One car to replace my current fleet?
Discussion
Time for some "Man Maths"
The eBay chap wants £140 for his head.
Collection or delivery from West Midlandshire £35-£50
Head bolts. £20
Head gasket set. £25-£40
Skim - £25
Porting and polishing - a few hours work.
New belts and tensioner bearing - £25
Retrofitting the head - an hour or so.
Beer and Pizza - £30
Total = £330
Basically take £190 off that if I use my own head and add a few hours of work and more beer to get the studs out.
Onyx Firecat £395
Collection £150
Uno Turbo engine transplant - a few hours work.
Selling the chassis and bodywork - +£200 (ish)
Beer and Pizza £30-£50 (depending if I get help or not)
Total = £375 (depending on how much I get for the Uno and Onyx bits)
So that's an Uno turbo conversion for £45 (+ or - £190 if I can use my own head).
The eBay chap wants £140 for his head.
Collection or delivery from West Midlandshire £35-£50
Head bolts. £20
Head gasket set. £25-£40
Skim - £25
Porting and polishing - a few hours work.
New belts and tensioner bearing - £25
Retrofitting the head - an hour or so.
Beer and Pizza - £30
Total = £330
Basically take £190 off that if I use my own head and add a few hours of work and more beer to get the studs out.
Onyx Firecat £395
Collection £150
Uno Turbo engine transplant - a few hours work.
Selling the chassis and bodywork - +£200 (ish)
Beer and Pizza £30-£50 (depending if I get help or not)
Total = £375 (depending on how much I get for the Uno and Onyx bits)
So that's an Uno turbo conversion for £45 (+ or - £190 if I can use my own head).
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/fiat-punto-17tdsx-/16138...
It's a Fiat 128 block and has a turbo...
...hmmmm...
Nah.
It's a Fiat 128 block and has a turbo...
...hmmmm...
Nah.
I knew it would be too good to be true.
The £35 housing looked to be much better than mine with just a little pit to deal with.
Then...
...all three 10mm thermostat bolts sheared off.
Well that's a nice £35 bit of scrap. Still that the gamble when you buy second hand parts.
From the looks of the previous damaged to the side of the engine...
...it's fairly save to say I've bought a £1250 pile of scrap as well.
The £35 housing looked to be much better than mine with just a little pit to deal with.
Then...
...all three 10mm thermostat bolts sheared off.
Me said:
In the recorded history of man there has never been an instant where a stud has been successfully removed with an extractor.
Well that's a nice £35 bit of scrap. Still that the gamble when you buy second hand parts.
From the looks of the previous damaged to the side of the engine...
...it's fairly save to say I've bought a £1250 pile of scrap as well.
Hmmmmm...
Okay I was a little annoyed earlier. Partly due to finding myself in a rut of a dead end, but mostly due to putting half a drill bit trough my finger trying to get the stud extractor out.
After a cup of tea I had an idea...
...I cut the neck off the new(er) housing and ground the old one back until the metal was good enough to...
...wedge an off cut of Aluminium pipe in there and...
...bond in place with a bit of Steel Stick.
Inside as well. I know it's a bodge but it's a damn sight better than silicon sealant.
Okay I was a little annoyed earlier. Partly due to finding myself in a rut of a dead end, but mostly due to putting half a drill bit trough my finger trying to get the stud extractor out.
After a cup of tea I had an idea...
...I cut the neck off the new(er) housing and ground the old one back until the metal was good enough to...
...wedge an off cut of Aluminium pipe in there and...
...bond in place with a bit of Steel Stick.
Inside as well. I know it's a bodge but it's a damn sight better than silicon sealant.
Driveway CSI today and I'm going through the X1/9 paperwork because I suspect the engine is not the original.
I discovered a receipt for the tyres dated 2002!!!
Second hand "A" frame bushes!
A Deeside Lotus dealer charged £178 to change two light bulbs in 1999!!!
£122 for a "New" fuel tank when it had a patch welded to it.
The Culter Car Centre, Aberdeen replaced the head gasket and used "sealant" (Tiger Seal) to stick the thermostat housing to the head.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I won't be smashing windows as it appears they are flats now.
I discovered a receipt for the tyres dated 2002!!!
Second hand "A" frame bushes!
A Deeside Lotus dealer charged £178 to change two light bulbs in 1999!!!
£122 for a "New" fuel tank when it had a patch welded to it.
The Culter Car Centre, Aberdeen replaced the head gasket and used "sealant" (Tiger Seal) to stick the thermostat housing to the head.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I won't be smashing windows as it appears they are flats now.
My new/old head arrived yesterday and this afternoon I attacked it with some 1000 wet&dry and some WD40 (never ever use soapy water for this as it can screw up your valve seals.
Turns out the low mileage 1984 car had a 1978 head...
...but it does have unleaded valves.
Those are coming out so I can clean/polish the ports during my night shift.
Turns out the low mileage 1984 car had a 1978 head...
...but it does have unleaded valves.
Those are coming out so I can clean/polish the ports during my night shift.
Driveway CSI today is one I've been looking forward to dreading.
I've taken the cylinder head of my poor bodged X1/9.
When the head gasket was changed it's fair to say it was the only new gasket. All of the others including the exhaust manifold gasket were old ones with a smear of silicone for good measure. There was also silicone between number two and three cylinders where the head gasket was nipped and bent. I'm annoyed that the previous owner paid nearly £800 for the job when it was done but relieved that I discovered it how I have and not via catastrophic engine failure.
One, two and three had NGK "V" plugs and four had a Champion racing plug. That goes a long way to explaining the rough idle and will be remedied when I put the old girl back together.
I'll take the bits to work with me tonight so I can use their parts washer.
I've taken the cylinder head of my poor bodged X1/9.
When the head gasket was changed it's fair to say it was the only new gasket. All of the others including the exhaust manifold gasket were old ones with a smear of silicone for good measure. There was also silicone between number two and three cylinders where the head gasket was nipped and bent. I'm annoyed that the previous owner paid nearly £800 for the job when it was done but relieved that I discovered it how I have and not via catastrophic engine failure.
One, two and three had NGK "V" plugs and four had a Champion racing plug. That goes a long way to explaining the rough idle and will be remedied when I put the old girl back together.
I'll take the bits to work with me tonight so I can use their parts washer.
The head gasket set hasn't arrived yet. 
So here are a few photo's from yesterday...
...more silicone than Comicon.
The mystery of the lumpy idle solved.
The block face looks okay...
...now I've swept what appeared to be grinding paste from the surface.
Considering these bodgers wouldn't spend £1.55 on a thermostat housing gasket...
...why was I even remotely surprised to find they hadn't spend £4 on an exhaust manifold to downpipe one?
So here are a few photo's from yesterday...
...more silicone than Comicon.
The mystery of the lumpy idle solved.
The block face looks okay...
...now I've swept what appeared to be grinding paste from the surface.
Considering these bodgers wouldn't spend £1.55 on a thermostat housing gasket...
...why was I even remotely surprised to find they hadn't spend £4 on an exhaust manifold to downpipe one?
I really must add my own parts washer to my shopping list when I get my new Garage/Shed.
Cleaned the piston tops, block face and gave the pistons a bit of a wobble to make sure the rings are all good.
As the gasket set didn't turn up and there's rain forecast tomorrow I've got the gazebo out.
I should add a shed/garage to my list of stuff I need to get.
Cleaned the piston tops, block face and gave the pistons a bit of a wobble to make sure the rings are all good.
As the gasket set didn't turn up and there's rain forecast tomorrow I've got the gazebo out.
I should add a shed/garage to my list of stuff I need to get.
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