I just wanted to drop a public "Thank You" to the list. I got my
rebuilt motor running for the first time, Saturday. Indeed it ran very
strong (I'll give details at the end of this message). Many people
here have been very helpful with suggestions and information otherwise
not available. I know a lot of headaches were eliminated or
drastically reduced by the collective knowledge of the list. (And
while I have auto-mechanical experience this was the first LBC I've
ever worked on--making this list a true asset). At the risk of
mentioning names (and skipping others) let me just drop a general
thank you to all who've helped. There are quite a few of you!
Also, thanks to my father, William Gregory (who occasionally reviews
this list) without whom this project wouldn't have been possible.
While I'm very comfortable replacing a water pump, rebuilding the
brakes, or rewiring my dash, it was his expertise that allowed for the
engine rebuild. His knowledge of motors, especially cylinder heads, is
far beyond mine. And thus, he allows me to go places I normally would
fear to tread! It is a credit to him that the motor started right up,
timed perfectly, and ran so strong. (And you know the sound of a
healthy motor when you hear one)
Here are details...
The engine would not run at first. It would appear to start then
mysteriously shut off immediately. I thought it was a fuel problem but
we noticed the resistance wire supplying the coil got very hot and
even started to melt. Turns out it was defective, and was not
conducting under load. The coil was receiving 12V at cranking (which
we routed from the starter solenoid) but the 6V necessary to power the
ignition system and keep the car running was missing.
We decided to eliminate the resistance wiring, which is built into the
main wire harness. Instead, we are going to use an external ballast
resistor and just tap off a hot feed from the ignition switch.
Unfortunately, no ballast resistor was readily available. So we are
going to order one from Vicky Brit on Monday.
In the meantime, we ran a temporary 12V lead straight to the coil to
test the motor. It ran great. But we didn't run it long because we
were afraid the 12V would be hard on a coil designed to operate on
just 6V.
The motor idled smoothly at 600RPM. It had 25 lbs oil pressure at
idle. Oil pressure quickly rose to 65 lbs as the RPMs increased.
Timing at idle was 10 degrees BTC and advanced well up to 25-30
degrees under acceleration. Do these numbers sound good?
The cooling system and electric fan also worked good.
The car still is not drivable. I'm waiting on a few parts due in early
this week. (such as a throttle cable) But it should be street ready
within a week.
Thanks again all!
--Rick
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