Mk3 Spitfire engine and gearbox rebuild

[flatter4]

 

Using a blowtorch on your steak isn't so daft - sorry a little off topic, and potentially upsetting to the non meat eaters (switch off now).....

Heston Blumenthal did a wonderful series some years back:  "how to cook the perfect .........".
Steak was the topic of one episode.  As usual for him some of the specifics were impractical, but the principals are sound.  I found these links to the highlights of the TV show.

 

and part 2:

 

 

[Escadrille Ecosse]

56 minutes ago, flatter4 said:

Using a blowtorch on your steak isn't so daft - sorry a little off topic, and potentially upsetting to the non meat eaters (switch off now).....

Heston Blumenthal did a wonderful series some years back:  "how to cook the perfect .........".
Steak was the topic of one episode.  As usual for him some of the specifics were impractical, but the principals are sound.

As an omnivorous animal I find the prospect of being compelled to eat nothing but plants upsetting. I am particularly intolerant of Brussels sprouts and broccoli

Everything in moderation (although see sprouts and broccoli comment above).

Heston Blumenthal is a nut case - although an extremely entertaining (and successful) one.

Excellent videos

[Nick Jones]

4 hours ago, Escadrille Ecosse said:

As an omnivorous animal I find the prospect of being compelled to eat nothing but plants upsetting. I am particularly intolerant of Brussels sprouts and broccoli

Ditto….. I get broccoli far too often, but sprouts (which I marginally prefer when cooked right) almost never as SM loathes them.  
 

My particular dislike is sweet potato…. The “chef” has just about learnt that one….

Heston Blumenthal is indeed a nutcase…. We’ve had some very, very odd things with his name on from the Waitrose flog-off shelf. Not even the dog would eat them……

As thread drifts go… this is a bit of a monster…. Sorry Pete…

Back to the original drift…. after assorted “experiences” I became confused and wary of French restaurant definitions of steak cooking after a medium rare that might have seen the frying pan, but I don’t think had actually been in it…. Sent that one back ….. Then plain medium that was basically cremated. Past hope….

Looking forward to reports of a successful radiator repair….

[PeteStupps]

15 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

Back to the original drift…

I made the mistake of ordering a 'local delicacy' in a French restaurant, which turned out to be tripe. Couldn't rid myself of the god awful taste and smell for about 3 days, despite only having 2 small mouthfuls.

Rad work is tomorrow, today i've been busy adding to my Spitfire collection!

Edited September 25, 2021 by PeteStupps
Unfinished!

[RedRooster]

You've got to be careful they even make the stuff into sausages, look like normal ones until you take a bite.

[PeteStupps]

1 hour ago, RedRooster said:

You've got to be careful they even make the stuff into sausages, look like normal ones until you take a bite.

That's exactly what happened, looked like a juicy sausage. Cut into it and wondered where the smell of sewage was suddenly coming from

[RedRooster]

Andouillette it's called, be very afraid.

[Nick Jones]

Sounds completely revolting…… 

[Escadrille Ecosse]

1 hour ago, Nick Jones said:

Sounds completely revolting…… 

 

[PeteStupps]

In case anyone is hungry:

Quote

True andouillette will be an oblong tube. If made with the small intestine, it is a plump sausage generally about 25 mm (1 in) in diameter but often it is much larger, possibly 7–10 cm (2+3⁄4–4 in) in diameter, and stronger in scent when the colon is used. True andouillette is rarely seen outside France and has a strong, distinctive odour related to its intestinal origins and components. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andouillette

[rogerguzzi]

5 hours ago, RedRooster said:

Andouillette

Hello All

              Is this why they have sauses ? to cover up the smell and taste?

I once read that all the french fancy stuff was devised to hide the smell of bad meat etc (warmer climate!)

All pre fridges?

Roger

[PeteStupps]

Not sure Roger but i've heard the same explanation about mustard being designed to mask the taste of rotten meat. I'm sceptical about it myself.

Well no joy with the radiator soldering, in spite of my breezy confidence at the start of the day. Gave it a good go on the workbench but a little bead of coolant presented itself in the same position as before when I had it all back together. 

Tried again with the rad still in position on the car but fared no better. The leaded solder didn't seem to take to the brass, the way it does when i've soldered copper pipe fittings. It softened and stuck on but didn't flow into the gaps nicely like I was expecting. 

Was tempted to try again but my daughter was well past the limit of her patience after 5 hours twiddling her thumbs in the garage. Ho hum.

Because of the time pressure I'm thinking of buying a new rad outright from Wins International, who are near enough that I can collect in person. Need to dust off my credit card first though... 

[rogerguzzi]

Hello Pete

                  I think it maybe it was not clean enough and perhaps to much heat1

What flux did you use?

I would have another go before getting the card out!

Roger

ps try cellulose thinners to remove any paint and a good wire brushing(you will win)

if you have a bit of brass or copper have a play at soldering

[PeteStupps]

Hmm you might be right Roger, but I gave it a good going over with wire wheels and then scrubbed with white spirit.

Not sure what type of flux exactly, all the tackle was borrowed so I'd have to check tomorrow evening. 

I presumed it was insufficient heat though, so you could be right that I overcooked it. Unfortunately on my 2nd attempt I melted a hole in the header tank near the spigot, so it's even further beyond my capabilities now 

[Escadrille Ecosse]

Pete. Looking at that I agree with Roger. I'd expect to see brighter metal where the flux has cleaned it.

