Bertone X19 - The Restore Part Deux
Discussion
I don’t feel so mad now, looking at my X1/9. It has been sitting for three years after blowing it’s second head gasket and losing all gears on the same trip. I have been doing bits as and when I can get to it.
If you can’t get hold of the shim tool, an alternative method is to remove the cam box. Removing a handful of bolts separates it from the head. You can then slip the buckets out from underneath. You’ll need to keep track of which one goes where though as you’ll have them all out together. The cam box gasket is only thin gasket paper so you can easily make do with gasket sealant when reassembling.
If you can’t get hold of the shim tool, an alternative method is to remove the cam box. Removing a handful of bolts separates it from the head. You can then slip the buckets out from underneath. You’ll need to keep track of which one goes where though as you’ll have them all out together. The cam box gasket is only thin gasket paper so you can easily make do with gasket sealant when reassembling.
Thanks everyone for the tips. As I had to cut the belt and the car was now at mine I've sped up the process or steps I was going to do. So yesterday I ordered;
but they had one they rented out for £10 for two weeks! Bingo!! I am more overjoyed about this than the parts themselves. To hear the engine running smooth is going to be great. And the to top it off....
All parts arrived this morning, Great service
Yesterday I also took the passenger door card off and fixed a few nagging bits but mainly the window runner needed greasing, the old grease was more like glue! The window flies up and down now which is good (the gif / vid below its a bit slower as this must be about the 15th time putting it up lol). The actual felted guide inside the door for the edge of the glass was not in position correctly either, slowing the window further.
The door had very very very minimal rust inside on just the edge of a piece of metal, so a quick wire brush and treated with rust convertor to just stop it in its path
https://i.imgur.com/tDRTK68.gifv
I've ordered new door card clips as many were brittle when removing the door card.
- Cam belt
- Aux Belt
- Tensioner Bearing
- Caliper refurb kit - all 4
- Thermostat
- Required gaskets
- Cam cover gasket
but they had one they rented out for £10 for two weeks! Bingo!! I am more overjoyed about this than the parts themselves. To hear the engine running smooth is going to be great. And the to top it off....
All parts arrived this morning, Great service
Yesterday I also took the passenger door card off and fixed a few nagging bits but mainly the window runner needed greasing, the old grease was more like glue! The window flies up and down now which is good (the gif / vid below its a bit slower as this must be about the 15th time putting it up lol). The actual felted guide inside the door for the edge of the glass was not in position correctly either, slowing the window further.
The door had very very very minimal rust inside on just the edge of a piece of metal, so a quick wire brush and treated with rust convertor to just stop it in its path
https://i.imgur.com/tDRTK68.gifv
I've ordered new door card clips as many were brittle when removing the door card.
Edited by killerferret666 on Tuesday 17th April 12:19
So last night I started on the cambelt change. The tensioner bearing was being replaced either way but had welded itself on the tensioner bracket. A slight tap and it fell apart. Well half of it, it left half still on the bracket which took a lot of tapping to remove. To say the grease had dried up is an understatement. This is what I found;
tonight I'll line it up and put the new belt on it and it should fire up. Next will be the thermostat and to flush the system with a hose the best I can, Although I'm not expecting miracles on this. If anyone has some secrets / tips to a good flush then feel free to share.
tonight I'll line it up and put the new belt on it and it should fire up. Next will be the thermostat and to flush the system with a hose the best I can, Although I'm not expecting miracles on this. If anyone has some secrets / tips to a good flush then feel free to share.
Here's how I flushed my 1986 MR2 (bought because I couldn't find an X 1/9 that wasn't rusty as a rusty thing) :
Remove all coolant hoses. Remove radiator from car. Remove inlet manifold.
Basically pump water in every hole that had a hose attached, using a rag to sort-of seal the hose.
I used some sort of scale remover in the radiator, left it to soak, then reverse flushed it using the hose and rag approach.
