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.

Dashboard, fuel guage,fuel cut-off switch

Next winter I'll remove the dash properly and sort out the 50 years of bodges (including mine) as the final wiring should be well planned by then.

It was impossible to get to the fuel gauge thumbscrew so the crash pad was removed and the glove box.

 
The glove box was a previous owners design so some of it may have been easier than normal. 
The broken Bakelite glove-box surround was "repaired" with "super steel" as it's a reasonable colour match. 

Fuel gauge works and gives a more accurate result of what I put in the tank after I last ran out of petrol!
The cigar lighter was also repaired and "converted" to negative earth. Odd that it only works with side lights on.

The heater fan came out because it squeals like a banshee... 

The upper bearing was seized. With much force and WD40 it was released and now all is well. getting the plastic fan off was hardest part.


A fuel pump cut-off (impact) switch and manual isolate switch was added.

Rear Springs

 Rear springs have been changed.
Much improved ride height.



Won't be ready for Spa

But the ride height, spring rate and damping will be much safer for the bigger engine.

Engine still a big issue.
Flange main bearing burnt out.
The heat has distorted the main bearing cap and the block bearing seat, A new bearing will not fit!
Either a new block or get this one line bored.

So start again. :-(

Engine strip again and front suspension

 Finally got the crank out - it looks like I fitted the flange bearings the wrong way up - blocking the oil port!! Wally..


Specialised engines in Essex have a crank for exchange and all the bits and pieces required to rebuild.

 Decided to change the Dampers and Springs while I had a spare Sunday.
The M10 rod wasn't really man enough to act as a spring compressor without the aid of another jack to assist.

The old springs had shortened with age and were definitely beyond use as the Sunbeam used to bottom out on corners and one side was lower than the other.

The front looks a bit odd... I hope its better with the engine back in!

Will do the rear springs soon.

The new series 3 springs I had bought were the wrong length at 11.65" .
No one had 11.175" springs in stock so had some made.

The new springs then lowered the front by an inch to match the rear springs

2nd and 3rd road test

2nd and third road tests didn't go so well!

on second run I ran out of petrol - a gallon doesn't go far these days..

Third road test was quite good fun, the engine - even though not set up well - is quite exciting 😃 - but it does show that the suspension is a bit old!

Then the engine stalled and was hard to turn over on the starter.
After cooling down and a short run home it was time to start to worry.




The sump was removed (not an easy task with engine still in the body.) and swarf was found in the sump.

So the engine was then removed and the bearing caps unbolted.

The flange main bearing seemed to have burnt out - all looked ok a year ago.






Not sure if the flange bearing rotated to block the oil way - or the oil way got blocked before.

At the moment the crank is stuck at the flange bearing.

Oh well... its all part of the fun...☺

And just in case I get the engine fixed quickly I bought a full set of suspension springs and dampers.

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.

Sunbeam home with a new exhaust system

Sunbeam was trailer-ed home after the exhaust was finished as yet again she refused to start.

As soon as she was offloaded I tried the starter and she fired up instantly!

She ran for 20 minutes then stopped - refusing to start again.

The fault was eventually traced to the Capri original plug connectors, one or both was making not good contact. Once bypassed no more issues starting. Will now need to replace and rewire the plugs.

Exhaust pipe update

Manifolds and down tubes done.

It rather a tight squeeze

New hole through chassis











Testing for the silencers

The end result

Exhaust Pipes and manifolds.

Lovely Sunbeam has been dispatched to the exhaust shop for new stainless manifolds and pipes.

It will take about a month.

Once at the shop she failed to start!
The door handle snapped!
And the hand brake sized!

Very embarrassing.

Starter would spin but no spark. Voltmeter showed less than 8V on starting. Eventually decided the Voltage was going so low the Duraspark wouldn't ignite. I hadn't trickle charged the battery since fitting the alternator. :-(

Hopefully it will work when charged.

On the ramp it was found that the steering contacts the Oil filter - so will have to remove or adjust the oil cooler.

The plan is to cut a 3" pipe through the chassis on the right hand side and shrink the battery box by 4".
Maybe I'll be able to find a low profile modern battery shaped like a pancake to fit.

Alternator wiring and Dynamo control box mod

Wiring in the alternator.

The main 12v cable was wired directly to the start solenoid and hence the battery.

The alternator was lamp feed was spliced to the wire that was on the D contact of the control box.

The original starter solenoid had already been adjusted so the 12V input was also directly connected to the pre-engage starter. So all the fat 12V cables are now on the same terminal.

The original solenoid is now used as an extra low current switch only to switch the pre-engage starter solenoid. To save on wiring mods. The manual solenoid button is useful.

The Dynamo regulator box was modified (dismantled) and the plan is to use it as a fuse box with two fuses using the F and D terminals as output links And also a mega fuse for the alternator.

A and A1 were soldered together inside to provide a link.





Alternator didn't work when the engine was started.


A Voltmeter was installed on the dashboard on the right hand
Ammeter position. This showed no voltage change when the engine was running and the warning light stayed on.

I had fitted a new alternator regulator about a year ago.
I removed the regulator and inspected the brushes, they were undamaged. The commutator also looked clean. But there are two finger contacts in the alternator that connect to the regulator by spring contact. I bent these outwards a little more and ensured they contacted the module in the correct place.

The next time the engine was started the warning light went out and the Voltmeter registered a steady 15V.

Success .

After a winter of problem starting I added a new starter cable direct from the battery to the starter motor. So the ignition and starter solenoid are now on a different circuit so not affected by any voltage drop along the main starter cable.

