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May 21, 2010 18:08:36 GMT
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I've always had a small (ish) streak of bush mechanic about me. Maybe it was growing up in Queensland, maybe it was years of running cars on a shoestring (one between all of them), or maybe a bit of both. I don't think it means I value the cars any less, just that if I can find a successful improvisation I'm generally happy to use it. In fact, it canbe a very useful trait on cars with limited parts support. I've noticed that not all car owners, and certainly not all classic owners, share this outlook. Some would rather see their beloved classic laid up for 5 years waiting for just the right spec of indicator lens screw than be seen with any old self-tapper. OK, that's maybe a little extreme but you get my drift. So I thought it might be interesting to see what sort of owners Retro Rides attracts by presenting a little job I had today and seeing your reactions by way of a poll: Sheila (my Triumph 1300) has needed a camshaft replacement for quite a while (probably since before I got her) and I finally got hold of a good used one off EBay last week for the princely sum of £2.99. Today was sunny so off came her bonnet, some cunning hooks were devised to lift her tappets: And out came her camshaft. As suspected, there was virtually no lobe left for No1 inlet and most of the others were looking pretty sorry for themselves: Not so expected, in fact a bit of a curse word, really, was this (No3) journal: Not so much from the fact that it had shrunk by about 10 thou as the fact that the bore in the block had also shrunk by a similar amount thanks to welded-on cam lobe. I knew there was a problem when I needed a hammer to get the shaft out Number 4 journal was also worn by about 5 thou but at least it was smooth. So, what to do? Bearings are available and small journal cranks but that involves money, time off road, and getting the engine out with no lifting facilities. On the other hand, it's been running like it is so, if only the replacement shaft had the same amount of wear on those rear journal, there seems a fair chance that it'd keep going - and would have all its bumps again! Obviously, the solution must be to induce similar wear on the replacement journals. For that we need two lathes back-to-back - the shaft is slightly too long for my trusty Hobbymat: and something to rub against the journal. 80 grit flap disk seemed to fit the bill just right Haven't finished reassembling cos it was hot out there today and I started feeling distinctly unwell, but there should be a running (or not) report sometime tomorrow. So, quality initiative, pointless waste of time or the most heinous form of car crime you've ever seen? *** edited to put up correct piccy of journal ***
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,117
Club RR Member Number: 134
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What sort of owner are you?ToolsnTrack
@overdrive
Club Retro Rides Member 134
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May 21, 2010 18:29:59 GMT
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is that old cam bent as well? I take it that was due to removing?
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May 21, 2010 18:37:27 GMT
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No, the apparent bend is cos my camera distorts a bit in macro mode.
I do have the offer (I think it's still open) of a Herald engine if it all goes horribly wrong but it's a couple of hundred miles away and I'm not convinced the reserve car (Daf 33) would be all that happy lugging it back here!
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May 21, 2010 19:44:00 GMT
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the answer depends on the job in question.
I have found when ever I try save a few quid by "improvising" a repair it ends up costing pretty much as much as a proper part would have done by the time I'm done.
I also despair when I am working on a car and some previous owner has bastardised it up using goodness knows what meaning I have to replace twice as much stuff to put right a simple fault.
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1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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May 21, 2010 19:46:28 GMT
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meh, I arc welded up the seriously worn lobes on a honda CB250A and profiled the cam with an anglegrinder once just so I had transport, so yeah, if it works, do it. It's not like you can make it worse
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in
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May 21, 2010 19:50:58 GMT
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meh, I arc welded up the seriously worn lobes on a honda CB250A and profiled the cam with an anglegrinder once just so I had transport, so yeah, if it works, do it. It's not like you can make it worse I'm not the only one then - did the same on a BMW 2500 auto back when they were just old tanks that no-one wanted using some hardfacing rods I had. Work-hardened up a treat after the initial wear ;D
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May 21, 2010 19:51:06 GMT
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Depends on the car. If it's one I intend keeping or I'm doing some irregular mods, I'll improvise. Like the plumbing parts used to make some funky hose adapters to run a large weber on a car it wasn't designed for. If it's a car I'm not keeping forever, or was expensive, or plan to sell, I'll fork out for the right bit. I usually would fix engine stuff right though. I'll wait and see how your 'induced wear' works out
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tofufi
South West
Posts: 1,449
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May 21, 2010 20:12:11 GMT
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Depends on the car.
Beetle - everything is done right, first time.
Bus and Rover are kept running, with correct bits where possible. If it's not possible to do a job right and get it on the road ASAP, I'll fix it and then do a more permanent repair when I can.
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purplevanman
Posted a lot
Way too orangey for crows
Posts: 3,829
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May 21, 2010 20:58:07 GMT
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I had a Suzuki T 250, 250 twin, 2 stroke, speed machine I holed one of the pistons and being cash less I took out the offending piston, countersunk the hole and fitted a countersunk allen bolt from the top and center punched the back of the nut to stop it undoing at high rpm It worked for ages, although it was not quite as smooth as it was before
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May 21, 2010 21:37:29 GMT
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Someone should gather all the successful solutions like that into a book - Mr Haynes never covers that sort of repair ;D
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Chops
Club Retro Rides Member
Don't touch me I've been somewhere
Posts: 454
Club RR Member Number: 36
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What sort of owner are you?Chops
@exodore
Club Retro Rides Member 36
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May 21, 2010 22:04:59 GMT
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I had a Suzuki T 250, 250 twin, 2 stroke, speed machine I holed one of the pistons and being cash less I took out the offending piston, countersunk the hole and fitted a countersunk allen bolt from the top and center punched the back of the nut to stop it undoing at high rpm It worked for ages, although it was not quite as smooth as it was before Love it, that's one of the best bodges i've ever heared of As for the original question, I hope the cam bodge works a treat and lasts for years. IMHO as long as it is safe and it works, it's fine. "Good on yer"
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May 21, 2010 22:29:16 GMT
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I rarely bodge stuff partially because I actually gain more enjoyment from being thorough and doing stuff right but there are occasions when it's the only way.
