My nightmare... errr restoration thread.
Discussion
Echo what Mark said fella .... did you take out the 'O' ring before sending it off to the refurbers? They will find it and chuck it away if not also check the seating of the Otter clip its a pain to do in situ but if you have the light pods out and the bonnet off it will be easier
Chris
Chris
Personally i would "out" the clip in otter switch crap, and have your man weld on a boss tapped out at 22mm(i think) and you can soure an otter switch (new) at any motor factors..........future proof it, cos if the existing (farcical) set up goes wonky.... you're gonna have fun finding a replacement.
The screw in system is far far superior in my opinion.
Gavin
The screw in system is far far superior in my opinion.
Gavin
Brap_Brap said:
do you actually need this otter switch for the car to run? what does it do?
Its for the electric fan chap. It is effectively a thermostatic switch which once it reaches a pre set temperature it completes a circuit anf the electric radiator fan comes on. Once the temperature of the coolant has dropped, again below a pre set temperature the otter switch breaks the circuit and the fan turns off.Due to the relatively high temperatures under the bonnet (hood lol) of the wedges many, myself included, also fit a manual overide so we can switch the fan on/off whenever we want. Wired correctly the otter switch and auto on/off are not affected.
Jimbo
Well, the car is back together but the damned thing wont run. I have checked all the grounding, checked the wire colour coding and still to no avail.
I stopped by a local British import garage today and was talking to the owner. He works on a lot of RV8s in MG, Morgan, Triumph etc. He is known as THE RV8 guru around these parts, whose reputation is renowned at local Brit car clubs. He told me a local Griff 500 owner has spent thousands and thousands just getting his Griff to run properly over the years and I should just switch to a carburetor setup. I am going to take his advice and go that route.
I am about to head off and get me the Edelbrock intake manifold, a Holly "blue" fuel pump and regulator, a Mallory distibutor and either a Holley 650, or a Holley 500. My mechanic tells me both will work well with the displacement I have, but the 650 is more common and thus perhaps a wee bit cheaper. I am also going to buy a carb hat so I can move my air filter to below the hood vent.
If anyone needs any EFI bits, like injectors or whatnot I would be happy to part-out the old EFI pieces dirt cheap.
To be continued...
I stopped by a local British import garage today and was talking to the owner. He works on a lot of RV8s in MG, Morgan, Triumph etc. He is known as THE RV8 guru around these parts, whose reputation is renowned at local Brit car clubs. He told me a local Griff 500 owner has spent thousands and thousands just getting his Griff to run properly over the years and I should just switch to a carburetor setup. I am going to take his advice and go that route.
I am about to head off and get me the Edelbrock intake manifold, a Holly "blue" fuel pump and regulator, a Mallory distibutor and either a Holley 650, or a Holley 500. My mechanic tells me both will work well with the displacement I have, but the 650 is more common and thus perhaps a wee bit cheaper. I am also going to buy a carb hat so I can move my air filter to below the hood vent.
If anyone needs any EFI bits, like injectors or whatnot I would be happy to part-out the old EFI pieces dirt cheap.
To be continued...
Well, I laid the money down and am ready to take the plunge. For all intents and purposes, there's no going back. Here's a pic of my new toys...
Things didn't cost as much as I thought either.
Holley 600, electric choke, vacuum secondaries: $289.95
Holley "Blue" electric fuel pump and regulator: $146.43
Holley manifold to carb heat shield: $31.54
Spectre Performance plenum: $108.38
Edelbrock "performer" RV8 manifold: $232.56
The manifold is on order - 2 or 3 days before it arrives.
Can't wait to fire the wedge up... virtually NOTHING can go wrong now!
[edit] They said the Mallory dizzy could take up to 6 weeks... wtf? As long as it'll run off the old dizzy, that's good enough for the girls I go with.
Things didn't cost as much as I thought either.
Holley 600, electric choke, vacuum secondaries: $289.95
Holley "Blue" electric fuel pump and regulator: $146.43
Holley manifold to carb heat shield: $31.54
Spectre Performance plenum: $108.38
Edelbrock "performer" RV8 manifold: $232.56
The manifold is on order - 2 or 3 days before it arrives.
Can't wait to fire the wedge up... virtually NOTHING can go wrong now!
[edit] They said the Mallory dizzy could take up to 6 weeks... wtf? As long as it'll run off the old dizzy, that's good enough for the girls I go with.
Edited by Brap_Brap on Thursday 23 August 01:06
Well fellow wedger's, it shouldn't be long now.