Basic plumbers flux like this...

Should do the job. Don't use white spirit, too much residue. Acetone or alcohol or nothing at all is better. Wire wool. Then warm the area with the torch until just too hot to touch then slap on the flux and warm again to make it run. Wipe it off along with the gunk the flux will have drawn out and do it again as you want to get capillary action into the wee hole where the leak is. Then while there is still flux there, heat it up and re-solder.

Although you may first want to wipe off some of the old solder. Do this with a wet rag when the solder is soft.

Nowadays I just use regular plumbers lead free solder on a roll like this...

Works just fine and as its only 3-4mm diameter you don't need to heat the solder just feed it into the metal as if you were gas welding.

Like Roger says, nearly there.

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Escadrille Ecosse

[rogerguzzi]

Hello Pete

                 Just solder a bit of copper or brass over the hole.

Roger

Ps use flux as said and practice on a bit old copper pipe split open!

[PeteStupps]

With the power of the Sideways common-room and my susceptibility to peer pressure, I think i've done it at the fourth attempt.

@Escadrille Ecosse and @rogerguzzi thank you for the advice, you've saved me 150 quid! But cost me an early night

No white spirit this time, I wire brushed and wire woolled it clean then heated, fluxed, heated, wiped, fluxed again, wiped a bit, gently heated and also importantly used thinner solder. It took to the brass nicely this time and flowed into the joint like butter on a crumpet. 

First attempt I stubbornly left the radiator on the car but, exactly as Colin advised, gravity caused problems. Looked alright though so I took it for a drive (and managed to fill up with VPower, would you believe).

On inspection it was still leaking from the same spot so I drained it properly and laid it on the bench. Cleaned all the old solder off then repeated the steps above, and this time plenty of solder built up in the problem area. I even managed to fill the other hole up.

Another test drive hooning around city streets, and there is no trace of a leak this time. There's still a seed of doubt about whether it will hold though... 

Looks ugly in the photo but not so bad in real life. Wire wheel is a bit harsh for brass but good for fetching the excess solder off

[Hamish]

That’s a great result. Well done

just shows how quick brass loses heat you still have paint and the sticker on it.

learning by doing it the best way - for me anyway. 
well done sideways college.

[Nick Jones]

Well done Pete. See you at Badgers Holt 

[rogerguzzi]

Hello Pete

                I bet you have found it satisfying as well as saving money?

ps it looks ok to me have a look around the radiator at the paid for jobs and you may be supprised by whats under the paint!

I soldered a threaded bung into mine for a thermostat switch

[PeteStupps]

1 hour ago, rogerguzzi said:

I bet you have found it satisfying as well as saving money?

Can't deny it Roger, i've never danced with joy after paying someone else to fix the car! 

[Escadrille Ecosse]

2 hours ago, rogerguzzi said:

I bet you have found it satisfying as well as saving money?

ps it looks ok to me have a look around the radiator at the paid for jobs and you may be surprised

Doing is the best way of learning but I find there is something immensely satisfying about soldering.

And for the 'professionals' a bit of fresh black paint hides a multitude of sins.

Good work Pete

[Nick Jones]

1 hour ago, PeteStupps said:

i've never danced with joy after paying someone else to fix the car

I might make an exception for getting the TT timing belt done next time…..

[PeteStupps]

So the RBRR starts tomorrow. The trusty Spitfire is packed and ready but now I've come down with a stinker of a cold and a weird back twinge! Great timing... ah well. 

Returning to the earlier theme of SU carb needles, I went hunting through the needle list for something based on observations from the rolling road (detailed below)

On 9/21/2021 at 6:11 PM, PeteStupps said:

I videoed the last rolling-road run on the BR needle and can see it goes rich from about 3000 to 4200rpm, then a bit lean from 5000ish to 6000.  I would guess the rich-to-lean crossover might be happening around needle station 7 or 8, which tallies with the BR curve and the 'operating ranges' shown in the bottom image.

So I wanted something a bit leaner than the BR profile at first, then a bit richer but not wildly so. After some twiddling in Excel I came upon EF, which fits the criteria and should be a better option than AD currently in there. If I give this first pair of EF needles a numeral, I can say I'm running EFi .... 

Ordered a pair from some bloke on eBay and fitted them the other evening between radiator soldering. On test-driving, it felt fine but there was still the occasional misfire during brisk acceleration. As before it felt like fuel starvation, so I did one test run with a bit of choke: pulled smoothly. Then I wondered about mixture spread, which is discussed in PeterC's presentation (referred to earlier), and which states that pulsations from valve opening/closing cause richer mixture if the throttle butterfly is wide open. So I tried some WOT acceleration and it pulled cleanly through the rev range. So I think it is a lean spot, which I could either combat with thicker damper oil or by just flooring the throttle pedal 

Another thing about carbs while on the subject. The SU article here shows graphically that adjusting the jet height has a much greater effect at low-load than at high-load, which agrees with what rolling road bloke said to me over the phone. I'd lazily assumed that it had a similar richer or leaner effect throughout the rev range. So I'm going to set mine for a nice idle and stop worrying about what happens at 70mph.

Graph below. Took a while for me to understand what it was showing!

[PeteStupps]

(Incidentally, I will get the carbs set up properly as recommended but haven't the time or cash to do so before the Round Britain trip)