Benco

So I found some willing (68kg ish) family bods to sit in the car, and appropriate weight in the boot, while I tightened up all of the ‘ride height’ suspension related bolts on the front and rear. That is a real pain in the ass job without a pit but got there in the end by having all four wheels at equal height off the ground. First movement under its own power, now I know the clutch works, and first and reverse 🙂. The brakes don’t feel very strong, so I will have a look at those. Now I need to replace the speedo with my Christmas present to myself, fix the rev counter, fit the windscreen wiper, encourage the passenger side light pod to play a bit more nicely and the I think it’s MOT time. IMG_4013.mov VIDEO-2024-01-28-16-55-12.mp4

Thanks Jonwat, looks like another investment and then just the remaining work to do (which will probably take longer than I think it will 🙂). The cam covers are cleaned up and sealed down properly (famous last words), the lighting wasn’t great in the photo, and the oil filler cap was so rusty that I ended up painting it with black engine enamel for the time being, until I acquire another. Looking forward to getting on the road, maybe with a goal of a Haynes Breakfast Club meet (on a British Classics morning).

Woo-hoo! 🙂 Engine start! After double and triple checking that I’d got the timing tight, sufficient coolant, oil in, electric connections on, carbs reset to factory set-up, spark plugs in and leads on, fuel pump connected and float chambers full, out of gear…… and checking once again 🙂….. then it was time to take a deep breath and start the engine… and great news that the engine started almost first time. Oil pressure is good (thanks John W), coolant level dropped only a little to be filled up, timing was incredibly stable, lots of fumes from the old exhaust section (after the manifold) that burnt off (I think that the previous owner had to cope with a massive oil leak from the cam covers). No oil leaks or fuel leaks or water leaks (so far) and the heating worked with no leaks in the car. Now the engine is running I spotted a new problem as the rev meter isn’t working (all other instruments are). Any quick ideas on the cause of that? I presume that the signal from the electronic ignition is working properly (as the ignition system is fine). I’ll check the wiring at the meter end tomorrow. Also could someone confirm the temperature (on the temp gauges) that I should expect the otter switch to kick the cooling fans in? Anyway - onwards and upwards, time to finish off the engine (colourtune, compression check, carb balancing). I have to say carb balancing is probably beyond me, any recommendations of places to do that in/around Bristol? Then it’s time to tighten up all the suspension bolts and get on the road to see whether the gearbox and diff are ok (fingers crossed). 🙂 IMG_2070.mov

Hi all, so engine back out and gearbox split. In the photos above I can confirm that the fork is ok, that it’s sitting firmly on the pivot and is moving well. The release bearing is set in the fork holder nicely. Looking at the cover plate the diaphragm fingers are set back and when I measure them to the lip of the cover plate there’s about a 1mm difference from one side to the other. The distances being 8.3 and 7.3mm. So I can’t see anything obviously wrong, appreciate any further suggestions. Looks like I’ll invest in a new pressure plate to go with the new clutch disc.

I guess that might be the case, just about to get the engine out again (and there must be a better way of getting the sump ‘mounting’ ears past the steering column… 🙂

Thanks Pete, my brain is aching working through what is effectively causing the fork to be too far forwards 🙂 Given the new clutch disc then I think that it could be: That the release bearing is sitting too far back on the fork. However I only saw it fitting snugly onto the fork in one way That the release bearing isn’t ‘deep’ enough. But it was spinning free and appeared to be ok. That the pressure plate diaphragm fingers are too close to the engine, because of the increased thickness of the new plate. I do wonder about this last potential cause, would this happen if the plate ‘spring’ mechanism is tired and the finger/levers are moving too far in, when the plate was tightened onto the flywheel? For now I’m going to try and check whether the clutch completely disengages the disc when depressed. If that works then I’m going to see what effect adjusting the cable can make. Failing all of that then it’s engine/gearbox out to understand if the pressure plate needs replacing.

Thanks, I’m up for checking everything before taking the engine back out again. The pulley wheel looks good, I’ve not taken the cable off the car or pedal, so it’s the same. it’s almost like I need to shim where the insulator bush fits the engine case, to move the cable ‘back’. sorry if this is a silly question, but when the clutch plate wears down, which way do you have to adjust the cable? Do the fingers on the pressure plate move backwards, effectively pushing more on the pre-loaded release bearing. This then means you have to move the bearing ‘backwards’ by adjusting the fork backwards by unwinding the adjuster nut to effectively ‘slacken’ off the cable? if I’ve a brand new clutch disc, then it’s thicker, the pressure plate surface is further ‘back’ and so the diaphragm fingers are closer to the engine?

Hi, is that the plastic bush that fits in the engine casing just before the rubber boot? If yes, then yes I’ve fitted that, it’s a pretty tight fit.

Hi, I’ve refitted the gearbox / engine back into the car and reconnected the clutch cable. However I seem to be completely at the end of the available adjustment at the clutch end and the pedal is still not at the correct position. So reading the manual I need to set the clutch pedal some 16mm above the brake pedal, but sadly there’s no more adjustment. I’m also not easily feeling the 3mm ‘free play’. It’s a 5 speed getrag box. I have a new clutch plate fitted and the clutch pressure plate appeared to be in good condition. The release bearing was also good and was a secure fit with the clutch fork assy. Cable is properly seated around the pedal. Appreciate thoughts, otherwise I guess it’s engine out time to see what’s going on.

Yes thanks, exhaust manifold is on - although it did seem to get in the way a little - took a bit of work to get it past the engine mount location on that side.

When I took the engine out I had a normal engine hoist (which didn’t properly reach), so last year I kept an eye out for a gantry and I found one on eBay. In order to have more than enough headroom in the garage I removed one of the ceiling joists and opened up the space. Today happy to say that that planning came in very handy as I put the engine/gearbox back in the car. I won’t say that it was a breeze, especially getting the engine mounts back on (I’m sure I might not be doing it correctly) - but it’s nice to see it back together. Tomorrow I’ll bolt the gearbox mount on and start refilling engine oil / gearbox oil / reconnecting wiring etc. Then onto the carbs!

Hi - talking with Pete and Filip we have been sharing as much as we know (definitely very little in my case) about the Eclat speedo versions. So my Eclat Riviera has the white illumination 170mph max speedo. If I look at the parts manual I can see 3 versions of the Speedo for the Series 2 Eclat/Elite. Does anyone know which speedo was fitted to which model in the S2 range? Eg as I have the Riviera - did that come with the 170mph speedo as standard?

With a brand new clutch plate I reassembled the gearbox to the engine using my home made clutch plate centering tool. I won’t deny that it was a little awkward aligning the engine and gearbox but with a bit of patience it went together nicely and very happy that I didn’t need to re-center the clutch plate. Repainted starter motor is back on and next the simple job of getting it all back into the car!

In anticipation of getting the engine in, and also getting enough weight in the car to be able to finally tighten up various suspension bolts, the I’ve filled up the fuel tank with fresh petrol. When I switch the car on the fuel gauge moves up to ‘full’ and then about 5 seconds later starts to drift down to about 1/2, then slowly up again. it’s not the fuel sender because that’s just sat in one position. Is this related to a tired voltage stabiliser? The voltmeter gauge is at a steady position throughout all of this.