Life after 15 Years

[John042]

Hi all. Thanks to you all, this excellent forum, special thanks to Ziga, Andy "Wesley" shows signs of life after 15 years. This from an engine in kit form mixed with parts from other power plants, not necessarly ford. The problems of alternator mountings, coolant pipes have largely been sorted again thanks to Ziga and Andy's diagram of coolant flow. Since I now have a battery and roughly set the ignition timing over the weekend I thought I would turn the beast over to generate some oil pressure etc. Conscious that there was no coolant, it was with surprise when the engine coughed, far*ted then roared into life causing me to p*ss my self and the dog to leave home. It didn't sustain running, neither would I have let it (No Coolant) However the timing must be nearly right and fuel reaching the engine if only from the cold start injector? So progress at last. So radiator and coolant to be added, dog to the kennels and more beer. No doubt there will be more problems fuelling etc but I'm well chuffed. Couldn't have got to this point without your help chaps, so a big thankyou again. No doubt more advice will be asked for in the future. Cheers John C.

[marcus1875]

Thats great news John. Always good to hear a car saved.
Marcus

[mrzigazaga]

Great news mate..Try to be a bit more patient though...I would of maybe put a tiny amount of engine oil in the plug holes and left for a few days...Then hand cranked it to see if there was any resistance and then with new plugs...Rotor arm...Coil and fuel & Coolant connect it up to a battery and turn the key...Sounds like a major step forward ...Shame these moments are not caught on video...The Cologne is a strong engine....Well done that man....

[John042]

Thanks Ziga. Yes it's had quite a few squirts of oil in the plug holes and been wound over by hand fitting belts etc. I was very surprised to see such a healthy spark after the car had been outside with a shower proof cover in the so called summer. Yes patience is being exercised in rebuilding the coolant system. Also the colour of the fresh oil I put in looks misty. Considering that it's only fired up very briefly it's possible that moisture may have entered through the removed rocker cover whilst I was re-fabricating the breather system. Although it was covered. So better safe than sorry I'll change the oil and filter. I'm assuming it's water cotamination emulsifying the oil either by my leaky cover or internal condensation. Would engine assembly lub' cause the oil to develop a misty appearance by any chance? Cheers J C.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi mate...Could be moisture ingress...Not sure about the lube..Sorry...Probably good to give it an oil change, Flush and new filter..Delilah was sat in a garage for 11 years and then they guy who was selling it on behalf of the owner decided one sunny day that it was a good idea to see if it would start and then go for a spin...He must of grinned for about half an hour before the cataclysmic events ..(In mechanical and liquid worlds)..Started to occur...Like venom in blood the crap was starting to wreak havoc...Mis-fire...Splutter....Cut out...No starting...Tow truck home...Back in garage.....Sell on cars and classics as a runner for £1950.00...To ole muggins here!!!...The rest as they say is history....

A sensible thing to do with any classic car that has been sat for years is to make sure all the fuel system is free from rust and crap...Treat and flush if needed..Refurbish or replace fuel components....From tank to injectors if needed...Then makes sure all fuel..Air & water hoses are good.....Fit new oil...Fuel and air filters.....Change oil...Fill with fresh fuel and some injector cleaner...In fact a whole bottle to half a tank ratio for one application...So a 2:1 ratio..Make sure belts are new and then with a new battery kick that mother over...

[RCK974X]

Glad we could help !

If engine sat a long time, wouldn't be all that surprised if oil went misty quite fast - can be moisture and other stuff lurking in the oilways. When you get engine running well, change the oil and filter again soon .....worth checking the rockers get oil - Cologne can clog up its oil feed to rockers when stood.

If it starts but won't run when key released from 'crank', that's not exactly unknown either, so don't panic.....can suggest what to do there as well. [ And a lot of other stuff too ! ]

What Zig said -- It's VERY IMPORTANT to make sure no crap in fuel for 'K' injection systems as they have some VERY small holes and control vents - if you decide to flush tank, empty it out BEFORE the metering head, flush well, and fit a new fuel filter afterwards.

Edited by RCK974X on Tuesday 25th August 04:47

[John042]

Thanks Ziga/Andy. Most of what you suggested has been done during engine rebuild, ie fuel/water pipes tank cleaning etc. An in line filter has also been fitted between tanks and pump. I did try mixing a little oil with engine rebuild lub' to see the effect. None that I could see and the rebuild lub' does claim to be solvable in oil which makes sense being a rebuild solution? I've got two oil filters on order so will be changing the oil. I agree, it's probably water/condensation ingress after being static for so long. The only point I've missed is the addition of injector cleaner. Initial slow cranking with a knackered old battery did produce a little flow from the rocker shafts (20psi indicated) so hopefully with a new battery things will improve. No coolant in the system yet so no internal leaks to blame. Cheers J C.