Roger

I enjoy the archeological excavation of my very rusty 2000 Mk II engine now that i FINALLY have been able to remove the cylinder head. I hope that I can use the block, crank and cylinder head but I have to clean it up before I can evaluate the condition of the parts properly. The oil was still in the sump when I took it apart, and it was black, thick and full of dirt. I would like to remove EVERYTHING from the block and have it dipped in acid. The oil "channels" (whats the correct term?) are completely clogged and I would like to remove the lead blob thingy on the block and all the plugs to clean things up. I know I have seen an article in Practical Classics when they renovated a sixpot Triumph engine, and they removed this lead (?) blob and replaced it with a new one. Does anyone here know where I can buy this part (whatever it is called...). To me it seems better to make threads in the hole and add something else there, has anyone done that? I cant find this part, but then again I don't know the proper name so I dont know what to search for.

Interesting thread drift here Gentlemen 🙂 I just thought I would add how I removed the two remaing studs from the engine block after the cylinder head was removed. The stud that I cut of only had 2-3 mm left above the block. I welded a square washer to the stud and then a nut on top of the washer. The washer was actually thicker than the stud part above the block, so failure was not an option here, there would not be anything left to weld onto if the stud broke one more time. The stud was easy to remove after welding, the main problem is the rust between the stud and the cylinder head, so once the head is removed the situation improves a lot. For the long one in the corner I did not even had to weld the nut on, I just removed it by turning the square washer with a wrench. I did not take any pictures of the welds, fortunately, they looked awful. My welding helmet apparently has a battery that is charged by light and it does not work properly. I weld with my eyes closed, have to get a new helmet.

That’s a great idea John! I used to work for many years in an extrusion company and we produced all kinds of tubing for the medical device industry. Including heat shrink tubing. PTFE has very impressive properties with extremely low friction, and very heat resistant (it’s in your frying pan…). That extrusion company is only 20 minutes away from my home and I know they scrap kilometers of tubing every week (I was quality manager, I scrapped it if it was not up to spec…). I will contact them and see what I can find in the scrap bin. I learned a lot about quality control there. Failure is not an option if you make components for pacemakers. I still have some tools in my garage from my years in the medical device industry that must be very familiar to John. I use IV catheters to apply small amounts of phosporic acit on rusty bolts and nuts. I even have a few meters of petrol tubing that I extruded myself (can’t remember what polymer, but it handles ethanol very well).

I bought a temperature gauge that was very useful, it took a lot longer than I expected to reach 300+ degrees (about half an hour)

Hi All, Only posting this in case it might be useful information for someone else. Most of us have struggled with seized and rusty cylinder head studs. I have been trying (for a long time) to dismantle a 2000 Mk II engine without success. I have bought, tried and destroyed every special tool you can think of. I have used phosphorous acid, citrus acid, and many other chemicals. I started with the double nut technique and removed a few of the twelve studs that way. Then I removed another few of them by using special stud removal tools. Welding a nut on the stud removed yet another few. But finally I had two studs that simply did not move no matter what I tried. Welding a washer on the stud, and a nut on the washer created a very strong weld. So the stud snapped… Finally I only had a few mm of the stud above the cylinder head. I tried to apply heat with a small propane burner but it did not have the power to heat enough. Then I found this gas burner in my local store, picture below. It burns 2 kg of gas / hour and I managed to heat the cylinder head to approximatey 350 degrees Celcius. As you can see on the pictures, I lifted the enging holding on to the cylinder head, so the weight of the engine was trying to pull the block away from the cylinder head. Then I tapped the stud with a hammer and at this temperature the engine started to move downwards. I managed to create a 5 mm space between the cylinder head and the block. Then I got a hacksaw blade in between the block and the head and and cut one of the studs. Now there was only one stud remaining and it was in the corner of the cylinder head. Since it did not move up or down, I tried to move it sideways by kicking the opposite side of the cylinder head. That worked, and I could turn the head around the axis of the last stud, and by turning it back and forth, the weight of the engine finally separated the cylinder head from the block. I don’t know which of the tools or chemicals that was the most effective. I would say that stubbornnes is probably the most important tool of them all in these cases. I have been at war with those two studs for more than a year… Some picture of the operation...

Welcome to the forum, and good choise of car! My Vitesse is an early 1966 Convertible. Funny coincidence, my father also always drove Fords, but my first car was a Herald which I bought when I was 17. You will find this forum very friendly and a lot of knowledge here.

Thanks Johny, it took a while for me to find it since ignition timing was the subject for the thread but I assume you meant this one. I will read more about how to check valve timing, I was hoping that someone who has had the timing a tooth or half a tooth out could describe what impact it had on engine performance.

