Wiring, Thermostat, Needles and Clonking

Best part of another 2 days spent in the garage this weekend. The needles went in. I presumed that the carbs wouldn't need fiddling with again as the seats, mixture and idle screws would not have moved. I now have high revs. Although still with the choke pulled out. It's all still very wrong at low revs though. So it's the timing then? Or is it simply time to set fire to it?

The new thermostat is now in. I took Lionel home which is probably about 0.2 miles away. The temp shot up to just below 3/4 again. Even with the fans on. And with plenty of water in it. So that didn't work either.

Lionel's main mission this weekend was to get the tacho working. After many hours of stripping the trunking, exposing wires which didn't go anywhere and trying to wire up the old dashboard, it was found that: the wire from the tacho to the coil wasn't wired up; that it is never going to work unless an electronic distributor is fitted; and the SD1 ballast resistor is needed because the TR7 tacho runs off 6v not 12v; and that a brown and white wire that was going nowhere is for the oil pressure warning light.

Paul reckons that the teeth sensitive metallic clonking noise is because the rear diff has got no oil in it. We shoved it over his pit and found the diff bolt plug. It was rounded off and stuck. Something fcuked on this car, what a surprise!

Clunking, Banging and Popping

Banging and Popping

This week has been a good week as I have managed to take the beast to work 4 days out of 5. Wow! The journeys have not been completely plain sailing though - as you could imagine if you are somewhat au fait with the content of this blog.

Typically, the beast starts with a bit of choke first time with no worries at all. It is obvious from the engine tone that it doesn't really want any choke and the smell of the engine is very petroly - too rich I am led to believe. But, and here is the dilemma, I can get over 3k revs if the choke is out but I can't idle without the choke in. If I rev it with the choke in, the v8 burble turns into an SAS firing range with bangs and pops all over the place.

So what's that all about ... the SU's still or the fuel pump or not a blue distributor cap? Meanwhile, I am getting damned good at heal and toeing!

Clunking

This week has seen the almost end of MNX500V as Geoff Something has agreed to take it away for me in exchange for a few bits from one of the other 7's that he has in a dismantled state in his warehouse. Geoff has been driving these ploppy cars around for many many years and thus, just might take Guru status off Ed. He suggested that the clunking is infact the trailing arm bushes as the bush hole has a tendency to oval itself after time.

Mr Haynes found the clunk (me arse)

With the beast on axle stands, a trolley jack and concrete blocks, propshaft removal began. Simon, (bloke next door, Who's Who has been updated!) and I wedged ourselves under and started to scrape knuckles. After about an hour and a couple of cuppas, off came the propshaft.

And there is nothing wrong with it. Cock! A quick trip round to Guru Ed confirmed this. So what else could it be? Bugger! Look at the drawings ... there are gears in the diff, there are teethy things on half shafts, and oodles of different bearings. It must be one of them then?

And as a new axle costs over 1000 big ones [almost as much as i paid for the damned thing!], the clunk is now referred to as a "feature"!

Mr Haynes found the clunk

On Friday, due to the dungy road works that are killing Kidderminster, I had to go on a very large and quite wonderful drive around various villages and lanes with the top down and the v8 burbling. Well, when I say burbling, I mean coughing and spluttering. For most of the way back, all was well if I drove with the choke out. That was until I was about to stop at a junction when the choke had to be shoved back in very quickly! the tune lasted a long time eh?!

So. An enjoyable little trip was had apart from the damned clunking. It must be something to do with the transmission? Over the weekend, I decided to get underneath the beast and have a nose around. There appears to be some play inn the propshaft. After consulting the great (?) Haynes, it suggested that a clunk on gear change is indeed the bearings in the propshaft. Huzzah!

Or not so huzzah as I now have to get my "not really designed for car repairs torso" (herein known as NRDFCRT) underneath a rusty 30 year old car body in order to remove 8 rusty 30 year old bolts from a rusty 30 year old propshaft. Oh joy.