prepare for Laon Historique 2021, Springs

 

In preparation for the Laon Historique I changed the front spring to gain some height at the front. The "new" springs had gone soft and I was almost running on the bump stops.

I fitted the "long" springs but without the rubber donut and the ride height is just right. and I can add the donut if they go soft.

The Laon classic was well organised.

On the saturday we were given a route to follow so the co-pilots had some work to do.

On the sunday the towns roads are closed and the  cars "parade" around the streets. 

Its not a race - but one keeps up with the guy in front!

starring at time 2:26min

https://youtu.be/RQDYH3Gd8R4

On the way home (in the UK)  the proshaft lost a circlip so we had to stop when the car suddenly started to shake.

Both UJ's seemed a bit damaged - maybe due to lack of greaseing - or too much torque.

Ordered GKN U040 no grease nipple replacements.

The GKN U040 have larger rollers but seem otherwise to be the same.

Fitting is fairly easy. 

Although I had trouble with two circlips at the yoke end.

its a bit tight.

If using a version with grease nipple then the nipple needs to fit in the correct orientation on the propshaft which has an indentation for it.

Shown here.

nn

Type 9 Gearbox repair and Long first upgrade. SAOC National 2021

 

At the end of last year the 5th gear stopped working.
- it was as if in neutral.

Initially it turned out to be a simple fix - a broken circlip.

In trying to stop the gearbox leaking I made a small error as described in the type 9 gearbox manual.
Which meant a few rollers escaped on the layshaft.
Which I didnt notice - so a run around the block was sufficient to hear a new whine and then the need to remove the gearbox again.

The gearbox was despatched to Paul at First Motion  for proper repair.

I also chose to go for a "long first" conversion.

I chose the "longest" first gear option of FM275 which kept the other ratios the same.

Once on the road the first gear useage is perfect.
Before - it felt as though as soon as the car was moving it was time to choose second.

Maybe I dont need the Scimitar axle now.

A long run to the SAOC National at Thruxton proved it was better than before. Even fifth was easy to select now 😍

Log Book and new engine

19 May 17
I've been working away for a while, Back for a long weekend to go to Spa Classic.

The log book has returned from DVLA with a change in cubic capacity. A lot less hassle than I expected.

The engine has been collected from specialised engines and looks good.
Would have preferred to build it myself (without the mistake) but working abroad for a while.
I'll begin the install after the trip to Spa



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23 May 17

After Spa - now fitted the engine...
It runs but whines a lot.

I thought maybe starter motor stuck on.


Apparently its the Aluminium timing gear and will reduce in volume as it wears in!

Hope so

Need to refit the cooling system and fill with water etc.. - When I'm home again.

type 9 gearstick adjustment and steering end stop

If you get the shortening of the housing slightly wrong then gear selection isn't easy!

not easy to see in the photo - but I had to push slightly down on the gear lever to select first and second - which leaves you open to the possibility of reverse at the wrong time.

The selector shaft gearstick connector needed to be rotated a small amount clockwise and be re-secured to fix the issue.


The steering arm on the drivers side would make contact with the oil cooler/filter housing.

After a while it was realised that the series 3 has an adjustable steering end-stop on the lower wish bone.
A tweak with the 9/16" socket and the steering was slightly restricted stopping the steering arm from making contact with the oil cooler.

First V6 road test

The engine started to sound a bit rough. Like some metal on metal grinding noises.

Then a small leak started from behind the fan on the water pump.

Not a good time to start getting stressed.

An endoscope was used to have a look around and inside.
Removed the oil filter to inspect the oil and see if any contaminants were inside.


All seemed ok, but the noises don't sound good or healthy.

 The timing was adjusted and it was decided a run to the office would be a kill or cure solution.

First and second gear is a bit hard to select, so needs adjustment. First gear is a bit redundant (too low a gear). But the drive was a revelation in comparison to the previous auto box. Excellent fun.

After a rest at the office I added some rad-weld and drove home. No more leaks. Not the best fix but it worked.

Hand brake cable was then lubricated and adjusted. It had always been an issue - binding on - the cable wouldn't push back.  I rotated the cable 180 degrees at the handbrake end - it's much better now so the handbrake can be used.

A Speedo cable was purchased for type-9 gearbox to Jaeger clock from Speedy cables  which was also fitted today.
Now need to go for another run to see how far off calibration the speedo is and then do the calibration routine.

Tacho conversion from Mechanical to Electronic

Converting the mechanical Tacho to electronic.
And swapping the bezel so it looks the same as it was.


