Project Korean Cortina - going back in time!

[Conair]

Dude great thread, just read this and its awesome, top work.

 

The gearbox seal could be age related as you said it had been sitting around for a while, seal could have gone hard, it could cure it's self with some time and use so as long as it's not pouring out just keep the peepers on it.

 

Once again dude rock on, loving this.

[mat_the_cat]

Spent the morning out on my bike, but managed a bit of tinkering time on the car. I got the driver's electric window working again, but not with the mechanism I bought - that was slightly too tall to fit in the door space. Which was strange as the actual travel, which I thought would be the critical dimension, was pretty similar.

 

So I stripped down the old mechanism to see if there was anything I could do, and the solution was actually quite simple! As the teeth seemed to be quite worn, all I did was re-drill the motor mounting holes to mesh the gear slightly closer to the flexible driver for the glass. Feeling a bit stupid that I didn't think of that before splashing the cash, but I should be able to return it for a refund and only lose out on postage.

 

I put a new set of wiper blades on too, but they aren't parking at the bottom of the screen as they should. Instead they go to the bottom of the sweep and then rise up a few inches. The motor isn't a splined fit on the linkage so I can't just tweak it a little, only 180 degrees. I have a new motor in the spares stash, so I may fit that and investigate the fault at leisure on the original motor.

 

EDIT - the other issue that may be rearing its head is (I think) fuel starvation. It'll rev cleanly to at least 5k rpm in neutral, but anything over half throttle under load it'll cough and slow down. I'm wondering whether there isn't enough restriction in the return line, as it's still 6 mm pipe so only 2 mm smaller than the supply pipe. Bodge solution would be to crimp the copper return pipe (or even flatten it with pliers) but I could maybe put a MIG welding tip in the hose and drill it out to suit.

[Bucketeer]

Nothing useful to add here Mat but I love this page and the fact that every time I look at it the first words I see are 'I really am a first class muppet.'

[mat_the_cat]

Maybe that could be my epitaph?

[Bucketeer]

Muppets were KOOL.

Turning up at SF14 with a V8 Stellar was KOOL.

Ergo, you are definitely a first class muppet.

[wuvvum]

Fuel starvation under load seems to be quite a common thing with Rover V8s.  Two of mine have done it - the P6 was a nightmare.  I think on that it was the fuel pump that wasn't quite up to the job though.

[mat_the_cat]

I think what I'll do to try and prove the issue is to temporarily blank off the return to the tank, as that's more a nicety for hot, slow running when vaporisation may be more of an issue. If that cures it then I'll play around with restrictors in the return line, but I guess it's not really surprising that my pump might struggle to feed a V8 at full chat AND pump fuel down a 6 mm pipe back to the tank!

[mat_the_cat]

After a spot of Googling it seems like it's certainly fuel starvation - the RR carbs I had on initially would have had a restrictor in the return line, and the SD1 carbs I have on now don't - in fact the return line was something I added and may not be needed with a fuel pressure regulator. But I'm reluctant to do away with it because it's likely that underbonnet temperatures will be on the high side.

 

So I melted a bit of solder into some 6 mm pipe...

 

 

...and drilled it out to 1 mm:

 

 

 With that in the return line there should be little flow when the carbs need it, but when the float valves are shut at least some fuel can make its way back to the tank. And it's when the valves spend a lot of time shut i.e. when idling that I'll mainly need the fuel to remain circulating. Easy to drill out a bit larger if I do suffer vaporisation problems too.

 

Oh, and I think I know where all the buzzing in the garage is coming from!

 

 

In other news, I've found out that there is a speedo drive available for the LT77 'box to suit a 3.45:1 rear axle ratio, which should be close enough to my 3.44:1 ratio to work OK. 0.2 mph low at 70 mph, and it's likely it would over-read anyway. As far as I can tell, the LT77 speedo drive should fit my R380 gearbox, and I've just won the correct (green) pinion on eBay! Then it's just a simple matter of getting a custom cable made up to get the speedo working.

[mat_the_cat]

Got the tyres put on the rims yesterday, and the initial coat seemed to stick very well. No damage from the tyres going over it which is encouraging. So today I gave them 4 more coats of silver, and 2 lacquer. I'm impressed with the way the paint goes on, although less so with my spraying! Still, they don't look too bad.

 

Old clothes and sheets very handy for masking, just tucked between the bead of the tyre and the rim.

 

Tyres now all seated and inflated.

 

I'll hopefully take them back for balancing later this week.

[mat_the_cat]

Got my first insurance quote...£480!!!

[ProgRocker]

Got my first insurance quote...£480!!!