Throttle cable to Weber 38DGMS

 The old linkage was removed and modified as shown.

Thios gives about 45mm cable movement which is about right.

And a single cable uses the existing bolt hole.

Seems to work ok

 The Weber cable mount kit needs a little mod as it hold the cable offset - maybe I fitted it wrong. Will try reverse the control arm

The left hand gearlever from eBay has a more backward angle.
I could have bent the old but this was cheap enough and then I have a spare!

Another thing to do is to "quicken" the lever action as per this site HERE

V6 More instrumentation

I'm trying to keep the instruments looking the same.
I suspect the fuel gauge is wrong type.

The Speedometer will have to wait until properly mobile. A new cable will be made and then the speedo will probably need calibrating.

The choke cable was modified to take a new cable and outer cover but keep the original faded knob and mounting.

The cigar lighter needs new or cleaned internals.

The Jaeger Clock has already been modified by the previous owner to take a modern movement. It made the positive to negative earth conversion simple as it is in a plastic isolated body.

There is a lot of work behind the dash board to sort out the birds nest. But its mostly working as is. The Hazard warning indicators still work.

The horns have an added relay behind the dash, one of the horns isn't working.

The water temperature gauge sender doesn't fit in the Granada housing and the Capri sender guage is the wrong type.

The original sender (on the left - with minor repair) is roughly 1000 Ohms at 18 degrees C (room temp) and 130 Ohms at 90- ish degrees C (boiling water from kettle in cup - I don't have a suitable thermometer).

The Capri unit (on the right) is 1/8 NPT but still not the right size for the Granada manifold which has a spare M10 x 1.5 port.




I couldn't find any data on most of the gauge senders available for sale on most sites but Holden and Merlin Motorsport had Smiths compatible senders available in 1/8 NPT.
On receipt the measured resistance readings were close to the original. The instruments don't seem to have external calibration pots

I was able to re-cut the 1/8NPT to M10 and it fits nicely with some thread lock/sealer.

The Mechanical Tacho conversion to electronic is working well, except I have a zero offset issue so I need to open it up again.

Ammeter only for show - it had a vacuum gauge before but I plan on fitting a Voltmeter if I can find a Jaeger or smiths one (at a reasonable price).

Oil pressure connection was a bit hard to find.

The original Capri had an M10 convex connection which was hard to find so in the end I went for a new pipe and adapter from MLR.

Manual pump washer - may be modified to activate a switch for electric pump.

Engine mount also visible here.

Heater plumbed in, radiator halfway there.

The New heater element was fitted a while ago, now it is plumbed in to the Cologne ready for water.
The heater valve is fitted under the alternator and is also used to change the hose diameter from 19mm out of the thermostat housing to 15mm used in the rest of the circuit.

Heater fan needs to be wired into circuit.

Radiator fitted - top hose is the standard Granada item shortened a little.

Bottom hose is from a standard Capri.
The thermostat housing outlet points forward and the radiator inlet (outlet?) is also pointing forwards inline.
The Capri hose is reversed and the last bend is cut and rotated 90 degrees. It seems to work.

Except I have a big leak out of the thermostat area.
It all has to come off again.



And the brake pipe needs to be secured.









Radiator alternator and thermostat all removed, extra clip added to brake pipe.
Seems the leak was most likely just a not tight enough hose clip. but the thermostat needed fitting correctly anyway. Thermostat first then rubber ring.

positive to negative earth conversion

The engine and gearbox is bolted in its final place.


To attempt to start it I needed to convert to negative earth for the starter motor and alternator.
Just turning the battery 180 degrees was almost all that was required. (and changing the battery connnectors).
This page about positive to negative conversion gives more details and ideas on how to connect an alternator  via the regulator box.



When The wiring is finished I will connect the Alternator output direct to the starter motor positive feed which is direct from the battery. I moved the main starter feed at the old solenoid so the original output was now combined with the battery feed. The solenoid output then is only a small wire to feed the V6 starter solenoid.



The Huco sucking fuel pump was fitted in the engine bay and connected to 12v.

The Capri wiring loom loosely placed in situ and the engine was test started.
It was pleasantly loud with no exhaust and proved the circuits are all correct.

The clutch pedal was tried and seems to not be working. The lever moves about 10mm. Will need to adjust and test again.

Later I realised the clock wasn't working and the extra electric fan was spinning the wrong way.
The clock had been modified by a previous owner so the wires were swapped and its all ok now.
The fan will have the wires swapped also later.

Next plan... fit radiator and fill with water.. check clutch

Merry Christmas

Post Christmas update - Capri wiring loom now modified and connected through the bulkhead. The Duraspark unit is in the Passenger foot-well along with a new 4 way fuse unit. This fuse unit currently supplies 12v to the ignition and the tacho. Later it may supply power to any other new ancillaries...like a Radio or the heater fan.
Clutch checked further - still can't release.

Engine and Gearbox in final position

The engine mounts were welded in place.
In fact I welded the left one, fitted the engine again and then tacked the right one in place to be sure before removing the engine and finishing the weld.

I decided to use the Jose gearbox mount rather than the auto box mount.

I used a Sierra type 9 small vibration mount and modified the Jose mounting to fit.
The Jose mounting was in the right place - just needed a different set of holes.

The modified gear lever is set a bit further forward now.
But as I cant select 1st or 2nd gear I may have to take it all out again!



Also replaced and re routed the front brake pipes.



And installed the Clutch master cylinder and clevis in the final position.