Norfolk mustard S4

[CarBuff]

Just asking:

 

Why didn't your friend coat the ends of the crossover pipes?

 

(The obvious answer is:  That is what he was holding on with, while spraying. 🤪 )

[Clarky5150]

All pipe ends sealed to avoid contaminants entering the tank while blasting and spraying. I did chuckle at the over zealous masking job myself. No signs of any damage to that area so happy that they will be suitably protected by the new crossover hoses. They better be for how much they are 😂

Good couple of hours work including repairing the inlet trumpet and re lining the seatbelt inertia reel covers as the original stuff had turned to powder.

[Clarky5150]

 Plenty of RTV around the quarter widow and flap hinge too 👍

[Barrykearley]

Can’t believe you’ve done the tanks red 😬 - sure they should have been yellow 😂

[Clarky5150]

It was either that or a really sickly shade or green. At least any inspection in years to come will show they have been definitely done. Didn’t you have a set of yours coated a different colour Barry?  The blue S4 springs to mind..

[RobinB5]

Yellow! Want to swap Shaun?  

[Clarky5150]

3 hours ago, RobinB5 said:

Yellow! Want to swap Shaun?  

I knew it!!

[Clarky5150]

Head went on this week along with the gradual rebuild of the engine.

Drivers side engine bay trim installed with new foam bead. 

Passenger side tank heat shield re coated and installed. 

Balance pipe hoses replaced and tanks part filled to avoid any Ferris beetles taking residence.

Anaerobic sealant ordered to assemble the ancillaries. 

There does seem to be a smackling too much end float (9 thouish) so before the sump goes back on ill pop out the crank and replace the crank/thrust bearings where needed to get her back to factory spec.

I have to say for once credit goes to all previous owners of the car as there is minimal wear to any surfaces and no sign of furring in any of the waterways. 

 

[Clarky5150]

Saw on another rebuild thread a mention for Cotterill engineering for rotary grinding the flywheel. They are very local to me so popped in for a chat and they are really nice guys. As we speak (well maybe between 9 and 5) they are sorting the flywheel and machining the oil pump back to minimum factory tolerance. 

Pushing on now to get the engine sorted, in and driven before Winter rears its fugly head.

[Tim H]

Thanks for the info about Cotterill Eng CC, I may pop over to see if they can lick up my V8 flywheel? 

[Clarky5150]

Good call. If you are doing the bearings and clutch at the same time drop the lot in and they will balance them with each other. 

[Clarky5150]

And tell em i mentioned you then next time I'm in I'll try and negotiate a little forum discount for our members.

👍 

[Clarky5150]

Not a great deal to report due to the tail end of the Florida hurricane making things a tad bleak.

Had a few hours working through all the fastenings which will be returning to the engine and cleaning up threads etc. 

Have managed to finally do a permanent replacement to the breather hoses using some 13mm ID ethanol ready fuel line. I was going to go along the route of the clear stuff from known parts suppliers but having read the specs it doesn't like ethanol. I will always use Super Unleaded while ever I own the car so 5% may be within tolerance however for future proofing for later owners this seemed the better solution. 

It's a tight fit but it goes in....

[Clarky5150]

On 29/09/2022 at 11:04, Clarky5150 said:

Good call. If you are doing the bearings and clutch at the same time drop the lot in and they will balance them with each other. 

The Crank, not the bearings obviously 🤪

[Clarky5150]

Mission creep... but in a good way. Popped the bearing housing off today to assess the thrust washers and found that the main bearings and big end bearings, although showing no signs of score damage have started to wear into the brass in places.

I feel a PNM order on its way.  

[Clarky5150]

And some new bootlaces and a tube of Autosol 😆

[Clarky5150]

And I do know it's bad form to bellyache but seriously how do we justify nearly £400 for a set of con rod, end float washers and main bearings?? Ferrari items are cheaper. Ford items are 8 times cheaper! They are aftermarket as well, not even OEM Lotus FFS as they are unavailable.

OK, rant over. More Gin required.

[Chillidoggy]

Did you try QED? I got mine from them.

[Clarky5150]

Back from Cotterill Engineering.

Cranks is well in spec, and he commented that it's 'as good as new, clearly having been well and regularly serviced with good quality oils'. I did mention it had that much oil round the block when I took it out that the car had self-medicated to assist in the oil changes 😆

Checked end float again with feeler gauges this time being as tho we are in there.  .15mm is a smidge loose, .2mm is a tight fit. 

So standard bearings and thrust washers all round.

Ian, QED similar price to PNM. Cotterill's suggested it may be due to small production batches but agreed they are eye wateringly expensive.

[Chillidoggy]

Fair enough, and good news about the crank, after 70,000 miles my end float clearance was similarly slack when I measured it.

I originally ordered an HD set from Gary Kemp, but due to the supply issues he just couldn’t get them, so I went to QED as they were the only ones who actually had any 910 bearings on the shelf. This was during covid, though.

Reference engine oil leaks, which I hate, I used all the Lotus specified sealants in my rebuild (expensive though some are), replaced every gasket/seal, and have zero leaks anywhere on the engine after quite a few thousand miles. It’s actually dusty, not caked in oily crap, which is a revelation.

 

[cweeden]

On 02/10/2022 at 23:17, Clarky5150 said:

And I do know it's bad form to bellyache but seriously how do we justify nearly £400 for a set of con rod, end float washers and main bearings?? Ferrari items are cheaper. Ford items are 8 times cheaper! They are aftermarket as well, not even OEM Lotus FFS as they are unavailable.

OK, rant over. More Gin required.

I know how you feel, V8 conrod bolts are over £50 each and there are no obvious alternatives from ARP or the like that I found. Not fun when you need 16 of the little buggers. 

(this is where @mike_sekinger tells me of a secret supply at half that 😆 )

[mike_sekinger]

@cweeden  This is where I recommend you move to either CP Carrillo or even better, Saenz rods.

[cweeden]

Yup, that would have made perfect sense in hind sight. 🤦‍♂️

[drdoom]

Yeah, the conrods are rather dear but a mechanic mate advises modern OEM parts prices are more withering still. Eg oil pump for recent Hyundai/Kia at approx $1300. Same goes for everything right on through gaskets. Just be glad we have suitable parts available to keep these beauties on the road.

Cheers

[EXCEL V8]

On 05/10/2022 at 17:47, drdoom said:

Yeah, the conrods are rather dear but a mechanic mate advises modern OEM parts prices are more withering still.

Cheers

Mercedes wanted £3020 to just supply a new petrol tank for my daily driver!! 🙁.  Needless to say it got welded!!

Pete