Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[CitroJim]

Magic

[Zelandeth]

Slightly belated update with the process explained in a bit more detail - though there really aren't any surprises to be honest!

So where the heck were we? Oh yes...I had a gaping hole in the engine bay in the Trabant and an engine waiting to go into it.



First port of call was to do something about the slimy mess that was the bell housing. I didn't get carried away with this making it look like you could eat your dinner off it or anything, just got rid of the worst of the two stroke oil slime.



Actually seeing the new and old clutch release bearing next to each other does show that there was a decent amount of wear on it, though to my untrained eye it looks like there was plenty of life left in it. I think the graphite bush arrangement here is perfectly adequate as the clutch is pretty lightly sprung. One of the advantages to keeping everything small and light is it means that you can use simple solutions like this.



New one was clipped in place.



No photo of it, but I did clean up the gearbox input shaft a bit as well before things went back together.

The two mounts on the gearbox were then changed. Okay, fine I lied. The lower one was. The rear one on inspection actually looks perfectly fine (having escaped the oil contamination of everything else) and is a bit of a pain to get to behind and underneath the steering rack. I reckon it would be a doddle to do with the car on a ramp - so it's going to get done somewhere down the line when I have such an opportunity. It's not actually hindered by the engine being there or not.

This one however had gone distinctly squishy which I'm sure wasn't helping out clutch judder issues at all.



The next step made it suddenly look like I'd made a whole bunch of progress.



This was by far the easiest engine to slot in I've ever handled. It literally just slotted in - didn't even have to faff around getting the gearbox input shaft to line up. There was about five seconds of wiggling while I got the lower engine mount stud to line up with the hole in the subframe but that was it. Once the engine was actually secured in place I grabbed the torque wrench and went over the head nuts. As predicted this was far less annoying with the engine held in place.



Here's a comparison between the standard and revised alternator top bracket that's needed to accommodate the larger carburettor.



Installing the carb itself actually took about 30 seconds - though routing the new cables probably ended up occupying half an hour or so - mostly because you need to dismantle the choke cable to fit through the same grommet in the bulkhead as the original (roughly centre frame below).



All of the gubbins had to be disconnected from the cable so that it could be installed properly.



Just glad I didn't end up pinging that spring off into oblivion. It's almost like I've learned from previous mistakes in that I did that INSIDE the car with the doors closed just in case it did make a bid for freedom.

Getting there.



That little fuel filter doodad isn't actually one of those glass ones with the ends that unscrew - it's bonded together and just visually looks similar. Also made in Italy rather than China so hopefully won't be a liability.

Really wasn't that long between that stage and this stage, ready for the first start.



There was video recorded of the first start - but there may as well be no sound as it was windy and all you can hear is wind noise. On the plus side, the wind did mean that the smoke dissipated (relatively) quickly!



I was expecting somewhat biblical levels of smoke. I'd put a decent amount of oil down both bores and into the intake as I really didn't want to take any chances of the engine running dry on the first start. I was not disappointed. I'm sure our neighbours will forgive me one day.

Two bits of snagging became apparent, need to tighten the fan belt a touch, and I need to pull the cowling again most likely as the rubber pipe for the heater pre-heater connection is touching the belt inside the cowling. I'll see if I can get in there with a pair of pliers and pull it clear, but I suspect I'll end up pulling the whole blasted cowling for the fourth time. On the plus side it only takes a couple of minutes once you know where all the bolts are.

I definitely need to find the front air dam which should be below the bumper - it's primarily there to keep road spray off the rather exposed alternator and fan belt, and with that being hung down even lower now it really is very exposed.



I'm not a huge fan of this choke arrangement (well technically it's not a choke on a Mikuni though as far as the effect on the engine is concerned the purpose is the same). It's secure enough (the little L-bracket is chunky and metal) but just feels a bit shonky.



I'm inclined to just enlarge the hole in the original control's mounting point so the intended retaining collar can be used. It's a kind of odd control anyway.

The big news however is that she's moved!



Only been around the block a few times and nowhere beyond 50% throttle so far as I'm following (one of) the guides to breaking in the new engine - but should be pretty much clear to resume normal use tomorrow, though I'll definitely be exercising a bit of additional mechanical sympathy for the first couple of hundred miles.

First order of business this week though is going to be a wash!



