1987 3.2 Carrera Backdate project - Sladeys hotrod

[Bootsy]

That is a wonderful offer from petric

Yeah, but have you seen his hire rates!


Getting close to paint time!

he takes payment in tabs

Plus if you tell him a swear word he doesn't know it's free

[964RS]

he takes payment in tabs

Be cheaper to buy a new car...

I'm here Mark if you need anyone to watch and say 'I've no idea?'

[sladey]

Thanks guys

[petric]

I you all bad lads you lot always think the worst of me c nts

[sladey]

OK little bit more progress

Neil found a bit more corrosion at the bottom of the A post but cut it out and put a new plate in. observant readers will recall I did a small patch at the bottom of this area a year ago - I should have gone wider to get back to good steel. Anyway that's done now and a nice job too


heater tube, inner sill and jacking point now in


And Neil's carried on stripping back the rear wing - the paint was incredibly thick. I'm also pleased with my arch work here as it's looking smooth


I've got to say here that Neil's doing a cracking job - each piece is done methodically and neatly - he really knows what he's doing and it shows.

[Nige]

Good stuff Marky Mark and Neil.

Are you going up to the gutter as I seem to remember you had rusticles near there too.

[sladey]

Hi Nige,

No the gutter issues were on the other side - I had to cut them out and put a new patch in there - this side is all clear gutterwise. This side has a tiny bit of rust at the rear of the wing (i.e. by the lights) that Neil is sorting. We noticed it had cracked which seemed odd for the metal to do. That would be the quarter inch thick filler then Really can't understand why it's there as the rest of the panel is all good.

Contacted Wayne Schofield this morning re which map to use after it goes together again - there were issues with a few sunburnt pistons. He's advised which one to use and I'll get it in for a remap later in the year

Chatted to Mike this morning and he's getting Mick Cliff to help assemble it today! Hopefully aiming for collection next Tuesday but we'll see

Was hoping to get the engine in sooner than next week-end but it's not really a problem as I'll just slip the bodywork jobs around more - so the rubbing down I would have been doing next Saturday will be done this week-end instead along with getting that front wing fettled and on.

Neil's hoping to get his side finished this week. Painter hopefully coming to have a look this week.

tonight I will be cleaning the last of the induction stuff that remains, fitting a roll-over valve onto the expansion tank, fitting and removing the bonnet badge. All satisfying little jobs

[Mick Cliff]

Chatted to Mike this morning and he's getting Mick Cliff to help assemble it today! Hopefully aiming for collection next Tuesday but we'll see

He's such a wag that Mr Bainbridge! Yes, I was there, but all I could do was shake my head in wonderment at the state of various components from your engine Mark
I'll be there next Tuesday too, collecting my car - be good to see you?

[sladey]

Aha yes be good to see you too if mine is ready for Tuesday - got my fingers crossed!

Got an email off Mike earlier on and the case is now back together and the crank turns nicely

I thought I'd just write out a list of the things that were wrong with the engine. It was still running really well but was probably ready to blow up in the near future.

- masses and masses of gobbo in cam carrier – presumably trying to seal it. Bits of gobbo had come off already and you could see a lump of it poking out of one of the oil spray bar holes when you squirted oil through – not helping cooling
- burned pistons – only 3 burned (?) - but still usable. Could have been linked to advanced timing map I had done a few years ago but that would have been because it was coping with the engines other issues. Switching maps now and getting it checked through (if it was purely to do with the map it would probably have affected all pistons?)
- a number of the head bolts weren’t properly loctited in and consequently were a bit loose – made it easier to take apart but not a good thing if you’re driving it
- evidence the case had been fretting a bit (moving about)
- Case bolts – some O rings were showing damage as they came apart – may or may not have been assembled correctly on the last rebuild so may have contributed to the leaks
- Engine airflow tinwork completely missing
- Cams well worn and rocker faces also marked – able to regrind/reface though.
- Longstanding problem with case on one side – from when I bought it I think – a mark where someone previously had tried to lever off barrel
- However a load of loctite 574 was hiding similar problems with case mating surfaces on the other side – all 3 needed machining down - not dealt with on last rebuild
- Crank main bearing badly worn through
- Heads have acne – may have powered a submarine in previous life - but usable – the charles Bronson of cylinder heads – ugly but tough
- One valve guide had a bit of damage but can be sorted
- Chain ramps badly worn
- Valve springs not consistently installed – a fair number were upside down
- Rings – one snapped in two – possibly on installation, another disintegrated - no idea why
- Chunks of loose metal floating around inside the engine which appear to be some sort of aluminium - can only think something was left inside when Zentrum replaced the chain tensioners - I really dodged a bullet with that one - chewed up chunks were stuck to the mesh on the oil pump.

It's a testament to the design of these engines that even with all this stuff wrong it still ran really well (although it was of course pi55ing oil.....)

Here's a pic of one of those bearing shells - they aren't meant to be like that


I'm really excited about driving a properly assembled engine.

In the meantime the bodywork is still moving forward nicely. Outser sill is tacked in place and should all be welded up today


I picked up the front bumper from the strippers this morning (always nice to have a lapdance on your way to work )
I was really pleasantly surprised - it had started to rust round the edges but you're never sure how bad it is until you strip it


Looks pretty good. The only corrosion was a tiny bit in the corner


In spite of my good intentions last night I didn't get all my jobs done - Did pop the badge on though


Then I fitted the roll-over valve to the top of the breather tank (It lets it breath but if the car rolls over it stops fuel coming out). Started fabbing a bracket to hold the tank to the back of the headlight bucket but got knackered half way through and went inside

[Bootsy]

got knackered half way through and went inside

Slacker - back to work. You've got 6 weeks

[sladey]

Slacker yerself - you haven't replied to my PM yet requesting side scripts in oyster white. It's been nearly 30 seconds now - what are you playing at?

[Bootsy]

I was just about to!

[murph2309]

Mark - this is truly top stuff - and having a Bainbridge engine in the back is just fantastic. It completely transformed my car when I had it done. Feels like you've got over a particularly tricky hump and its the fun 'downhill' section now - keep going. It's going to be fantastic when it's done.

See you soon

R

[sladey]

Thanks matey. Had the O/S front wing on and off about 8 times today which got a bit irritating but aim happy with the end result. Really hoping it's downhill now.

and yes really really excited about Mike rebuilding the engine

[DustyM]

Mark,
Is that rust on the old bearing shell? How on earth do you get rust inside an engine full of oil

Going great, not long now, must get a few jobs done on my yoke before the trip is upon us.

Cheers
Jon