A40 - stage one f@#kin finally

[Matty]

42 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

@MattyHave you thought about reconnecting the manifold heating?  A little bit extra for the sake of a couple of bits of hose.  Internet expertz will probably say no, but there is a good reason for it, and the designers obviously thought it was worth the trouble.

Funnily enough yes I have. I need to do some plumbing anyway as the top heater matrix hose to the block tap is kinked due to the PO just using an off cut. Needs to be formed as its a short run turning 90. 

What would be the routing? Tee out and back in the bottom hose?

[SiC]

Isn't the manifold heating more of an advantage to stop ice forming on the inside of the manifold during cold weather running? If not running in cold weather then less of a use and allows cooler air to get in?

[Mr Pastry]

50 minutes ago, Matty said:

What would be the routing? Tee out and back in the bottom hose?

I think in your setup it would easily replace the metal return pipe between the heater and the bottom hose, though other layouts are possible if you want it to work when the heater is off.  

AIUI the idea is that heating the mixture will improve vapourisation and hence combustion on part throttle openings especially when the engine isn't up to temperature which is a lot of the time, e.g. pulling away on a cold morning, so a bit more power and economy under those conditions.  Obvs. it has to be partly warm to get any hot water through.  And it will combat icing though this is seldom a problem in real life.  The heat will of course reduce the density of the mixture, but on full throttle the mixture will be passing through too fast to pick up any heat, so will not be affected when it really matters.

You might not notice any difference, but it would do no harm to try. 

 

[Scrubworks]

Manifold heating on these engines is one of those divisive topics, like which oil breather to use or whether valve gaps should be altered for unleaded fuel. Every time I've ever installed a Minispares type manifold on an A-Series I've always left the plumbing out. In my opinion it's just not useful enough; even on the coldest, most icy day (which people are unlikely to be using these cars on anymore), just a bit of running the engine whilst stationary to build the under-bonnet temperatures a bit will solve any issues there. The aluminium manifold itself is an excellent conductor of heat, and will readily absorb it from both the block and the very hot exhaust manifold directly below it. Any other time of year, I can't see it being anything but a power-stealer. Petrol is also far better refined and better burning than it used to be in the old days (ethanol not withstanding).

[Matty]

I've run about a small handful of miles then  retroqued the head and set the tappets again. Will do it all for the final time after a couple of hundred miles. Went out after tea Thursday to change a coolant hose. Finished and started it up to get it warm, get the stat open and check for leaks. It's running like shit again, missing, popping and banging. Fuck this now, I'm weighing the twat in. No wonder Austin don't make cars anymore.

Oh hang on...

[Matty]

Yep, my bad. Sorry car 😳

[JMotor]

Oh. 

Yeah, that'd be why then. 

Whoops! Easy fix though. 

[N Dentressangle]

Those little hairpins instead of split collets are soooo cute! 🤗

[Joey spud]

13 hours ago, Matty said:

I've run about a small handful of miles then  retroqued the head and set the tappets again. Will do it all for the final time after a couple of hundred miles. Went out after tea Thursday to change a coolant hose. Finished and started it up to get it warm, get the stat open and check for leaks. It's running like shit again, missing, popping and banging. Fuck this now, I'm weighing the twat in. No wonder Austin don't make cars anymore.

Oh hang on...

Yeah that wont help.

In the 80's i worked at a  Peugeot/Talbot dealer in Rochester and had the frustration of trying to quieten the clattering valve gear on Alpines and Horizons. It didn't matter what clearance you set them at they still sounded the same.

[N Dentressangle]

27 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

Yeah that wont help.

In the 80's i worked at a  Peugeot/Talbot dealer in Rochester and had the frustration of trying to quieten the clattering valve gear on Alpines and Horizons. It didn't matter what clearance you set them at they still sounder the same.

 

 

Still remember the din those things made. As a kid on a bike in the '70s you'd always know when a Simca was behind you 😄

Why were they so noisy?

 

[Joey spud]

26 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Still remember the din those things made. As a kid on a bike in the '70s you'd always know when a Simca was behind you 😄

Why were they so noisy?

 

I think the rattle was down to premature wear of the cams and tappets caused by dirty oil and blocked oil galleries rather than than rocker arm/valve clearances.

Older/wiser Guys at the dealer woundn't bother checking and adjusting them if it was required on a service schedule at most they might just change the rocker box gasket.

They used the same engine in the 1300 Peugeot 309 and that didn't suffer with the problem i guess they improved the quality of the parts and their oil supply.

[Matty]

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

Still remember the din those things made. As a kid on a bike in the '70s you'd always know when a Simca was behind you 😄

Why were they so noisy?

