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Post by tommydp on Feb 4, 2014 10:22:22 GMT
Hi all! Just a quick update from Norway, as I've not been really active in a while.
The weather here has been very strange, all the time since Christmas. We've had no rain or snow and it has been very windy. As a result of this it's very dry and we've had lots of forest fires, and in some regions up to 100 houses have burned down as the fires spread extremely quickly. Quite horrible, and it's now strictly forbidden to use any form of fire outside. Meanwhile, the south of Norway is snowing down..
The good thing though, is you can drive your classic everyday without fearing the dreaded salt. So I've done. I drive it everyday and have had no trouble with it at all. On average fuel consumption is just below 1 litre/ 10 km. Not bad imo, as it has been quite cold. It seems I've finaly "bedded in" the engine, which I got from the UK. It uses very little oil and runs quite well.
I consider taking the head off some day, lapping and checking the valves etc. I suspect some are pitted or even slightly damaged, as the clearances were very tight when I got the engine. Sometimes, one of the valves makes more noise than usual and the exhaust beat changes, so guess it's time for valve job. I will also have to look at the steering rack and do the body work I've planned for so long:-)
I'll also get back to the blue one in some months, possibly this summer:-)
All the best! Hope you're all fine!
Regards, Tommy
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Post by Penguin45 on Feb 5, 2014 0:33:44 GMT
Hi Tommy, Strange indeed - read about "Sonus" losing his MGB in a garage fire down the road in Trondheim - there's a thread about it over on RetroRides. Nice to hear that you're still out and about in the 'Crab, even in winter. Head job should be easy enough - valves and guides are pretty cheap and anything which involves a hammer is usually fun.......  Need to get the Wolseley running again - she's being naughty and refusing to start. Cheers, Chris. |
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Post by indianajones on Feb 5, 2014 3:08:42 GMT
Thanks for the update Tommy. Look forward to your posts if/when you get onto that head -Andrew |
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Post by dave1800 on Feb 5, 2014 12:59:10 GMT
Sorry to hear about the fires, not something I would have associated with Norway in the middle of winter. I thought you were going to get a new head from Peter Burgess, did that ever materialise?
Regards
David
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Post by tommydp on Feb 5, 2014 23:21:55 GMT
The fire where the MGB ended its life was only a few kms from where I live. It was an old factory, now with lots of cars including classics. Some were in storage, others were worked on. Welding started the fire..
Dave, I never got around sending a cylinder head to Burgess for overhaul. I mainly thought of this for the blue one, as everything else on it is new/ reconditioned (block, distributor, carburettor). It would be interesting to try a professionally rebuilt head ready to run on unleaded, so I'll consider it for the white one too. On the other hand the white one works fine, so I'll probably just take the head off to de carbon it and lap the valves, and check them for wear. As mentioned, one valve seems to make more noise than the others, and they were all horribly tightly adjusted when I got the engine.
I think the guides are fine, as no oil seems to enter the combustion as I noticed on the blue one. When I look down at the piston tops through the spark plug hole, they are dry and lightly sooty. After idling for a while cylinder 2 piston top will get wet. This is from petrol, so I suspect the inlet valve is not making a good seal. The plug remains dry though, so no problem really:-)
More important, I have to look at the steering rack before the MOT. One gaiter has burst and it seems to have been filled with grease rather than oil.. I have some play somewhere. I've chnged both track rod ends and one inner tie rod, but it's still there. If I grab the wheel at nine and three o' clock and rock it, I feel the play, that is slight play in the rack before the steering wheel moves. Sometimes I only notice it on the rh wheel, other times on the lh one... Could it be anything else than the driver's side inner tie rod, which I haven't changed?
