Restoration starts again....!
Discussion
Getting very close now.. Spent a couple of days this weekend getting the bloody dash in. What a complete pig.! Is there a more difficult or fiddly job on an S.? Doubt it. I think I've left about half a pound of flesh under there..
It's been worth it though I think, just the seats now and windscreen in later this week.. Happy days.
But I paid a price..........
It's been worth it though I think, just the seats now and windscreen in later this week.. Happy days.
But I paid a price..........
Edited by tel595 on Sunday 27th March 22:51
Cheers for all the positive comments chaps, it does make it more worthwhile and keeps one motivated... I certainly need it, the interior and final detail parts to this car have been much more difficult than anticipated. Just doing the seats today took best part of 3 hours. The trimmer had put the bolts into the runners, which is fine but they where 100mm long zinc plated M8 set screws. They only need to be 25-30mm! So I thought it would be prudent to change these for stainless bolts and nuts, etc. That's easy on 3 of them but the fourth requires the runner to be unbolted from the frame. Getting that nut back on took me ages.. Anyway, the seats are in and I sorted the seatbelt mod too, a good afternoons work all told. Only leaves the windscreen on Thursday and then road tests and set-up.. Roll on Burleigh.! 
This shot gives a better colour representation of the cream leather.
This shot gives a better colour representation of the cream leather.
Cheers Han. It smells like a new car inside too.! A few niggles to sort out, some I'll probably have to live with like all us S owners... 
I'm having a look at the engine today as it won't idle and running very poorly, it'll be something simple but difficult to resolve no doubt. Hopefully be running and driveable by next weekend.
I'm having a look at the engine today as it won't idle and running very poorly, it'll be something simple but difficult to resolve no doubt. Hopefully be running and driveable by next weekend. Mixed day.. Got TVR running properly by resetting the ecu.. Took her out for a short run to see if ok, all good but came back and found a heavy oil leak at the rear of the engine running down onto the exhaust. I thought I'd fixed it before by replacing the dizzy o-ring seal, obviously it wasn't that. Set about doing a little investigation work and basically found the inlet plenum gasket had been put in badly and was leaking through at the joints.. Anyway, glad I've sussed it, at least it's not an engine out job..!
Ah well, at least it's two steps forward and only one back...!!
Ah well, at least it's two steps forward and only one back...!!
Edited by tel595 on Sunday 10th April 23:27
Well, it's the final part to this story. I got the S3c mot'd last Thursday, and I've had a few days of very warm, sunny driving to enjoy it. The car is absolutely wonderful and the sheer pleasure I've had driving it the past couple of days has made all the hard graft, sweat and tears worthwhile, I couldn't be happier.! With the weather turning out so nice and the car doing what it should, it's made me forget the cost of the project and just enjoy it.
There's a couple of niggles but no rattles, knocks, etc. to concern me. The engine pulls really well and doesn't smoke (yet), so all good. Had the geometry set up at Hangar 111, and it now drives straight as a die although the shocks need to be on a stiffer setting. I'm having the rear part of the exhaust modified as per the V8 next Wednesday. This is because the fuel tank I have on the car is possibly from a V8, as the fuel pick up bowl is located in the middle and not to the left as on the V6 cars, and therefore the rear of the exhaust sits too low from the valance. It must have been changed at some point before hand..
Other than a complete disaster, MY S should be on the next Eurotour.!
There's a couple of niggles but no rattles, knocks, etc. to concern me. The engine pulls really well and doesn't smoke (yet), so all good. Had the geometry set up at Hangar 111, and it now drives straight as a die although the shocks need to be on a stiffer setting. I'm having the rear part of the exhaust modified as per the V8 next Wednesday. This is because the fuel tank I have on the car is possibly from a V8, as the fuel pick up bowl is located in the middle and not to the left as on the V6 cars, and therefore the rear of the exhaust sits too low from the valance. It must have been changed at some point before hand..
Other than a complete disaster, MY S should be on the next Eurotour.!
But it doesn't end.......
Went to the Lotus test track at Hethel today, as there was a spare place and I thought it would be a good place to set up the suspension, etc. Thought it would weed out any possible gremlins too. Upshot is, after the second session, I noticed a distinct reduction in power and a quick glance at my oil pressure gauge indicated something wasn't quite right.. I decided to nurture the car home and she drove ok with oil gauge just hovering around the 25psi mark. No big rattles or anything, but when I turn the engine off it comes to a stop very quickly , and I can hear the starter motor labour more when starting her up. Think it must have damaged a big end or main journal bearing.
Question is now....do I strip, repair and rebuild this engine before Eurotour, or do I hunt down a donor one and stick that in as a stop-gap? Decisions, decisions.. nether one I wanted to be making so soon..