 

Weird to think now there was a time when the stuff everyone made was so different you could identify a make on noise alone

[tooSavvy]

2 hours ago, Matty said:

Weird to think now there was a time when the stuff everyone made was so different you could identify a make on noise alone

.... nowadays, being followed by a Recovery flatbed, the guess is "what's broken down [..again]!" 🤣

🚙💨

[Matty]

17 minutes ago, tooSavvy said:

.... nowadays, being followed by a Recovery flatbed, the guess is "what's broken down [..again]!" 🤣

🚙💨

Me 😄

[SiC]

I keep forgetting to say and I've finally remembered at the right time to send a message.

Would these seats interest you? From a late Dolomite 1500. Non HL so they're narrower than the seats in my Sprint, so no good for me. Foam is a bit on the soft side but generally okay. Fabric faded but probably clean up okay.

They're front seats and I have these four.

If you're interested I can get some better pictures. I'd just be glad to get them out of the way in storage!

Free of course but probably would need to collect/shite relay.

[N Dentressangle]

Now they look alright. Comfy enough and would suit the car too.

Plus the ambience of a quality* marque like Triumph will definitely* raise the tone a touch 😉

[Matty]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

I keep forgetting to say and I've finally remembered at the right time to send a message.

Would these seats interest you? From a late Dolomite 1500. Non HL so they're narrower than the seats in my Sprint, so no good for me. Foam is a bit on the soft side but generally okay. Fabric faded but probably clean up okay.

They're front seats and I have these four.

If you're interested I can get some better pictures. I'd just be glad to get them out of the way in storage!

Free of course but probably would need to collect/shite relay.

Possibly could be just the thing. Can you bear with for the moment Si, just while I have a think on how to get them?

[SiC]

Possibly could be just the thing. Can you bear with for the moment Si, just while I have a think on how to get them?

Sure
I don't want anything for them. Just would be good to get them out of the way and to useful home.

[Matty]

Just got back in from a couple of hours out. And guess what? My lecky fans have stopped working. 

Bloody love this car 🙄🤣

[Matty]

@SiC I tried PMing you but you must be full. Is it relativly easy for you to get some measurements off them seats? Width, backrest height, overall height? What it is, with you being south west and me right up here I want to make sure I'm not wasting anyone's time with a series of shitelys or a courier when I can't use them. Thanks again pal 

[SiC]

It says I'm only 55% used, so dunno why it's not working. I'll message you and see if that works instead 👍

[Matty]

On Tuesday I finally got round to fitting the maniflow system. This was not without its problems. 

The PO had bought a 2nd hand maniflow manifold off ebay and modified it to fit his own home made exhaust. This exhaust was one of my big problems with the car. Very noisy, very fart cannon and with an annoying habit of twating every part of the underside, no matter how many adjustments I made. See the pile of shite below

[Matty]

Now maniflow say that their systems are designed to fit their manifolds. Now I have one of their manifolds but the PO cut it off just after the collector and welded a larger bore 90 deg onto it like a sleeve to suit his larger bore system. This was my solution. Purists look away now.

(In my defence the maniflow system mounts like the standard system ie solid from the headers straight through to the back box where it hangs on two rubber bobbins ala mini. The way I saw it a bit of give would be better for the system. Plus it was a fuck sight easier than butchering the manifold again.)

[Matty]

Apart from that, the new system fits like a dream. People wax lyrical about maniflow quality but I'm quite the cynic. Apparently I was wrong this time. They really are that good. Excuse the shit clamps and paste. I couldn't get hold of the band clamps I wanted at short notice. This will be rectified forthwith.

[Matty]

And I'll tell you what, it's transformative. There's a bit of resonance at low revs but it actually quietens with revs. No more knocks and bangs! And crucially it now sounds like it always should have. A tuned a series with a decent pipe. I've got a video I'll post below, however the sound quality is shit cos I'm a luddite and the acoustics in the garage aren't mint. Try to imagine a mini on an rc40. It's addictive.

[Matty]

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Maniflows are great. I've had 3 full systems and 3 other manifolds on 6 Minis in the last 14 years. Not one has failed. They fit just like a standard system. The manifolds can be a bit awkward due to the space, but they do fit once you get passed the drive shafts and CVs. 

A40 looks great by the way.

[Matty]

8 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Maniflows are great. I've had 3 full systems and 3 other manifolds on 6 Minis in the last 14 years. Not one has failed. They fit just like a standard system. The manifolds can be a bit awkward due to the space, but they do fit once you get passed the drive shafts and CVs. 

A40 looks great by the way.

Just wish I'd done it sooner rather than procrastinate. Much as I love this little thing, I'd still like a mini one day. I fear financially they've past me by now though.

[High Jetter]

Yes but, no but... Many minis out there, how many A40s tho? More A30 & 35s, I'd guess

[Matty]

2 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Yes but, no but... Many minis out there, how many A40s tho? More A30 & 35s, I'd guess

Apparently something in the region of 400. And apparently also all currently on ebay 😁