Due to lack of time I had to leave some details unattended. Zenith stromberg carbs are rather difficult to fix since there are no data of needle profiles etc. I decided to purchase a set of SU HIF´s since these are much easier to work with. A pair was bought and rebuilt with new parts and fitted to the engine. I also modified the carbs by plugging the rocker cover and float chamber vent tubes for cleaner looks. The float chamber is now vented into the air cleaner via the drilling in the carbs. Uprated needles are also fitted to compensate for the home made manifolds and K&N filters.
I also noticed that the engine still has its British heritage and leaks oil ! This small but annoying leak was traced to the modified sump, where one of the welds had a pinhole. This was enough to keep it leaking. Sadly the location was behind the clutch slave cylinder where no torch could reach. So I did my first major bodge with this car and sealed it with fibreglass ! I will fix it when the engine comes out (whenever that happens...)
Another area that needed attention is the exhaust system. Dual pipes with single silencers were a bit loud so I fitted another pair of silencers at the back. However, this meant that I had to cut the floor and the tank opening. The opening had to be narrowed to allow room for the new silencers. Initially the exhaust seems to be somewhat quieter but the rumble is very clear.
Since the tank was small to begin with (7 gallons ?) and smaller opening in the floor equates to even smaller tank I chose to utilize the old tank as a storage box. I fabricated a new bigger tank in the boot. I designed it to fit against the back seat and it measures 54 litres, about 14 gals. I wanted it to be mild steel but locating simple sheet of mild sheet was a bit of a problem. So I had a local shop bend me a shell of the tank of stainless steel. At least it will not rust... I fabricated a couple of internal baffles to prevent bulging of the tank and fuel slashing around. The tank was welded with TIG welder.
The new tank is fitted just behind the rear seat, in the middle of the boot. Brake lines and fuel hoses needed re-routing due to new tank. Battery has also been moved to a new position.
Driver ergononics is something to dream about. Pedals were hastily modified when I put the car together and soon found to be awkward. I shortened and modified the pedals and seating position to make things somewhat more comfortable. Seat belts are a necessity so 4-point harnesses were fitted. I bought a new pair of Willans 4-point belts with quick release lock. A bargain since they were no longer homologated and could not be used in racing. Good for street use though. Front seats were taken to a local shop for new covers. The shop had some hides of dark blue leather and we agreed a very lucrative deal. A week later I got the new seats back. Nice or what ?
Rear seat has only been partly fitted. The modifications to the rear floor meant that original seat base did not fit. I constructed a new frame to fit between the tubing and roll bar. The frame was fitted with spring from the scrapped Capri seats. For now the rear seats are covered with blue cloth but will be recovered next winter in dark blue naugahyde (leather imitation) to match the panels and front seats.
December 2003
Past two summers have gone mainly driving the car and getting to know it. What can I say ? It is fun, quite fast if needed and very easy to drive. Lots of torque available. I usually shift at 2000 rpm and that is quite enough to keep up with the traffic. A visit to street car drag race showed that the car lauches absolutely straight. The only annoyance being original valve springs and std lifters that will limit the revs. Lesson #1 at the strip: keep an eye to the rev counter...
Technically everything has worked OK. Oil pan leaked a bit but glassfibre mat and some resin cured that. The engine leaks some oil from lifter gallery front seal that needs fixing. Starter solenoid acted up but I took it apart, sanded the contacts clean and it has behaved since. Front suspension will be redone this winter, I will raise the front end a couple of centimeters and change the geometry a bit. A new Quiafe torsen diff is waiting to be fitted; as well as new valve springs.
Winter 2004-2005
Quaife diff proved to be splendid, lots of traction but some surprises at tight corners when the road surface was wet. As previously, the car launched straight and was really easy to handle during occasional visits at drag strip. Better traction improved 1/4 mile times a bit. Front suspension mods planned for winter 2003 were postponed due to lack of inspiration but the mods were done this winter. New components were of Opel Kadett C/Vauxhall Chevette origin. Improvements included a lot more substantial uprights and A-arms, as well as re-designed steering geometry. This resulted in a lot lighter steering, the first version being a bit too heavy.
Opel parts are really easy to interchange so I chose to uprate front brakes as well. The Omega 3000 discs with 280 mm diameter were fitted on Kadett hubs and Brembo 4-pots radial mount calibers were squeezed within 14" alloys.
The engine was freshened up as well. Valve guides were modified in situ to take positive seal type valve seals. An Edelbrock Performer intake manifold replaced the original one and an adaptor was fabricated to fit SU carbs to the manifold. For strip use I can replace the SU´s with an Edelbrock Performer 500 cfm carb. I also fitted a s/h Mallory Unilite distributor.
Autumn 2005
A bit disappointing summer. Mallory distributor caused a lot of grief. On initial starting since the winter storage there was no oil pressure. Quick inspection revealed that this distributor had previously been fitted to a SD1 engine and the shaft had been shortened. On my engine the shaft was too short to drive the oil pump. I had to dismantle the shaft, weld more material on the shaft and dress the welded section to fit inside the oil pump shaft. Well, having this fixed the oil pressure was OK. Next surprise came when the module inside the distributor died when the engine got warm. Next morning the engine ran perfectly, until it got warm again. I had to scrape together an old points distributor to get it running. A local USA parts dealer promised to get a spare module within 2-3 weeks. After almost 3 months of promises I got fed up and ordered a 2 modules directly from USA. Due to suspect distributor not drag strip passes this summer.
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