A 'gentle' rebuild of my 3500
- Thread starter Mikep
- Start date
Mikep
Active Member
Since the problems that I had with overheating one mod I wanted to do was to fit an expansion tank. I really wanted a plastic one from an SD1 but these seemed to go for silly money on eBay so in the end I won a brass Landrover Defender tank and thought this would do the job. However since winning it on the 9th of September I havn't recieved it :x I spoke to the seller and he said it was delayed due to the couriers but still didn't arrive, then i couldn't get hold of him so I had to raise a dispute. I did get hold of him again and he said he had sent a replacement and would also give me a refund as I said that I didn't want it anymore. Well its the 4th of October and I still have no tank or refund from him.
Its not all bad news though, while this was going on I found a plastic tank on eBay for a Reliant Schimitar and it looked identical to the SD1 tank, won it last friday and recieved this Monday
When I opened the box I found that it was identical to the Rover one and only cost me £11 and not the £30 to £40 some people wanted!
Today, seeing as it wasn't raining, I decided to fit it. I had looked at the locations that others had fitted there's to and went for the drivers side inner wing, the only problem being the clearance under the bonnet. One thing I was mindful of was drilling the holes in the wrong place. After drilling the holes I fitted the tank and lo and behold I had drilled the holes too high and bonnet wouldn't shut :x The tank needed lowering about an inch but then it fouled on the brake lines so I found a zinc angle bracket use in cabinet making and made up a pair of brackets to not only lower the tank but project it forward therefore clearing the pipes I used some bits of fuel pipe to act as spacers between the bodywork and the brackets and I must say it doesn't look half bad, but I will remove them and paint them black though at a later date.
Before
IMG_0481 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
After and all filled up.
IMG_0496 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
IMG_0495 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
IMG_0497 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
Its not all bad news though, while this was going on I found a plastic tank on eBay for a Reliant Schimitar and it looked identical to the SD1 tank, won it last friday and recieved this Monday
When I opened the box I found that it was identical to the Rover one and only cost me £11 and not the £30 to £40 some people wanted!Today, seeing as it wasn't raining, I decided to fit it. I had looked at the locations that others had fitted there's to and went for the drivers side inner wing, the only problem being the clearance under the bonnet. One thing I was mindful of was drilling the holes in the wrong place. After drilling the holes I fitted the tank and lo and behold I had drilled the holes too high and bonnet wouldn't shut :x The tank needed lowering about an inch but then it fouled on the brake lines so I found a zinc angle bracket use in cabinet making and made up a pair of brackets to not only lower the tank but project it forward therefore clearing the pipes
I used some bits of fuel pipe to act as spacers between the bodywork and the brackets and I must say it doesn't look half bad, but I will remove them and paint them black though at a later date.Before
IMG_0481 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
After and all filled up.
IMG_0496 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
IMG_0495 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
IMG_0497 by mikeyp78, on Flickr
codekiddie
Active Member
Good work there Mike.
I have just received my expansion tank for fitting when I have the time, and I had already decided that some form of bracket work would be needed for exactly the same reasons, (fouling brake pipes/bonnet). Your pictures will be a great help to me.
I was also pondering some form of quick release, as it looks, when it comes to removing the spark plugs, that it may need to be temporarily removed for easier access to them. Does this look to be the case on yours?
I have just received my expansion tank for fitting when I have the time, and I had already decided that some form of bracket work would be needed for exactly the same reasons, (fouling brake pipes/bonnet). Your pictures will be a great help to me.
I was also pondering some form of quick release, as it looks, when it comes to removing the spark plugs, that it may need to be temporarily removed for easier access to them. Does this look to be the case on yours?
Mikep
Active Member
Now that I have used brackets Phil it would be easy to remove the tank from these rather than having to feel under the wing to remove the bolts, having said that once I had the brackets made bolting it in was easy enough, a long arm helps though
Cheers Guy
v8guy said:Nice job Mike, especialy after a little mistake, nice to turn it round and end up with a smart finish
And there are a number of dodgy people getting on ebay these days, I know I've had my share of them :roll:
Cheers Guy
codekiddie
Active Member
I especially like that idea MikeMikep said:
I was racking my brains yesterday for something to use as a non-metallic spacer, I obviously wasn't thinking far enough 'outside the box' The best ideas are sometimes the simplest.
Mikep
Active Member
Funny you should say that Lee because I was bidding on an SD1 bottle but was put off by the connectors. Not only would they have looked silly with no wires coming from them but I was worried that they could be a place where leaks would develop.
Stina a photo of your engine was one of the ones I used for reference but it looks like you got your position correct the first time though
stina said:Hi Mike .
