My 72 3500S work in progress

[Dave3066]

Peter

Oh yee of little faith

Thanks for your concern, but I know for a fact that this spinner will support the weight of the stripped out car. Scroll down this page here

http://www.classicroverforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=6548&start=45

:wink:

In fact the last time I spoke to sparky's owner he mentioned that he'd bolted it to the floor to make it more stable and was able to literally spin sparky on it. I'm slightly more risk averse than that so Verity will not be doing any horizontal pirouettes

Dave

 

[testrider]

With the running gear, interior and body panels removed the base unit can't weigh more than 500kg so the rotator frame doesn't need to be that substantial.

It looks like a tight fit in the garage though.

 

[roverp5Bcoupe]

Dave,

Okay, when its strong enough its strong enough. I also used my rotater when fitting items underneath the on my car (mgb v8) like front wheel suspension and rear axle

regards
Peter

 

[Dave3066]

With the running gear, interior and body panels removed the base unit can't weigh more than 500kg

I reckon it's a lot less than that Paul. I was quite surprised at how light the front end was with everything removed. I could easily lift it by hand and I'm no powerlifter!

It looks like a tight fit in the garage though

There's more room there than it looks and quite a bit of space when all the stuff around the car is moved. I've got space in the workshop for all the boxes of parts and panels etc I just need to make time to move it. I've yet to rotate the car completely because the diff is still fitted so I'll be checking clearance above and below and adjusting the fit where necessary.

I also used my rotater when fitting items underneath the on my car (mgb v8) like front wheel suspension and rear axle

That's a serious bit of kit you have there Peter. If only I had the space you have then I might go for something that substantial.

Dave

 

[rottenlungs]

Peter, I`m getting a nasty dose of workshop-envy about now. The rotator and hoist combo looks like a very pleasant way of doing suspension work.

 

[roverp5Bcoupe]

James,

Yes. It was even more usefull for removing paint and underseal and seamwelding/strenghening the body between front and rear suspension due to the V8
Regards
Peter

 

[Dave3066]

Okay, so this weekend, well mostly today, I've been clearing out all the removed parts and removing the final heavy items from the base unit. The rear suspension cross member and diff came out no bother and the last panels to come off were the boot lid and the passenger side doors. With all the heavy stuff removed it was time to see how well she rotated and to check clearance on the way round.

other way

then all the way over

Lots of room when she's up on her side so should make working on the base unit far more straightforward

Dave

 

[chrisyork]

That looks a major step forward, Dave! I would actually look forward to going in the garage with that to greet me.

Chris

 

[Dave3066]

Right folks, it's been a while since I've updated this thread (as you can see from the last post in late 2013) and a few people have asked how it's going. I have to admit I didn't do a lot on this car in the 2 years to date. Life got in the way a bit. We moved house etc etc and yes, I was getting fed up lying on my back or side welding so I lost interest. However, I've put in more hours on this car in the last 6 months than I have in the previous 3 years. A grand total of 40 hours, the majority of which (35) has been spent removing underseal. For that job I have removed 98% using a good quality scraper like this, most of it comes off in chunks.



the remaining 2% has been removed with a flat blade screwdriver for the fiddly bits and some tar remover solvent.

I'm currently at this stage



with just the boot and rear wheel arches to go, so one more session should see it all off. Verity is starting to reveal her hidden secrets too. She has clearly been in a front end knock at some time as shown by this crease in the engine bay



Here are some more pics of the underside.




and a curious crease in the transmission tunnel just behind the handbrake aperture.



There's quite a bit of surface rust to remove and some old epoxy-mastic I applied several years ago that is still solid. Other parts are pristine with no sign of surface rust at all.

Quite a few bits that will need repaired. Both rear bump stops




inner wings at the corner of the hockey sticks




and this opening on the right hand side



If I hadn't stripped the car down completely this would worry me



That's under the steering box mount.

Then of course there is this big hole to fill. The D post on that side needs a complete rebuild as does the battery box panel, which I've kept as a template.



and this bit that I've done some work on previously but am not happy with so will more than likely do again.



but I have a range of replacement panels to help



As an example of how much underseal comes off these cars this was the pile from the marked section only



I've lost count of the number of bags I've filled.

