1984 Granada BOA; small progress & Civic 25/10/24

[johnthesparky]

Jan 3, 2022 11:54:52 GMT mk2cossie said:

That is very true!
My friend has been to a few concerts and work do's before Christmas, and has been worried about everyone else at them spreading!
I'd rather not go if its that much of a risk

Yeah, not done much here, being self employed helps with the Christmas party thing
Only event I’ve been to was the Brackley Classic show on 27th, which could have been where I got it, but more likely a supermarket or customer (as I’ve done a few little jobs last week)

Is there many in your household you've had to isolate from?

Lucy and Tom (and Betsy the puppy )
Lucy is NHS, no real need to point out why I’m hoping she stays neg.
Tom is year 11, so don’t really want him to miss any school.

Ella has gone back to uni, and has been working.

[mk2cossie]

Only a brief update for me I'm afraid, as I've not had any time on the car this weekend

My gaskets did finally arrive on Thursday tho, 2 days after they were meant to arrive





And managed to dig out some spare parts from stock for a fellow Retro Rides member

[mk2cossie]

Finally got the ole girl running on Thursday at work during lunchbreak. After an Austin Powers moment shuffling around the workshop to get passed the occupied ramps, I ran it out side for about 15 minutes to see 8f there was any oil leaks...and there is

It would appear the schmoo put on between head and cam cover isnt resistant to oil build up behind it, and weeps out about the exhaust manifold

So apart again, and fit the Burton gaskets.

Question is, what kind of schmoo does the Retro Rides collective recommend using to attach the rubber gasket to the bare alloy cam cover?

(Supposed to use Loctite super glue on the Boost Performance gaskets, the ones from Burton Power have no instructions. And their top team when I called yesterday said just use silicone sealant )

[mk2cossie]

Another little update today, and hopefully some good schmoo for sticking the cam cover gaskets on!

Got some weld on fittings for the cam covers, as the drivers side one has too tight a bend for the oil hose to curve around. And the nearside cover is a bit of a bodge for its breather really.

The oil catch can cap will be ditched, and a -12 fitting used for that back to the air filter

[blackpopracing]

I always use Blue Hylomar. Apply to gasket & cover, leave to dry and assemble them together. Then do the same for gasket to engine housing.

[mk2cossie]

Jan 19, 2022 20:29:57 GMT blackpopracing said:

I always use Blue Hylomar. Apply to gasket & cover, leave to dry and assemble them together. Then do the same for gasket to engine housing.

In fairness, I do have a tube of blue Hylomar in my toolbox. But wasn't sure of its ability to hold a rubber gasket in place that has a habit of being spat out of the gap it is meant to be retained in

Yesterday (22nd) I was at work til about 6pm, but wasn't working on my car til about 1pm after having a sort out of tools, the MINI engine rebuild on my ramp, and helping Chris a bit with his dads van.

Managed to get both cam covers off after having a bit of a dry build with the weld on ends for the crankcase breather outlets.
Inket manifold has to come off before the cam covers come out, and in removing that found there has been an oil leak on to the drivers side cam cover
Found the cause of that in removing the inlet manifold, and finding that the inlet manifold has split apart at the end plate that is stuck on which explains the weak mixture readings I've been getting lately.

My AN fittings also turned up yesterday too, so they could be mocked up with where the weld on fittings need to be.
I'm hoping to be cheeky and cut a 3/4BSP thread on to the weld on section of the AN12 sized end, and just screw that in to where the breather cap would be on the catch can

Said fittings screwed on to the alloy weld on bits




And the nearside cam cover fitting needs to be welded on canted back, so it misses the coil pack

[silver63]

Regards the cam cover gaskets.I have the same engine in a Capri and have found the best sealant too use is a builders sealant called OB 1.I stuck the gasket too the cam cover left for 24 hours and then refitted.That was about 2 years ago and not leaking (yet)Paul.

[blackpopracing]

Hylomar should stick the gaskets ok if you follow the assembly instructions above.
As silver63 says bonding the gaskets on with an adhesive is another option.