Looking good , mine was the same , had to be fitted in exactly the right position to clear the underside of the bonnet and the brake pipes below . I used fuel pipe as a soft spacer too , great minds and all that
Stina a photo of your engine was one of the ones I used for reference but it looks like you got your position correct the first time though
I used a battery strap from a Royal Enfield (India) and two old type caravan cupboard door catch latches. On the back, to stop scratching and movement, I used a strip of self adhesive cycle helmet adjustment foam.
It's what I had to hand when I decided to fit the tank. If It proves to be a bit mobile further down the line I will rigid mount it, but at the moment it appears to be fine.
John
It's what I had to hand when I decided to fit the tank. If It proves to be a bit mobile further down the line I will rigid mount it, but at the moment it appears to be fine.
John
Mikep
Active Member
Spinakerr said:
I pretty much sorted my overheating by changing my knackered two core radiator for an updated three core, new thermostat and a full coolant flush. I am also getting a rolling road tune after the new exhaust as I think the car is running a little lean, which I believe causes the engine to run a little hotter. The expansion tank will stop me having to top up the coolant that you lose ultimately leading to overheating and I will fit an electric fan but this would be for those very hot days.
If you are experiencing overheating fitting an expansion tank an electric fan may only mask the true reason, I would suggest checking the items I listed first, the tank and fan are what 'modernise' the engine and make the car better suited to modern stop-start driving. Good luck
One thing I discovered when doing my tank, I checked the stub from to the inlet manifold tower, it was clear, BUT, for some reason I decided to completely remove the bypass pipe and blow through it, whilst looking good externally It had delaminated and imploded down the pipe, causing a blockage. I replaced the pipe.
John.
John.
Mikep
Active Member
After all the work that I have done on the car lately including the exhaust it was time for the engine to be properly tuned. I had the carbs 'balanced' to pass the MOT emissions but I think that they just leaned off the mixture to get the figures down, so the car has never run properly. Going by Herts2000 recomendation I booked my car in with Peter Baldwin at Wilsher Garage just north of Royston to have the car properly set up on thier rolling road, this is a chap who has 56 years as a motor mechanic and at the age of nearly 72 has won his sixth championship in the Mini Miglia race series. I was there for nearly four hours yesterday and it wasn't cheap but I can say it was worth every penny
My main symptoms have been a general lack of power, bogging down, idle too high and the gearchanges weren't really changing at the right time. The first thing Peter did was check the throttle linkage and found that there was so much play I was only gettng half throttle on the first carb and about a third on the second! A previous owner had then adjusted the kickdown to comensate for this so once Peter had taken the slack out and adjusted the rods and kick-down he ran the engine to check the state of play and attempted to richen the mixture. He found that one carb was still too lean with full adjustment so when he took the carb apart he found the needle was sitting too low and the small part that the screw presses against to hold the needle in place was damaged allowing the needle to drop therefore leaning the mixture on that carb. Once all that was sorted the car was connected to what I can only describe as a heart monitor? This gave a display showing the state of the sparks and timing with minimal arcing showing and almost perfect timing with only one cylinder sightly lagging but im told more than good enough for road use ( at this stage I should apologise for my description of these proceedures as some of it was beyond me ).
Once Peter was satisfied that everything was as it should be he set about adjusting and balancing the carbs. To get the mixture correct he was using a gas analyser and would you believe a plastic tube to listen to how much air was being sucked in so that he could balance them! He also set the idle and fast idle speeds so that the car now idles about 600rpm when in gear and about 700- 800 rpm at fast idle in neutral or park making the engine hardly noticeable on tickover, before the car was idling at about 1300 -1400 rpm when in neutral which used to give an annoying thump as you put it into drive. Now that everything was running as it should we then did some high speed runs on the rollers with me doing the 'driving' to make sure all was well which it was, the last thing then to do was advance/retard the timing so while I kept the car at 70mph on the screen Peter turned the distributor to adjust the timing. He told me that it was quite a way out but now it is spot on.
He did give me a max horsepower figure of 174 bhp but I think this may be a bit optimistic but when I took it out for a test drive........my word what a difference The car absolutley flies now, sharp throttle response, great gearchanges and rapid kickdown. As I say not cheap but what with all the work done and this mans experience it was worth every penny. If anyone is struggling to get thier car 'right' I can highly recommend Peter.
