G'day All,
You may remember by 76B covering herself in oil a few months back. The motor
has just returned from the machinists and should be bolted together today.
With a bit of luck, I should have the car back next week.
Now for the interesting stuff. Boy does this motor have a history.
Basically, it was a very, very worn motor. The main bearing shells were down
to the copper. The valve guides were described by my mechanic as the "most
worn guides I've ever seen in a running motor". Every ring was broken, the
top rings described as "destroyed" - hence the oil all over the motor and
the banging noise in the sump (ring ridges and exuberant driving helping
here). A very tired old motor, yet it still ran smoothly and pulled well.
The odometer shows 96,000 miles, I suspect that is 196 or more likely
296,000 miles. These old girls really do last well.
But, there has been a DPO. The first thing my mechanic found when pulling it
apart, was One high compression piston! Hmmm, not a factory fitting that.
Then, when they pulled the head apart, there were seven Mk 1 valves and one
Mk 2 valve - this is a '76 B, surely there should be no Mk 1 valves in it at
all, let alone a mix.
So, what are the hypotheses for this motor's life?
Mine is that sometime in the distant past, the motor cracked a head, badly
and it was replaced with a second hand head off a Mk 1 motor. Perhaps some
work was done, perhaps not, but after that, one valve seized and holed a
piston. This repair was done on the cheap and an odd valve and piston were
fitted. What do you reckon, or were they just having a bad day at Abington.
Gee, it's a bit like a murder mystery.
The B comes home in a week or so with a hot motor (well, very warm), lowered
suspension (to chrome bumper heights), new suspension bushes (everything
else in the suspension checked out okay) and new brakes. I've owned her
three months now and driven her three weeks - you reckon I'm excited.
Cheers
Richard
'76 B
and here's a piccy of the beast and my lovely wife:
http://www.geocities.com/twisted-lines/mganne1.jpg
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Anne and Richard Spurling
http://www.geocities.com/twisted-lines
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