But not with PMW.
I have received lots of advice on how to get PMW started so thanks to everyone who has helped. I will get back on that particular case in a couple of weeks (after the Pendle and Pennine Not the Christmas Meal).
Correspondence with "Mad Uncle Ted" though has confirmed PMW is a very early Mk2 2000 and quite possibly the second earliest still in existence so it is actually of historic significance which means I'll be keeping it as original as possible.
Today though I returned to UNJ, the TR7 convertible. Lying under the car messing about with swapping over a second hand starter motor isn't the most enjoyable way of spending time but I did try and do everything correctly with all the connections, repositioning the heat shield whilst making sure none of the cables were trapped etc.
Then refitting the battery and time to turn the key, not expecting any response of course. Amazingly the starter turned over and after a few attempts the car sprang back into life - hurragh! Feeling rash I even turned the lights on and they all worked, even the rear number plate and sidelights which had gone on strike in France in September.
Just a case then of tidying up and not leaving the car running too long as it now has no fan fitted and I don't want overheating probelms. The other thing is that there is hardly any fuel in the car and I definitely don't want the dregs from the fuel tank being pulled through the fuel lines and into the carbs.
Next things UNJ needs are some petrol and an electric fan kit.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Sunday, December 29, 2013
So why won't it run?
Along with my mate Paul Darbyshire (a big thanks to him) Saturday December 28th was the day when PMW was to fire up.
First off we replaced the split hose on the inlet manifoild (after breaking off part of the pipe in the manifold - oops). Refilled with water all OK - for now.
Then spotted that the vacuum pipe from the dizzy to the carbs was somewhat short so found the remainder and fitted that.
Now for the time to start the car.
Err - no, not turning over fast enough. So with 4 batteries all charged up in total we used jump leads from one of them to the battery on PMW and tried again. Not a great improvment and not even a sign of a "cough".
Next up - we used a battery pack which improved things a bit on the turning over front but no joy again.
Right, back to first principles. Is there a spark? So we placed a spare spark plug in number one lead and put that on the rocker cover. Yes there was a spark when we fired it up (Knew there would be from last time but worth checking again).
Next - get the timing sorted. Done with the aid of a didgital analyser.
No joy again.
Next - check that when it's at TDC on the firing stroke for number 1 that the rotor arm is pointing at the right post in the dizzy cap for number 1. No it wasn't! No idea how that happened but we changed the spark plug leads round so that it was now 180 degrees from where they were and correctly aligned.
Well that made no difference either.
It was probably around this time I noticed water running down the side of the engine block.Probably a core plug, oh good. I should have replaced them as a matter of course but they all looked really good and I decided not to disturb things when I was rebuuilding the engine. Oh well another job for later but that can wait until I get the engine running.
Back to it. I have never been happy with the battery on the car which was a square post type instead of the correct round type and the fixings weren't great either. I had bought new round type battery clamps so we fitted these and substituted a known good battery of the correct type from BRP if I remember correctly.
Now with the battery pack connected the engine turned over noticeably quicker but still without any sign of even looking like a spark of interest.
We checked fuel delivery all the way to both carbs and that was fine. Even easy start didn't help.
OK, just in case our logic was wrong from earlier I put together a spare dizzy cap and leads fitted 180- degrees "out" and we fitted that for another try which resulted in absolutely no difference at all - the engine turning over but no sign of firing up at all.
Just for a bit of light relief we wandered over to the Rover SD1 VDP, fitted a battery and turned the key for the first tine in a year. And it started first time!!!! No, not really but it did sound like if we had begun the day with that one we would have had a car running by the end of it.
All out of ideas it was time to call it a day after 4 1/2 hours of puzzling over why the car won't start.
Any ideas out there?
First off we replaced the split hose on the inlet manifoild (after breaking off part of the pipe in the manifold - oops). Refilled with water all OK - for now.
Then spotted that the vacuum pipe from the dizzy to the carbs was somewhat short so found the remainder and fitted that.
Now for the time to start the car.