 

HOW MUCH???!!! For a 20+ year old Stellar? Are you 21?

[mat_the_cat]

I wish! Mind you, I paid £1100 to insure it when I was 18. Presumably it's the engine which bumps it up so much now. I phoned round a bit more, and Adrian Flux came up with the best deal so I went with them in the end. Including £54 of breakdown cover (which I will likely need...), it was £249 which given that I'm also paying £257 for a BX with only (on paper at least) an extra 2 bhp over standard, doesn't seem too bad.

 

I have a couple of weeks before it starts, which should give me time to sort out the niggles. Then MOT time!

[ProgRocker]

 Including £54 of breakdown cover (which I will likely need...),

 

Surely not? £249 seems much more reasonable.

[mat_the_cat]

Well, I'd like to be confident in my abilities, but I'm bound to have made at least one mistake on the way! Main worry is heat, partly whether the radiator is up to the job but also whether things like brake and fuel lines will suffer from high underbonnet temperatures. But certainly while idling at least, the fans cut in and don't run for too long, suggesting they flow enough air to bring the temperature down.

[mat_the_cat]

The previous scuttle panel rotted out, mainly due I think to water sitting behind the windscreen trim and in the recess between bodywork and windscreen. Seeing as most of the trim clips had become brittle and broke when removing the old screen, I'm going to have to glue it in place anyway but I wanted to avoid the same water trap.

 

So this evening I've filled the entire recess with Sikaflex EBT. This bonds well to metal and glass in my experience, so should keep water out and give a good base for bonding the trim on with a weaker (i.e. removable) adhesive. The trim will have to come off again for painting anyway, although I might give it a quick coat with a rattle can to neaten it up a little in the short term.

 

 

I also sealed the front wings to the body with the same stuff. Chores beckon for the weekend, but hopefully I'll get chance to sort out the gearbox leak and swap the speedo drive pinion. Wheels are now balanced too - including fitting and new valves it came to £20 which I thought was pretty good

[mat_the_cat]

One step forwards, three steps back

 

I adjusted the rear brakes tonight, as the handbrake had a lot of travel and it was struggling to hold the car. The cable had a mile of slack in it but the adjusters in the drums seemed to be working OK so a nice easy fix. Onto the speedo drive:

 

 

Bizarrely (and annoyingly) the gearbox casting is blanked off where the speedo drive would go! Dunno why I didn't notice this when the 'box was out but I'm buggered if I'm removing it now. And even then I'm not sure I'd drill a hole unless I was rebuilding it. So that kind of scuppers my plan for a nice easy fix to get the speedo working. On the upside, I'm not going to be troubling my 2k mileage limit for the insurance any time soon

 

So I set to removing the propshaft in order to replace the leaking gearbox seal. Not as tricky as I'd feared although a little fiddly. Popped the old seal out...

 

 

...and it was nothing like the replacement!

 

 

I'd (wrongly) assumed the one for a 4wd R380 gearbox would be the same, as I couldn't find anyone listing a seal for the 2wd variant. Still, at least I've got the seal out I can match it up from the dimensions. Difficult to order one from a factors when I don't know what vehicle it's for!

 

Third problem was that one of my new tyres is completely flat. It's a puzzle why, as the seat where the tyre sits is obviously in good condition, the valve is new and it's unlikely to pick up a puncture without actually being used! I'm worried the aluminium may be porous, as that wheel showed lots of pock marks after blasting it. I guess I still have the spare to consider (which I've not even looked at) if that's the case. I could always stick a tube on the rim destined for a spare if it's no good...

[Rocket88]

Old trick after having alloy wheels re-furbed........before trying to fit fit tyres, spray about 3 coats of lacquer on the inner faces of the wheel, makes them a bit more air tight..............

[mat_the_cat]

I don't think it's that, as there's a couple of coats of lacquer where the tyre sits. Wondering about the gloop you can put in tyres when you have a puncture, whether that would do the trick. I'll test the valve though, just in case.

 

I started tackling the rust on the nearside chassis rail today - I didn't see it when I did the rest of the welding as it was under the axle stand.

 

 

 

I'll probably weld it up later, once I've wire brushed the rust inside the box section.

 

Still racking my brains how to keep the original speedo when I haven't got any means of measuring the speed! This would do the trick quite easily, and I might be able to modify it to fit behind the existing dial. But pricey

[Pillock]

This chap has done a similar thing to a Mini http://evmini.ca/post/41472767634/mechanical-to-electronic-speedometer-conversion

And he mentions this product which looks to be a different way of keeping your speedo - http://www.abbott-tach.com/cablex.htm - if you've got hundreds of dollars kicking around!