Flush the inlet manifold cooling passages.
This removed a massive amount of crud, and solved both the overheating and rough idle.
Remove all coolant hoses. Remove radiator from car. Remove inlet manifold.
Basically pump water in every hole that had a hose attached, using a rag to sort-of seal the hose.
I used some sort of scale remover in the radiator, left it to soak, then reverse flushed it using the hose and rag approach.
Flush the inlet manifold cooling passages.
This removed a massive amount of crud, and solved both the overheating and rough idle.
tbox civic recently!Update on work taken place over the weekend;
Shim work
I started to use the tool provided to get the shims out, Oil suction is a pain in the arse!!! I used tweezers, a metal tooth pic...anything I could find to poke it through the gap in the bucket and under the shim. It was slowly getting them to go but wasn't efficient at all. It took me almost an hour to do 4 bending almost anything i put in there!! I was going a bit crazy! So I had a philips screw driver that just seemed to be able to get under the shim as I used the tool to push the bucket down. With enough force it would pop the shim out.
I then did all my calculations and worked out I could reuse 4 shims but would have to order 4 shims in. I then Fitted the new shims and made a very amateur mistake!!
I didn't recheck my clearances and my work which would come back to bite me.
So I did a compression test next, after all I am looking to make this reliable (as can be) 128-90-127-129
ohhh.... I was a bit gutted at this point. I thought right I better check my shim tolerances and they were all within spec like I had made sure of...apart from Valve 3! It was quite a way out at 0.007inch / 0.17mm clearence, minimum requirement is 0.011inch / 0.27mm.
I now didnt havw a shim that was bigger than the one I had put in 3 on the table, but did have an identical size one. So with some swapping about between two of them. I managed to keep them both within tolerence, all be at it at the upper end!
Cam Belt
So I swapped the cam belt but could not get it in the right position for love nor money when turning the engine 2 full revolutions. I eventually worked out I was making it jump a tooth by using the cam gear to turn the engine. I know I shouldn't do it this way but I dont have a 38mm socket. This was slack on my part and needed to concentrate more on what I was doing, but eventually sorted it.
Starting it up
It wouldnt start, lets cut to the chase, I could not get it to fire. there isbasic areas to check when a care wont start; normally fuel and spark. A carb engine is very easy to check fuel (especially an old one with a low pressure mechanical fuel pump)
1. Remove hose from Carb, turn engine over.
2. Is there some fuel everywhere
3. Yes - thats good, attach it back on.
Next was Spark, now I had had to disturb this area when working on the car because of the need to do the shims. So I went for the last single point of failure in the chain, The coil lead. It might not be the best place to start but Its never let me down on choosing which path after. So I held the lead just off the casing and saw a spark jump.
I was happy to see that, I can rule out coil, condensor, ignition system etc...
So next I took a spark plug out (which was wet with fuel which is good at least), I cleaned it and rested it against the engine block...nothing, then another one, nothing again. It would be weird to have two cables fail and the cables look in great condition. I removed the dizzy cap and when turning the engine over can see the rotar arm turning so that's good. I then took a look at the dizzy cap and the connector hole to the coil lead was the horrible green like colour you see from old batteries. So Ive ordered a new Dizzy cap and rotar arm to hopefully fix that issue.
Changing the Thermostat
2 snapped thermostat housing bolts.....story to continue but it wont be a good one I suspect
Shim work
I started to use the tool provided to get the shims out, Oil suction is a pain in the arse!!! I used tweezers, a metal tooth pic...anything I could find to poke it through the gap in the bucket and under the shim. It was slowly getting them to go but wasn't efficient at all. It took me almost an hour to do 4 bending almost anything i put in there!! I was going a bit crazy! So I had a philips screw driver that just seemed to be able to get under the shim as I used the tool to push the bucket down. With enough force it would pop the shim out.
I then did all my calculations and worked out I could reuse 4 shims but would have to order 4 shims in. I then Fitted the new shims and made a very amateur mistake!!
I didn't recheck my clearances and my work which would come back to bite me.
So I did a compression test next, after all I am looking to make this reliable (as can be) 128-90-127-129
ohhh.... I was a bit gutted at this point. I thought right I better check my shim tolerances and they were all within spec like I had made sure of...apart from Valve 3! It was quite a way out at 0.007inch / 0.17mm clearence, minimum requirement is 0.011inch / 0.27mm.
I now didnt havw a shim that was bigger than the one I had put in 3 on the table, but did have an identical size one. So with some swapping about between two of them. I managed to keep them both within tolerence, all be at it at the upper end!
Cam Belt
So I swapped the cam belt but could not get it in the right position for love nor money when turning the engine 2 full revolutions. I eventually worked out I was making it jump a tooth by using the cam gear to turn the engine. I know I shouldn't do it this way but I dont have a 38mm socket. This was slack on my part and needed to concentrate more on what I was doing, but eventually sorted it.
Starting it up
It wouldnt start, lets cut to the chase, I could not get it to fire. there isbasic areas to check when a care wont start; normally fuel and spark. A carb engine is very easy to check fuel (especially an old one with a low pressure mechanical fuel pump)
1. Remove hose from Carb, turn engine over.
2. Is there some fuel everywhere
3. Yes - thats good, attach it back on.
Next was Spark, now I had had to disturb this area when working on the car because of the need to do the shims. So I went for the last single point of failure in the chain, The coil lead. It might not be the best place to start but Its never let me down on choosing which path after. So I held the lead just off the casing and saw a spark jump.
I was happy to see that, I can rule out coil, condensor, ignition system etc...
So next I took a spark plug out (which was wet with fuel which is good at least), I cleaned it and rested it against the engine block...nothing, then another one, nothing again. It would be weird to have two cables fail and the cables look in great condition. I removed the dizzy cap and when turning the engine over can see the rotar arm turning so that's good. I then took a look at the dizzy cap and the connector hole to the coil lead was the horrible green like colour you see from old batteries. So Ive ordered a new Dizzy cap and rotar arm to hopefully fix that issue.
Changing the Thermostat
2 snapped thermostat housing bolts.....story to continue but it wont be a good one I suspect
Suns out...Car out.
So firstly the thermostat housing had a siezed bolt or two, in the end some heat and a vice and it was free. So I put the coolant system back together succesfully. Next was to drain the radiator, although successful I wasn't happy to see this cars coolant system was just water. I was hopeful it was the fact that the years had taken away the colour, but the large rust modules inside the steel pipes say otherwise, after a few drives and good heat cycles, this coolant system will need to be drained again.
Before the water pump didnt even have the power to pump water round, with the pipes off the carburettor automatic choke I could see water come out so that problem is now solved.
As it was during the week and cold I decided to treat the airfilter housing, alot of sanding, some rust convertor and some hammerite to tidy that up as it will improve the look of the engine bay. I do have alot more tidying in the engine bay which I will do at a later time
Ive been having a problem with the weber 34 datr carb choke, its almost like its in reverse, opening up the flaps more as the car warms up. Its very weird and ill look at that today. However I felt I needed a break from engine work and there is plenty to do on the car.
so I tackled the front boot and came across my first load of rust.
I feared the worse, I knew the nose was susceptible to rust, I wire brushed it and prepared to push my finger through it, but no it was in really good condition...well for a rusty piece! It was just mainly a thing layer of surface rust and paint. Infact the inside of the actual nose had barely any rust at all. Next was to treat all areas with rust convertor to protect the body further down the line. With a quick clean as well it actually came up ok. As you can see not much rust was present.
Gave the carpet a quick clean and chucked in, not much point doing it to the final standard I will as there is a long way to go yet including bodywork which will mean dust everywhere, but its nice to see a nice area on the car.
So firstly the thermostat housing had a siezed bolt or two, in the end some heat and a vice and it was free. So I put the coolant system back together succesfully. Next was to drain the radiator, although successful I wasn't happy to see this cars coolant system was just water. I was hopeful it was the fact that the years had taken away the colour, but the large rust modules inside the steel pipes say otherwise, after a few drives and good heat cycles, this coolant system will need to be drained again.
Before the water pump didnt even have the power to pump water round, with the pipes off the carburettor automatic choke I could see water come out so that problem is now solved.
As it was during the week and cold I decided to treat the airfilter housing, alot of sanding, some rust convertor and some hammerite to tidy that up as it will improve the look of the engine bay. I do have alot more tidying in the engine bay which I will do at a later time
Ive been having a problem with the weber 34 datr carb choke, its almost like its in reverse, opening up the flaps more as the car warms up. Its very weird and ill look at that today. However I felt I needed a break from engine work and there is plenty to do on the car.
so I tackled the front boot and came across my first load of rust.
I feared the worse, I knew the nose was susceptible to rust, I wire brushed it and prepared to push my finger through it, but no it was in really good condition...well for a rusty piece! It was just mainly a thing layer of surface rust and paint. Infact the inside of the actual nose had barely any rust at all. Next was to treat all areas with rust convertor to protect the body further down the line. With a quick clean as well it actually came up ok. As you can see not much rust was present.
Gave the carpet a quick clean and chucked in, not much point doing it to the final standard I will as there is a long way to go yet including bodywork which will mean dust everywhere, but its nice to see a nice area on the car.
I purchased a carburettor service kit in the end and replaced parts on the carb, including the float and other seals etc...
Just to make sure it was in top working order. I could of been fighting a battle I couldnt win.
I also ordered new gaskets and block for between in the inlet and manifold, to ensure no vacuum leaks. As Id been having trouble getting it to idle well before. So I put it all back together and the idle screw, mixture screw and automatic water choke are now working correctly. I just cant tune a Carb to save my life so someone else will have to do that at some point.
In the meantime I tidied up the engine bay a bit more and put that back together, treating any rust on the lid as well. There was a little bit, but not too much.
So before pic:
After Pic:
Not going to lie, the fact I cant clean some bits, does bug me! So I have to remind myself im doing this for my dad to drive, not to be a garage queen. (that will happen when its passed on to me one day and I strip it right back!)
With the engine work now complete...well almost, I will need to do the starter motor at some point but need to research whether its a DIY refurb job, or buy another.
Next task was just to give myself a bit of a break really and see how I could get the wheels to come up in the meantime. I've made it clear on this, I wont accept not having them professionally refurbished, as I spray the car, wheels finish a car and I can only do so much but presentation when going for an MOT is important. So just cleaned them up a bit. They will need new tyres before MOT time, more cracks and holes than on our roads.
So on to the front brakes, they were going to get a full service even if ok, they'd sat unused for over 10years a few heat cycles and I can see burst seals, so first was a check of the arch. Overall looked good
So I got on stripping off the seized calipers, they came off quite easily actually. No seized bolts...ugly looking bolts but not seized at least! Then I got to look at the pistons....ahhhh
I haven't peeled back this seal, this is how I found it! When I get these pistons out (IF maybe) ill be amazed if there isn't pitting on both the caliper and piston and therefore making them scrap. In the meantime I'm soaking the rest of the parts to loosen the crud on them as they will still be used. Ill get new banjo Bolts and bleed nipples.
I then turned my attention to the arches to pressure wash them clean and discover whats below, waxoyl, paint, rust.
Again I'm very lucky a lovely looking arch. So I will let it dry, hunt for surface rust, sand and then treat. And then finally on the arch I will coat the whole arch now with the equivalent of Waxoyl.
Just to make sure it was in top working order. I could of been fighting a battle I couldnt win.
I also ordered new gaskets and block for between in the inlet and manifold, to ensure no vacuum leaks. As Id been having trouble getting it to idle well before. So I put it all back together and the idle screw, mixture screw and automatic water choke are now working correctly. I just cant tune a Carb to save my life so someone else will have to do that at some point.
In the meantime I tidied up the engine bay a bit more and put that back together, treating any rust on the lid as well. There was a little bit, but not too much.
So before pic:
After Pic:
Not going to lie, the fact I cant clean some bits, does bug me! So I have to remind myself im doing this for my dad to drive, not to be a garage queen. (that will happen when its passed on to me one day and I strip it right back!)
With the engine work now complete...well almost, I will need to do the starter motor at some point but need to research whether its a DIY refurb job, or buy another.
Next task was just to give myself a bit of a break really and see how I could get the wheels to come up in the meantime. I've made it clear on this, I wont accept not having them professionally refurbished, as I spray the car, wheels finish a car and I can only do so much but presentation when going for an MOT is important. So just cleaned them up a bit. They will need new tyres before MOT time, more cracks and holes than on our roads.
So on to the front brakes, they were going to get a full service even if ok, they'd sat unused for over 10years a few heat cycles and I can see burst seals, so first was a check of the arch. Overall looked good
So I got on stripping off the seized calipers, they came off quite easily actually. No seized bolts...ugly looking bolts but not seized at least! Then I got to look at the pistons....ahhhh
I haven't peeled back this seal, this is how I found it! When I get these pistons out (IF maybe) ill be amazed if there isn't pitting on both the caliper and piston and therefore making them scrap. In the meantime I'm soaking the rest of the parts to loosen the crud on them as they will still be used. Ill get new banjo Bolts and bleed nipples.
I then turned my attention to the arches to pressure wash them clean and discover whats below, waxoyl, paint, rust.
Again I'm very lucky a lovely looking arch. So I will let it dry, hunt for surface rust, sand and then treat. And then finally on the arch I will coat the whole arch now with the equivalent of Waxoyl.
Edited by killerferret666 on Sunday 13th May 20:17
This thread reminded me of an x19 with only 757 miles I saw coming up at auction - just checked back and it made £16,112!
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/results/re...
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/results/re...
tim0409 said:
This thread reminded me of an x19 with only 757 miles I saw coming up at auction - just checked back and it made £16,112!
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/results/re...
That was for sale recently, owner lived on Jersey. I think it was for about £8-9k. Wonder if dealer bought it and made a quick buck.https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/results/re...
This one does only have 62,000 miles so it's not high mileage for its age but not 700 miles
So the first 'hiccup' as such has occured and its rust.
I continued work on the wheel well, coating it with protective paint and then equivilant of waxoyl. It came up great really and the wheel well looks like its well protected now.
Whilst I had the car up, I wanted to check the sills properly, they all were great but then I knew my dad had had them replaced so I expected that. I continued to tap around like you do to check the floor pan etc... and then I went straight through. No hint of the issue with the waxoyl on, now more will need cutting away, probably a new floor pan but this picture gives you an idea. The area left is solid and I cant tap away anymore but still more to be cut out.
Now I cant weld so I think the plan will be to continue and do what I need to for an MOT, let it fail but if the fail list is short get the garage to do the welding before handing it back. Its not structural but still very annoying.
Now I wanted to work out how it had occurred because there was no sign of this. Then my dad let me know that the passenger wing mirror had always leaked. So 6 winters so days the rain would of been firing at that wing mirror and you will get enough water (wont take much) that has made its way down into the carpet and just slowly eaten the metal away.
The ironic bit....if the car had been used then the heat would of probably stopped such bad rust im sure.
I continued work on the wheel well, coating it with protective paint and then equivilant of waxoyl. It came up great really and the wheel well looks like its well protected now.
