Chris's Mkiv Basket Case restored to glory

[Nick Jones]

Seems I've not been very good at keeping this up to date....... some pics

 

LH front corner pretty much done

 

Rear panel done

 

I missed out taking pics of endless arch repairs

 

tub flipped back over for final welding, tidy-up

 

and paint

 

 

[Nick Jones]

Then some chassis work.

 

Front suspension all cleaned up, painted, poly-bushed and assembled

 

some bracket repairs at the rear......

 

..... leading to this

 

this.......

 

and this

 

Rolling tub.  We're alot further along in reality. Will add more later in the week.

 

Nick

 

[GT6Steve]

damn, I wish I could just mail you the rustfree bodies I have sitting here!  Will they stow in the overhead compartments?  I've seen wankers hauling carryon luggage down the aisle that looked near as large...

[Nick Jones]

Yeah, we'd like that too!  'Tis done now though - can start playing with the oily bits at last!!

 

Someone then started picking at the scabs on the quite tidy looking bonnet...... revealing that it was alot less tidy than it looked under the skin.  He priced up the various panels, winced, made his own.  Pretty convincing job done too.  We did have a small snag with the fit of the light cowls after which was a bit fiddly to correct but came out pretty well in the end

 

 

 

Boxed arches

 

Then this happened - harlequin car!  Note the yellow roof.  Really good condition and completely free - apart from having to drive to Peterborough to get it (430 mile, 8 hour round trip).

 

 

Carbon fibre boot lid - why be an aerospace apprentice if you can't make CF panels in college!

 

It's very light, strong and even basically the right shape but getting the final fit nice and attaching hinges, locks etc caused some aggro!

 

Nick

[Nick Jones]

So then it was time for filler and paint....... this took a while and caused some loss of mojo.  I won't bore you with the details.

 

We used cellulose because it's reasonably non-toxic and fairly forgiving of untalented application (easy to fix after cock-up!).  The grey is the final colour.  It wasn't my choice, but obviously the indoctrination has worked......  RAL7031 Blue grey like Wim's in the Netherlands.

 

Cellulose sinks...... alot.  Still there's plenty of paint on there - it'll flat out......

 

In primer - note "spray booth".  Didn't stop the dust getting everywhere.

 

Part way.  The roof is sill yellow and may stay yellow

 

where it is now

 

 

 

Looks pretty good.  Pleased with panel fit.

 

Steering column has been connected so it steers for the first time in our ownership.  We also Dinatrol'd it.  If it sticks to the car half as well as it stuck to me it should work well!

 

Nick

 

[oldtuckunder]

Looking Good, Nurture or Nature?

 

Alan

[BiTurbo228]

Very nice! You guys will definitely beat me to the finish

[Nick Jones]

Looking Good, Nurture or Nature?

 

Alan

No idea - he didn't show that much interest until he started driving, though he's always been practical and has had consistent exposure through my tinkerings.

 

Very nice! You guys will definitely beat me to the finish

Not there yet - no mechanicals.  They are just as rough as the rest of the car was.  Investigation will commence shortly and no doubt more open-wallet surgery will be needed!

 

Nick

[Nick Jones]

He's been bolting bits back on it.  The chrome isn't great so he's gone for the black chrome look.  Works I think - though may need daytime running lights to make it show up better!

 

 

 

The CF bootlid has come out pretty well.  There's an MX5 boot look in there which works, though at present we've only got an internal cable release.

 

Nick

[Nick Jones]

And so on to the engine.

 

It's staying 1300 Triumph for now for reasons of young persons insurance.

 

The engine it came with has rusty bores.  I bought a 13/60 lump from ebay but that turned out to in need of a full rebuild.  Fortunately Mike Banks kindly donated a spare short engine he's been keeping for a rainy day. This turned out to be a small crank, FD unit though missing it's cam and not fitted with cam bearings for some reason (possibly because it's a factory exchange unit).

 

The bores turned out to be excellent as is the crank.  The latter has had a precautionary polish and new shells but could have been run as is.

 

We've cleaned out the oil ways, fitted cam bearings

 

 

and installed the Mk3 cam I've been keeping since 1987 (!).  The crank is back in with new shells.  The donor 13/60 lump provided the end plates, chain cover and various other missing items.  It also donated it's nearly new oil pump, which has the tightest clearances of any pump I've measured.  Bizarre - the rest of that engine was original and utterly worn out - the VP2 shells were down to copper everywhere.

 

The bottom end is now pretty much back together - just need to check the cam timing properly as there is something most odd going on with the marks.

 

 

The head has come from the "original" engine and is late enough to have the larger inlet valves.  It's actually in ok shape so we're going to run it "as is" and worry about unleaded seats if and when they become necessary.  I'm just going to clean it up, lap the valves in....... and tidy up the corners of the ports a little as they are particularly angular.

 

before

 

after

 

 

It has some of the strangest carbon deposits I've seen.....

 

......in the chambers......

 

..... and in two of the inlet ports.

 

Really thick.

No idea what has caused this as the valve guides seem good and the backs of the valves are quite clean.  Odd.

 

Rockers etc are surprisingly good.

 

Coming along.  Gearbox next...... single rail 4 synchro with D-type.

 

Nick

[oldtuckunder]

 

It has some of the strangest carbon deposits I've seen.....

 

 

Funny I stripped a Ferggy 35 engine that was like that about 3 years ago, diesel, but similar thick deposits in the inlet valve pockets.

