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6 January 2015

After a frustrating year end to 2014 where the car sat pretty much the whole time from its last outing in October, I finally managed to make an effort to get on with things. So far so good after a week. I dug the twin carbs out of their box. They look so cool. Now I need to decide if I wait till I get a new engine built up, or just throw them on the existing engine. After much pondering I have decided to just use a set of 1300 pistons out of an old engine rather than have to pay for boring out to fit new bigger ones. The 1300 pistons in the 1600 block should up the compression ok, and combined with all the other cam and bits I have should work ok. And the rear end is still waiting for me.

11 January 2015

I dragged the old 1300 engine out the front of the shed and got to pulling the pistons out of it. I managed to spill old engine oil everywhere when my container wasn't big enough for the amount of oil. But I got the pistons and rods out ok in the end. I cleaned them up a bit and put them in a box ready to go. Then I bit the bullet and started pulling out the rear end. Not sure if that was a good idea, probably means the car will be off the road for months now. All went fairly smoothly and the axle is ready to move away after I finally worked out how to get the handbrake cable off. Checking the springs the new ones are very low. Hopefully it won't cause grief with wheel/tyre clearance. There are already tell-tale signs of rubbing on the inner arches, and the bump stops have been given a work over by the chassis rails. I'll fit all the new stuff up roughly to check how it all fits, and then work out what needs doing (mini tubs, or other body work). I offered up the panhard rod body bracket too, and of course the exhaust is right where that needs to be. More mods needed to fit stuff.

14 January 2015

Brendan came over to lend a hand, and over a couple of beers we got the springs and diff thrown back in. Was just done quickly so we can check if its all going to work. And so far so good. There is a few things that need sorting, like bump stops, exhaust clearance, then brake lines and handbrake too. But the cars sits nice and low, and there isn't any rubbing yet. We jumped up and down on the back of the car and couldn't see or hear rubbing either. But I guess that could all change with the first drive. So now I can swap all the brake bits over to the new axle, do lines and things, and generally get the car mobile again. Will take it back to the exhaust shop for some mods to the exit pipe to get clearance for the panhard and axle. Very happy with how it looks though :)

20 January 2015

Then the whole rear end had to be pulled apart again so I could take the bump stops out, cut the u-bolts off and get it all mounted up properly. Started pulling the brake bits off the old axle too. They're nicely stuck in a few spots. I've ordered some low profile bump stops that mount to the chassis rail.

30 January 2015

Small Ford Sunday was coming around fast again. I tried starting Betty up, but she was not getting fuel. So in a moment of madness I decided to throw the back end back in old B2 and trailer it down to the show. So I cracked on and pulled all the old drum bits off the old diff, and put them in the new. And that's when I also realised that I'd mad a fairly major cock up with the backing plates. The hole for the wheel cylinder was in the right spot, but it was upside down. So the wheel cylinders went on upside down, which meant the lines would be all back-to-front. But I pushed on and put it all together. Only afterwards it dawned on me that the thing will never bleed up cause the bleed nipple is at the bottom. I'm going to have to pull the whole thing apart again, axles out and all to swap and rotate the backing plates. Arse! Oh well, need to pay better attention next time. And one lucky thing is I couldn't get the diff sump plug out so didn't go dumping all my expensive LSD oil into it. I did throw the track wheels on, and with their offset there was some big rubbing, so we're going to have to sort out the inner guards.

19 February 2015

I borrowed a slide hammer off Matt, and with 2 taps each side the axles came back out again. So backing plates off, sides swapped. Had to nip a bit more off the mounting on the axle on one side, but they went straight back on. Axles back in and tightened up. Matt also suggest tapping the inner guard out some to get more clearance. So I took to them with the panel beating hammer. Made more room so bolted the track wheels on and dropped it back down again. Much better, but still some rubbing. So might do some more whacking, and if that doesn't help things I'll have to start looking at maybe getting a few mm machined off the back of the wheels. I put the low profile bump stops in, got the rear brakes all back together again, lines hooked up too. Just need to work out a handbrake now. Then I thought I might try a few different wheels on. I might have to get some tyres for the 13x6 Anglia wheels, I reckon they'd look awesome on there. The other steel 13x7 with the 205 tyres fitted ok too, but I'm still not convinced about the look of the 205 tyre. Plus they're bloody heavy, and I only have 2 of them.

24 February 2015

I've been collecting some bits and bobs in preparation for possibly putting the twin 40 carbs onto the engine. I have a new electric fuel pump, pressure regulator and a small gauge to stick in the line to tell me where we're at. I've also been looking at fuel cells for a while now, and went a bit crazy the other day and bought one. It's very cool, but another job on the list to do. Also got an order of engine bits in. So I think I have enough to get started building the engine now.