Went to the Lotus test track at Hethel today, as there was a spare place and I thought it would be a good place to set up the suspension, etc. Thought it would weed out any possible gremlins too. Upshot is, after the second session, I noticed a distinct reduction in power and a quick glance at my oil pressure gauge indicated something wasn't quite right.. I decided to nurture the car home and she drove ok with oil gauge just hovering around the 25psi mark. No big rattles or anything, but when I turn the engine off it comes to a stop very quickly , and I can hear the starter motor labour more when starting her up. Think it must have damaged a big end or main journal bearing.
Question is now....do I strip, repair and rebuild this engine before Eurotour, or do I hunt down a donor one and stick that in as a stop-gap? Decisions, decisions.. nether one I wanted to be making so soon..
Alan461 said:
Sounds like you will have to pull the engine anyway, have a look at any damage then decide
Yep, there's not a lot of choice there Alan. As always, it's going to be the time factor.. If I can get it out and stripped before the end of the week, I'll get it sorted. I want to keep it going until wednesday as the exhaust is being sorted, and it took ages to get that booked in so don't want to lose my slot..
Frustration...!
I've acquired the bottom half of a very good 2.9 v6. However, I'm in dilemma land. Had to drive out this morning to get the exhaust modded as it's been booked in for ages. Started the car and no problems except low oil pressure on the gauge. The engine seemed to pull fine with no noticeable loss of power (unlike Sunday). I can't hear any serious knocking from the engine and it seems to be running fine. Oil pressure when on the move is between the 25-50 psi marks on the gauge. There's no smoke from the exhaust at all and it's not overheating.. Not sure what to do now..??
I've acquired the bottom half of a very good 2.9 v6. However, I'm in dilemma land. Had to drive out this morning to get the exhaust modded as it's been booked in for ages. Started the car and no problems except low oil pressure on the gauge. The engine seemed to pull fine with no noticeable loss of power (unlike Sunday). I can't hear any serious knocking from the engine and it seems to be running fine. Oil pressure when on the move is between the 25-50 psi marks on the gauge. There's no smoke from the exhaust at all and it's not overheating.. Not sure what to do now..??
Well, I've driven back from the exhaust stranglers this afternoon and the engine still seems fine. Tickover pressure is around or just below 25psi but it sounds ok. It's difficult to hear any bottom end rattle as the exhaust noise increases with revs.. Driving along the pressure hovers around 40-45psi. I know the engine is a little tighter than before, as when I cut the ignition it drops very quickly. I'm thinking drain the oil, change filter and put the heaviest recommended oil that engine can run on and see what happens.. I'll check the pressure with an a mechanical gauge and see what it comes out at. As it sounds at the moment, I think it will manage a few more miles as long as I'm gentle with the right boot (my biggest problem), so I'll give it a long run over the next day or so and see how she behaves..
Suggestions about which oil would be welcome...
A few pics of my exhaust mods, necessary because of the V8 fuel tank I appear to have fitted...
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/fEBXHbyB[/url]
Suggestions about which oil would be welcome...
A few pics of my exhaust mods, necessary because of the V8 fuel tank I appear to have fitted...
[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/fEBXHbyB[/url]Certainly agree with that Peter, what's thrown me is that with the lower oil pressure I also experienced a distinct lack of power, certainly further up the rev range. I'd had been driving with a large amount of 'spirit' and wondered if I may have caused an oil starvation issue. The car is still running ok, but I'm paranoid now and possibly keep imagining sounds.. The oil pressure gauge may have indeed become faulty and it may well be the ECU has decided to do something silly following my aggressive driving. I've reset it before and it's solved a few issues. With the lower oil pressure, I wondered if a journal may have got hot and scored a bit, enough to allow oil to seep through and lower the system pressure? It'll all become clear soon enough..
v8s4me said:
I get excellent oil pressure in mine at all temperatures using Valvoline VR1 20/50, but if you think the engine is tight, wouldn't you want to use thinner oil until it loosens up?
Good point Joe, I'm not sure if it's my paranoia now or if it is actually tight when I stop the engine. I thought it turned over a bit slower on starting, but it starts and runs ok still so I thought the heavier oil may make a pressure difference. I'll check the oil pressure mechanically before I do anything though..ClassiChimi said:
I'm still thinking oil starvation for short periods around some very demanding corners at Hethel, seems logical enough given you have no issues now Terry.
You might have caught it just in time as you realised you had less power, from that lack of power moment did you carry on for another lap or laps after or instantly come in the pits!
Can someone confirm where the oil pick up pipe sits and is it offset to one side like the Rover?
If so which side?
