Project The Mighty Dacia - 1310 estate - Cat's tales

[SiC]

Have you got a vacuum pump to test the advanced? Or have a good suck action?

 

I bought one of those cheap red box vacuum pumps from eBay a little while ago. Apart from the Gauge being totally inaccurate, its alright. Even though it's inaccurate the gauge does tell you that it's pulling a vacuum and if it's holding. I've found I've used the pump more than I expected too.

[dollywobbler]

I had a play with the timing yesterday and it was then pulling much more cleanly. Really need to get a strobe on it I guess. I had a play with the idle too. I had a nice, clean idle at just over 1000rpm, but that seemed a little high. I dropped it down to 800, which had it bucking and farting as normal. Maybe a higher idle is a better idea until we can get the carb rebuilt.

 

I have a Romanian contact in the UK who can source all the bits we need, so hopefully that'll be that.

 

Oh and we must take a look at the fuel tank. It absolutely stinks this morning after a fill!

[dollywobbler]

REPORT.

 

Here is the Dacia out of fuel at a Jaguar specialist.

 

Here is the Dacia broken down in Bridgnorth.

 

Here's a note left on the Dacia overnight.

 

Far from being pleased about the attention, the Dacia utterly refused to start this morning and I had to engage bump start mode.

 

Here is the Dacia in Leintwardine. I'd stopped because the oil pressure light kept coming on at idle. I had to drive several miles to find anywhere selling oil.

 

The dipstick was bone dry and very hot. I couldn't get 20w50, so a litre of 10w40 would have to do. It took most of it. The gauge leapt up. Hoorah!

 

Here is the Dacia at home.

 

Sadly, about 30 miles from home, the pressure light started coming on at idle again. I tried to drive around this by not stopping, though I did pause at one point to check the oil. Fine. Is the 10w40 too thin? Is the engine fucked? Is the gauge telling porkies? I'm not sure what to do now. It's 80 miles to Shelsley Walsh for Retro-Rides Gathering tomorrow. I really want to be there in the Dacia, but is it utter folly to drive a car that's telling you it has not enough oil pressure?

 

It's an early start, so we need to decide soon and pack either the Dacia or the 2CV. ARSE.

[320touring]

Just take it. Worst case, RAC/AA to the rr meet.

 

Go have fun!

 

*I accept no responsibility for HOOLI style recovery shenanigans.

[Guest Hooli]

*mutters*

[SiC]

Did you want to borrow a Jaguar (for your Jaguar do)?

This is still a genuine offer if you want to borrow it for a bit. You're not a million miles away from me.

[dollywobbler]

This is still a genuine offer if you want to borrow it for a bit. You're not a million miles away from me.

 

Thanks, did I not get back to you? Sorry. Jaguar do was today. Tomorrow is Retro-Rides, so frankly, anything from the fleet bar the Rover would pretty much do. Elly is a veteran of gatherings, having gone to her first 11 years ago. I'm sure she wouldn't mind another one. I need to make a decision soon though! Commit to the Dacia or abort and go 2CV?

[dollywobbler]

Ok then. I checked the level again, and it was only halfway up the dipstick. Now I'm home, I could lob some 20w50 in. Did that, then got the strobe to set the timing. I pulled off the vacuum advance, and she started running about eleventy times better! Set the timing, gorgeous. Reconnected the hose, SHITE. So, I've left it off, gone for a test drive and she feels much happier. What's that all about then? Knackered carb failing to generate a proper vacuum?

 

I think I'm going to leave it at that and call it fixed. For now...

[dollywobbler]

Proof.

[320touring]

Good work!

[louiepj]

When you say you pulled the vacuum advance hose off the distributer did you plug it up as well? as the carb could then be drawing an air leak.

[Guest Hooli]

Something at the back of my head is saying the vacuum unit needs to move a different way according to if the vacuum pick up is before or after the throttle butterfly. Mismatched parts?

[dollywobbler]

When you say you pulled the vacuum advance hose off the distributer did you plug it up as well? as the carb could then be drawing an air leak.

 

No, because it's running so horrifically rich, that a bit of extra air might not actually hurt... (the horrifically rich running could explain why it's not producing a clean vacuum maybe?).

 

Oh, and just because we need some drama still, the driveshaft does keep making a bloody horrific noise. It sounds like exhaust knock, but is too cyclical for that. 

[Squire_Dawson]

Ask yourself: what would a Romanian do?

[Guest Hooli]

Ask yourself: what would a Romanian do?

 

Sell it to idiot Englishmen.

[dollywobbler]

Ask yourself: what would a Romanian do?