[mat_the_cat]

Seen both of them during my extensive Googling on the subject, but thanks He's done a really neat job, I like it! This is a similar product, but equally pricey. Managed to find the Cable X for around £200 delivered here, which looks to be the only option at the moment, but I still need to make up an electronic speed signal - which at least should be easier.

 

Managed to match up the seal at least!
http://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p27235/48x70x12mm+Nitrile+Rubber+Rotary+Shaft+Oil+Seal+with+Garter+Spring+R23+/+TC/product_info.html

[mat_the_cat]

Just finished welding the patch into place:

 

 

 

And even finished before midnight, which is a bonus. Time for a glass of wine to relax!

[mat_the_cat]

More bloody welding! I was wire brushing the rest of the underside when I noticed a little blister in the factory underseal. That turned into a 3" hole, hidden from above by the bitumen sound deadening. All welded up now, but my plan of spraying the underside has been put back a day or so.

 

Then I've got to decide whether to splash the cash on an electronic to mechanical speedo drive. Both companies in the US got back to me pretty quickly, and both will do the job it seems. But the ECD-100 is waterproof and easier to calibrate, and they 'only' want $50 for shipping instead of $150. Time for an eBay clear-out I think - anybody want an autoclave?

[Bucketeer]

On the speedo issue, fit something like this and double-win at everything-plus-one.

 

[mat_the_cat]

NOW you tell me!

 

Unfortunately, even with the spacers, I had to take the grinder to the shiny calipers Also had to cut off the bleed screw!

 

 

But red Hammerite was an almost perfect match!

 

 

And the original wheel is now on and spins freely!

 

 

Only got one centre cap though, although the rest must be *somewhere*. Just remembering where

[mat_the_cat]

All the wheels are on (and holding air!), and I've pressed the new seal into place on the back of the gearbox.

 

 

I should have a few quid coming my way later in the month, so I've spent it already on an electronic to mechanical speedo converter! In the meantime I need to think how I'm going to drive it. I've already got a magnet and sensor on the propshaft for a cruise control system, so that was the obvious choice. However, it needs a minimum of 4000 pulses per mile, and I've worked out that with my tyre size and final drive ratio I'll only have 3000. But will be a simple job of adding another magnet to double up the pulses.

 

Once that arrives from the US I'll still have to get a custom cable made up to link to the Hyundai speedo, but Richfield Speedograph say they can sort that one out (still waiting for any kind of a response from Speedy Cables after a couple of weeks!) Then it should be the simple* matter of calibrating it...

 

I might take it for an MOT in the meantime, as it's only a failure if the speedo is obviously inoperative, and they're unlikely to notice. Either way, it'd be good to have a list of any failures to rectify - I'm bound to have missed something!

[dollywobbler]

Is a non-working speedo an MOT failure? Seem to recall Mrs DW's AX didn't have a working speedo when we met. And it hadn't had for quite some time and several tests!

[Heidel_Kakao]

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_670a.htm

 

Yeah it would be a fail but as Mat says they probably won't notice anyway.

[dollywobbler]

Tells you a lot about the garage Mrs DW used to use then!

[twosmoke300]

Unless the vehicle has to have a decelerometer brake test (4 by 4 , lsd , or too low for the rolling road) there is no need to road test on an mot so as long at the speedo is there and cable not obviously hanging off it should pass ok.

[mat_the_cat]

Cable definitely isn't hanging off, it's sat on my workbench waiting to be sent off as a pattern! Another pre-MOT job was to sort out the steering. The column was wobbling about a bit, which turned out to be nothing more than the bush at the base of it needing re-seating in its recess - it had shifted up the column slightly. Nice easy fix I also noticed a bolt missing on the steering UJ, so sorted that.

 

 

Tight! Not sure how long the UJ will last next to the manifold, but we'll suck it and see...

 

With it all back together, and on the original wheels I thought I'd get a few photos:

 

 

 

I'm well pleased with them, and reckon they do look a good deal better than the previous rims.

 

Sadly there are a couple of problems still to sort I'm getting a sticking valve lifter at times, more often when warm so I'm guessing it's worn rather than sticky. I.e. the lower pressure of hot oil is not enough to pump it up. I'll stick some Forte engine flush through, as that's worked before on a Rover V8. Maybe try some thicker oil too, as I may have used 15w40.

 

The other thing is the bloody gearbox still leaking! It seemed to be dripping out again just as bad, which is a puzzle. Although I've just had a look at it now, wiped it down and there's no evident leak. I'm hoping it was just oil caught in the crossmember from when I pulled the old seal out.

 

MOT should be next week...