Regards, Tommy
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Post by dave1800 on Feb 9, 2014 11:01:26 GMT
Hi Tommy Maybe you can use your vacuum gauge to see if it show up any valve seating problems remember this website vacuum gauge gifs examples 5, 6 or 7 maybe? If your inner steering tie rod is worn you should be able to determine which (hopefully not the one you changed with the front wheels off the ground . It could be that the rack itself is worn in which case you should be able to turn it off centre say half a turn and check again for play. If there is none this points to the rack if still there and nowhere else the pinion. regards David The fire where the MGB ended its life was only a few kms from where I live. It was an old factory, now with lots of cars including classics. Some were in storage, others were worked on. Welding started the fire.. Dave, I never got around sending a cylinder head to Burgess for overhaul. I mainly thought of this for the blue one, as everything else on it is new/ reconditioned (block, distributor, carburettor). It would be interesting to try a professionally rebuilt head ready to run on unleaded, so I'll consider it for the white one too. On the other hand the white one works fine, so I'll probably just take the head off to de carbon it and lap the valves, and check them for wear. As mentioned, one valve seems to make more noise than the others, and they were all horribly tightly adjusted when I got the engine. I think the guides are fine, as no oil seems to enter the combustion as I noticed on the blue one. When I look down at the piston tops through the spark plug hole, they are dry and lightly sooty. After idling for a while cylinder 2 piston top will get wet. This is from petrol, so I suspect the inlet valve is not making a good seal. The plug remains dry though, so no problem really:-) More important, I have to look at the steering rack before the MOT. One gaiter has burst and it seems to have been filled with grease rather than oil.. I have some play somewhere. I've chnged both track rod ends and one inner tie rod, but it's still there. If I grab the wheel at nine and three o' clock and rock it, I feel the play, that is slight play in the rack before the steering wheel moves. Sometimes I only notice it on the rh wheel, other times on the lh one... Could it be anything else than the driver's side inner tie rod, which I haven't changed? Regards, Tommy |
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Post by tommydp on Feb 9, 2014 23:40:17 GMT
I'll hook up the vacuum gauge once and have a look, Dave! I've never looked at the vacuum on this one.
I'll also check the inner tie rods again. I think the one I changed is ok, and suspect the rack itself could be worn. In the end I still have the brand new Scimitar rack here, so maybe I'll just fit that one.
I will however have to change over the inner tie rods, as the Scimitar ones are shorter.. After getting the right tool, changing the inner tie rods was peace of cake. The question is how far they should be tightened.. The torque is ok, but there's a question of compressing the spring that pushes the seat against the ball and the different threaded locking rings. The literature is somewhat unclear on this.. At least to me:-)
Tommy
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Post by dave1800 on Feb 10, 2014 12:54:47 GMT
Hi Tommy John Twist to the rescue, thank goodness for the MGB! Steering rack inner tie rod ajustmentDavid I'll also check the inner tie rods again. I think the one I changed is ok, and suspect the rack itself could be worn. In the end I still have the brand new Scimitar rack here, so maybe I'll just fit that one. I will however have to change over the inner tie rods, as the Scimitar ones are shorter.. After getting the right tool, changing the inner tie rods was peace of cake. The question is how far they should be tightened.. The torque is ok, but there's a question of compressing the spring that pushes the seat against the ball and the different threaded locking rings. The literature is somewhat unclear on this.. At least to me:-) Tommy |
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Post by tommydp on Feb 10, 2014 13:41:52 GMT
Wow! Now, that's useful! John Twist is great!
Thanks Dave!
Tommy.-)
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Post by tommydp on Feb 14, 2014 11:17:47 GMT
Hi all! Still no sign of winter here, so the 1800 is driven daily. In fact it's done nearly 8000 kms since I had it back on the road in April. I must say it has been extremely reliable.
I adjusted the valves and it seems to have cured the valve issue. One of them was a bit tight. I also changed the points, which made it go even better. I've had a slight hesitation under load, and a set of original old stock Unipart points solved it. Comparing with the old points, which were Bosch, the plastic heel on the points was shorter on the Bosch unit. I guess this made some spark issues under certain conditions.
It really runs like a dream, has good oil pressure and uses little oil and petrol. Very happy with it!
I'm taking it for a longer trip next week. I've come in contact with a bloke who has lots of new parts from a closed down BL garage. There are around 3000 items for sale. I've got a list from him, and there are quite a few useful 1800 parts like filters, hub bearings, brake pads, conversion gasket sets, engine parts and lots more..