 

I do actually fear that I'm rather too comfortable with the 'meh, it's good enough' mindset that these cars were probably very familiar with. It came to the UK for a better life, and just finds itself being hammered by hairy Englishmen. Life can be cruel.

[Guest Hooli]

All immigrants should work for a living.

 

 

/Political

[dollywobbler]

Situation Report.

 

The Dacia mostly behaved almost impeccably yesterday. It started fairly well in the morning, but wouldn't restart when we got to Shelsley Walsh and Mrs DW wanted me to move the car for artistic reasons.

 

On the way, that dodgy second fuse down kept playing up. Every time I hit the brakes, the fuse lost contact and I lost both the brake lights and the gauges. Mrs DW cleaned the fuse up and bent the holders a bit during a quiet spell. This worked a treat! 

 

On the way, the tired driveshaft made horrible, horrible noises, but only on left hand bends. Sadly, there are a great many bends between my house and Shelsley Walsh. In fact, there are barely any straight sections. For 80 miles.

 

At the end of the day, it wouldn't start, and we had to bump start it. Happily, I'd aimed it downhill when parking up for artistic reasons.

 

We got to Cats house, and had to cram everything from the Dacia into the Rover.

 

Amazingly, we got everything in! We are now awaiting a package of parts from Romania, via the owner of the original Duster I met a few weeks ago. That will include a carb rebuild kit, a fuel pump, a driveshaft and something else I've forgotten about.

 

Mrs DW mostly didn't like the constant smell of petrol, so that probably needs looking at too.

[320touring]

Glad it made it there and back - no more oil light woes?

[Talbot]

I pulled off the vacuum advance, and she started running about eleventy times better! Set the timing, gorgeous. Reconnected the hose, SHITE. So, I've left it off, gone for a test drive and she feels much happier.

Remember, vac advance is used for economy only. An engine does not actually need this to run. Normally, timing is set with the vacuum advance DISCONNECTED. While the vac advance is disconnected, you have dynamic advance (the centrifugal weights) only. That is your base-line setting to allow the engine to operate at WOT without pre-ignition.

 

However, when there is vacuum in the inlet manifold, the engine is running with reduced volumetric efficiency, so it is possible to increase the advance of the ignition to improve economy. That is what the vac advance is for. Many cars didn't use vacuum advance (X1/9 springs to mind as the most obvious).

 

To set up the car if you have little or no information about the correct timing settings:

 

DISCONNECT the vacuum advance, and plug the hose so that the carb is not drawing additional air through the tube.

Drive car at maximum power in 2nd/3rd gear from about 1000rpm up to 2500/3000. Listen for pre-ignition. If there is none, advance the distributor by a few degrees and try again. Keep going with small adjustments until you can hear gentle pre-ignition (at WOT between 1000-3000rpm.)

 

Now retard the ignition by about 3 or 4 degrees to ensure you have as much advance as possible WITHOUT pre-ignition.

 

That has set your basic timing, with dynamic advance. If you put a strobe lamp on the engine you should be able to see the dynamic advance curve working... rev the engine, more advance. As the engine slows, igntion retards. This should be smooth. The marker on the flywheel (or wherever) should move progressively from idle up to whatever-rpm and then back again. Any jerking or non-smooth movement means your distributor is sticking.

 

With this done, re-connect the vacuum advance. This will now advance the timing while the throttle is closed or part-open (note that vacuum advance should be completely cancelled out at WOT). Again, you should be able to put a timing light on the timing marker and see that your idle advance is now quite a bit more than it was before. If you give the throttle a big prod, you should see the advance initially dissappear, (as the vacuum disappears) then immediately re-appear when you let off the throttle (and of course then see the dynamic advance as the engine speed rises.)

 

If you start to notice a little bit of pre-ignition while driving, first disconnect the vaccum advance pipe again to confirm whether it's still present on Dynamic only (and adjust it away if it is) Some systems need an additional few more degrees retard on their basic setting, as the vacuum advance becomes too much under some driving conditions (often up gentle hills in 3rd/4th I find)

 

I've set up dozens of cars like this, and yet to have a problem, especially with an "old technology" engine like this one.

[Datsuncog]

I hadn't really realised that the pick-ups were sold here at all. I know of a couple in preservation now.

 

Was trawling the Datsuncog 35mm Shite Archives last night and found this example, snapped near Kelling Heath, Norfolk, in July 1996 - G687LVG

 

 

Sadly, this one was a bare six years old at the point the picture was taken, and already looking as rough as guts.

 

 

Only seems to have survived for another few months after I took that pic, too.

 

I imagine that, like the slightly earlier Moskvitch and FSO pick-ups, they were seen as cheap and disposable tools for the building and agricultural trades, and treated to roughly the same loving care and attention as a lump hammer. No wonder their service lives were somewhat short.

[dollywobbler]

Remember, vac advance is used for economy only. An engine does not actually need this to run. Normally, timing is set with the vacuum advance DISCONNECTED. While the vac advance is disconnected, you have dynamic advance (the centrifugal weights) only. That is your base-line setting to allow the engine to operate at WOT without pre-ignition.

 

However, when there is vacuum in the inlet manifold, the engine is running with reduced volumetric efficiency, so it is possible to increase the advance of the ignition to improve economy. That is what the vac advance is for. Many cars didn't use vacuum advance (X1/9 springs to mind as the most obvious).

 

To set up the car if you have little or no information about the correct timing settings:

 

DISCONNECT the vacuum advance, and plug the hose so that the carb is not drawing additional air through the tube.

Drive car at maximum power in 2nd/3rd gear from about 1000rpm up to 2500/3000. Listen for pre-ignition. If there is none, advance the distributor by a few degrees and try again. Keep going with small adjustments until you can hear gentle pre-ignition (at WOT between 1000-3000rpm.)

 

Now retard the ignition by about 3 or 4 degrees to ensure you have as much advance as possible WITHOUT pre-ignition.

 

That has set your basic timing, with dynamic advance. If you put a strobe lamp on the engine you should be able to see the dynamic advance curve working... rev the engine, more advance. As the engine slows, igntion retards. This should be smooth. The marker on the flywheel (or wherever) should move progressively from idle up to whatever-rpm and then back again. Any jerking or non-smooth movement means your distributor is sticking.

 

With this done, re-connect the vacuum advance. This will now advance the timing while the throttle is closed or part-open (note that vacuum advance should be completely cancelled out at WOT). Again, you should be able to put a timing light on the timing marker and see that your idle advance is now quite a bit more than it was before. If you give the throttle a big prod, you should see the advance initially dissappear, (as the vacuum disappears) then immediately re-appear when you let off the throttle (and of course then see the dynamic advance as the engine speed rises.)

 

If you start to notice a little bit of pre-ignition while driving, first disconnect the vaccum advance pipe again to confirm whether it's still present on Dynamic only (and adjust it away if it is) Some systems need an additional few more degrees retard on their basic setting, as the vacuum advance becomes too much under some driving conditions (often up gentle hills in 3rd/4th I find)

 

I've set up dozens of cars like this, and yet to have a problem, especially with an "old technology" engine like this one.

 

Didn't have time for all that faff. I just disconnected the pipe, noticed it ran better, set the ignition timing with the strobe and checked it advanced with revs. It did, so I left it at all. Sucking air in via that pipe is unlikely to make it lean out given how rich it's running to start with. The Dacia is now back with Rich again, but we can't do much more until we get a kit of parts.

[Talbot]

G687LVG

6 year service? That's astonishingly poor, even for something utterly abused and unloved. I've got socks older than that!

[catsinthewelder]

A really helpful thing about Datsuncogs post is that I can try to use G687LVG when trying to order parts.

 

Lets try ECP

 

 

Invalid Reg No.

Please enter valid REG no.

 

For fucks sake,  lets try G501ATL

 

 

YOUR CURRENT VEHICLE

N/A N/A 1990 N/A N/A

 

GR2.7

 

I've just got back from the local factors, asked for oil+filter for this and the Rover.  They supplied the filter for the Rover and a bottle of 10w40 which seems a bit thick for a K-series.  They just told me to bring in the code from the old filter for the Dacia which is irritating as it will mean removing it first.

[dollywobbler]

 

 

I've just got back from the local factors, asked for oil+filter for this and the Rover.  They supplied the filter for the Rover and a bottle of 10w40 which seems a bit thick for a K-series.  They just told me to bring in the code from the old filter for the Dacia which is irritating as it will mean removing it first.

 

Is the code on the underside? Mobile in selfie mode to get the code?

[catsinthewelder]

It's on the side which is an inch away from the oil pressure switch and underneath the alternator.  I'll drop the oil and take it off just before a trip into town.  Irritating but not the end of the world.

[dollywobbler]

Will be good to do. It puffed out a good bit of blue clag when you started it last night. I'd imagine all the rich running isn't doing much for the piston rings.

[jonathan_dyane]

Wilco 'classic' 20w50 and a renault 12 filter off ebay?

[will16]

Saw this at the gathering over the weekend, very quirky and very cool! Love how it got driven back here too

[Sigmund Fraud]

They just told me to bring in the code from the old filter for the Dacia which is irritating as it will mean removing it first.

 

Why not just check the Mann online catalogue ?

 

I did, and your 1400cc 1310 is meant to use a W914/2 filter.