I left the mechanic with $3000, the wedge and two weeks to get it done.
Besides getting the car to a running state, it's also going to be tuned on a chassis dyno. The Holley factory carb jets are set for 70F at 0ft above sea level, which is not too great here at 3500ft, so the carb will be rejetted. The distributor will be recurved for local altitude as well. Valves will be adjusted too. The intake manifold will be ported and polished of course. I had a MSD 6A ignition box kicking around, so I installed it where the air flow meter used to be. With a new dizzy cap and rotor, new MSD Helicore high tension leads and new spark plugs, plus the multiple spark discharge, I'll be curious to see what the final horsepower and torque numbers will be.
If I still have any money left over from my deposit I'll have the mechanic drive the car over to an alignment shop and get a 4 wheel alignment done. If that can happen, I'll be returning to drivable car needing only insurance and a licence plate sticker.
Once I know the BHP and lb/ft numbers I'll post them here... hopefully with some video.
I left the mechanic with $3000, the wedge and two weeks to get it done.
Besides getting the car to a running state, it's also going to be tuned on a chassis dyno. The Holley factory carb jets are set for 70F at 0ft above sea level, which is not too great here at 3500ft, so the carb will be rejetted. The distributor will be recurved for local altitude as well. Valves will be adjusted too. The intake manifold will be ported and polished of course. I had a MSD 6A ignition box kicking around, so I installed it where the air flow meter used to be. With a new dizzy cap and rotor, new MSD Helicore high tension leads and new spark plugs, plus the multiple spark discharge, I'll be curious to see what the final horsepower and torque numbers will be.
If I still have any money left over from my deposit I'll have the mechanic drive the car over to an alignment shop and get a 4 wheel alignment done. If that can happen, I'll be returning to drivable car needing only insurance and a licence plate sticker.
Once I know the BHP and lb/ft numbers I'll post them here... hopefully with some video.
Hey - good luck with the carb set up. Ive been watching this thread for a while now with great interest as I have just started the arduous task of a complete ground up restoration of an 88 350i and your posts are very helpful. I am just at the point of lifting the body off but am a bit nervous about this stage. I am considering going the carb route and wait with baited breath - good luck
Andy
Andy
@adam I could have spent as much to diagnose one broken wire somewhere... or a corroded plug terminal or whatever. Electrics aren't my forte. Diagnosis is a gamble, a carb is not. 
It ran when I pulled the body off, and I wonder if "did I fuxxor it up?" "after three years sitting with mice living in the boot did one nibble a crucial wire?" And every time I read of some fellow wedger here posting "my car isn't running right" or likewise I will simply delight in that I can fix mine with a screwdriver. 
@Dogmanandy "Arduous" is a bloody understatement! I'll post you the "at the wheels" numbers as soon as I know. Good luck with your rebuild. My only unsolicited advice is "don't start what you can't finish". I've wanted to throw in the towel a few times with this bottomless money pit. Tried to sell it twice as a matter of fact. IOW don't be discouraged.
It ran when I pulled the body off, and I wonder if "did I fuxxor it up?" "after three years sitting with mice living in the boot did one nibble a crucial wire?" And every time I read of some fellow wedger here posting "my car isn't running right" or likewise I will simply delight in that I can fix mine with a screwdriver. @Dogmanandy "Arduous" is a bloody understatement! I'll post you the "at the wheels" numbers as soon as I know. Good luck with your rebuild. My only unsolicited advice is "don't start what you can't finish". I've wanted to throw in the towel a few times with this bottomless money pit. Tried to sell it twice as a matter of fact. IOW don't be discouraged.
mark387mw said:
Do you know if the ECU was causing your problem as I'm after a spare ECU for my 350i. Would yours be any good?
Brap's car is a 390SE so you'd probably find his ECU would make a 350i overfuel. The again somebody who knows what they're talking about (
) will be along any second now to say it'll work fine.Take the chance, if it doesn't work you could pass it on to me
Wedg1e said:
Brap's car is a 390SE so you'd probably find his ECU would make a 350i overfuel. The again somebody who knows what they're talking about () will be along any second now to say it'll work fine.
Take the chance, if it doesn't work you could pass it on to me
As per my ECU thread, the problem I had was overfuelling so as Wedg1e is an expert I will pass on this ECU as I don't want to add any more confusion to my diagnosis.) will be along any second now to say it'll work fine.Take the chance, if it doesn't work you could pass it on to me
Thanks Mike, but I'm oot! All yours Ian.
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