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Vauxhall VX 4/90 (FD)


Low Horatio gearbox

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Some amature attempts at the carbs. Not perfect by any means but.. it's far smoother and now idles at 8-900 instead of 2 -2.5k and the fumes dont choke you out in 15 seconds. I'll do more reading and rewatch that video for round 2 tommorrow. 

I've no idea  which engine is fitted @Bradders59  the log book says 2 litre and a few mot's say 2.3

Apologies for shakey/overexposed camera work

Edit: must have had my hand over my tablet Mike..  all you can hear is the grumble of  the waterpump :D

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2 hours ago, Bradders59 said:

Assuming its the 2.3, it isnt too difficult to  unleash 175 or so horses, although the parts would probably be expensive these days.

Blydenstein did a turbo kit back in the day that took them to well over 200.

Usually installed in Chevettes for competition, but same engine. 

Guy at the local garage, rally Boyz n lights, got the Blydenstein cam kit.... Unfortunately [pre Webbie, be fair..] he overlooked the requirement for a thin spacer - under the cam carrier - allowing for learry lyft!!

Set up, spun engine... no go [no comp lol]

Moar spendiez had it brattinng n fartting about the place 😉

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Its marked  "MH" (probbaly. It's been 15 minutes and my short tem memory is pants) so a std 2 litre.

The rearmost carb had its jet idle screw pretty much all the way in and it was binding the piston, which explains a lot.  Both carbs are vaguely reset now  and it's running better with a nice smooth  steady idle and only minor parps and pops.

The vaccum bleed kit landed so I've gone over it with that, pulled a reasonable amount of fluid and some air.  Braking is now "alright" but spongy, it will stop you (well from 10 mph) and it feels better  and almost like a brake. More bleeding  possibly tommorrow I hope,

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27 minutes ago, Rocket88 said:

All FD/FE Vauxhall’s are bloody thirsty….. if you get more than 25 mpg, it’s probably because you’re pushing it….😀

I see teens to mid 20s (tho not often) with the rest of the fleet, so it won be that much of a  shock. I use careful ignorance, cheap classic insurance and free road tax yadda to make it balance... or that's the comforting lie I keep repeating  to myself :D

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53 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

I see teens to mid 20s (tho not often) with the rest of the fleet, so it won be that much of a  shock. I use careful ignorance, cheap classic insurance and free road tax yadda to make it balance... or that's the comforting lie I keep repeating  to myself :D

Man maths…. The staple underpinning of Autoshite……😂😂👍🏻

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10 hours ago, bunglebus said:

My friend has a Ventura, I think he would be very jealous of the NOS wings! He's well connected in the owners club etc if you need any parts/help

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Also another friend has a couple of slant 4s going spare if you need anything 

Oof that's a sexy thing,  something about quad headlights and an egg crate grille.

 

The only thing I need (well thet I know of.. currently) I think  is an interior light.  It had one dangling but it was the right shape tho too big to fit.  Much appreciated

The plan is to get the worst of the rust dealt with and painted but leave most if the patina and cosmetic stuff alone. If I can get away with keeping the original doors and wings I will.  The NSF has a functional but ugly  repair at the rear edge by the door and a small hole where it joins the valance, the rear passenger door is a bit rough. The lower nearside suffered more from whatever it was in storage. I hope to not need any kf the spares and somone else can have them 

 

More brake bleeding today, a fair amount if air removed from the  rears and pedal feel is marginally better again and braking is now  happening without the pedal bottoming out and stopping predictably rather than eventually. 

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Sunday day of  rest and... sigh family time.

I had no intention honest* of doing much today bar putting a gallon of petrol in the VX as the gauge barely reads empty. Which I duly did then cooked a Sunday roast and did family socialising.  Well the gauge is a fucking liar as there was about half a tank in there already as it started leaking out if the filler neck to tank join, on close inspection.. old spiral wound airpipe and the sender unit, on close inspection some kind of blue gasket paste.

Better off finding it now rather than on the road or filling up.  Admittedly it was a pair of small weeps (the car not me!) I've drained a gallon or so out and managed to carefully spill about half that as well. Will hit the local independent motor factor after the school run  tommorrow morning form some fuel pipe and gasket sheet.

 

 

On the plus side the brakes seem to be sorted, the main reason I went into the garage to.. err check. Certainly  no more air is coming out after the mass bleed/bubbleathon yesterday.

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Currently waiting on some fuel pipe and gasket material and fuel proof gasket sealant as the local independent motor factors had nothing  suitable  in.   

Some mild complications in that the screws used to hold the fuel pickup and fuel gauge sender had been cut roughly with pliers or something similar and this has chewed up 2 of the 6 threaded holes. It's a thin  steel skin with an aluminium plate on the back to I presume stop it deforming.  For now I will put some fresh screws in from the inside and gasket paste the heads and use them as  studs with a new gasket and nuts on the outside  - unless anyone has a better idea or fix? 

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17 hours ago, tooSavvy said:

Good plan.... But, me been perverse/time-served... I would make the alloy ring as thick as to take a tapped thread = screw through and therefore 'unwobbly' for the outer/screw down tightening ...

🧐

The alloy ring is set/glued in from the inside before the 2 halves of the tank are welded together.  (Spare tankn pictured.. looks ok but internally but it's got a dent and the leading edge joining seam is rusty and deformed) 

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Removing or replacing it would be involved work and the steelmof the tank is pretty thin. In an ideal world I'd love too but it's a bit impractical/beyond me. I suppose a circular ring cut in half and epoxied onto  the existing ring would work or even nuts epoxied/jb welded into place.