I used an RVI guage from another machine and added the Spiyda converter.
Set it up for a 6 cyl system using the audio files.

Later I used a signal generator at the office to test the gauge on the main circuit. I added a switch to swap the input lines between the two options the electronic system operates on.

Will it work? When tested later on the car it seemed to be OK but the needle settled at 500 rpm when all powered off.
This was due to the mechanical pointer being balanced so the needle is effectively "weightless" and wont assist the return to zero.

I ground down the tiny brass counter-balance weight and now it falls to zero correctly and still works on the bench and in the car .

Trial fit of propshaft with new type 9 adapter and new bearings all-round.

With everything in the right place - it now looks like I will need to add 1" to the propshaft length for a final solution.

Engine swap (part two)

Busy few days.

The engine mounts were cut out.
Nice to see some of the original colour. It will return to that colour one day.
Steering bar replaced. Awkward to fit.

 Trial hanging of the engine.

Will the engine go in with gearbox as well?

Annie wont be impressed with the state of the carpet!

Lots of things get in the way.
A few extra dents and chipped paint.

The oil filter was still on in this pic.. it gets in the way.
The remote filter will be fitted shortly.

Ready for takeoff captain...

Its not in the right place yet but it doesn't look so big now it's in.

I need to cut the transmission tunnel at the gear lever end to be able to push the engine back further.

Then the mounting position can be finalised.

And then pull out the engine again.. :-(

Engine removal - the change begins.

Engine swap part 1 (of many)

Sad to decommission the sunbeam but it's time to remove the old engine.

Deadline to have it all on the road again is June 2017.
But hopefully earlier.

We are going to the Laon Classic June 3rd in France.

No pressure yet.. (But many overseas jobs on the horizon)







It took all after noon to get the engine out.
Maybe not the best idea to leave the gearbox behind.
But the auto box looks big and heavy.

Not very much space in the engine bay to get at most of the bolts. And of course I forgot one so the engine would only move so far before it got stuck.

Had to take the water pump off as well to move it forward enough.

BW Auto gearbox next to come out.



Engine bay doesn't look to be big enough!

Type 9 Hydraulic Clutch conversion

The plan was to follow the US design and use a Wilwood pull slave cylinder.
But, the type 9 gearbox has the clutch lever on the opposite side so the Wilwood pull cylinder gets in the way of the offset oil filter.

It wouldn't be a problem if the oil cooler (oil/water heat exchanger) wasn't leaking. So, unless I replace it or try a remote oil cooler sandwich plate I need a backup plan.

I had a search on the web and found a few tried and tested solutions. pistonheads was the version I decided to copy. It seems its also used on the TVRs .

 A design was made in cardboard and then drawn in CAD for the laser cutting.

A landrover slave was "found" in the garage.
The bore may be too big.

The template was bashed into shape.

A few flaws in the design meant a little cutting and adjustment was required at the pointy end.

It looks like it might work..  I haven't welded the seams yet.

Also it may get in the way of the sunbeam body.

Next time I have a few spare days I'll finish it off and test it with the master cylinder.

Note the Capri headers. Rusty and sawn off. These are available off the shelf - but look like they will definitely be in the way.




Update

 The slave cylinder works ok but the combination with Wilwood master and landrover slave doesn't match well. So I fitted a landrover master as well.
A few shims were made to be able to adjust the master position and still be able to adjust the clevis.

The clevis itself was hard to find

Starting the V6 - attempt number one.

A selection of fan-belts were ordered and the size chosen was SPA1120.
It clears the thermostat housing on the inner pulley and allows the alternator to sit just out of the way of the rocker cover so it might be removable. I've ordered another belt for the outer pulley... will they match?

Still deciding how best to modify the Thermostat housing.

Engine and gearbox filled with oil,
Pressure gauge jury rigged.
Oil pump primed with the electric drill and long socket.
Coil, fuel pump and Duraspark unit bolted to plank on top of gearbox. Dead gash...

Starter motor runs OK with spark plugs out.
With plugs in - the jump leads burnt out very quick so proper battery leads were sourced.

I seem to have a spark some of the time.but it looks like I'm 180 degrees out.

Maybe it'll start tomorrow,

Engine meets gearbox and trial fit to subframe

 It was very hard to remove all the suspension parts from the subframe. A lot of WD40 and  time. Also a realisation some nuts were captive hence wouldnt turn anyway.

An option is to rebuild this subframe and fit the whole unit.