I have cleaned the windows, but this is just begging to get pulled over by some traffic cop having a bad day with the car being this filthy (c'mon, she's scruffy enough at the best of times).

Two things have become *immediately* apparent though. First up - exactly as I expected, there were a whole selection of noises that the old engine was making that it apparently shouldn't have been. Secondly is that I really hadn't realised quite how bad the clutch was! It's astonishing what you can get used to just driving around until it's fixed.

This is what the old engine sounded like.



Now let's compare and contrast. Note that the mic on my new phone (so the new recording) tends to make things sound rattlier/tinnier than on the old one too.





Just a *slight* difference.

Goes without saying that I'm very much looking forward to getting back out and about in this car again now. Couple of tiny bits of snagging mentioned above to be done in the next day or two, a good clean then she will hopefully be back properly in action. I really do need to try to get some onboard video at some point - just something I kind of need a helper for I think as like the Invacar all you get is comedic amounts of shake I find with the camera actually attached to the car.

[myglaren]

The graphite release bearing is like the ones I recall from the Imps.

You mentioned the size of the clutch and it looks the same as the one in my daughter's Megane. Had to take the flywheel and have it machined flat as it was scored. Tiny. Surprising for a relatively large car.

[mickthemaverick]

All my Reliant 3 wheelers had graphite release bearings and did the job well enough. On the Supervan III I had to replace the clutch after 50k but the release bearing was in fine condition and I didn't replace it (working on a paltry budget at the time ) but it soldiered on another 3 years until I sold the car!!

[CitroJim]

There, told you it would all be done by the weekend Zel Tremendous work

[Gibbo2286]

Graphite release bearings were the norm on most cars in the earlier days, they were often worn right back to the metal by drivers 'riding the clutch' i.e. resting the foot on the pedal all the time.

That transverse leaf spring suspension is very typical of the pre-war and just post-war Fords.

[Zelandeth]

Thanks folks for the encouragement!

I forgot the last photo which amuses me the most I think. Basically because you can literally see no evidence of anything having changed unless you really stand on your head.



This afternoon I fixed the issue with the heater feed tube rubbing on the fan belt. Made waaaaay easier by discovering that I could do this.



Yes, you can just remove the fan without disturbing the actual cowling. Wish I figured that out a year ago! That photo gives a glimpse of how the air is routed around the barrels and heads, it's not just an open tin box that the fan blows into.

In theory I have now completed the full sequence of heat cycles and n minutes which constitute the running in process. I'm not about to start testing 0-60 times, but we we should be able to actually start driving places now.

[mickthemaverick]

Just for some light relief Zel you might like to browse this sale, with special attention to the last items on page 6 (should take you straight there!)!!

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auct ... 191?page=6

[Zelandeth]

Just for some light relief Zel you might like to browse this sale, with special attention to the last items on page 6 (should take you straight there!)!!

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auct ... 191?page=6

Some interesting stuff there. I'd be really surprised if that Mac Classic sells inside the estimate.

Telling myself that I really need to reign it in a bit though - it's kinda been an expensive month!

-- -- --

This afternoon I wanted to try to knock at least some of the worst of the tree gunk off the Trabant.

Initially I took the car to the jet wash at one of our nearby filling stations - first place it's actually gone since the engine change. Only a mile or so, but it feels like progress. Immediate observations are that it feels like the car gets up to 40 or so far, far more quickly even with my being pretty gentle on it at the moment compared to flat out beforehand. Not really surprising given that all the evidence suggests that the old engine was probably missing a few of the original 26 horsepower even before whatever actually failed let go. The engine itself is also far quieter - one thing which isn't though is the exhaust - the buzzy raspy noise from the tailpipe now when you're on the throttle is WAY louder than it used to be.

I had seriously forgotten how pointless a lot of those jet washes are. I honestly could have got better pressure just using the hosepipe at home, and our water pressure isn't great to start with. So dragged out my own pressure washer and got that involved. Hey look, this one actually does something!



Some of the really ingrained stuff (and the plethora of oily hand prints on the front panel and bonnet) will need some more elbow grease to shift, but on the whole the car looks far better for a quick hose down.



As predicted, this has turned the whole area around the car into a complete swamp... I'm really looking forward to having actual driveway to park it on - hopefully by the end of the week that will be a luxury available to me!

Will see how brave I'm feeling tomorrow, might actually use the car for normal car type things again.

