JULY 2014

The engine assembly was completed early July after sourcing a new Cooper S pin-drive oil pump from Mini Sport in Adelaide who press out the drive shaft on a new standard small-bore pump and press in the longer Cooper S style shaft which they have manufactured in Adelaide. After all the trouble experienced with the cam, it only needed to be advanced about 3 degrees which was easy to do using the adjustable cam gear. The crazy thing was that I got slightly different results depending on whether it was timed from the inlet or exhaust lobes – I ended up settling on the average between the two. A fairly standard Mk.I Cooper S head, which had previously been fitted with hardened valve seats, was fitted with new valve springs, a set of 1.5 to 1 roller rockers and a blingy chrome rocker cover to set it off. The old flywheel / pressure plate assembly had already been lightened and balanced so they were refitted with new driven and diaphragm plates. The engine ancillaries were test fitted before fitting the assembly to the car, this hopefully ensuring that there were no surprises later on, and that all the right bits are on hand. It was also easier to figure out some type of low-profile throttle linkage for the Weber while it was easily accessible.

All the engine fasteners were subjected to a couple of days in the parts cleaner and then finished off with a wire wheel on the bench grinder. My fingers have stopped bleeding now and Jenny believes that I may be developing an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

The completed engine gearbox assembly was dropped into the front subframe where the engine mounts and drive shafts were bolted up. The complete subframe assembly was then almost ready to mate with the body. It just needed some sort of lifting bar arrangement to attach the body to my block and tackle to lift it high enough to slide the subframe assembly underneath. There’s not a lot of weight involved so I decided to use the engine steady bar mounting points on the firewall cross-member as pick-up points. The lifting tackle arrangement to help lift and lower the body shell onto the engine/subframe assembly did the job superbly and will be stowed away somewhere safe until needed again – hopefully not in the near future! Although I had offers of assistance from a couple of well-meaning mates to come over and help lift the body on, I think that using this assembly attached to a block and tackle, was less stressful and probably a more accurate means of achieving the desired outcome

With the engine subframe assembly now in place, most of the engine ancillaries were connected up. Some playing around with radiator and heater hoses was necessary to try and get a tidy arrangement, this included tracking down some 28mm hose joiners that were needed to enable everything to fit.

Throttle pedal and cable, carby linkages, air filters, heater and radiator hoses, exhaust pipe and muffler, as well as few other odds and sods were moved to the top of the To-Do List – with most bits in stock somewhere in the shed, some other bits being found on EBay,

The brake and clutch systems all bled nicely, then it was a matter of getting all four wheels pointing more or less in the same direction, fit the front shockers and then start on the interior.

 

Attempting to set the suspension geometry using string lines was interesting! Trying to establish an initial datum point, or even squaring the car up is very bit tricky with the offset rear subframe and asymmetric bodywork. Instead of using the lip of the wheel arches for measuring the height of the body, it was more accurate to use the underside of the sills or even the subframes to set ride heights. The rear wheels have been set with a touch of toe-in and only the faintest amount of negative camber. The front wheels sit with one degree of negative camber and a slight amount of toe-out.

Unfortunately a couple of paint bubbles have formed, one in each of the headlight recesses at the apex of the concave curves where the horizontal floor curves up and becomes a vertical face. My paint guy thinks it was caused by having too much paint on it – the paint shrank and pulled away from the panel as it progressively dried out. The shop is quite prepared to repaint it, which is great, but it’s certainly a disappointment. I haven’t found any other places on the car where this has occurred, and there are no other issues of concern.

Way back in this blog I was complaining about how working in the shed was becoming intolerable due to ambient temperatures hovering around the 42 degrees Celsius mark for long periods during the day. Seasons change and those of us dwelling on the underside of this planet are now in the midst of winter. By most standards our winters are fairly mild with overnight temps occasionally dropping below zero and day time maximums reaching up towards 10 degrees. I much prefer working in the shed during the colder seasons, because I can effectively warm the place with a potbelly stove (made from a couple of old truck brake drums). With over an acre of our property under native trees, there’s no issue in regard to fuelling the stove. It also comes in handy for boiling the billy and drying recently painted parts such as these exhaust hanging brackets that will soon be fitted to the Marcos.

After having an exhaust pipe bent up and fitted at the local exhaust shop, the engine was topped up with oil and coolant, the distributor set to where it might hopefully fire the plugs at the right times and a second battery set up to support the fitted unit – it was churned over to build up oil pressure then run for about 15 minutes at between 2500 and 3000 rpm to reach operating temperature and check the activation of the thermostat and radiator fan switch. Apart from a small water leak from one faulty radiator hose, it all went surprisingly well. After it cooled down overnight, the head was re-torqued and valve clearances adjusted.

The driver’s seat was bolted in securely and thanks to our 250-metre long driveway, it was possible to test the function of the clutch, gearbox and brakes. Everything seemed to be working OK, so our attention now turns to the interior trimming

Click on this link for video:

Some bonnet pins have been fitted, using the brackets and holes that were used by the original owner, but a bonnet prop has been added, it swivels in a nylon bush on one of the bonnet pin brackets and clips into place against the bulkhead when not in use. That’ll save carrying a stick around.