bearings are all loads more expensive than the later ones☹️ I take it youve really assessed the state of your engine as, unless its had a catastrophic failure, Im surprised any of these cars have lasted enough miles to need a rebore!

Well I think Nick has already tried a new cap so theres only really the rotor and coil left to change. In theory shorted turns in the low voltage side of the coil could change the transformer ratio so giving a higher voltage on the spark side but those resistance readings seem to indicate that its healthy.....

I wonder if theres a problem with the rotor arm? You dont say its been replaced and if it had a very high resistance the spark may well take another route and track across the inside of the cap.....

I believe the problem is that the original hose is corrugated to absorb movement between the engine and radiator and if its replaced with a straight item this forward-backward flexibility will be lost so possibly putting stress on the rad pipe or even the rad mountings. Dont think its going to be easy to find a corrugated hose of exactly the right length.....

As I understand it the problem occurs 'when the starter is engaged' so its almost as if the voltage isnt dropping enough during starting! Hence 12v+ are still being applied to the 6v coil even while the starter motor is operating. Have we got a 24v battery installed😵

Hi, I cant quite get my head round what youre explaining. Turning over on the starter motor with strobe connected to no1 spark plug you see the timing mark in 3 positions on the front pulley at 120º to each other and then once running theres only one mark showing at the correct position? Then you say you 'took the distributor cap off and could see sparking from the central rotor contact to the #1 ignition contact' without the cap in place???? First check is to measure the resistance of the coil both low and high voltage sides and let us know the results....

In the end I found going to a 0.75 master cylinder was the only way to get the pedal feel I wanted....

Could a stop bolt (doesnt seem to be the one in the photo) have been in constant hard contact with the plate either through being too long or held hard over by the driver so that its gradually destroyed the plate through vibration? Maybe the plate isnt original but something made out of mild steel....

surprisingly Ive heard that the difference in cost of insurance for a saloon or convertible is negligible and they do look so cool with the roof off, until it rains😭

yes I believe they even used to sell kits to do it!

some people like to unbolt the roof on their saloon (its easily done and as theres a separate chassis has little effect on the cars rigidity) which of course could affect their insurance so they insure it as a convertible to ensure they are covered in the event of a claim....

well with a maintenance free battery its effectively sealed as the gases produced recombine so topping up is never required. However if over charged or discharged rapidly the gases are produced too rapidly so there are valve(s) built in to the casing to release the excess pressure. Its possible this didnt happen and the pressure rose however I would still expect those plugs to push out before the casing ruptures so think it must have been caused by something more 'explosive'.....

yes those diff bearings are tapered so with the nut undone they are loose and its normal to have lots of movement. Now comes the problem as they are preloaded bearings so its recommended to count the number of turns required to undo the nut so that it can be returned to exactly the same place thus ensuring the correct tension on the bearings. Perhaps you can retrace your steps after replacing the seal to get back to the original position..... Also make sure the casing vent is clear by moving the jiggle pin (at the rear of the diff on top) as if this is blocked oil can be forced out of the seals by the increasing internal pressure when the diff warms up.

The holes in the gearbox mounting plate where the bracket is bolted are slotted so allowing a little adjustment but I think thats all thats available. I have seen gearbox mounts before distorted as youve described and think its where the engine and gearbox tend to move forward under braking so over time the rubbers end up misshapen. I reckon you'll find that the replacements will fit with no difficulty although you might have to lever the engine back a little as the forward mounts will probably have also become distorted. Note that sometimes rubber components can look perished but its superficial and theyre in fact still serviceable. This applies particularly to original components which although possibly more than 50yrs old are often far better quality than the new replacements available......

yes its difficult to see how a modern sealed battery can have an internal gas explosion ignited by an external source like a connection spark....

modern sealed batteries dont contain free acid as its all held in a gel or a glass mat which offers both disadvantages and advantages (eg. no spillage). One failure mode is that the lead connections between the plates inside the battery are gradually eaten away and when that reaches a certain point cant carry the high starting current without overheating which can then start a rapid downward spiral....

Cant see that an external hydrogen explosion would have split the battery case like that - think its more likely to have been a high internal resistance or short inside somewhere that quickly generated a lot of heat during the engine start up causing an rapid expansion of the battery contents.....

hmmm usually the warranty on the free replacement battery is only for long as the original was going to last but in your case dont know how that would work......

ah they were happy days werent they before Health n Safety and Risk Assessments?

When jump starting anything in the future I'll definitely be keeping out of the way!

ha, no in my book a ruptured battery case implies a major occurence and an exploded one a disaster! Where these recent events? If so I think there should be a warning in the engine bay.....

What casing ruptured and acid sprayed out?

As I understand it car batteries internally have ~2v cells connected in parallel and series to give current and voltage respectively. Then if a connection or cell fails you can still have an overall good normal voltage but on starting it drops excessively so giving slow cranking. Of course, as said, it can also be down to poor cable connections/resistance but on modern stuff that is less likely. Many times I have detected the battery deteriorating on my everyday cars by a slowing in start up and then subsequently leave it until it fails completely giving me loads of problems! Theres that advice about making sure youre never exposed to a battery during starting because of the risk of an internal short and explosive release of acid but Ive never known anyone whose experienced it so wonder if its another of the many urban myths......

not a bad idea Paul. Have you ever made a successful battery replacement claim?