Whilst I had the car up, I wanted to check the sills properly, they all were great but then I knew my dad had had them replaced so I expected that. I continued to tap around like you do to check the floor pan etc... and then I went straight through. No hint of the issue with the waxoyl on, now more will need cutting away, probably a new floor pan but this picture gives you an idea. The area left is solid and I cant tap away anymore but still more to be cut out.
Now I cant weld so I think the plan will be to continue and do what I need to for an MOT, let it fail but if the fail list is short get the garage to do the welding before handing it back. Its not structural but still very annoying.
Now I wanted to work out how it had occurred because there was no sign of this. Then my dad let me know that the passenger wing mirror had always leaked. So 6 winters so days the rain would of been firing at that wing mirror and you will get enough water (wont take much) that has made its way down into the carpet and just slowly eaten the metal away.
The ironic bit....if the car had been used then the heat would of probably stopped such bad rust im sure.
weather was too good this weekend to spend much time on the car but I do want the bottom of the car protected and good. So i looked at the back of the car.
With the grill removed it wasnt too bad, some surface rust but nothing that went too deep
Some chipping, sanding, rust converter and finally protection
The bottom bit has been painted as well to protect for now and presentation, the full body work and car wont be in top condition for its MOT. Following the MOT, ill bring the car back strip it back and get on with preping the bodywork.
With the grill removed it wasnt too bad, some surface rust but nothing that went too deep
Some chipping, sanding, rust converter and finally protection
The bottom bit has been painted as well to protect for now and presentation, the full body work and car wont be in top condition for its MOT. Following the MOT, ill bring the car back strip it back and get on with preping the bodywork.
Only just found this, but an enjoyable read - I followed your kit car build over on IMOC so it's good to see you getting stuck into something else. I considered an X19 back in the day but couldn't find one that wasn't completely rotten for my paltry budget - I ended up with a MK1 MR2 instead which was, believe it or not, remarkably solid!
killerferret666 said:
Ive been having a problem with the weber 34 datr carb choke, its almost like its in reverse, opening up the flaps more as the car warms up. Its very weird and ill look at that today.
Isn't that how it's supposed to work?When cold, the choke flap partially blocks the intake, causing it to suck more fuel from the float chamber.
When fully warm, the choke "flap" is fully open, offering no resistance to the airflow.
seiben said:
Only just found this, but an enjoyable read - I followed your kit car build over on IMOC so it's good to see you getting stuck into something else. I considered an X19 back in the day but couldn't find one that wasn't completely rotten for my paltry budget - I ended up with a MK1 MR2 instead which was, believe it or not, remarkably solid!
Got to have something worth getting stuck into every so often, the kitcar is pretty easy stuff nowadaysAW111 said:
Isn't that how it's supposed to work?
When cold, the choke flap partially blocks the intake, causing it to suck more fuel from the float chamber.
When fully warm, the choke "flap" is fully open, offering no resistance to the airflow.
I was hoping that post would of just got over looked, thanks for raising it When cold, the choke flap partially blocks the intake, causing it to suck more fuel from the float chamber.
When fully warm, the choke "flap" is fully open, offering no resistance to the airflow.
Yes you are correct, I think that day my brain was burnt out just trying to get the car running that day and I was grasping at any straw.
I still cant tune the thing to save my life so ill have to get someone to do it for me.
Unfortunatly I dont have an air compressor to try and blow my calipers apart so I can inspect them, once done I will be ordering parts I need to around the braking system.
In the meantime Ive fitted new brake lines and also finished preping the hub and salvaged the brake dust shields.
Next it to tidy up the front end of its surface rust. I may drop the radiator, I think it needs a really good chemical flush to get it to cool properly....and then show up all the leaks
In the meantime Ive fitted new brake lines and also finished preping the hub and salvaged the brake dust shields.
Next it to tidy up the front end of its surface rust. I may drop the radiator, I think it needs a really good chemical flush to get it to cool properly....and then show up all the leaks
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