My old mans Volvo 960 head gasket went and it turned out the head had corroded really badly all around the water jacket openings. I used a die grinder to get the worst of the corosion out then filled all the damage with JB weld and finally 'refaced' the head with a big flat file, a feeler guage and a straight edge. It did another 70k on that engine with no problems, so the bodges can work out well. I still avoid it if at all possible though.
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Grunty....thats superb! Thats got to be right up there in king of the great bodge! LOL. My father worked in Iran in the 70s, and in charge of plant machinery. A mack truck was used to deliver water to site (in the desert) and blew a rod through the block. no spares for weeks, so a local guy fixed it using a second hand rod, riveted a plate over the hole and fitted it with a big end shell which he carved from a local hardwood. It soldiered on for a couple of months until a new motor turned up lol.
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There is still a place in this world for the skill of bodging ;D My old man was an aircraft engineer during the war and would often have to 'improvise' to get something airbourne if it meant a plane would escape capture or damage if left to sit.
He did however have an eye for detail and , with more time available woull always tell me " Never mind fxing whats broken, found out WHY it broke ".
I used to improvise on a regular basisis when younger and potless, especially when I neede the car to go somewhere and didn't have the luxury of cash to throw around or time. Even now , I've crawled under and bodged something rather than call the RAC .
However old age means I try to get it right first time as I can't be rrrsd to do jobs several times nowadays.
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10mpg
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,253
Club RR Member Number: 204
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What sort of owner are you?10mpg
@10mpg
Club Retro Rides Member 204
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May 22, 2010 11:46:02 GMT
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Improvisation in my book is an essential skill and very worthwhile, BUT I'd only ever consider it as a 'get you home' initiative.
If you going to go to the bother of stripping an engine like that or do any work at home where you have your tools and the time to do it right then FFS just do it right, what on earth is the point of bodging something when you don't need to..
on this particular case if it works and is reliable then fair play, but if it doesn't then you've wasted your time effort and another perfectly good cam, when if you'd done it properly (like you say bits are available) you'd be guaranteed for it to work and work properly, that's how I like my cars if at all possible!
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Last Edit: May 22, 2010 11:47:18 GMT by 10mpg
The Internet, like all tools, if used improperly, can make a complete bo**cks of even the simplest jobs...
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May 22, 2010 18:38:39 GMT
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My most favouritest bodge was when a mate's fuel pump packed up on his mini late one night, with 3 of us in it, and 10 miles from home. Filled the washer bottle with petrol from the outlet of the (twin) tanks. Plumbed the washer pump to the carb, and wired to the ignition. Got us 8 miles before it needed a refill. He even went to work in it the next day. It didn't get him home again.
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'83 GTM Coupe. 4A-GE Powered '00 GTM Libra Auto. Ick. '71 Detomaso Pantera. Current Resto '89 GMC Safari Tow/Kip bus '05 SAAB 9-3 Daily '71 Siva Moonbug. Not even contemplating resto yet.
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May 22, 2010 19:07:11 GMT
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Well it's nice to see that when you're giving your Sheila a freshly turned shaft, you at least remove your pants. That's polite.
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Team Blitz Ford Capri parts worldwide: Restoration, Road, or Race. Used, Repro, and NOS, ranging from scabby to perfect. Itching your Capri jones since 1979! Buy, sell, trade. www.teamblitz.com blitz@teamblitz.com
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May 22, 2010 19:19:16 GMT
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The trouble with a proper job here is that bearing shells are available but the early engines (like this one) never had them fitted so using them involves pulling the block, stripping and sending it to be line bored. Seeing as Sheila's my daily driver that would be far too long off-road if it can be avoided!
Anyway, as promised, a running update:
Obviously no instant explosion, which was good, and on first road test (about 19 fairly hard driven miles) she's performing beautifully. A while ago after doing some head work I took 30-50 times in 3rd and 4th and was disappoined that they were a little slower than she was when new.
Motors figures way back when were 8.7 seconds in 3rd and 12.7 seconds in top. While I was out I repeated the test and got 6.9 in 3rd (average over 4 runs) and 11.8 in top (single run). So, if she doesn't fall apart next week it seems like it's all good ;D
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May 22, 2010 19:24:10 GMT
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If you want to go even faster, lighten the load and leave the pants off. Out in the snake country nobody cares anyway, right? ;D
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Team Blitz Ford Capri parts worldwide: Restoration, Road, or Race. Used, Repro, and NOS, ranging from scabby to perfect. Itching your Capri jones since 1979! Buy, sell, trade. www.teamblitz.com blitz@teamblitz.com
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