That engine sounds great. You have done a very good job on it.

 

Sounds just the tiniest bit Snarly!
Luv It!
(';')

 

Thorsen posted:

”This is why I take things apart. There was a piece of masking tape in the master cylinder. I have no clue why it was there but if that blocked off the port you're going to have a bad day.”


I think the reason the tape was there to half *** block off the holes as there was no brake fluid inside but, there may have been downstream in the pipe. It was kinda a way to keep moisture out of the rest of the system. 🤷‍♂️
Also, is it me or is there a crack in between those 2 holes underneath the ‘not taped off area’? Maybe a casting imperfection??

 

It looks like a crack through the two holes and straight across the bottom

 

I just went out and checked. That's a casting mark. It's on the outside too and matches the line on the inside.

 

Tonight was going to be a short night in the garage. I was going to check the fluid level in the steering box and look at the brake servo and decide if I should replace it or not. When I opened the fill on the steering box and saw no oil I knew things weren't going to end well.

I started pouring in oil and it started pouring out the input seal. So I guess I get to do a steering box rebuild .


I really love cars from the desert. No rust at all on any of the fasteners and the box came out without a fight.


I never got a chance to crawl underneath and look at the brake servo. Maybe tomorrow.

In the good news department, I did find a local shop that thinks they can clean and restore my fuel tanks. I'm going to talk to them Friday.

 

A couple of updates tonight. I am moving forward with my plan for the serpentine belt drive for the accessories and did the final install of the 2013-2015 Jaguar XJ crankshaft pulley. The center hole had to be opened up to 2-3/8" and two more holes needed to be drilled to match the 4 holes on the front of the crankshaft. Some clipped washers and zinc-plated socket head screws will hold it in place.



I also noticed this tribute on the timing cover under the water pump. I am not sure who Diane and Andy are but I hope their love is as memorable as the engine on a 70 year old car


Moving on to the cooling system. I want to retain the aluminum aftermarket I purchased but the 16lb cap on it was a no-go. There are no 4 or 7 pound caps made in that small of a size.
My plan is to take the 16 lb radiator cap on the aluminum radiator and neuter the pressure portion of the cap. All that will remain is the portion that seals the top of the cap to the top of the radiator neck. The pressure generated by the cooling system will go up to the neck of the aluminum radiator and out the overflow port. A hose will connect the overflow port of the aluminum radiator to ... this. This is a pressurized expansion tank.

SendCutSend cut and bent two sections of 304 stainless steel, and also cut some rectangles out of 304 stainless steel.


The pieces fit together nicely to make a rectangular shaped cube.



A stainless steel -6 AN bung in the lower portion will connect to the overflow port of the radiator. Coolant and pressure will be free to travel between the radiator and this reservoir.


Having the pieces bent means two less welds.


After welding and grinding down the welds.

It was at this point that I decided that stainless steel welds actually look better if you don't grind them.


This is a stainless steel radiator neck I picked up. I'll cut this down so only an inch sticks out of the top.
There is a 7lb radiator cap on it now but I also have a 4psi cap too. I am hoping to use the 7lb cap but curious what the group thinks about going that high.
The overflow from this will be anything in excess of 4 or 7 psi and will vent to a recovery bottle in the wing.


I went with stainless steel for the corrosion resistance and the fact that it's easier to weld than aluminum.

Tomorrow I'll finish welding this up. My plan is to leak check it by capping off the -6 AN port, hooking up a , submerging the whole thing in a bucket of water then check for bubbles while I pressurize the tank to 20 psi. If it holds that it should be safe for use.

 

Tonight was a short night in the garage. With the heat dome over the central US the heat index was over 105 and I only lasted an hour.

I was able to finish welding up the coolant tank and checked it's location on the firewall.



The new electric water pump arrived today and it looks like it's going to be a perfect fit on the lower right section of the engine bay.
To connect it to the radiator I'll use a straight section of silicone hose - that part is easy.
I need to think about how I want to connect it to the block.


The aluminum water pump blocking plates were delivered today and they are a perfect fit. I had two of them cut "just in case".

 

Lots of progress tonight. I started working on the water pump blank off plate and quickly realized that 1/8" thick aluminum was just too thin. I decided to test my aluminum MIG welding skills anyway and wasn't happy.
I'm going to re-order this in 1/4" thick aluminum and get someone who is more skilled than I to TIG weld the -20 AN fitting.

I forgot to share the DXF file for the water pump block off plate. My standard rules apply - you are free to use this for your own personal use but you are not allowed to sell the design.



Sanden 8238 is a 12 volt, 8 groove pulley with rear ports. It is a perfect fit.


I really wanted to use this alternator. It's an AD244 style alternator that's rated at 145 amps but it's just too big.


Look at the test results - 116 amps at idle and 175 maximum amps.


I did have a 105 amp CS-130 on the shelf that will fit in the space above the compressor.


There should be plenty of room here to fit a decent size fan.


The last thing tonight was pulling the brake servo. Old one on the left and new one on the right.

 

Thomas, Are you sure I wasn't doing the welding? Mine would have looked worst than that. If the piston and piston rod is in good shape the booster is very easy to rebuild. I put myself through school rebuilding brake boosters/master cylinders/calipers etc. That was back in the early 70's.

Since you're going to have the plate TIG welded, why don't you have a AL radiator neck welded to the radiator too? It would simplify the cooling system.

You may want to read this about thermostats, It may answer your question about using a 7# cap or not.
https://www.coolcatcorp.com/thermost...ermostats.html

 

I think if I could spend an hour a day practicing TIG welding aluminum - in about a week I would be good. In two weeks I would be proficient. But the times I actually need to do it are so rare that I would forgot it all before I had to do it again. It's an art for sure.