I think the oil pickup is on the left side of the sump. The only long left hander was the one after the long strait which goes around the paddock area. That could result in a bit of oil surge, but I was going through those esses pretty quick as well, and I'd imagine the oil could've been struggling through there also.. I did another lap, but as soon as I felt the engine struggle I backed right off and came back in. I went out again later when the engine cooled, did one lap and it was better but not right. We came in early because someone went off and I gave up after that so I could get home. It drove ok on the way back as well. Bloody mystery..!You might have caught it just in time as you realised you had less power, from that lack of power moment did you carry on for another lap or laps after or instantly come in the pits!
Can someone confirm where the oil pick up pipe sits and is it offset to one side like the Rover?
If so which side?
Good news.. Engine is now ok, with decent oil pressure and no nasty noises.
It transpires that my excited driving around the Lotus test track a couple of weeks ago, stirred up a few foreign bodies within the engine and consequently blocked the oil pick-up. The upshot of this is oil starvation to the pump and therefore, low oil pressure. This, plus the fact that I had used a low viscosity oil (by mistake), made the poor engine suffer a bit and gave me a good deal of concern. I had a feeling the engine couldn't have been harmed though, as there was no knocking from the big ends, or main bearings, etc., but I knew there was something not right.
To remedy the problem without removing the engine to get at the sump pan, or chopping my recently refurbished chassis about, I made up a little device from an old oil filter so I could back-flush cleaning fluid through the oil pick-up. Steve (TopGearTVR) linked me an article from the web explaining the operation, I just modified the idea.. Basically, I cut an old oil filter into sections, fitted a hose connection (15mm copper pipe fitting) to the domed end of the filter housing, removed the paper filter then welded the 2 halves back together. I used a small taper plug to block off the oil delivery port (centre of the filter spigot), and installed the device onto the filter mounting point. I then connected approx 2m length of garden hose to the device and filled it with paraffin. When the hose was full, a blew through it with a compressed air line and the muck and liquid was pushed into the sump and out of the drain point. I repeated this a number of times until the liquid was coming out of the sump drain clean. I then removed the device, fitted a new oil filter and filled with new oil which seems to have done the trick..
Old oil filter cut into sections...
Hose spigot soldered onto the domed section and both halves mig welded together (badly)...
Plug modified to fit into the oil delivery port...
If anyone is experiencing the same problems, you're welcome to use the device...
It transpires that my excited driving around the Lotus test track a couple of weeks ago, stirred up a few foreign bodies within the engine and consequently blocked the oil pick-up. The upshot of this is oil starvation to the pump and therefore, low oil pressure. This, plus the fact that I had used a low viscosity oil (by mistake), made the poor engine suffer a bit and gave me a good deal of concern. I had a feeling the engine couldn't have been harmed though, as there was no knocking from the big ends, or main bearings, etc., but I knew there was something not right.
To remedy the problem without removing the engine to get at the sump pan, or chopping my recently refurbished chassis about, I made up a little device from an old oil filter so I could back-flush cleaning fluid through the oil pick-up. Steve (TopGearTVR) linked me an article from the web explaining the operation, I just modified the idea.. Basically, I cut an old oil filter into sections, fitted a hose connection (15mm copper pipe fitting) to the domed end of the filter housing, removed the paper filter then welded the 2 halves back together. I used a small taper plug to block off the oil delivery port (centre of the filter spigot), and installed the device onto the filter mounting point. I then connected approx 2m length of garden hose to the device and filled it with paraffin. When the hose was full, a blew through it with a compressed air line and the muck and liquid was pushed into the sump and out of the drain point. I repeated this a number of times until the liquid was coming out of the sump drain clean. I then removed the device, fitted a new oil filter and filled with new oil which seems to have done the trick..
Old oil filter cut into sections...
Hose spigot soldered onto the domed section and both halves mig welded together (badly
)...Plug modified to fit into the oil delivery port...
If anyone is experiencing the same problems, you're welcome to use the device...
Cheers Guys. I did about 280 miles yesterday as a final test before next weeks tour, and all was well. Although it's ok, the engine is still not 100% so it'll need a rebuild at some point. It pulls ok and doesn't smoke but there's a certainly some mechanical 'music' higher in the rev range.. All is good up till around 4500 rpm, so short shifting and engine preservation will be the order I'm afraid...
I've got a complete block with crank and pistons etc., as an emergency measure, but will probably strip and rebuild the whole thing next winter if it lasts that long.!!
Taken last night at Shotley in Suffolk...
I've got a complete block with crank and pistons etc., as an emergency measure, but will probably strip and rebuild the whole thing next winter if it lasts that long.!!
Taken last night at Shotley in Suffolk...
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