PS. Sorry for the lack of pictures but I was too busy in the car and watching what he was doing
My main symptoms have been a general lack of power, bogging down, idle too high and the gearchanges weren't really changing at the right time. The first thing Peter did was check the throttle linkage and found that there was so much play I was only gettng half throttle on the first carb and about a third on the second! A previous owner had then adjusted the kickdown to comensate for this so once Peter had taken the slack out and adjusted the rods and kick-down he ran the engine to check the state of play and attempted to richen the mixture. He found that one carb was still too lean with full adjustment so when he took the carb apart he found the needle was sitting too low and the small part that the screw presses against to hold the needle in place was damaged allowing the needle to drop therefore leaning the mixture on that carb. Once all that was sorted the car was connected to what I can only describe as a heart monitor? This gave a display showing the state of the sparks and timing with minimal arcing showing and almost perfect timing with only one cylinder sightly lagging but im told more than good enough for road use ( at this stage I should apologise for my description of these proceedures as some of it was beyond me
).Once Peter was satisfied that everything was as it should be he set about adjusting and balancing the carbs. To get the mixture correct he was using a gas analyser and would you believe a plastic tube to listen to how much air was being sucked in so that he could balance them! He also set the idle and fast idle speeds so that the car now idles about 600rpm when in gear and about 700- 800 rpm at fast idle in neutral or park making the engine hardly noticeable on tickover, before the car was idling at about 1300 -1400 rpm when in neutral which used to give an annoying thump as you put it into drive. Now that everything was running as it should we then did some high speed runs on the rollers with me doing the 'driving' to make sure all was well which it was, the last thing then to do was advance/retard the timing so while I kept the car at 70mph on the screen Peter turned the distributor to adjust the timing. He told me that it was quite a way out but now it is spot on.
He did give me a max horsepower figure of 174 bhp but I think this may be a bit optimistic but when I took it out for a test drive........my word what a difference
The car absolutley flies now, sharp throttle response, great gearchanges and rapid kickdown. As I say not cheap but what with all the work done and this mans experience it was worth every penny. If anyone is struggling to get thier car 'right' I can highly recommend Peter.PS. Sorry for the lack of pictures but I was too busy in the car and watching what he was doing
Kman1600
Member
Mikep said:harveyp6 said:Sounds good.
[Thinks: Now, I wonder how long before he's back with a broken diff output shaft.
Doesn't sound good :? Would this be expected after a run on the rollers or my exuberant driving?
Hi,
Don’t panic, you’ve seen what we do with our car :shock: and we never broke the actual diff...... diff mounting brakets..... rear disc...... rubber mount...... but not the diff itself
Tim
Mikep said:harveyp6 said:Sounds good.
[Thinks: Now, I wonder how long before he's back with a broken diff output shaft.
Doesn't sound good :? Would this be expected after a run on the rollers or my exuberant driving?
Tune ups were one of my favourites, especially ones where there was loads of free play in the linkage to be got rid of. Cue instant throttle response, and lots of happy customers, followed soon after (usually within a week) by a phone call saying that the engine runs, but the car won't move...
Normal sequence of events being the owner pulling out of a side turning, or out at a "T" junction, probably with a little less room to the oncoming trafic than would be ideal, and stamping on the throttle in the same way they did when there was loads of play, but instead of the previous sluggish performance, there's instant response, loads of grunt, and a spinning inside wheel, which when it grips again, snaps the shaft....
Mikep
Active Member
harveyp6 said:Mikep said:harveyp6 said:Sounds good.
[Thinks: Now, I wonder how long before he's back with a broken diff output shaft.
Doesn't sound good :? Would this be expected after a run on the rollers or my exuberant driving?
Tune ups were one of my favourites, especially ones where there was loads of free play in the linkage to be got rid of. Cue instant throttle response, and lots of happy customers, followed soon after (usually within a week) by a phone call saying that the engine runs, but the car won't move...
Normal sequence of events being the owner pulling out of a side turning, or out at a "T" junction, probably with a little less room to the oncoming trafic than would be ideal, and stamping on the throttle in the same way they did when there was loads of play, but instead of the previous sluggish performance, there's instant response, loads of grunt, and a spinning inside wheel, which when it grips again, snaps the shaft....
I hear what you are saying Harvey but surely any P6 that is running right will have good throttle response and if someone stamps down whillst pulling out this way could cause damage, isn't just a case of having some mechanical sympathy? For me its purely straightline acceleration not zoomeing out of junctions
My Dad told me that he did break a diff in a police P6 doing doughnuts late one nght shift, he had to tell the sergeant back at the garage that it just 'broke' I'm sure they believed him :roll: In this case the tune-up was to get the car running right and as it should not to gain extra power and when I say play in the throttle linkage I mean PLAY. A previous owner or garage had bodged the conections on the linkages with random split pins to compensate for wear in the plastice connections and a spurious bolt was fitted to a hole that is clearly elongated through wear. I had to push the pedal half way until it started actuating the carbs. I will need to replace the worn linkages at some stage as ther is still a bit of backlash but I was informed that some play has to be present.