61 replies to this topic

[jchomme]

looks like I need to do cylinders and pistons. 3 are stamped MOWOG and 1 sits lower at tdc than the other one and the compression is way lower on that odd piston.  Was able to build pressure in all cylinders by squirting oil inside, so hopefully the block is still good.  One of the cylinders has a little chunk taken out(3rd pic) and a little corrosion in that spot.  Figure I need to take it to a machine shop to have it properly  evaluated.  

Edited by jchomme, 09 February 2018 - 10:32 PM.

[KTS]

is it me or is the piston in cylinder 2 a different type ? looks to be flat top where the others have a dish

 

i'd guess the lack of compression in that cylinder has a lot to do with the chunk that's missing from the piston.  what does the cylinder head look like for that cylinder - any bits missing from either of the valves ?

Edited by KTS, 09 February 2018 - 11:48 PM.

[jchomme]

is it me or is the piston in cylinder 2 a different type ? looks to be flat top where the others have a dish
 
i'd guess the lack of compression in that cylinder has a lot to do with the chunk that's missing from the piston.  what does the cylinder head look like for that cylinder - any bits missing from either of the valves ?

Ya, there set is a different cylinder in there, and that is the one that is low on compression. Even the one with the bit missing got compression with oil squirted in the cylinder. The head is complete and everything is there.

I assume the compression problem with the odd piston is just due to it being the wrong size. It's puzzling that someone would go through the trouble to put in an incorrect piston. Has me worried a bit.

Hope a bore and new pistons will do it. If not, I have a 998 runner that I can put in. Really want to preserve the original drive train though.

[jomaoliveira79]

Please do what you could do to not modify or upgrade this particular car as it is an early one and quite scarce. It will become very valuable in some years and by then if you dont want to keep it any more you can get a profit. Dont forget that no matter what you do to upgrade it will be always an old car and it's sex appeal is being old and as originally designed to be. Thanks for share the restoration process with us, your car is a very special one!

[jchomme]

Please do what you could do to not modify or upgrade this particular car as it is an early one and quite scarce. It will become very valuable in some years and by then if you dont want to keep it any more you can get a profit. Dont forget that no matter what you do to upgrade it will be always an old car and it's sex appeal is being old and as originally designed to be. Thanks for share the restoration process with us, your car is a very special one!

yeah, the plan is to keep it as original as possible.  Basically, want a 60 spec car.  

[jchomme]

Had one of those days spending 8 hours on making and installing 2 stupid little brackets that are NLA.  Had to recreate them from the scraps I cut out and Luckily there is a John Derby on youtube that did a great walk through of his amazing mini-minor resto.   They basically create a small box section at the rear subframe mounting points.  

 

I assume BMC changed the design to a good reason, but should do fine.  I'll probably plate the area between the bracket and floor to give it more strength , yet keeping it looking right.

 

 

 

[jchomme]

prepping to get the floor in and repaired the wheel arches.  Repairing the arches instead of replacing was a hard decision given the shock mount area gets a decent amount of force over time.  I plan to add a bracket where the strut area meets the boot floor, which should tie in the original with the repair panel and add strength.  Will be adding a boot shelf, which will mask the area.  

 

 

 

Stripping the heelboard repair section and I found that the e-coating is susceptible to rust creep and made me think I should strip the e-coat on all the heritage panes I have.  any thoughts are appreciated.

 

 

Stripping the primer from the m-machine panels was fun, and dry fitting the whole thing takes forever and with the extra weight, my spit doesn't work as well

 

[Chappers]

Awesome man! Good work repairing the wheel arches, saved a bunch of money and chopping.
How did you strip the m machine primer? Wire wheel or chemical?
Youre probably right where Im at in the build.

I have been thinking of adding a counter balance to my rotisserie to ease rotation effort, but Im worried about the gross weight on the rotisserie frame, its already split on me once.
I just make do with a long lever arm that goes in the indexing plate that I use to rotate the car where I want it.

[johnR]

how lucky to find such an early car - and what a responsibility!

[jchomme]

Awesome man! Good work repairing the wheel arches, saved a bunch of money and chopping.
How did you strip the m machine primer? Wire wheel or chemical?
Youre probably right where Im at in the build.

I have been thinking of adding a counter balance to my rotisserie to ease rotation effort, but Im worried about the gross weight on the rotisserie frame, its already split on me once.
I just make do with a long lever arm that goes in the indexing plate that I use to rotate the car where I want it.

I used a wire wheel on an angle grinder, I think it was an old worn knotted wire wheel where the knots were loose.  It came off really easy.  I've used oven cleaner on a different panel, which worked, but made a huge mess.  

 

 

 

My rotisserie is struggling, I believe, and it is definitely not as good as yours.  Lets face it, mine is a functional hack job!   Made mine from engine stands and the long post is 2 pieces of angle iron fashioned together with metal screws.  I built better legs, for rolling around the yard, but indoors, I chopped them and made some dodgy , narrow wood bases so I could turn it lengthwise around my work space( which used to be my bedroom-ha!)  After tack fitting the floor, it got really heavy.

 

I thought of doing something with bike chain and gears to spin it, but I just spin it slowly and as carefully as I can. 

 

[jchomme]

finally got the floor tacked in, some cross bracing out and heelboard "situated.  I am really thinking of doing mostly stitch welds instead of plug welds.   My thinking here is M-machine does it that way on many things.  Seems like they are neater, give less distortion and stronger than plug welds.  Plug welds look correct, but they are just as incorrect as a stitch welds.  I think the lap joint with short stiches would keep more weld through primer unburnt and you  could probably blast some in after it is on.  Plus in 50 years, it could be picked apart alot easier for another resto.   I am not sure if I am correct....

 

[jchomme]

how lucky to find such an early car - and what a responsibility!

the weird thing is there are 2 others with earlier cars from the US kicking around here, all made in the same month.  

[jchomme]

 

Youre probably right where Im at in the build.

 

 

Yeah, your build has given me a huge boost in motivation.  I had to kick myself, because you are probably way busier, have more responsibilities and have bigger battle( as far as panel replacing).  

[Chappers]

Floor is looking very smart. Nice job!
It must have been a great feeling to take all the bracing out inside.

What is next on on your list?

[jchomme]

odds and ends, I'm currently on the boot floor and making it closer to mk1, might get the top back on in the next few days.