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Nice pictures Ian - looking good

Time for a couple of updates, and photos…

First of which, we were suffering a very slow coolant loss which was mostly noticeable after the car has been stood for a while. I think this is a fairly common problem with the O rings between the inlet manifold and the engine block. So I took the carb and inlet off the car and you can see in the photo below what a state the rings were in! So definitely the cause of the coolant leak.

Rather than sourcing and then trying to fit new O rings, I decided to go with the freeze / core plug mod instead. So ordered some stainless plugs and fitted those after giving everything a good clean up.

Been for a few drives now, and no more leaks.

Good job with the core plugs, I also went with the 'O' rings as well. The Brown Residue can be indicative of the Antifreeze reacting with the different materials in the engine, keep your eye on the Expansion bottle for the brown settlement in the bottom. The best is the Blue Universal, I get mine from a local Farm suppliers as I have found this to be the best & it meets Mazda's Specs & use De-Ionised water as this reduces any Electrolytic corrosion that causes the sludge.

Thanks.
The expansion bottle is spotless at the moment, so will be easy to see if there's any discoloration and settlement in there.
I'm using BlueCol anti-freeze diluted with some de-ionised water.

Next big update… The fuel tank.
WARNING, nasty rusty photos to follow, but clean shiny parts at the end.


While doing some work on the car with the drivers side jacked up I could smell petrol and then saw a small but constant drip on the rear passenger corner. Oh dear...

I set about removing the fuel tank, which was quite easy if a little awkward due to the size of it. Thankfully there were no seized bolts and all the heat / dust shields were in very good condition. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the fuel tank itself. With the tank off the car, it was clear where the fuel was coming from – a small pin hole on the rear corner.

Since series 2 fuel tanks are rather hard to come by these days, I took this along to a local company for refurbishment. After a week or so, I had a phone call to ask if I can go in to take a look at what they had found and make the decision whether to continue with the repairs. Sorry no photos of this but, but after they had stripped everything back many more holes and leaks were found – mostly where all the metal pipes connect, and also around/under the fuel level sensor area. Again, given how difficult getting any replacement will be, I gave the go ahead for the repairs.

While the fuel tank was off the car, I gave the underside a clean up. So removed all the loose stuff, rubbed down a few areas, and then applied a liberal coating of Vactan to treat any rust. To be fair there were no horrible surprises, so I am happy about that. I have also given it a few coats of stone chip shield paint to smarten it all up.

Also treated the various heat shields, stone guards, and the fuel pump tray to some rust treatment, and a full POR15 treatment.

Really pleased with how they turned out!

The refurbished fuel tank.

The guys doing the work on this have said it is a bit of a patchwork, but it is all solid and thoroughly tested for leaks. It was a little more expensive that the initial quote, but I’m happy with the result. It doesn’t need to look pretty when its all out of sight. They had given the tank a quick coat of black paint, but I have also put 2-3 layers of POR15 on that.

Also new fuel level sensor (from Atkins Rotary) and new fuel hoses.

And finally, all refitted and back on the car.

Great work. I think I'll be getting this POR 15 for the FC. I would imagine the tank will go another 15 years no problem.


Rich