OCC 469 - restoring & running a "sharkstooth" 2000

Despite being a little distracted over the last few months with other projects, I did manage to get this door repaired & painted. That's when I ran into difficulties :rolleyes:

Because I've taken so long to get all the painting done on this car, I'm finding it hard to match the paint. I've got 4 different lots & neither are spot on as I'm sure I originally didn't mix the first batch very well & it came out darker than City Grey should be. Being so far in, I decided to stick with this, but it's become difficult to match with subsequent batches.

In the end, I've tried mixing & did get to a good match. However, this seems to affect the finish of the paint & I'm having endless problems sorting it. I can't seem to nail down which of the paints is causing the issue.

This is what I'd hoped was the finished result:

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Not very shiny! It did polish up, but then lost its shine again. This is a single paint batch sprayed on a scrap wing for comparison (straight out of the gun):

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As I say, all paints seem to be glossy by themselves but dull when some are mixed. Incidentally I have the same issue with BOP which I have several paints for (from the suppliers of OCC's at the same times) but can't pin down which is causing the problems.

Has anyone else found similar?
 
I've sprayed laquer on the door now & have got it to an acceptable standard without a colour respray, but more of that later.

I noticed a lot of white smoke when I ran OCC for a while today:

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Would I be right in thinking the head gasket has gone? There is some creamy white emulsion in the oil.....:confused::

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The engine's only done about 5,000 miles since I rebuilt it (diligently, I must add...;))
 
Was the smoke there when the engine was up to running temperature?
Have you lost any coolant?
Check the brake fluid level, it may be sucking fluid through that has leaked into the servo.
Smelling the smoke will often give a clue as well.
 
It does seem to be intermittent, Harvey. It runs quite roughly, then will be fine with very little smoke, if any.

I'm having a few problems with the HT leads again at the moment; in fact I'm wondering about ditching the early type with the screw ends (original & all that... :rolleyes:) because they don't seem to connect particularly tightly with the spark plugs thereby introducing an unnecessary potential spark-weakener into the system.

The brake fluid level is fine, but I've not checked how the coolant's doing recently.
 
How about making some new leads up with screw ends? I've got a couple of sets of them, including a NOS set, but I really doubt that they'll be fit for purpose after 60 years.
 
How about making some new leads up with screw ends? I've got a couple of sets of them, including a NOS set, but I really doubt that they'll be fit for purpose after 60 years.

I've just replaced the set Chris, although I think they're NOS so may be past it.

I have a later distributor cap so could borrow some of my V8 leads & try it out.
 
I've now checked the HT leads which are all fine.

The white smoke is not there on start-up but gets going when the engine warms up. When I got the car back in the garage, I noticed some steam coming out of the rear top vent on the engine :( & this from the oil filler (somewhat more than it looks on camera):

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This was in the filler cap:

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Presumably it is the head gasket?

On these early cars, the gasket is a metal one & I wonder if the head might not be torqued down quite sufficiently now that it's done a few '000 miles since rebuild (& I don't think I've revisited it since :rolleyes:)....

There seems to be a bit of a leak from the back of the head/block, although there's also a bit from the rear of the rocker cover which doesn't help:

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As I need to re-adjust a couple of valve tappet shims anyway, I'm thinking I'll just get the gasket changed whilst I'm on.
 
Yep, that would be my thought. See what it looks like when you take the head off.

Will you put a new early one on, or fit a later one?
 
I’d like to put one on that won’t fail in 5,000 miles, Chris :) but other than that, I would be grateful if someone far more expert than me could advise, please.:cool:

Been there, done that Phil so I feel for you. Mine was exhaust valve related but it's really frustrating when you are so meticulous in a rebuild or overhaul only to experience problems after a few thousand miles. Probably a feature of old cars :).

The only time I had clouds of white smoke from the exhaust was a head gasket failure and that was usually when the engine was warmed up. The only way to find out is to take the head off and try again. Be just as meticulous when you clean the mating surfaces before re-assembly, but we may also be at the mercy of sub-standard materials in head gaskets etc as we are in many other components so you might just have to accept the odd failure every now and then.
 
Been there, done that Phil so I feel for you. Mine was exhaust valve related but it's really frustrating when you are so meticulous in a rebuild or overhaul only to experience problems after a few thousand miles. Probably a feature of old cars :).

The only time I had clouds of white smoke from the exhaust was a head gasket failure and that was usually when the engine was warmed up. The only way to find out is to take the head off and try again. Be just as meticulous when you clean the mating surfaces before re-assembly, but we may also be at the mercy of sub-standard materials in head gaskets etc as we are in many other components so you might just have to accept the odd failure every now and then.

Thanks Dave. I've just got to bite the bullet & do it! At least it's not the worst job in the P6 world ;)
 
I’d like to put one on that won’t fail in 5,000 miles, Chris :) but other than that, I would be grateful if someone far more expert than me could advise, please.:cool:

Well I've got a few spare early head gaskets if you need one.. but mostly just waiting for the pictures when you get the head off.
 
Here we are:

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Here's No.4 in close-up:

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The head bolt at this corner was covered in 'mayonnaise' & the deposits in the piston crown suggest water has been getting in here. I suspected this whilst undoing the head bolts - that particular one wasn't torqued down properly..... :rolleyes:

Anyway, I'll put it back together with a new gasket. I'm also taking the opportunity to adjust a 'clacking' valve - No.2 inlet is 14 thou, whereas all the others are 10 thou. So two jobs in one :cool:

Chris - I've PM'd you re the gaskets :thumb:
 
I'm suggesting that the head needed re-torquing, and you're seeing the same effect as you would with a blown head gasket.

I've messaged you with a couple of pictures - see what you think.
 
I've never retorqued 2000/2200 heads and have never had a problem. Unless they were left loose in the first place.....
 
I've never retorqued 2000/2200 heads and have never had a problem. Unless they were left loose in the first place.....

I do remember being taught to do them at given points after a head gasket was replaced. This is an early car, with the thinner two-piece head gasket, and the bolts have been removed more than a few times at a guess.

I'd certainly be checking them, and if this happens again, look at moving to the later head gasket.
 
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