 

I put it down to a combination of things, oil bath air filter ( or tar bath as it actually was )  but makes me wonder on your 1300 engine how much rocker breathing into the inlet manifold could feed oil in, also the inlet valve seats on the affected cylinders weren't sealing very well, so we had a combination of poor combustion in the cylinders (running cool) blow back pass the valves into the inlet tract of fuel, meeting an oily inlet mixture in cool conditions, that I think just tars out, and maybe when the engine actually gets warm starts baking rather than burning off.

 

A de-coke, relap of the valves, refurbished injectors, and you'd have sworn afterwards it was a new engine. As it almost identical to the TR3/4 engine what surprised me given that the sump was half full of earth after nearly 60 years, and I'm fairly certain the engine had never been apart in its life, was how good the crank and bearings were, I could have actually just reassembled with the original bearings they were that good, but as the patient had its chest open new ones were put in. Won't be around to see it but would love to know what its like when someone strips it in another 60 years   PS Bores and Rings were fine, and had wonderful compression after the rebuild.

 

Alan  

[Nick Jones]

Yes, I think you might be onto something with the breather - can't think what else it could be.  Though the engine the head came from has +020 bores still showing honing marks and apparently in good shape apart from the rust......

 

We're just going to clean it up and pop it back on.

 

Nick

[Nick Jones]

Bit more done.

 

Engine is pretty much done - just trying to find a slightly less shagged chain tensioner and the pulley needs a speedi-sleeve or it will leak from the front seal.  Need to fettle the 1.25" SUs that last ran on my Herald in about 1989 (but are still waaaay better than the ones that came with the car) and try and make one half decent Delco dizzy out of two clapped-out remnants.  The starter will probably live if cleaned up.  We've got a motley assemblage of Lucas alternators, some of which even turn, though I'm inclined to weigh them in and use something more modern.

 

Picked up a decent pair of Mk1 MX5 seats (separate headrest type) from Devon yesterday.  Going to be a challenge to get them low enough - but then the originals aren't really low enough either!

 

Also picked up another flywheel (ex-Herald 13/60) locally as ours appears to have been stored in a salt marsh.  He's going to have to buy a new clutch!

 

Pretty soon I'm going to have to bite the bullet and see how bad the gearbox is.......

 

Nick

[pomwah]

Progress! Fingers crossed for the gearbox.

[BiTurbo228]

Nice progress

 

There's a chap on the selling part of the CT forums who's selling sets of adapter plates for MX-5 seats. Apparently the separate headrest type ones are low enough to clear the soft-top, although I'm not sure about the seat base height.

 

If you find a way to lower them I'd be very interested as I've got a set that came with my blue Spit that would be good if I could keep. If they were bolted directly to the floor (sans rails) they actually fit very nicely...

[CHRIS211083]

Good progress Nick. Would it not be worth him investing in megasquirt and you knocking up a manifold??? Will run better and be more reliable long term with scope to upgrade later????

 

Just a thought???

 

Chris

[Nick Jones]

It's in the future plans Chris.  Engine has to remain essentially standard for now in order to be insurable for him.  Fuel pipe layout etc is being done with this in mind.

 

I've already made two FI manifolds.  One is with a friend for testing (taking a while - he's in the midst of a house extension as well).

 

Price of bloody SU bits these days....... wish we were going straight to FI!  Would like to buy the jet tube to float chamber rubber seals only but can't find then anywhere - only as part of a kit for £ 6 each carb.  And needle valves.....!

 

Nick

[Nick Jones]

Gearbox day today.  News could be better.

 

We have two (sort of)

 

A 

1 x 4 synchro, 3 rail / D-type OD with some fairly major damage to the reverse gear teeth on the selector ring and idler gear.

 

B

1 x 3 synchro   with the OD and adapter plate missing.  Gearbox itself looks fairly good but not what we want.

 

So, will have to delve deeper into gearbox A and see what else is knackered.  This really is a full rebuild!

 

Nick

[Nick Jones]

Gearbox A (4 synchro) has a knackered main-shaft tip too.  Was hoping this would be ok so we could just freshen it up with some new bearings.  Now feeling the urge to go direct to a non-Triumph option as I've wasted far too much of my life messing about with the under-engineered crap Triumph call a gearbox.......

 

Bit sour..... yeah!

 

Nick

[CHRIS211083]

Type 9 all the way!!! Or are you thinking Toyota???

[Nick Jones]

Well, T9 is an option, though they are getting very hard to find at sensible money these days.

 

I do have a spare W58 (it'll be my pension the way the value keeps going up!) but seems like overkill for a 4 pot and very hard to fit.

 

I've actually been thinking about RX8, but the 5 speed not the 6 speed as the 5 speed has something close to a detachable bell housing and could be treated in a similar way to the T9 conversion with an adaptor block to link box and Triumph bell housing.

 

Trying to find what the ratios are and also some dimensions as it looks like the gear lever would end up a long way back.  

 

Should probably just buy a new mainshaft for the Triumph box......

 

Nick

[itiejim]

Let me know of you find the ratios for the year speed RX8 box. I had a look when I was looking at my gearbox options and couldn't find them. In the end I've just bought an upgraded Type 9 to replace my standard one. If the RX8 box has reasonable ratios I might look at getting one in as a spare and working out the mating up issues slow time.

[itiejim]

Haha, found them:

3.483

2.015

1.484

1

0.762

[Nick Jones]

Well done!  Spent ages looking those.......

 

Those look pretty good!  Might have to buy one now......

 

Nick

[Nick Jones]

Got a RX8 5 speed on the garage floor now......  It's big......  long.  Not sure there's much chance of a fit without serious compromise.  We'll have a better look tomorrow - damn cold in the garage.

 

Nick