In other news, the engine is currently with my local engine builder who has inspected the block and crank. Bores need deglazing only and the crank journals need a polish so I'm happy with that. He also has my SD1 heads which as the block and crank are in good condition I can spend a bit more money on. As a minimum I'm fitting new valve guides, having the valve seats re-cut and having both heads skimmed. I'm not sure how much further than this I'll go, but I'd like a bit of porting done too. I'll be speaking to RPi soon to have a chat about camshafts, timing gear, lifters and any other upgrades I can afford so I should be able to start rebuilding the engine when I need a break from welding.

It feels good to be making progress again so watch this space for further updates

Dave

 

[Ethelred]

I can relate to the gunk-removing exercise - that brings back loads of memories - nearly 2 years ago now.

I saved myself several garage-hours off the bill by doing this myself when WXC was being built.

Having the car on a rotating spit makes all the difference.



Tom gave me a custom tool in the form of a cut off hacksaw blade powered by compressed air - the gunk came flying off but the after effects on my respiratory system was similar to a visit to London.

 

[testrider]

Good to see some progress on this Dave. I'm very familiar with the pile of underseal on the garage floor - and finding bits of it in the house weeks later! I completely stripped the bottom of HOT when I did the sills but I can't face doing on EMF yet so I've just cleared the bits I need to get to for welding.

On the road for 2016?

 

[Dave3066]

On the road for 2016?

I wouldn't like to say Paul, but Rumblefest is my target :wink:

Dave

 

[arthuy]

Re: My 72 3500S work in progressl

Would be great to put new sills on seeing as you have the car stripped right down. Will you get the car dipping aswell or is that going too far?

I bought some parts from real steel for the last v8 I rebuilt, previous to that I used v8 developments. real steel are quite reasonable and worth putting on your list. I also used LRdirect, great if you have a part number and reasonable.

Colin

 

[Dave3066]

Re: My 72 3500S work in progressl

Will you get the car dipping as well or is that going too far?

Yes, that's a step too far Colin . Besides, I'm not sure how metal would be left if I had it dipped :shock:

Would be great to put new sills on seeing as you have the car stripped right down

The driver's side is mostly okay from the B/C post back (apart from the big hole of course). Complete sill replacement on the passenger side is an option if it looks bad once I start cutting into it. The jacking tube support and bottom of the A post is a lost cause. There's quite a bit of surface rust all the way along the interface between the floor pan and the inner sill so it depends how deep that goes and if I can do it in sections. Some sections of the outer sill are in good, corrosion free condition. I'm probably looking at a rear wheel arch replacement on the driver's side. I'll just have to see how much metal is left on that once the rust removal gel has had a chance to do its thing.

Little things like the clips for the fuel lines etc are largely toast as well



...and both rear suspension upper link mounts at the boot have poorly done repair plates...the list goes on...

Dave

 

[iwish]

[quote=" She has clearly been in a front end knock at some time as shown by this crease in the engine bay
and a curious crease in the transmission tunnel just behind the handbrake aperture.

I don't think shes had a front end knock as mine has the same creases on both sides of the engine bay, it could be due to ride stress over the years but i feet it is down to the stretching of the metal panel when pressed during production, the same also apply's to the transmission tunnel which is also exactly the same.
Dave

 

[Dave3066]

I finally got the last vestiges of underseal removed from the car and have also removed the final few components such as the rear decker, the fuel tank, the boot hinges, the rest of the carpet and underlay, the seat belts and side trim, door rubbers and the entire rear half of the wiring loom. The front instruments, dash and front half of the wiring loom are the only major components still fitted (apart from the roof, front screen and rear screen).