I'll get back with pictures from the adventure:-)
Regards, Tommy
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Post by tommydp on Feb 19, 2014 19:36:08 GMT
Lovely long trip with the 1800 today! The reason for the trip was to visit a bloke who has loads of parts from a closed down BL garage. Mostly Marina, Princess, Allegro etc but I got some useful parts for the 1800. Pair of drive couplings, brake pads, gasket set, air filter, hub bearings, steering rack gaitor, PCV valve diaphragms, hub bearings, distributor LT connector, various carb needle/ seats and gaskets, two sets of mudflaps and some other bits and pieces. A nice bloke he was too. He had just got the Marina, which he's about to fix for a friend. It could be for sale (oh dear, want...). He also had an Austin Princess Sheerline, Fiat 1400 and Volvo "Rundnos" lorry in excellently restored shape. He also had a 1910 Piccolo. A German car he's restoring for a museum. Interesting. All in all, a great day! The crab ran like a dream all day long. I've fixed the steering play it seems. Changed the rh inner joint, according to John Twist movie, changed the gaiters and filled it with 0.2 litres of gear oil. As per manual:-) Here's a video and some pics:      Tommy:-) |
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Post by indianajones on Feb 19, 2014 20:01:34 GMT
Loving the photos  And what a boot load of goodies! -Andrew |
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Post by dave1800 on Feb 21, 2014 0:59:46 GMT
I'm green with envy Tommy! Great to hear the car's going well and the weather's good as well.
David
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Post by tommydp on May 3, 2014 20:52:34 GMT
Hi all! Yes, I've been quiet...
The white one is still my daily transport, I've actually driven it more than 10 000 kms during the last year and it passed the "MOT" in early April. It's been very reliable, but as mentioned earlier I wanted to remove the cylinder head, checking/ lapping the valves, decoking etc. I decided doing so as one valve was making more noise than the others, and I also noticed this exhaust smell mentioned earlier. It's performance has also been a bit up and down, sluggish and hesitating one day, next day it could pull like a train.. I did a compression test. 170 on cylinder 1 and 4, 160 on 2 and 3. One day it started pinking/ detonating up hill, which I assumed came from hot spots in the combustion chamber, so that was it.
So head came off and everything was thoroughly and gently cleaned. Inverted the head and filled the combustion chambers with diesel. It was obvious the valves did not make a perfect seal. I lapped the valves, cleaned everything up and fitted new oil seals etc. The bores didn't look bad. I scraped the piston tops with a piece of wood and cleaned them until they were shining brightly.
Put it all back together, took it for a gentle drive, re torqued head and adjusted the valves again the next day. It's been a week now. Compression is now 190 on all cylinders. So, good news, but... of course there is a but...
Its still hesitating and sluggish.. Starts instantly and idles well, but hesitates. Especially under load/ uphill but also at steady speed. Annoying, I think I've had my share of engine trouble with the blue:-( Sometimes I seriously wonder if the old barn (where I keep and work on the crabs) is haunted..
BUT, one can't give up! So going through everything one by one. So compression is fine, I've also hooked up the vacuum gauge at idle. It's 20, so fine I guess. Ignition is fine, 12 degrees at idle. So everything is perfect at idle, in other words hard to diagnose as trouble starts at speed.
So far I've tried the following, in turn, without improvement:
- tried another distributor, with different points, condenser etc (quality Distributor doctor overhauled)
- tried another carburettor, a NOS correct carb with correct needle.
- of course there's oil in the dashpot:-)
- another coil
- another set of plugs and leads
- blew up the fuel lines, cleaned the fuel pump and filter (first type mechanical one)
- it has a new manifold gasket and new gaskets between carb and manifold-
- servo does not leak
- PCV valve works
- no sign of intake leak, and vacuum wouldn't be 20 if it was, would it.
- new air filter
- I think ignition can be ruled out, all wires/ connections fine. The advance pipe does not leak.
- it starts instantly
So, there's never an easy answer when I post a problem is there?:-)
The only thing I can think of now is the fuel pump. I measured the pressure when cranking, which was 3. Fine, I guess, but I'm not able to check while running. Perhaps it's not up to the job when under load. It's from the original engine, which has done 200 000 kms.. When I started it after blowing up the fuel line and fitting the new carb (empty float bowl) the pump was not able to get fuel from the tank/ deliver to the carb no matter how long I cranked it. I had to suck the petrol through the pump, then it started working. Perhaps a clue here.
Well, I've no idea where to look next. Any ideas?
Please, I really need help here!
Tommy:-)
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Post by Penguin45 on May 3, 2014 21:15:39 GMT
12°BTDC is the factory setting for leaded 4 star fuel. Most of us now have to use unleaded fuel with an octane rating just over the old 2 star rating. These means that many cars need to have the timing retarded somewhat to compensate. 3° is typical. I'd have a bit of a play with the timing as my starting point.
*Whistles innocently and waits for David..........*
Chris.
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