 

I've removed the sender and it would appear despite the gasket being ancient  it was (some of) the upper screw holes themselves allowing it to leak as nothing was dripping or leaking till I undid the lowest one.

On that note.. the screws..  all the same just nipped off rough . The rough end may have damaged it but I'm not sure they are the correct size/thread.

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Fuel pickup and gauge sender out and.. oh and a free prize... no idea what that is doing in there

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It appears to be greaseproof packing paper.

 

 

Currently on a coffee break.. airing the fumes out of the garage and awaiting a delivery of fuel tubing and gasket compound .

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9 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Can you drill and tap the holes out to the next size up? Otherwise bolts epoxyed from the inside sounds like a plan

I may have jumped  the gun on the threads being borked -  in the poor light lying under the car  fumes and dirt in my face( 🎻)  it looked and felt light the thread was stripped  but it turns out the gasket was taco shaped and springy (I hope) and springing/pushing  out from the tank.

I cut the rough ends off the screws and dressed them with a file  and test fitted and they seemed ok. I applied Hylomar Blue to both sides of the gasket and the screws as I threaded them tightened gingerly and then went round each one nipping them up gently.   It doesnt seem to have leaked ..yet  .

If you took the tank out drilling and retapping would be possible but you couldn't go too big or there woukdnt be enough flange on the fuel pick up to seal the gasket.

 

I let it be for a bit then sloshed a gallon of 99 in and it hasn't leaked.   I then went back to the front end and tried finessing* the carbs again. I finessed them so hard the engine stoped working. (Right after it wouldnt rev past 2k and if you did rev it  to 2k it would stutter and falter no matter the throttle inouts)

Cue much checking, rechecking of fuel lines, diaphragms and jets when it turns out the  condenser wire had been knocked loose when I was checking the points.

Up and running tho I suspect still lean despite having the jets set quite high. It's far from perfect but getting there - just in time as the act arrived so I will be insuring it and taxing it in the morning - much excitement.

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No driving yet - the V5 came back with PLG in the tax category  not historic so that's been sent back for the DVLA to rectify. I'd  have done that in the first place if I'd know it wasnt automatically applied. That and  body decrepitude meant precious little car fixerating has been done bar daubing vatcan on various crusty bits of this and the Rover.  🤞  for some go tommorrow and I can see about taking some of the play out of the steering 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Things have been slow, still waiting on thr DVLA and I've been bleurggh health wise.

Sparkplugs have just been done. The ones in there... a might fouled and one was cracked.

 

 

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The plan was to fire it up and do the engine oil/ filter , gearbox and diff oil but alas the battery is a kite hosed and doesnt like holding charge for more than a day or two. Less of an issue as it's not quite the right one  to fit. It's on charge so I can do tT later...or more likely tommorrow.

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  • 6 months later...

And time of an update!

(I've been I'll and its been raining.. I have my excuses ready!)

The girlfriends dad came over yesterday and the brakes were bled decently - I think my mentioning to her that if her project didnt make the road by the end if the month I'd can it for another hopeless project. The brakes now work, tho they feel to me a bit pants compared to the Rover and Jag. They will stop you though and lock up the fronts so could just be me. I've ordered  a master cylinder rebuild kit as it was only £12 and it's not a difficult  job to remove it,  though I've done mountain bike masters before never a car.   There is an annoying brake judder, so I'll  have to have the front wheels off and look at the pads and discs.  

With the brakes done it needed test driving, tho this mean dealing with the carbs.  Previously it had been running pretty well -by that I mean for an amature like me who has messed with 4 sets of carbs in his life.   So I'd continued to fix it till it was broke and would struggle to start, idle at 1500 rpm and not rev over 2k. I unfucked my handiwork and tho it's a bit rich and doesnt like going over 4.5k it sufficed for a test drive.

Which highlighted the alarming amount of steering slop and vaugeness whewhich turned out to be a cotter pin fitted incorrectly.  It wasn't going to fail or fall out  but you had  1/4 turn of nothing.   It took 2 minutes to get it out and a mere hour and half to have it fitted properly and tight snappy steering wa srestored! 2nd time out and though running a bit rough is  a delight to drive, easily the sharpest steering  and best  dare I say it..  sporty! of my gaggle of shitters.   Managing a manual was interesting, I only went 2nd to 1st twice when I wanted 3rd..😖 ,  all gears are smooth  to change and the Overdrive works  nicely in 3rd and 4th and I daresay performance will improve when I remove the 100kg or so of spare parts  from the boot too.🤦🏻‍♂️

 

 

 

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Missed this thread before, what a cracking purchase/car. Love this old style of Vauxhalls, I had a later FE model around 10 years ago, it had been stood for a long time. Got it running but it was far to rotten to be viable for me to get up to standard. It did have a lovely interior though.

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Sorry, it's not VX4/90 but it's interesting if you haven't seen it before. We've seen this road test elsewhere (thanks Trigger) and I think someone mentioned what happened to the car, but I don't remember the outcome.  I think it was stripped for parts.  Two were built.

(Text is blurry but click on the pic).  Note position of gearstick.

Fuel consumption, -  standard Ventora  20.8mpg / Black Prince V8 13.0mpg.  Ouch.  Bet it sounded lovely though.

Roadtest is dated June 1972 so any further conversions would have been on the FE Ventora.  (Unless they bought a stock of the outgoing FD Ventoras at bargain prices).  The newer FE Ventoras were around £2000 when introduced in 1972, a new Granada GXL was around £2300.

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