Jump to content

Tommy's A-series Misery - Resuming normal programming


Tommyboy12

Recommended Posts

@Tommyboy12 as our resident a series expert, I've currently a 1098 in mine with an inch and half SU on it and a 12g (other numbers I can't remember) spec head on it. It goes really well but not a revvy engine, strains at the top end. Am I right in thinking that 998s and 1275s are short stroke engines and therefore happier to rev out? I covet a 1275 but would then also need a midget box, diff and halfshafts. Which becomes expensive. Obvs the extra power would be nice but most of all I want an a series that likes to rev!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, Matty said:

@Tommyboy12 as our resident a series expert, I've currently a 1098 in mine with an inch and half SU on it and a 12g (other numbers I can't remember) spec head on it. It goes really well but not a revvy engine, strains at the top end. Am I right in thinking that 998s and 1275s are short stroke engines and therefore happier to rev out? I covet a 1275 but would then also need a midget box, diff and halfshafts. Which becomes expensive. Obvs the extra power would be nice but most of all I want an a series that likes to rev!

Which 1098 do you have though?  IIRC there were at least 3 different flavours in period - basic 10AMW in Minors and A40s, then 10CG in early Midgets, which was similar but with twin carbs, and is not well regarded.  Then 10CC in later Midgets which has larger main bearings and is a bit more tunable.  I doubt if it would be worth the expense of building an inline 998 for road use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Mr Pastry said:

Which 1098 do you have though?  IIRC there were at least 3 different flavours in period - basic 10AMW in Minors and A40s, then 10CG in early Midgets, which was similar but with twin carbs, and is not well regarded.  Then 10CC in later Midgets which has larger main bearings and is a bit more tunable.  I doubt if it would be worth the expense of building an inline 998 for road use.

Genuinely don't know nor didn't know that anyhow. As far as I'm aware it's the 1098 that the car has always had (A40) but rebuilt with the bigger SU and 12g295 spec head on it. I wouldn't want a 998 (although Tommy's engine, I mean, 60bhp and 60 lb ft is impressive) but I was curious if a 1275 is short stroke and thus likes to rev.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

1098 is long stroke 998

1275 is big bore 997

The 1098 is indeed a long stroke 998 and is the longest stroke A series engine. Longer even than a 1275. The 1275 uses a 997 stroke (997 is considered *the* worst A series) and a 1070 bore but the block is very different to either engine. They had to offset and siamese the bores to fit them into the tiny A series block and the block is slightly taller than a 'small bore'.

@Matty The 1098 is a low revver so what you say is pretty normal. Doesn't really like anything past 5.5k but has great mid range. The 295 is a great head but I think the limits are probably your camshaft, carb and exhaust. A 1.5" is too small past 60hp. I modded mine a fair bit to help get there. A 1.75" SU or twin 1.5s is a good start. Will probably give you another couple of hp once tuned. The single 1.75" is always a good option as it's easy to tune and they have good airflow as standard. A matching camshaft would help too. A Kent 266 or a Swiftune SW5 is a good choice for a 1098. It would move your peak power up maybe 500-1000rpm and give you a good smooth torque curve. A free flowing exhaust manifold would help a lot too. 3 into 1 is fine for lower power but everyone fits a LCB exhaust (long centre branch). You can get some quiet systems that still give great flow if noise isn't your thing. I'd guess you'd probably have to look at a moggie based system or something custom though. With those I'd say you'd gain 5-10hp and shift the power band up the rev range. You would need a reinforcing centre strap for the centre crank bearing if you're really giving it some beans though. In theory with an in-line you can do all those mods with the engine in situ.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the 1098 is indeed more torquey than most expect- my gf many moons ago had an 1100 allegro that was stupid easy to wheelspin in the wet! 😲🤣

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well it's been a year since this:

PXL_20211002_074611247.thumb.jpg.cda09867a79831a9eba3403b13ce6778.jpg

So let's do it again hey @sharley17194??

We set off today!

My noble steed for this year's trek up nooorf.

PXL_20210829_153224742.thumb.jpg.dac7555a8cd9b82b921a6aa776abb6f0.jpg

@sharley17194wae meant to be going in this...

PXL_20210829_151812822.thumb.jpg.bdc07204f0a6ff6c2e5246cf05e990c2.jpg

But it currently looks like this after a failed attempt to swap the crankshaft in doubly quick time.

IMG-20220924-WA0001.thumb.jpg.5fab812f9d8ecd93b28a6691eaf68043.jpg

So instead he is going for something far too modern...

 IMG-20221002-WA0001.thumb.jpg.6fd166750148f96421664fa0abf50582.jpg

1,500 miles in 6 days. What could possibly go wrong??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Tommyboy12 changed the title to Tommy's A-series Misery - NC500 rides again

The proposed route is to run up the east to John O first and come down the west side past Fort William. We usually go the other way round but it's nice to change things up!

Screenshot_20221003-095416.png

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its Tuesday morning and we're ready for the real off from Nottingham. The cars are lined up and were about to set off for the first stop which is Dunfermline north of Edinburgh. Should be about 5.5-6 hours which will be more than enough for me 😅

PXL_20221004_073520777.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rob88h said:

The Escort should really have the top down for a road trip. Sod the rain!

He had it down for a while but then chickened out!

We have made it to a big red bridge

 

PXL_20221004_151527024.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have made it quite far today. Started at John O Groats. Then onto Durness and round to Clashnessie which is where the Montego broke down the first time round last year.