That's a good idea about the radiator neck, but I haven't been able to find an aluminum radiator neck in stock that is big enough for the 4-7 psi caps. I think they only make the low pressure caps in the big sizes because that was the standard many decades ago. As time moved along the pressures went up and the caps got smaller.

Thank you for the link - I will check it out.

 

Bob,
I just read that. It sounds like the bellows thermostats don't like anything more than 4 psi. If you look at the instructions on the Moss site for the bellows thermostat, they direct you to a different part number for a cap higher than 7 psi.

The good news here is that with the electric water pump, I will remove the thermostat completely. The pump controller pulses the pump during the warm up phase - I think it's 10 seconds on and 30 seconds off. Once it reads the temperature is getting close to operating temp the controller switches to running the pump full time.

Thank you for the information.
Thomas

 

Brother, this is my exact problem as well, especially with welding! Fantastic skill to have and I look for every opportunity to use it when doing any work on my vehicles, equipment, on the farm, in the house, etc. However, it still isn't enough to keep me topped up, to retain that muscle memory. Sure, I usually can get back to decent after some practice runs, so I usually do a few practice passes if I want it to be one and done. Luckily, most of my stuff I am only worried about it actually being solid and that it will hold. I am not trying to win any contests, so it doesn't bother me so much. That being said, welding on my tractor or DD, no problem looking like crap. Welding on a nice project such as this, yeah, I'd want it to look great.

Mike

 

Since you're not using a thermostat go ahead with the 7# cap. You should block off the by-pass slot in the intake manifold, otherwise you may have overheating issues.
Have a great weekend!

 

Today I visited a radiator/gas tank shop that will be able to clean, etch, and re-coat my fuel tanks. Although this will be more expensive than , I like the idea of the twin tanks.

I pulled the fuel pumps that I removed from the car and decided to see if they were serviceable. These were Hardi pumps that I have used in the past on my 420 and my MGB.



My expectations were low but I was not surprised when I opened the unit. The pump was full of rust and crud.


The check valves were rusted solid. This pump has been sitting for a long time.


The diaphragm was still serviceable but this pump - and presumably the other pump - are too rusty to put back in service.


Two new Hardi pumps are on the way. With the re-lined fuel tanks, new hoses, lines, and pumps - the fuel system should not give any troubles for a long time.

 

I suggest you check the state of the fuel tank filler cap seals as well.
Many years ago, I had one with a crack which allowed water into the tank.
The part no is BD8076 and new ones cost 8 pounds 69p

 

I had a busy weekend in the garage but I did not meet my goal of getting the brakes bleed. I need 2' of 5/16" EPDM hose (which will be delivered tomorrow) to go between the brake fluid reservoir and the master cylinder.

I did get the brake pedal arm sand blasted and painted and cleaned up the chassis as well as I could.



I drilled and tapped the master cylinder to 1/4" NPT to connect it to the reservoir.


I was able to tuck the remote booster nicely between the frame rails so it's out of harms way. I ended up with new brake lines from the master cylinder to the booster, the booster to the front/rear tee, and from the tee to the rear brakes.
I also replaced all the rubber hoses while I was here.
I need to order some clips to attach the brake lines to the frame rail.


Then it was time to tackle the steering box. I've never taken one apart so I was excited to see what was inside.


Keeping track of all the ball bearings made sure re-assembly was not an issue.


In case anyone is curious, the inner shaft rides inside the outer shaft. The turn signal and horn wires pass through the inner shaft through the rag joint, the steering box, and out through the front end of the box.


This is the spiral shaft that is connected to the steering wheel.


This piece is filled with ball bearings that ride in the spiral gear above. I was always curious how the ball bearings are contained and the answer is that there is a track that holds the ball bearings between this carrier and the spiral gear.
After I cleaned this, I filled the track with grease and used that to hold the ball bearings while I put the assembly together.


The steering housing after cleaning, a light sand-blast, and a couple coats of cast aluminum paint.


Reassembly was easy. This is the rear bearing after replacing the ball bearings using grease to hold them in place.


Masking tape on the splines protects the new seal from being damaged during the installation process.


Front and rear bearings in place and adjusted for backlash.


The rocker shaft in place. I used masking tape on the splines (not visible in this angle) to avoid damaging the new seal.


Cover in place and preload on the rocker shaft adjusted.
Avoid the temptation to fill it with oil now because it's going to be really easy doing it on the work bench. Without the inner shaft in place and clamped, oil will leak all across the garage floor.
The collar on the end is what secures the inner shaft.


With the steering box reinstalled I started looking at options for mounting the water pump and routing the hoses.


I found a home for the water pump controller. This will let me monitor the system and still keep it out of sight when needed.

 

I knew the car needed new shocks and while looking at my options, I decided to go with a set of Gaz adjustable shocks for the front and rear. I've had Gaz adjustables on my MGB for about 5,000 miles and have been very happy with them.

In early July the inventory in the US was spotty so I ordered these directly from Gaz. They arrived from over the pond today.



The front left unit in place. I found it weird that the lower end of the shock is held by a cotter pin and not a stud/nut. I'm sure it works fine.

 

I had a short night in the garage but was able to get the brakes bled. That's a pretty major milestone for this car.

With the switch to an electric water pump, there is no need for the thermostat bypass port on the intake manifold that used to connect to the water pump. A 1-1/4" silicone cap will block that off and keep coolant where it should be.

 

Not to derail the flow here, but thought I'd speak up and mention that I purchased 2 large packs of these towels per your suggestion and they are amazing. Best one's that I have used in a very long time. Where everyone else is making these things as thin as they possibly can, these are nice, thick, absorbent and works very well! Glad you mentioned it!

Mike