Tommy's A-series Misery - Resuming normal programming

[Fumbler]

39 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Excellent work! You might need a long hill and a following wind to exceed the NSL though, considering the size of the motah and the fantastic* Cd of the brick.

With error margins a mile wide and dubious mathematics, I can safely* conclude that it's still more aerodynamic than a cow.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

Superb news.

[stuboy]

15 hours ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

Yellow crayon makers hate this guy click on this thread to see why!

 

Glorious save.

 

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Fumbler said:

With error margins a mile wide and dubious mathematics, I can safely* conclude that it's still more aerodynamic than a cow.

Fake Moos!

[Datsuncog]

First we get an ABBA comeback, and now there's a 1.3 Montego estate at large on the Queen's highway.

This year's been shit in quite a few ways, but I have to say this past week's perked me up no end.

All congrats on the MOT pass, you've put a ton of effort in and it's thrilling to see that pay off!

Looking forward to the many further adventures of this magnificently patinated steed.

[High Jetter]

Just now, Datsuncog said:

First we get an ABBA comeback

If you change your mind...

[Eyersey1234]

Chodtastic news about the MOT

[somewhatfoolish]

5 hours ago, Tommyboy12 said:

So I have just been out on my proper first drive in it! Ten whole miles!

Two takeaways.

60mph really is about all she's got. I did get to 70mph with my foot buried in the carpet. I think it needs more love from tuning. It was a bit of a fettle to get it through the MOT but it's just not pulling well up top.

The gearbox is best described with the diagram below. Reverse is where reverse should be. Reverse is also where 1st should be. 3rd where 3rd is. 1st is somewhere in between the two. You can go straight down into 2nd from 1st but 3rd to 4th requires you to go slightly left on the gate. 5th is normal. I crunched reverse multiple times getting into 1st and hit 3rd instead of 1st a few times too. Should prove fun...

5 actual forward speeds? Such decadence!

[vulgalour]

What a thoroughly disreputable old heap.  Top chodding and congrats on the pass.

[horriblemercedes]

5 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I'm glad I didn't bid on this now - you've got it sorted so much quicker than I would have.

Likewise - as much as I desperately want it, I'm happy it has found the right owner. Also I didn't know about it until this thread went up 

[LightBulbFun]

Awesome to see the MOT pass and all the effort thats gone into saving it  

I love the whole making something even more base then what the factory offered thing, as others have said tis very autoshite and I love it  

and has got me wondering, since this uses an end on gearbox and as such uses a normal A series lump, not a FWD one

could you bolt in a 803cc A series from an A30/Early moggie or something for maximum misery?  

or see if you can borrow the 2 Cylinder A series Prototype from this awesome chap?  

https://www.youtube.com/c/IvansShed/videos 

 

 

[phil_lihp]

Congratulations, marvellous to see this back on the road!

[Cord Fourteener]

14 hours ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Obligatory roadside photos though!

 

That's tasty!

Well done on fooling the man from the Ministry passing MOT

[Tommyboy12]

Thanks all! Still got a few jobs to do and then of course @sharley17194 and I are doing Lands End to John O Groats including the NC500 at the end of the month so you will see many pictures of this escapade and may even spot me on your local motorway trying desperately to crawl up a hill at more than 40mph!

Im intending to drag it to a hubnut social at some point and a few shows throughout Autumn. Watch this space and come have a chat if you see me!

[sharley17194]

looking forward to Lands End to John O Groats.....just maybe not the nc500 at 40!!!

 

[Bren]

Great news. A bit of attention with a strobe should see your top speed increase.

[Talbot]

And where might this fine ministry inspection establishment be?  Asking for a friend.

[sierraman]

Outstanding! What’s the next plans? Run it as it is or tidy the body?

What sort of speed might one expect in this going up Porlock Hill with 5 people in and a dozen Council paving slabs in the back? 

[Tommyboy12]

32 minutes ago, Talbot said:

And where might this fine ministry inspection establishment be?  Asking for a friend.

It was just a local garage to me. He is firm but fair and was good enough to let me do repairs in the yard while he MOTd the next car. Blown bulb, loose brake line, emissions all got done. Was quite annoyed about the bulb. The only thing I didnt check was the sidelights and that was the one blown!

 

7 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Outstanding! What’s the next plans? Run it as it is or tidy the body?

What sort of speed might one expect in this going up Porlock Hill with 5 people in and a dozen Council paving slabs in the back? 

Run it as it is! I like the patina look plus its never going to be worth the money required to make it shiny again. I suspect once I have given the carb and dizzy a further tweak I should be able to get a steady 70mph out of it no problem, although Im not sure about 5 up with concrete in the boot! The needle is entirely wrong for the car, looking it up in the books its more suitable for a hif6 in something bigger than a 1275 A-series (Its a BFZ needle for any SU geeks out there). So im going back to basics with a new needle, a mixture tweak and some more dizzy timing. Ive been reading up the SU needle charts to find something appropriate vs. a standard needle (which is BCZ) and I have a BDL needle in my stash of parts which should go well with it. BDL is usually what comes with a classic Mini 'Stage One' kits so is a little richer than standard up top but should work well even in a standard car.

[Peter C]

Forgive me if this has already been said, however according to period (1986) What Car? magazines, a 1.3 Estate Montego did not exist. The only Montego in 1.3 flavour was a sedan.

[BorniteIdentity]

2 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Forgive me if this has already been said, however according to period (1986) What Car? magazines, a 1.3 Estate Montego did not exist. The only Montego in 1.3 flavour was a sedan.

It’s already been said. Worth reading the whole story as it’s as impressive as it is unbelievable. 

Well done on the MOT. I will pootle up with that workshop guide at some stage! 

[Tommyboy12]

Swapped the needle at lunch and tweaked the mixture screw and dizzy. Its now quite happy to cruise at a GPS indicated 70mph! The speedo may have stopped working on the test drive though... Speedo cable on order!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

16 hours ago, High Jetter said:

If you change your mind...

Winner* takes it all

[Peter C]

2 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

It’s already been said. Worth reading the whole story as it’s as impressive as it is unbelievable. 

 

I’ve been keeping an eye on this thread but haven’t read every post religiously. That has now changed and I see that this was once a 1.6.

[HMC]

Well done on the pass!

Lord Nuffield approves of downgrading the power unit, right up his street

 

[MrGTI6]

Excellent news! Here's to 300k...

[PhilA]

Now you should be able to do Porlock hill in 1st gear, rather than Reverse!

[Peter C]

2 hours ago, MrGTI6 said:

Here's to 300k...

But first it needs a 998cc motor fitting.

[Tommyboy12]

Today I made the mistake of trying to change the Speedo cable.

I love new old stock.

And it definitely needed changing. The end has been rounded on the old one. Hopefully the gear is ok.

However, I wouldn't know the state of the drive gear because as I drew the cable out the drive gear came out with it and fell into the bottom of the gearbox... After draining the gearbox and searching for the drive I found it in the bottom of the box with my boroscope.

I've managed to hook it back to the hole from the bottom of the box using a little hook attachment for my boroscope but I now need a grabber to try and hook it out which I of course don't have.

A five minute job has turned into a marathon a week before I drive this car 2,500 miles...

[stuboy]

12 hours ago, Tommyboy12 said: