Delilahs heart transplant progress report..

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Peeps..I dropped delilah off this morning at the ford garage at around 10.30am..I helped take the bonnet off so i could see what is involved..Piece of pish!!..Although i wouldnt want to do it on my own on a windy day....
At 17.30pm this evening he sent me some pics of the progress..Although his camera on his phone takes pictures that look like they are as old as the car..Im impressed at how quick things are taking shape..The engines out..The steering rack has been sent off to be refurbed or exchanged..He has welded in the modified struts..All my bling bits and new parts will be used as will the best bits of both ancillaries from mine and the capri that the donor has come from..He is also going to spray the heads black HT and the manifolds silver HT..And protect and paint the chassis black where he can..At this rate she will be back home in a couple of days...

[TvR Driver]

Exciting times ahead - hope it all goes to plan but so far looks good :-)

[ralph350i]

Hi Mark
Happy new year mate and by the looks off it did the old engine give up or this an upgrade? anyway hope your well and whats the replacment? all the best Ralph

Edited by ralph350i on Wednesday 2nd January 20:00

[marcus1875]

great news on delilah mark. hope it all goes smoothly mate.
i'll check out etching primer re my previous post.
marcus

[mrzigazaga]

Cheers chaps..Yes very exciting even though it will be a bit of a wait again for the supercharger to be fitted but worth it..Hopefully it will go smoothly..And a bit faster..

ralph350i said:

Hi Mark
Happy new year mate and by the looks off it did the old engine give up or this an upgrade? anyway hope your well and whats the replacment? all the best Ralph

Hi Ralph..Happy new year to you too..My old engine has had cam lobe wear possibly before i owned it and its now getting to that iffy stage of serious valve recession..I have a mis-fire and it smells of petrol which could be where its not burning it?..The replacement is a 2.8i cologne that was rebuilt a few years ago but has had low mileage since..Unfortunately the guy they did it for couldnt afford to have the valve conversion but i will have that done before the supercharger gets fitted..The chassis mod is to allow clearance for the crank pulley wheel for the blower..Next i will find out if the trailing arm set up can handle 200-240bhp and if i will need a power bush/mount upgrade on them..But even with the replacement engine it should be a big difference..my current bhp is less then the db of the car..so anything more will be a bonus....And if all is go on the blower front then it will be.....

I have opted not to go the race prepared engine and supercharger route as it would be too expensive and probably potentially dangerous!!..Plus i will be saving my pennies for a Big Bad Wedge..4.0 +...

Edited by mrzigazaga on Wednesday 2nd January 20:32

[wooly350i]

Keep ya eye on the heart monitor make sure it keeps blipping, and keep pumping on her chest Mark. Youll be fit as a fit thingy by the time shes breathing on her own again.!!!

[Jack Valiant]

Looks like the patient is doing well although still under anaesthetic lets hope there are no rejection problems with the new engine!!!

So is the clutch ok when you saw it? I take it that all the good bits off yours will be transplanted as well? Are you getting replacement manifolds or is the guy going to weld yours up while their off? I think she will feel like a new car after the other engine as we get used to the performance after time. Let us know how it all goes and i assume you will be at the saturday meet then LoL!!

Chris

[MarkS1966]

Wow!
Super speedy progress Mark,
I bet you're absolutely chuffed, and to get some pics of the ongoing progress, means we're all there with you! (& hopefully you won't suffer too many pangs of separation anxiety!).
It's great to see someone making their car their own.
For me and for what it's worth, I love the concours condition original cars, similar to Mr Tanks, as they show how well built some of the cars were at the time, as well as what can be done, but, I have nothing but a begrudging respect and admiration for those like you, who are brave enough to step outside of the mould (both the green stuff that was growing all over mine when I bought her and the mould used to cast all of our wedges) and plough their own furrow!
I'll be, together with everyone else in the forum I'm sure, waiting with bated breath for the next update

Well done matey and let's hope Delilah eventually becomes more powerful than she is noisy

Cheers for now
Mark

[ralph350i]

mrzigazaga said:

Hi Ralph..Happy new year to you too..My old engine has had cam lobe wear possibly before i owned it and its now getting to that iffy stage of serious valve recession..I have a mis-fire and it smells of petrol which could be where its not burning it?..The replacement is a 2.8i cologne that was rebuilt a few years ago but has had low mileage since..Unfortunately the guy they did it for couldnt afford to have the valve conversion but i will have that done before the supercharger gets fitted..The chassis mod is to allow clearance for the crank pulley wheel for the blower..Next i will find out if the trailing arm set up can handle 200-240bhp and if i will need a power bush/mount upgrade on them..But even with the replacement engine it should be a big difference..my current bhp is less then the db of the car..so anything more will be a bonus....And if all is go on the blower front then it will be.....

I have opted not to go the race prepared engine and supercharger route as it would be too expensive and probably potentially dangerous!!..Plus i will be saving my pennies for a Big Bad Wedge..4.0 +...

Edited by mrzigazaga on Wednesday 2nd January 20:32

Hi Mark
Sounds great mate, hopefully you wont have to wait to long before its back on the road and will be keeping an eye on your progess, all the best, Ralph

[mrzigazaga]

..patient progress advancing..Heart rhythms are in suspended animation but condition is stable..Well more garage really!..Recovery rate potentially above average..

Hi chris..Im having a cosworth clutch fitted while the engine is out to handle the blower later on, I didnt see the clutch or ring gear condition as i left after taking the bonnet off..All my bling bling is going back on..If all goes well then i will be at the park meet..Cheers..

Thanks john..Hope you are well mate..Cheers..Ziga

[dixiebabes]

I have been waiting to see this one for ages, Cant wait to see the finished article good luck Marcos im sure this will be worth it!!

Dix

[adam quantrill]

looking good Mark - the chassis doesn't look too bad but it does give you an opportunity to get in there with some hammerite or POR and paint all the tubes around the engine.

[mrzigazaga]

adam quantrill said:

looking good Mark - the chassis doesn't look too bad but it does give you an opportunity to get in there with some hammerite or POR and paint all the tubes around the engine.

Hi Adam..The guy at the garage is doing that for me..But im going there this morning to drop off the track rod ends that i forgot to take and see if i can spot where the fuel is leaking "AGAIN"..Although its only a strong smell and not dripping..My bet is that poxy filler neck design..Where the hell did they get the hose back then cos you cant get anything similar anymore..Cheers..Ziga

[Mr Tank]

mrzigazaga said:

Where the hell did they get the hose back then cos you cant get anything similar anymore..Cheers..Ziga

Mark mate

I replaced my hose on num 1 OK never had a leak like you keep getting! I think you may have some thing else faulty! I obtained the hose OK. I will look at the weekend to see if I have any left!
Is it the piece from the bottom of the metal filler neck to the tank you are after?

Andy

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Andy..Yes its the piece that joins the neck to the tank..Even if you can advise where to get would be helpful, I paid 40 sobs for a metre of flourosilicone fuel hose that is silicone outer with a nitrile inner..The inner i feel should of been thicker!..Any hose with a steel helix will not clamp tight enough, I have used a multitude of hoses varying from marine to aircraft and after seeing them leak i wont be travelling on either..However there is a vey small dent on the edge of the collar on the tank but the hose goes over it and beyond so i cant see how it would still leak?..I have used petrol resistant mastik and even that has been no good..Im going to check around the collars and fittings themselves for any seams that may of become un-soldered..That happened on the breather from the tank....I will have a good look at it today and get it up in the air to check the balance pipes as well..I will report back when i know..Cheers..Ziga

[mrzigazaga]

Hi peeps..Delilah has the transplant in and all is looking ok..So far..All my bling bits are in..The cozzy clutch is in..Cant see any petrol leaking..The guy at the garage said that once its all running he will put it up in the air and have a good look..I think it might just be the overflow or where the accumulator was capped off..Any small seepage will smell strong..They have sprayed the heads black and the manifolds silver, Interestingly enough the O/S manifold has a TVR stamp in the cast..The N/S has a crack in it but no soot and i have never had any gases escaping from it..Although at some point i will replace them with the ACT s/s ones or get some made up..Should have her back by monday...Cheers..Ziga

[Mr Tank]

Looking good Mark

Has the chassis mod been done for the SX kit or has the engine got to come out again for it?

If it has still to be done, it would pay you to have the exhaust manifolds changed then!

At least you will have a decent engine again, next week!

Andy

[mrzigazaga]

Mr Tank said:

Looking good Mark

Has the chassis mod been done for the SX kit or has the engine got to come out again for it?

If it has still to be done, it would pay you to have the exhaust manifolds changed then!

At least you will have a decent engine again, next week!

Andy

Cheers Andy..Yes the mod has been done so that the pulley wheel has plenty of room..You can just see it in the first pics i posted..I did mean to take another today but was too busy gassing..

[MarkS1966]

Looking good Mark

Was there anything being done that they'd not come across before, or was it relatively straight-forward for them

It's definitely moving at a hell of a pace and it'll be good to see it when it's all done and dusted.
You've definitely got to get your fuel leak problems sorted out, if you're not careful you'll wind up spending more on poly-synth whatchamacallit, thingymajiggy hoses than on the engine

Let me know if I can help with anything mate.

Enjoy your weekend and catch up soon!

Edited by MarkS1966 on Friday 4th January 18:51

[mrzigazaga]

Cheers mark..It was pretty much a straight swap over bar the bling and the shouting..Yep be glad to get her back although dusting is not their speciality..He has managed to get silver paint on my wing and has lightly scratched the front area but he said he will use a mop and compound to sort it...

Its a bit unfortunate that these things happen but he is saving me a load of cash..It would be different if the paint was new..Id be jumping around like a gorilla at a banana bash!!..