No major incidents to report. I ran out of fuel on the way to Inverness as I failed to notice it was reading empty. @sharley17194 has tried to drown his Escort in a deep puddle.

Definitely didn't move the bollard to get next to the sign...PXL_20221006_072407425.thumb.jpg.6c2c01089196d593bab730bff6082a19.jpg

PXL_20221006_085832582.thumb.jpg.14bc5746e0d715e0942f3e0a66681ec2.jpg

PXL_20221006_111140059.thumb.jpg.8064ae4e51e689283da07ec209ce98c5.jpg

PXL_20221006_115635109.thumb.jpg.a4770d7677d4e65a9cdc90462fbe4de0.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Matty said:

Shit. What now? 

Headgasket. I fixed it in 90 minutes in a hotel car park then went in for a cream tea while covered in oil 😂

We have made it to the Lake District today on our way back down home

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Headgasket. I fixed it in 90 minutes in a hotel car park then went in for a cream tea while covered in oil 😂

We have made it to the Lake District today on our way back down home

Epic. You know these engines pal. I was going to ask if you brought a gasket with but thought that might be a daft question. Obviously not 😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meh. Years ago I'd have had an A-series & box out in an hour, with an engine hoist. If only I had a gasket set tho... 

Oily cream tea is on the Mega scale tho!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Carrying a headgasket is a standard practice for me! The tubular exhaust and alloy inlet slows you down vs. a standard cast manifold but i will take 90 minutes at the road side!

Regardless I made it home this afternoon after completing 1948 miles! A few more stops on the way but the pictures were not as frequent. We went through Fort William and stopped at Kendal before heading back home today. Enjoy a bit of a photo dump of some other pics from the trip!

 

PXL_20221007_101114607.jpg

PXL_20221008_130849091.jpg

PXL_20221006_151729735.jpg

PXL_20221007_101953746.jpg

PXL_20221007_104401048.jpg

PXL_20221007_104654941.jpg

PXL_20221007_091507988.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Carrying a headgasket is a standard practice for me! The tubular exhaust and alloy inlet slows you down vs. a standard cast manifold but i will take 90 minutes at the road side!

Regardless I made it home this afternoon after completing 1948 miles! A few more stops on the way but the pictures were not as frequent. We went through Fort William and stopped at Kendal before heading back home today. Enjoy a bit of a photo dump of some other pics from the trip!

 

PXL_20221007_101114607.jpg

PXL_20221008_130849091.jpg

PXL_20221006_151729735.jpg

PXL_20221007_101953746.jpg

PXL_20221007_104401048.jpg

PXL_20221007_104654941.jpg

PXL_20221007_091507988.jpg

Scotland! Freedom! (as an Australian once said).
Looks just like where I come from, hang on, I did, gone all maudlin and home-sicky now, need to watch Local Hero to feed the lament.
My father-in-law can change an A series head gasket in 90 minutes but then he does have really bad glaucoma - reckon he does it by touch or echosounding or something

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tom didnt....it was my gasket lol

On 10/8/2022 at 9:43 PM, Matty said:

Epic. You know these engines pal. I was going to ask if you brought a gasket with but thought that might be a daft question. Obviously not 😁

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Epic trip as always and thanks for continuing to join my on these insanity trips. I do question why we keep doing this and I know the reason, i'm a massive shite roadtrip enabler but the real question is....what's next years trip going to look like! 

Plus i take offence to the escort being too modern, Tom will confirm its not a pleasant drive on a run, but great fun around Scotland. If not a tickle bit shouty!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What an amazing driveway! 

On 10/4/2022 at 8:39 AM, Tommyboy12 said:

Its Tuesday morning and we're ready for the real off from Nottingham. The cars are lined up and were about to set off for the first stop which is Dunfermline north of Edinburgh. Should be about 5.5-6 hours which will be more than enough for me 😅

PXL_20221004_073520777.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, sharley17194 said:

Epic trip as always and thanks for continuing to join my on these insanity trips. I do question why we keep doing this and I know the reason, i'm a massive shite roadtrip enabler but the real question is....what's next years trip going to look like! 

Plus i take offence to the escort being too modern, Tom will confirm its not a pleasant drive on a run, but great fun around Scotland. If not a tickle bit shouty!

Shouty is an understatement. That exhaust bores into your brain it's that loud 😂 I've no idea how you coped for nearly 2000 miles!

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Tommyboy12 changed the title to Tommy's A-series Misery - NC500? Completed it mate

Necessity is the mother of all evils...

14 hours ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Shouty is an understatement. That exhaust bores into your brain it's that loud 😂 I've no idea how you coped for nearly 2000 miles!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Matty said:

Have you worked out what the craic was with the gasket going so quick @Tommyboy12?

I havent taken it back apart yet. I suspect it was because I neglected to retorque the head when I built the engine. I was getting miles on it so sporadically  that I forgot to do so. The quality of the headgasket could have also been questionable. It did blow at the thinnest point of the gasket. The block and head were skimmed when built so I am not concerned about that.

I have bought some high quality head gaskets and will strip it down to repair in the coming weeks. I also developed a clutch main seal oil leak while away so have got to strip and replace the clutch plate and seal too.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Tommyboy12 changed the title to Tommy's A-series Misery - A Cavalier approach to things

I done bought a thing. It's in good hands and will see the road again in the next few weeks/months! My first foray into Vauxhall's having been a Ford man growing up!

PXL_20221223_091808934.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...