1984 silver series 3

[ian65]

good progress today....

put the rear suspension, axle, fuel lines, and fuel pump back on the car...















I then refitted the fuel tank.... this has been coated with POR15 to try to prolong its life and the tank straps were also stripped and painted with POR15 then had new foam strips applied to them...




I have also put the rear brake disks on the car together with the rear wheels so next job is to drop it down off the axle stands and fire the engine up to test the fuel system. The engine ran off a petrol can when I first got the car but has not yet run off its own fuel tank and lines.
I'm hoping to be able to drive the car out of the garage.... this will be a momentous milestone as the car hasn't driven under its own power, as far as I'm aware for at least 15 years, maybe even 20 years.
I've temporarily refitted the back box to the exhaust so I'll fetch a couple of gallons of unleaded tomorrow and see what happens.

.

[RX7SA]

Good work Ian, good luck tomorrow I hope it fires up drives for you.

[Steve-A]

Damn, thats looks really good Ian.

Got fingers crossed for you on the first fire up!

[codge]

Just look at that contrast between road weathered front and refurbed back.....Fabulous.

[spoddy]

looks fantastic ian.
like a new car being made from the back to the front.

great job, real credit. wish i could get an fb

keep going mate you're nearly there

[chc]

Fantastic work there mate and I note the SPAX shocks (another good buy from eBay).

Eh - when are you thinking of having your Christmas lunch? (hehehe)

Glad the weather is holding out for you - did you manage to drive it out of the garage today?

0

[ian65]

Had a very enjoyable day today playing around with this car.... it didn't start off too well though.
I put a battery on the car and prepared to start the engine.. ignition on and then as well as hearing the fuel pump running, I could hear the sound of trickling petrol from under the car.... looked underneath and saw fuel pissing out... a quick check revealed that I'd forgot to connect the pipe coming out of the pump to the main fuel line... doh!
I had to drop the fuel pump housing off the car to make the connection and then 10 mins later I tried to start it again.
This time, it fired and ran on the 1st turn of the key, it didn't even need to spin over and it then ran nicely on the choke. I left it ticking over for 10 minutes until the temperature rose nearly into the red.
This cooling issue happened before back in September when Keith and myself 1st started the car. I thought then that it was probably down to the viscous fan but decided to give the cooling system the once over today.

I let the car cool down and then started it again and this time reversed it out of the garage and then forward onto the back lawn. When we started the car back in September, the clutch hydraulics were shot and the brakes seized on so it was undriveable.
Today was the 1st time this car has moved under its own power for nearly 20 years.... great stuff.
Next up I flushed out the complete cooling system.... the crap that came out of it, especially the rad, was unbelievable... the car now idles with the temperature spot on where it should be.

The engine was ticking over nicely and the voltage reading about 15 volts so I turned the headlights on and the volts dropped to 12v and smoke came out of the alternator! Doesn’t bode well does it?
The auto choke doesn’t work on this car. Robert, the previous owner told me it hasn’t worked for years and he used to put a clothes peg on it to hold it out. I’ll put a thread up in the ‘electrics’ section of the forum to ask for advice as I’m a bit mystified by it.

Here’s the car on the back lawn looking pleased with itself after coming back to life...






Next up will be to pull the engine out and change the sump for the Elford turbo conversion.
Back to work Wednesday though so things will be much slower after that.

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[chc]

Fantastic news but don't we always seem to forget at least one thing (senior moments I call them) but glad to hear it was really simple to rectify.
Good for you and a 1st time fire up (not surprising really due to your expertise and thoroughness) but by the sound of it a typical cooling system issue - isn't it surprising how much ***p builds up through the years but it could have been a great deal worse than a simple flushing exercise.

Doesn't sound good for the alternator though and not able to offer a soultion BUT with regards to the choke mechanism, I probably have a spare hand control unit if you need one - your name is on it.

I would imagine the PO would be thrilled to hear that you have the car moving under it's own power now especially in the short time that you have taken ownership.

Anyway - well done and wat a Christmas present your better half has (hahaha)

[ian65]

thanks Cliff but I've already changed the choke unit and the problem still persists so the problem seems to be within the loom? or any other associated wiring.
Due to working miles away from home on a very intensive project, I haven't had chance to speak to Robert or to visit him for the last couple of months but I'm going to try to see him before I go back to work to update him on how the car is progressing.

[chc]

thanks Cliff but I've already changed the choke unit and the problem still persists so the problem seems to be within the loom? or any other associated wiring.
Due to working miles away from home on a very intensive project, I haven't had chance to speak to Robert or to visit him for the last couple of months but I'm going to try to see him before I go back to work to update him on how the car is progressing.

Okay, just remember I have a full wiring loom in the rotarshed if needed