2000 Mk I Engine. I have been travelling quite a lot lately so I have not had time for my Vitesse project for a while. And now that I finally have some time, we got some snow here on the island and I only have summer tires so no test driving at the moment. I still haven’t found my missing horses. Engine starts and runs, but it is suffering from severe lack of power plus some symptoms that I would describe as a blown headgasket or leaking valves (“petrol fog” spitting out from carbs). I bought the engine from a scrap yard in Sweden for 100 £ and I have not renovated it. When I first tried to start it I noticed that PO had put the dizzy 180 degrees out. It struck me that if he managed to put the dizzy 180 degrees out, then I can’t be sure that cam chain, cam shaft and valve timing are correct either. Question: What would the symptoms be if the cam shaft and valve timing is not 100% accurate? Google is your friend, but I just find tons of information about modern VVT equipped engines in this matter.

Thanks Chris @Triumph948 for your detailed clarification. I'm one of those who have been collecting the Courier since mid 80´s and I really enjoy reading the paper version, and I'm also willing to pay extra for it. Seems like a great solution to give members the option to choose between paper or PDF. It might end up with so many PDF subscriptions that it will not make sense to print the paper version to a few memebers. But then again, if all those who prefer the paper version will not renew their membership if PDF is the only option left (like me) then the club might loose a lot of members. This is a tricky equation. Also, thanks @KevinR for sending me the e-mail that I lost to junk mail, appreciated. Br Roger.

Sorry, the question was not aimed at you John, it was for anyone reading this thread. I should have copied and pasted the text in a new post instead of quoting. I will reach out to someone at HQ.

This makes me confused. Unfortunately I have lost the e-mail John quoted above, and the TSSC website info about membership did not clarify what options I have as an overseas member. Can I choose if I want to receive a paper version of the Courier, or do all overseas memeber only receive the PDF version in the future?

I did some research and it seems like the SU HS4 has the same diameter 1,5". Anyone know if this HS4 spacer would fit my CD150´s? https://sucarb.co.uk/insulating-manifold-air-inlet-gaskets/insulating-gaskets/insulating-gasket-5.html

Thanks Doug, I will check what they have.

I had to take a break from my project due to travelling for work. The plan is to find those missing horses this weekend. Air leaks and/or fuel starvation is what I suspect. I think I set the fuel level in the carbs a bit too low in my efforts to make the carbs stop flooding. I took them apart (again....) and the float height seems to be closer to 20 mm instead of the specified 18 mm. Bigger height = lower fuel level I guess. Don't know if that deviation is enough to create the problems I have (?). Anyway, will re-adjust and make sure I get as close as possible to 18 mm. Back to airleaks. The carb spacers I have do not look good. I don't want to grind them in any way since I don't know if they contain asbesthos. I have tried to order new ones, but the ususal suspects don't seem to have them in stock. Do anyone on here know if spacers for CD 150 are available? If so, where can I buy them?

I need all the help can get! I appreciate all advices and I check them all. Keep them coming...

Lugs and holes are where they should be, I checked that when I replaced the diaphragms. Timing is definitely next on the list!

I did check this using one of those tiny cameras you can push into the cylinder throught the spark plug hole. Marks where they should be! ✅

Yes, very nice clonk! 🙂

Thanks John, no they are certainly not calibrated, at least not the one made in China that I use. However, the company I work for actually make pressure gauges that ARE precision instruments 🙂 They are used in the semi conductor industry, and are "Made with Pride on The Åland Island" 🙂 https://www.inficon.com/en/products/vacuum-gauge-and-controller/cube-cdgsci I will re-check timing, I only adjusted it to 13 degrees static and have not used a timing light yet.

Compression test done, numbers ok (ish). Piston rings in cylinder 6 seems to be a bit worn, compression improves a lot with some oil in the cylinder. I just increased the fuel pressure a bit, and it seems like it added a few horsepower (or it's just my wishful thinking???). Anyway, will double check timing again, and then increase fuel pressure in small increments to avoid flooding and see if I can add a few more horses.

Going back to basics whenever I can as recommended, I looked at "lack of power" in the fault finding chart in WSM. I think I can eliminate everything exept the fuel supply. As mentioned before I do not have a mechanical pump, only the Huco and the pressure regulator. Considering to increase fuel pressure in case it is fuel starvation, but increased pressure also increase the risk of flooding. I will have a fit if they flood again, then there will be men with white coats in my garage.

Starting and idling yes. Never tried to drive it until now.

Diaphragms now replaced with new ones. No diference, my 13/60 had MUCH more power when accelerating and going up the hills. Did another experiment. I just have the feeling that the air valves are not going up as they should, so I removed the oil from the dampers, just to see what would happen. No noticable difference there either. Spark plugs looks like its going a bit rich. Did everything according to WSM regarding the settings, but will try to make it leaner. Frustrating...

Thanks! Will check this. I did check for pinholes when I assembled the carbs, so I think it could also be something else than pinholes. I did forget to tighten this clamp once, with similar result. I hope I did not do the same mistake twice...

I did find two diaphgrams in my boxes, must be 20 years old. Will try them. "Pulls like a train" is a common description when driving a Vitesse. Well, my pulls like my 50 cc moped at the moment. Starts ok, idles ok. Wont rev more than 2500 or 3000, and it takes forever to reach those revs. But it is not flooding (thank God).