[Gibbo2286]

Just for some light relief Zel you might like to browse this sale, with special attention to the last items on page 6 (should take you straight there!)!!

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auct ... 191?page=6

Some interesting stuff there. I'd be really surprised if that Mac Classic sells inside the estimate.

Telling myself that I really need to reign it in a bit though - it's kinda been an expensive month!

-- -- --

This afternoon I wanted to try to knock at least some of the worst of the tree gunk off the Trabant.

Initially I took the car to the jet wash at one of our nearby filling stations - first place it's actually gone since the engine change. Only a mile or so, but it feels like progress. Immediate observations are that it feels like the car gets up to 40 or so far, far more quickly even with my being pretty gentle on it at the moment compared to flat out beforehand. Not really surprising given that all the evidence suggests that the old engine was probably missing a few of the original 26 horsepower even before whatever actually failed let go. The engine itself is also far quieter - one thing which isn't though is the exhaust - the buzzy raspy noise from the tailpipe now when you're on the throttle is WAY louder than it used to be.

I had seriously forgotten how pointless a lot of those jet washes are. I honestly could have got better pressure just using the hosepipe at home, and our water pressure isn't great to start with. So dragged out my own pressure washer and got that involved. Hey look, this one actually does something!



Some of the really ingrained stuff (and the plethora of oily hand prints on the front panel and bonnet) will need some more elbow grease to shift, but on the whole the car looks far better for a quick hose down.



As predicted, this has turned the whole area around the car into a complete swamp... I'm really looking forward to having actual driveway to park it on - hopefully by the end of the week that will be a luxury available to me!

Will see how brave I'm feeling tomorrow, might actually use the car for normal car type things again.

What like getting an East German family through Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin?

[CitroJim]

^^

[Zelandeth]

I didn't actually end up using the car for today's errands on account of the fact that during that portion of the day it was tipping it down with rain. So I took the actually weather tight, air conditioned car with windscreen wipers which actually clear more than 50% of the windscreen. I really need to figure out what's up with that as I'm sure the driver's side wiper should swing far further than it does. It's way, way better than when I got the car, but I do wonder if I've got two right hand side linkages fitted or something like that as it barely manages 90 degrees of sweep.

Nevertheless it did dry out at least for a couple of hours this afternoon so I made time to get her out for a 20 minute or so wander. Primarily to grab some fresh fuel to dilute the nine month old stuff that's in the tank as I'm sure that's very much past its prime at this point. Stopped to grab a couple of photos on the way home in celebration of the car being back in action again.

I never actually made it quite the full way round the car last year with the polish, and looking at the photos now I'm actually really surprised how well it's held the finish where I did go over it. I figured it would have done the Skoda Estelle thing of just immediately turning straight to chalk as soon as I took my eyes off it for two seconds, but it really hasn't and it's really obvious which panels have and haven't been done.







It really is such a strangely proportioned little car.

Definitely feels a LOT zippier. Hard to say how much of that is just the engine being new vs how much different the extra specified four horsepower really makes, but pulling out of junctions now feels much more like a normal car rather than really having to make conscious allowances for the amount of time you needed to get moving, and that's with me still being pretty gentle.

[CitroJim]

Magic

[MattBLancs]

Assuming Google is correct (standard 26 bhp) then that extra 4 is +15%
And obviously we don't know how many percent down the old, unwell, engine was! So I suppose not surprised it feels more sprightly

[Zelandeth]

Assuming Google is correct (standard 26 bhp) then that extra 4 is +15%
And obviously we don't know how many percent down the old, unwell, engine was! So I suppose not surprised it feels more sprightly

Yeah, it's hard to say what the old one was actually producing before it went bang. Aside from the minimum 4bhp power increase, the Mikuni carb apparently makes a very noticeable improvement in terms of tractability of the engine even if it's an otherwise completely stock unit. Apparently there's another horse or two easily released by upping the exhaust from 38 to 42mm. Again those numbers sound tiny, but they all need to be taken in the context of how tiny and light a car this is. When you're talking about how these numbers feel in the car - let's not forget that the base model Metro in the 80s came with 43bhp out the box (38 if you were really unlucky and had the low compression "E" badged model) - and weighed 240kg more than the Trabant. You're talking a difference of a whole 1bhp/tonne in the Metro's favour assuming the 30bhp setup I have here now.