For the moment I will use it as a test bench.


The original engine mounts were removed. My old 4" grinder didn't quite have the reach once the discs were worn a little.

 The engine was removed from the stand and the flywheel and clutch was fitted.

Alignment of the clutch plate and gearbox was difficult at first as the clutch plate seemed not to fit the gearbox shaft.

But with the gearbox balanced on the hoist alignment became easier.

With the engine and gearbox angled for a horizontal carburetor platform the fan and crank pulley just miss the subframe.

The fan can be set back another 5mm giving more forward adjustment of the engine if necessary. The current engine mount is approximate and final position will be determined in the car.


Also the thermostat housing outlet needs to be modified to point forwards to clear the subframe.
http://v6alpine.blogspot.co.uk/p/v6-joses-conversion-kit-kit-components.html
And it looks like I will need to modify the modified radiator. The bottom hose coupling looks to be a bit too low.

Subframe mods and alloys

I bought a subrame - complete with everything except the steering box and wheels.

VERY rusty but the subframe itself looks in better condition than mine.

Also all the parts fitted are the maintenance free type from series 4 onwards.

I might refurbish this one complete to install on the series 3 with all new bushes and springs.

The upper wishbones are proving difficult to release!

The original engine mounts need to be cut off and the new engine mounts welded in place only once the engine has been test fitted in situ.



The lovely sunbeam came with a set of alloy wheels.
I don't like the look of them but having realised that some vibration I was experiencing at 60-70 mph was caused by a flat spot on a rear tyre, I fitted them to test.

The handling has been transformed. Straight line is more stable, steering is much lighter. Wish I'd done it before. I would prefer a set of minilites. So will get some for next year.

Radiator mod

Before













After


Home again and the spare radiator has been delivered from Hereford Radiators.

It has been up-rated to 3 row core and the inlet and outlet ports have been swapped over for the cologne V6.






November 2017

Recently had the thermostat cover modified.
This now puts the water a bit too close to the radiator.

So I've started to modify the radiator again

Rotated the bottom hose 180 degrees and angled back a bit.

Now a Ford Capri bottom hose will fit with a few mods.

Lasercut Fan fittings and alternator bracket.

The viscous fan still seems to work but as it is a bit bulky and also as I have a water pump without the viscous thread I designed a Fan mod kit as per  This Link    and also the alternator adjuster bar.
Sent design to be laser cut.

laser cut results... Simple..

Now I have so many things I want to design and cut!

• Engine lifting eyes
• Electric fuel pump Bracket
• Thermostat spacer..

and when fitted...
The little ring aligns the water pump pulley


The Alternator bracket looks Ok, Once in the engine bay I can adjust the overall length (if required) by the addition of extra bolt hole at the engine end.

and with fan fitted...

I have run out of bolts...

At the moment the fan just skims the steering pump pulley so I either need a two row pulley or trim off the third pulley in Russell's lathe.

The Fan offset will be determined once engine is installed, to ensure it is close to the radiator but with the engine as far forward as possible.

And of course - how does it fit with the radiator - is it too big.. too small..

and then the thermostat housing also needs to be considered, it's pointing down so will clash with the crossmember.


Just noticed - the fan belt on the first pulley row will foul the thermostat housing, the second pulley row is Ok.  Fan update here


just sent radiator away for modification
refering to http://v6alpine.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page_7.html


note for info - cooling flow route http://www.capripower.co.uk/boardold/lofiversion/index.php?t1858.html

Alternator bracket test

Alternator brackets fitted - as per design.
The brackets swap the alternator from the original lower (uk) drivers side to high on the passenger side. This is to avoid the brake servo.

Water pumps are hard to get right. So many versions,  There are different impellors some will not fit on the engine plate, then there are the various pulley options, viscous, threaded or un-threaded.

Here is how the Alternator bracket fits with my Ford Capri 70A Alternator (0120 469 571).
The kit was designed for the US version alternator probably with mounting points at 180 degrees apart.
Best plan is to modify or make a new adjuster bar that is a straight bar,  Easily done.


Water pump pulley is hard to align due to no shoulder on the pump, So I need a new bush to take up where the viscous fan would have fitted.



Also need a new thermostat housing to modify it to miss the front crossmember as this one is a bit corroded.

Any colour so long as it is black..

I might have to redo the crackle black rocker covers.

Must remember to do the valve clearances tomorrow
ref: http://v6alpine.blogspot.co.uk/p/valve-adjustment.html