Archive: March 2008

And it fired up.

Gravity fed petrol into pump via hose and funnel, with pump to carb line fully attached. Turned engine over, everything fired.   Pretty f*cking loud. (Probably due to the sawn-off, half length, rusty exhaust pipes)   Turned it off. And on again, sounds good, no obvious misfires or horrendous noises. Topped up water and oil levels, reattached fuel tank to fuel pump. Turned key and engine fires, idles indefinitely –…
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Fuel pump again.

Took fuel pump out again, manually pumped it to get a better feel for how much force is needed on the lever. Then tested it by holding the pump in the opening for the lever whilst the engine is turning. Cam movement is definately sufficient to move lever. Bolted back on.   Attached hose to fuel inlet on the pump and the other end of the hose in a fuel…
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Tested fuel lines.

Loosened fuel line from fuel pump to carburetter, turned engine over and no fuel leaking out at the pump – indicates no fuel would get into the carb.   Noticed one of the corners of the metal fuel line from pump to carb very slightly flattened, but nothing to cause any real restriction. Undid line from tank to pump – bone dry. Attached hose to the fuel line from tank…
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Cleaned ignition coil contacts.

Tried spraying WD40 down carburetter barrels, nothing happens, could indicate faulty ignition electrics, could not. Pulled out ignition coil and tested resistances on primary and secondary windings, appears to be good, gives a large ratio of the in/out voltages. Cleaned case and contacts while it was out. Put back in, no difference to start up. Tested spark plugs, there are sparks at each plug.…
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Recharged battery back in.

Recharged battery back in. Replaced the sheared and rusty battery clip bolts. Engine turns over at a greater rate and sounds somewhat healthy but doesn’t fire. Battery was part of the problem, must have lost it’s charge in transit. 10L of petrol put in, no change.   Problem must lie with either igniton electrics or fuel system. Quickly tested, there are sparks at all spark plug leads.…
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Starter motor back on car. Battery off to charge.

Starter motor back on car. Still doesn’t turn over, just a faint whir. Battery unhooked and left to charge – a big ‘duh’ if this solves it – don’t think it will however, just exhausting possibilities.
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Cleaning and testing of starter motor.

Finished cleaning innards with wet and dry and petrol. Brushes and commutator were all in good condition, but now at least cleaner. Drive pinion turns smoothly. Shafts regreased and whole thing reassembled. Tested by hooking directly to known good battery – works fine.   Seems to have been a pointless excercise, other than making it shiny.   Tomorrow: put starter motor back in and test.   Picture would have been…
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More stripping out. Starter Motor off.

Pulled out some more interior fittings and cleaned the transmission tunnel of the insulation or sound proofing sheets.   Engine dosen’t turn over, starter solenoid clicks – pinion gear engages with flywheel, but starter motor does not turn. When jump started a faint whir of the starter motor and the belts and fan moves slowly.   Unbolted and dewired Starter Motor and started cleaning outside casing with wire brush and…
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Partially stripped out.

All seats and carpets removed. A funny surprise: Driver side floor pan rotted right through, rust chunks came out stuck to the back of the carpets, so floor pan is now non-existent. Least I now have a collection of 40 year old cigarette butts, bottle caps, combs, hairpins, coins, ketchup sachets among many others… Next task, get it started before dismantling the whole thing to start the restoration.
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Arrival.

About three months after purchasing it, it finally arrived in the early evening. Inflated flat tire. Pulled out headliner. Tried starting the car, but no. Admired the car.
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