As with all classic vehicles there are often maintenance issues to ensure our 42 year old vehicles continue to operate. My green 1600 Deluxe has had a few starter issues for some time and just recently, the exhaust system has developed a leak.
Firstly, the starter appears to have a current drop which prevents it from starting immediately. I had never had the stater motor reconditioned so I decided it was time to do this, as well as tracking through all the wiring and connections. It is not difficult to remove so, after undoing the connecting wire and the three bolts, it slides out. A quick inspection indicated that the pinion on the Bendix drive was a bit battered so I decided to get this repaired as well as the electricals checked out. I have previously used a repairer called, ERG-Cargo in Salisbury, Brisbane so I took it over to Allan for a look. He is one of the few people who is able to source new pinions so he said it all could be done for a reasonable price. This guy is an old school repairer of all types of electric motors. Don't look too hard at his workshop as you would be shocked at how he found anything. True to his word, he phoned me on the nominated day & told me it was ready. I have not yet refitted the motor but here are before & after photos.
The exhaust developed quite a noisy leak where it joins the manifold and I suspected that a small crack in the flare at the top of the pipe had grown larger.
On disconnecting the flange, this is what had happened. In fact, a piece had nearly broken off.
How to repair this was a little bit of a puzzle as the rest of the exhaust system is still OK & I really did not want to replace it at this stage. I called Pricerite Exhausts at Slacks Creek as they had been helpful to me before. I just had to cut the pipe on the downwards straight section and they would be able to remake that section of the pipe. Within about 20 minutes and less that $20, they made the new section for me. This is what it looks like and note the flaring at the end to slip over the existing pipe. I haven't put it all back together yet but I am confident it will work really well.
If you are interested in the RS2600 and RS3100 Capris then this article makes very interesting reading. I came across it by accident when looking for some suspension parts. The later paragraphs of the article make reference to the Australian RS3100s, including the one raced by Alan Moffat. (Yes, he was at the RACQ Motorfest last weekend!)
http://z14.invisionfree.com/Classic_Ford_forum/ar/t331.htm