[mk2cossie]

Took a few pics at lunchtime today of the parts for welding

[mk2cossie]

Parts were picked up after work on Monday for welding together, and yesterday was spent at work doing not a huge amount again

After a small tidy up of my workbench, I made a list of things I could do at the moment




And managed to do the engine mounts (I'd previously fitted the new mounts with stainless steel cups, but they didn't allow the engine to sit as low as normal in the subframe)

I did trial fit my old inlet manifold with the spacer plate between the throttle body and inlet manifold itself, so that the alloy elbow wasn't against the cylinder head casting!
The trouble then, is because of the angle the throttle plate is mounted on the inlet, meant the throttle body casting was very close to the cylinder head in the middle of the vee

So out with the die grinder and polishing implements, and ended up with this




And also found the source of the oil leak on to the top of the cam cover




The part right on the corner where the end cap is stuck on

[mk2cossie]

The lack of updates from me is mostly due to lack of enthusiasm, and this week testing positive for poxy C-19

Last few Saturdays I've been in to tinker on my car at work, and try and get some bits done whilst awaiting the alloy things being welded up

Getting an AN fitting welded on to each cam cover, the modified inlet manifold having its throttle bracket welded on, and the 2 litre catch can opened up and baffles fitted inside

Last Saturday I attacked the throttle body as much as I dare, and sorted out the iffy idle bypass screw.




Also made a better bodge job of the grill as well, so that won't rattle about any more

[comfortablynumb]

Liked for the work on the car, not the lurgy obvs

[biturbo228]

Just catching up on about 6 months of progress

Nice bit of diagnosis for the slow drain. Hadn't thought of using a temperature probe to see what circuits were warm when they shouldn't be. Clever.

Trackday looked fun too! Been a couple of years since I've been on one, but it's always been to Brands Indy. Cracking little circuit

Well done for keeping plugging away at it. Motivation waxes and wanes I find, but so long as you keep nudging thins forward things still get done. Hope the ol' covid is mild. Mine was, although like johnthesparky mine was perfectly timed over New Years.

[grifterkid]

Good to see this gem still motoring...!!

Superb...

[mk2cossie]

Feb 21, 2022 14:45:06 GMT biturbo228 said:

Just catching up on about 6 months of progress

Nice bit of diagnosis for the slow drain. Hadn't thought of using a temperature probe to see what circuits were warm when they shouldn't be. Clever.

Trackday looked fun too! Been a couple of years since I've been on one, but it's always been to Brands Indy. Cracking little circuit

Well done for keeping plugging away at it. Motivation waxes and wanes I find, but so long as you keep nudging thins forward things still get done. Hope the ol' covid is mild. Mine was, although like johnthesparky mine was perfectly timed over New Years.

It was more a stroke of luck discovering the warm relay after yet another flat battery incident

But it worked, and cured the issue, so I'll take that as a win

I've only been to Brands maybe 4 times now, and always the Indy. Not sure I'd be brave enough for the main back straight in the ole girl on the GP circuit!

Covid seemed to be a mild case, just a grotty throat in the morning, and an annoying cold like state for the week! Not entirely convinced isolation is the best course of action for everyone, as I am normally on my feet all day instead of binge watching god knows how much TV

[mk2cossie]

Yesterday was a better day, as I've been back at work all week, and collected most of my engine bits on Friday from Dave

There was much muttering about the welds, as the cam covers are 30 years old and produced a lot of curse word when welded, and strangely so did the alloy plate I purchased from Amazon

So cam covers got a tidy up, new gaskets fitted and left in place to fully go off







And fitted on the engine with one breather pipe sorted







And built the inlet back up, although I need to sort out a 1/4 drive extension of just the right length for the throttle shaft to reach the throttle linkage

[mr]

how heavy is all that inlet? looks massive in the pics

[mk2cossie]

Mar 1, 2022 13:37:15 GMT mr said:

how heavy is all that inlet? looks massive in the pics

It looks massive, because it is! Also quite a bit of weight to it, but not as heavy as it looks

[mk2cossie]

Unexpected school night update!

Yesterday, my second 90degree AN fitting arrived, so during my lunchbreak (and out in the rain) yesterday, it was fitted in place and some oil hose cut to size and fitted as snug as I could manage
Blimmin snug fit this push fit hose!







It isn't actually as kinked in real life as it looks in those pics! Must be the real day light affecting the photo
It also needs to be tight against the bulkhead, as the coil pack fits on the inlet manifold in that area

[mk2cossie]

Well, I am still here. And the car was back together and running about a fortnight ago, but wasn't brave enough to take it anywhere long distance for fear of breaking down (or the car giving up!)

Outlet pipe on the catch can goes up to the air filter, and rests pretty much on it to hopefully keep crankcase smells out of the cabin area, and the modified inlet manifold fits and clears everything as well! (Although the HT leads are a tad tight to get to with the bigger end caps on the manifold)




Which also means I've only got 2 items on my list to do




Although friday was a wasted day of doing absolutely nothing due to complete enthusiasm failure, yesterday was at work from 9am til 2pm. Gave the car a quick wash, tidied up my bay in the workshop so there wasn't quite so much clutter everywhere from being non stop the past month, and then attacked the wheels on my car













Oh, that means another thing needs crossing off the list, and just the A post trims to re-cover!