24 March 2015

I can't believe another month has gone by already. And pretty much nothing really has happened. I had another go at the rear arches on the weekend. More beating with the hammer, but still not enough clearance once I put the wheels back on. I got cranky at it so broke out the trolley jack and some blocks of wood, and cranked the arches out with that. Sorted them good and proper now. No rubbing when you bounce the car. Driving could be a different story, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes. So next step is to get the car driving again. Got my new handbrake bracket that needs welding onto the axle. Once that's on I can hook up the handbrake cables, fill the diff with oil, and then take it for a drive. First stop will be the exhaust place to get it moved for more clearance. While I was grabbing some steel off Jamie (thanks man) I grabbed some bits for the engine stand so I can mount the block to the mount on the side. That's sorted now too. Need to work out if I should take the block and get it cleaned and honed, or just do it all myself. Guess it depends on how much it will all cost.

31 March 2015

I put the track wheels back on the front to see what it looked like. Decided it needed a bit more lowering at the front, so wound down the coil overs a bit more. I might need to take it back for another wheel alignment soon, just to make sure all is pointing in the right direction. Looks pretty cool nice and low though. Hopefully I can still get it on the trailer! Need to get it drivable again so I can take it to the exhaust place to sort out the lack of clearance between the axle and exhaust, its very tight. So ticked one job off the list, filled axle with oil. Hopefully there is no leaks. So now all I need to do is get the brakes bled up, and a handbrake. But might see if I can get it to town and get the exhaust guy to weld on the handbrake bracket.

8 April 2015

Wandering in the shed the other day I noticed that the road wheels looked a bit wonky on the rear. Checking it out it turns out that there is a small lip in the centre bore of the wheel where the cap pushes on. And because the Mk2 axle has a longer boss that the mk1 the wheel wasn't sitting against the drum properly. So more visits to the tyre shop to swap the road tyres onto the 13x6 steel wheels. Just did 2 in case I didn't like the look, but I should have just taken all 4, cause it looks very cool. They sit a bit further in, but there is no rubbing and they fit properly, so all good. Brendan came over for a visit last night. And rather than just stand about drinking beer and gas bagging he got me sorted to pull the old 1600 pistons off the rods and we put the 1300 pistons on. Weighed all the rods and pistons and matched them all up to get the weights as close to even as we could.
Cylinder 1: piston 454 + rod 713 = 1167g
Cylinder 2: piston 458 + rod 712 = 1170g
Cylinder 3: piston 454 + rod 714 = 1168g
Cylinder 4: piston 453 + rod 716 = 1169g
So all up only 3g difference in the 4 setups. Now I need to take the block to town for a wash and a hone and we can start putting it together.

17 April 2015

Was talking to Matt last Wednesday and he told me to pull my finger out and get the car to town to sort out the exhaust. So I rang and could take the car in. Dropped it at the exhaust place, then went and stole Matt's Prado to get back home for work. Went back in the arvo to pick it up, sorted at no cost. That A1 Exhaust mob are just awesome. Roared it back home with no banging from the back end. But coming up the hill near home the old girl died again. The fuel gauge was still reading 1/4 full. But it had to be no fuel. Parked the car on the front lawn at Willandra cross country and walked home. We had to go out so needed to be home. Once we got back from up at the highlands I took the jerry can down and filled it up. Of course it started straight away. Time to stick the fuel cell in and get a decent gauge that works properly I reckon.
So the next day I moved it back to the shed, but had to take some pics of how it looks with its new steel wheels on. Might have to get some small spacers for the back so I can put the alloy nuts on, it looks a bit funny with the small nuts on those long studs. And the modified exhaust looks great, and the bracket is on too. Next job, handbrake back on and tighten the front wheel bearings a bit.

13 May 2015

Just little bits of fiddling in the last month. Was checking out the cam gear on the crank and working out a plan for that. Need to get the old one off then have the front of the crank machined down by 2mm so the double width chain doesn't rub. I'm going to talk to Jamie about that, and will take a flywheel along to get it lightened as well. I made some mounts and drilled some holes and got the fuel cell mounted. Last load of engine bits arrived. I had a go at cleaning the block, but that has balls on it. Will take it to south Nowra once my paint arrives. Looking at the low car on the steel wheels had me wondering what the struts were doing under the front. Wasn't sure how much travel I had left. Took a pic with the phone and turns out not much at all! So they need winding up a bit, might not look as good, but will hopefully stop things getting smashed. Then started thinking and planning out the new fuel lines. Matt grabbed a hand full of old Lear jet 6AN fittings, so we're going to use those. Was thinking of going through the cabin, but might leave it underneath, I prefer the fuel outside the cabin I think. Made plans to borrow some alloy from Matt's work to make a rear parcel shelf too. So more jobs on the list!

22 May 2015

As a bit of a last minute thing, I managed to get permission to take the old bomb up to Wakefield for a run at a Thornleigh Car Club track day. Gave the thing a once over. Raised the front up by 10 or 15mm. Nipped up the front wheel bearings. Took it for a drive down the road and thought the back felt a bit bouncy again on the firmer springs, so backed the rear shocks off to soften it up. Will crank them up at the track if need be. I even gave the thing a wash and (roughly) polished the track wheels. Set the pressures back to 22psi. Then started on packing the gear. But of course its chucking the rain down again and the front of the shed it all muddy again, so not looking forward to dragging the car out through that. Hope it doesn't get stuck!

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