Then this little lot turned up today



Well, what else is the kitchen table for

For those curious among you, we have composite head gaskets, valley gasket and a few other gaskets



Piper Torquemax camshaft, standard lifters, new piston rings



New head bolts and rubber rocker cover gaskets



Duplex timing set, new big end and main bearings



High volume oil pump kit, front crank seal conversion kit for a lip seal, new rope seal for rear



New core plugs, valve stem oil seals, shim kit for setting lifter preload, plus various other gaskets



New valve springs, cam drive gear and distributor drive gear



What's not there are the new valves and bulleted valve guides. They went straight to the engine builders for fitting to the SD1 heads. I'm hoping to get the engine block, crank and heads back by the end of this week so I can start rebuilding when I get bored with welding . Also not there are the ARP stud kits for the bottom end. They had to be ordered so will arrive later.

If anyone wants to know how much this little lot cost from RPi, pm me. I'll also let you know how much the work I've had done on the rest of the engine has cost too.

Dave

 

[vaultsman]

Fun times ahead, Dave!

 

[arthuy]

Very tasty lot of parts you have there, the composite gaskets are my preference on rebuilds especially with a head skim.

Something you might have picked up from forums or the V8 tuner book but worth repeating. There is advise to drill a hole about each of mickey mouses, it is supposed to help lubricate the chain I think. I have done it on the V8s I have had apart.

Did you get a new oil pressure relief spring and valve? maybe even a tadpole? I have only used the standard valve and uprated spring.

Have you got an engine stand? I have one I bought years ago that has been sitting behind my garage that I don't mind lending out.

Colin

 

[Dave3066]

There is advise to drill a hole about each of mickey mouses, it is supposed to help lubricate the chain I think. I have done it on the V8s I have had apart.

Yes I've seen that...and mixed reports as to its effectiveness. I have David Hardcastle's book and I think it mentions that in there. I'll do a bit more research and see if there is a concensus.

Did you get a new oil pressure relief spring and valve? maybe even a tadpole? I have only used the standard valve and uprated spring.

No, I'll stick with standard just now and see how it goes.

Have you got an engine stand? I have one I bought years ago that has been sitting behind my garage that I don't mind lending out.

I have one, but thanks for the offer. Much appreciated.

Fun times ahead, Dave!

Indeed Stan

I have to say that whilst I found RPi pretty helpful in terms of advice given on parts, they kept trying to steer me back to getting them to build up a short engine with a post '76 block. They can even transfer the original engine number to the new block to retain originality. Every time I asked about changing something, a classic example of which was using ARP studs on the bottom end, the response was "we build X number of engines every year and we wouldn't rebuild a pre '76 block because of the problems with the main bearing caps etc etc, we could build you a...." you get the idea.

Where's the fun in that?! :roll: I guess I'm perhaps reasonably fortunate in that the block and crank are in good condition and didn't need any major work so the engine hasn't been neglected or stressed too much. I want to do a bit of porting and polishing of the heads too, probably just to remove any casting flash and try to smooth the flow of air through the heads. I'm aware of the opinion that the inlet ports should be left a bit rough to create a bit of turbulence and help the fuel & air mix. I'm also aware of the differing views on opening up the inlet and exhaust ports to match the gasket openings...some mixed reports on that too. So I have a lot of reading ahead and bit of practise to do on the old heads before I decide what to do with the SD1 heads. At the end of the day I want a nice comfortable, torquey engine that will pull like a train when I need to show a clean pair of heels, but I'm not going to race the thing or take on any boy racers in their pimped up Citroen Saxo (or whatever the modern equivalent is).

PS.....I think I'm right in saying that this is my 3000th post

Dave

 

[westOz74P6B]

Also not there are the ARP stud kits for the bottom end. They had to be ordered so will arrive later.

Hi Dave, fun and enjoyable times ahead assembling your motor indeed...

Just wondering if, as part of the block machining work, and the fact that arp main studs are being fitted, because of the higher torque tension on the studs they will have to be fitted and the caps torqued up to the new setting so the main tunnel can be aligned bored at this new torque setting. As if you just fit the studs and not do the machining then the main caps will distort and potentially damage the bearings and crankshaft. I had this work done on my block and the machine shop even had etched the new torque setting on the bottom of the block as a reminder for future users. You may read in the arp instructions that they also recommended this align boring of the main tunnel.
So wondering if you have considered this work on your block?

Regards,
Scott