First drive ...
Discussion
Hi all,
Took the car for its MOT last week and it passed with a load of praise from the MOT'er which I was pretty pleased about.
First impressions were not entirely positive ... brakes were an eye opener although I have to remember they had not been used in ten years. I've done 50 miles now and they are better but still take some getting used too.
Handling, probably needs some set up but again it feels better the more I drive it.
Noise, Jesus ... no need to discuss that one.
Pinking, does anyone remember when unleaded was introduced, probably going to have to retard ignition but will try find some 97/98 RON first.
Have to say all in all very pleased dispite above comments.
Still have a few jobs to do but will post some pictures shortly.
Regards,
BBT.
Took the car for its MOT last week and it passed with a load of praise from the MOT'er which I was pretty pleased about.
First impressions were not entirely positive ... brakes were an eye opener although I have to remember they had not been used in ten years. I've done 50 miles now and they are better but still take some getting used too.
Handling, probably needs some set up but again it feels better the more I drive it.
Noise, Jesus ... no need to discuss that one.
Pinking, does anyone remember when unleaded was introduced, probably going to have to retard ignition but will try find some 97/98 RON first.
Have to say all in all very pleased dispite above comments.
Still have a few jobs to do but will post some pictures shortly.
Regards,
BBT.
I run my car on 95RON and unless it's labouring I don't get any pinking. That's with about 8 degrees of advance. My engine is as near as dammit a factory 400SE plus/minus the cylinder head work that the 400's got or didn't get depending on how big Peter's ciggy bill was in any given week... 
Well, drained most of the fuel out this morning then went out to find some Shell 99ron. Topped her up and pinking significantly reduced. Still a little but much better.
Had a great drive home with confidence growing in the chassis. Really enjoyed it.
Got home, and drove over the plywood sheet I had laid down in case of oil leaks.
checked undrneath and oil water and g/box oil leaking.
Gear box, simply from sump plug. Had the garage replace this oil when the car was mot'd, much eaiser than laying on the floor in the drive ... looks like I'm going to any way.
Water, dripping from a protruding pipe at the bottom of the radiator ... well it looked at first like a protruding pipe but there are two of them and they come dirctly off the rad, probably more like locating lugs or something. Rad had been re cored by previous owner some years back but never put in service. Looks like thats going to have to come out.
Oil, just next to the distributer, theres a bit of an area where oil can collect, this was full of oil. Oil looked like it had travelled from this area between the 'v' under the inlet manifold and was running down the bell housing at the rear of the engine. Lots of oil, hopefully just one leak. Need to get a decent manual or schematic to see what could leak. Could it be a seal on the distributer, is there any other possible places at the front / top of the engine?
When I took off the oil filler and looked into the rocker cover everything looked dry, I would have expected to see some oily wetness, hope nothing is blocked and causing a leak, oil pressure ok.
The brakes, new braided lines, pads, fluid, caliper seals, Disc's in good condition front and rear, zero groves so all pretty good. At the MOT I asked the tester how the brakes faired. He said very well, the car weighs just over 1000kg and there was 5500 kg of brake force, pletty in his opinion.
I guess I'm just used to the brakes on a slightly more modern car. I have to say I'm getting more used to them but I do think some kind of upgrade will be on the cards some time in the future.
The noise, lovely V8 burble when lightly touching the pedal to what sounds like WW3 has started when its buried. I love it.
Any feed back or thoughts on the leaks, where to look etc would be appreciated.
Regards,
BBT.
Had a great drive home with confidence growing in the chassis. Really enjoyed it.
Got home, and drove over the plywood sheet I had laid down in case of oil leaks.
checked undrneath and oil water and g/box oil leaking.
Gear box, simply from sump plug. Had the garage replace this oil when the car was mot'd, much eaiser than laying on the floor in the drive ... looks like I'm going to any way.
Water, dripping from a protruding pipe at the bottom of the radiator ... well it looked at first like a protruding pipe but there are two of them and they come dirctly off the rad, probably more like locating lugs or something. Rad had been re cored by previous owner some years back but never put in service. Looks like thats going to have to come out.
Oil, just next to the distributer, theres a bit of an area where oil can collect, this was full of oil. Oil looked like it had travelled from this area between the 'v' under the inlet manifold and was running down the bell housing at the rear of the engine. Lots of oil, hopefully just one leak. Need to get a decent manual or schematic to see what could leak. Could it be a seal on the distributer, is there any other possible places at the front / top of the engine?
When I took off the oil filler and looked into the rocker cover everything looked dry, I would have expected to see some oily wetness, hope nothing is blocked and causing a leak, oil pressure ok.
The brakes, new braided lines, pads, fluid, caliper seals, Disc's in good condition front and rear, zero groves so all pretty good. At the MOT I asked the tester how the brakes faired. He said very well, the car weighs just over 1000kg and there was 5500 kg of brake force, pletty in his opinion.
I guess I'm just used to the brakes on a slightly more modern car. I have to say I'm getting more used to them but I do think some kind of upgrade will be on the cards some time in the future.
The noise, lovely V8 burble when lightly touching the pedal to what sounds like WW3 has started when its buried. I love it.
Any feed back or thoughts on the leaks, where to look etc would be appreciated.
Regards,
BBT.
It really shouldn't be pinking.
My 400 will run happily on 95 if I HAVE to use it.
Looks like a timing check is needed. Don't rely on the marks on the engine, as they're known to be unreliable.
As for the leaks, looks like you're going to have to have a close look at all the joints and gaskets. Mine leaks a tiny bit from the sump gasket, but not worth bothering about.
My 400 will run happily on 95 if I HAVE to use it.
Looks like a timing check is needed. Don't rely on the marks on the engine, as they're known to be unreliable.
As for the leaks, looks like you're going to have to have a close look at all the joints and gaskets. Mine leaks a tiny bit from the sump gasket, but not worth bothering about.
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