Jewel Green Engine Reno - 5

10/10/12
 Today, the radiator went in & all the cooling hoses. Then all the fluids, oil in the gearbox & engine & water. The sump plug still has a small leak which meant that I took it out & used a thinner washer & more plumbers’ tape.  Then the battery & the motor turned over without any strange noises which was good.  I then put the plugs in & the distributor & ignition leads. Had a go at starting & no go. No petrol so I blew & sucked the fuel lines & there is fuel after the pump. I had to spend a lot of time with the leads as I had not numbered them & had I done that it would have saved me an hour. I was thinking that the rotor moved clockwise & arranged the leads that way. After many goes at starting, I then read that the rotor went anti-clockwise. It soon went with the leads in the right order. What a silly old bugger! Again, you think you know how it is done & then the simple things like this can be so frustrating! However, large amounts of oil were coming from the filter, not unexpectedly. I was not sure what to do but found the original Motorcraft type on eBay, so I bought it. In the meantime, I used my largest set of stillsons & managed to tighten the filter up quite a deal & it doesn’t seem to be leaking. After a few more turns she fired up & sounded pretty quiet. No obvious other leaks! I then had to refill all the oils & water & did some adjustment on the clutch. The gearbox works & reverse actually has spring mechanism so all seems good so far. The exhaust manifold has a small leak & I will need to tighten that in the morning but everything seems pretty good which is a relief.

12/10/12
 I couldn’t do too much yesterday because of the weather but today, I redid the exhaust pipe to the manifold & it has a very small crack so I put some exhaust putty on it & retensioned it.  It started well & then cut out. It didn’t seem to want to start & the quick way it was turning over suggested that it might be the cut out switch from the coil was on. Some of the connections from the distributor to the coil via the switch were a bit iffy so I redid them all. Then it fired up really well & again sounds really good. It was time for a short drive around the streets near home & all seemed good. Having synchro in first gear takes getting used to but it went up the mountain & pulls strongly. It seemed to be running a little hot but possibly needs more water. Again, I am pretty pleased at how it is going.

Looking back, what were the observations of this little exercise?

1.       The engine crane started all of this and it was well worth the price paid. It is an extremely useful bit of machinery and meant that this aging guy with a not so good back didn’t do any heavy lifting at all. I like the way it folds up & takes little space in the garage. Also, when I am finished with it, I can sell it, possibly for the same price as I bought it or a profit! Anybody want one?

2.       Don’t believe everything that seller’s tell you when buying a car. I was informed, when buying this car, that the original owner had just spent a lot of money on reconditioning the engine. What a lot of crap!

3.       I should have done this much earlier. It just takes times to get motivated & I was a little apprehensive about my level of skill but with the help of my learned neighbour, I was able to do all the engine work. My last attempt at engine reconditioning was in 1967 when I put new pistons & rings in my FE Holden. From memory, I had a lot of trouble getting it to run because the timing was way out. Having no timeline also is a great help. In other words, I could take my time & tried not to be rushed into finishing it.

4.       Good tools are essential. I had most things but a new piston ring compressor made everything much easier. The price of tools is much cheaper than in previous years so it pays to have a good tool kit.

5.       I possibly should have taken the engine & gearbox out as one unit but the height under my house is a bit restrictive so I took the safe option. I was able to use a low trolley & the crane to remove the gearbox so it wasn’t a big drama.

6.       Just make sure you drain the oil before you remove the gearbox. I knew that it would drain out the rear of the gear box when I lifted it but I made an absolute mess of the garage floor. There was gearbox oil everywhere so much so that I had to clean & hose the floor but then the strong smell of the oil was around for days. There was also a lot of advice from the household cleaning expert.  A big mistake! I will remember it for next time, if there is ever a next time!

7.       The Karcher is very useful for cleaning the garage floor & also for cleaning engine parts, the block & sump.

8.       Autobarn at MacGregor have always been very helpful to me with getting parts. Barry, the parts man, had located the correct rings (+60 thousand) & a new clutch with two phone calls & had them at their store the next morning. Very good service!

9.       The cost of reconditioning the gearbox was way beyond my anticipated cost. All I wanted was the synchro on first to work but, as with old cars, it wasn’t as simple as that. In addition to all the normal new bits, one of the main shafts needed machining at both ends & that cost a few green ones. Also the fact that I had to source the synchro rings indicates that some parts a little hard to get.

10.   The availability of the synchro rings and the speed at which they arrived from England was a big recommendation for Burton Power. This where the power of the internet meets the need of the classic car restorer. Who would have thought that when these Capris were built, would we be able to sit in our homes, search for what we want, order & pay for it & it arrives by a courier a few days later? To be here in four days was outstanding. I would certainly recommend them for the hard to get Ford parts.

11.   Gaskets, seals & cables, including postage, are much cheaper bought over the internet from the UK.

12.    Oil filters for the earlier 1600 Kent motors can be a problem as they can leak badly if not tightened. There is a ridge on the oil pump which prevents some brands of filter from fitting properly. I have found that the Repco or Motorcraft filters fit best.

13.   Check carefully when fitting new parts. The old clutch assembly was held with three bolts whereas the new part was a six bolt job. On looking carefully at the flywheel, there were six threaded holes where the new assembly would fit so it was clear that someone had taken a short cut on a previous clutch repair.

14.   Just be certain which way the distributor rotor turns or take plenty of pictures of where the ignition leads go. I have put the distributor cap together with leads on many times but, this time, for some reason, maybe age & stupidity, I got it mixed up. After changing leads & mucking about for about 45 minutes, I realised my error & with everything the correct way about, it fired up first shot.

15.   For a normal radiator water additive, I would not use Bars Leaks. May be it is to stop leaks but the water looked like mud. I drained & flushed it all out & used a normal additive which, at least, looks a lot better, and the car is running at a suitable temperature.

16.   Finally, check for leaks. I had three minor ones. The sump plug (oversize), the oil filter & the rear gearbox seal. A little more tightening & some special magic silastic had solved these & I am pretty pleased with the result.

At the moment, the car is running really well so I am pleased with how it all worked out and I will probably do the same to my white XL sometime this year.