Err - no, not turning over fast enough. So with 4 batteries all charged up in total we used jump leads from one of them to the battery on PMW and tried again. Not a great improvment and not even a sign of a "cough".
Next up - we used a battery pack which improved things a bit on the turning over front but no joy again.
Right, back to first principles. Is there a spark? So we placed a spare spark plug in number one lead and put that on the rocker cover. Yes there was a spark when we fired it up (Knew there would be from last time but worth checking again).
Next - get the timing sorted. Done with the aid of a didgital analyser.
No joy again.
Next - check that when it's at TDC on the firing stroke for number 1 that the rotor arm is pointing at the right post in the dizzy cap for number 1. No it wasn't! No idea how that happened but we changed the spark plug leads round so that it was now 180 degrees from where they were and correctly aligned.
Well that made no difference either.
It was probably around this time I noticed water running down the side of the engine block.Probably a core plug, oh good. I should have replaced them as a matter of course but they all looked really good and I decided not to disturb things when I was rebuuilding the engine. Oh well another job for later but that can wait until I get the engine running.
Back to it. I have never been happy with the battery on the car which was a square post type instead of the correct round type and the fixings weren't great either. I had bought new round type battery clamps so we fitted these and substituted a known good battery of the correct type from BRP if I remember correctly.
Now with the battery pack connected the engine turned over noticeably quicker but still without any sign of even looking like a spark of interest.
We checked fuel delivery all the way to both carbs and that was fine. Even easy start didn't help.
OK, just in case our logic was wrong from earlier I put together a spare dizzy cap and leads fitted 180- degrees "out" and we fitted that for another try which resulted in absolutely no difference at all - the engine turning over but no sign of firing up at all.
Just for a bit of light relief we wandered over to the Rover SD1 VDP, fitted a battery and turned the key for the first tine in a year. And it started first time!!!! No, not really but it did sound like if we had begun the day with that one we would have had a car running by the end of it.
All out of ideas it was time to call it a day after 4 1/2 hours of puzzling over why the car won't start.
Any ideas out there?
Sunday, December 22, 2013
PMW brake hoses
So another 3 hours on PMW.
First I have never fitted the air cleaner assembly with the back on as the air filters were too deep. Well I took another look and that's not actually true, it just needed more determination so now the assembly is as it should be, with the back on it and fitted up to the carbs.
Then I moved on to the heater hoses and the radiator hoses and refitted them. I used some new hoses here and there but one wouldn't fit without a kink in it so I kept the old one on instead.
Good to fill the radiator up with water as you hear the various noises the system makes as it refills, another sign of the car coming alive again. I prefer not to put antifreeze in straight away as you never know if there could yet be a problem so why risk wasting costly antifreeze?
My point was proven as water poured out from a hose hidden away under the heater hoses near the bulkhead. I had missed this one and it is rotten/split so will need a new one.
Moving on then to another area. I had bought months (years?) ago new braided brake hoses so I went to fit these to the front. The old one at the front nearside was a pig to get off but after the usual old tricks I was successful and refitted the new one. Thing is though, because I had dropped the suspension to change the engine I couldn't remember how it all fixed to a plate and the coppper brake pipe that goes to the union inside the engine bay.
I even went to the trouble of taking photos so I could ask on the Club Triumph forum for guidance but in the end didn't need to as I worked it out - see the photo below.
First I have never fitted the air cleaner assembly with the back on as the air filters were too deep. Well I took another look and that's not actually true, it just needed more determination so now the assembly is as it should be, with the back on it and fitted up to the carbs.
Then I moved on to the heater hoses and the radiator hoses and refitted them. I used some new hoses here and there but one wouldn't fit without a kink in it so I kept the old one on instead.
Good to fill the radiator up with water as you hear the various noises the system makes as it refills, another sign of the car coming alive again. I prefer not to put antifreeze in straight away as you never know if there could yet be a problem so why risk wasting costly antifreeze?
My point was proven as water poured out from a hose hidden away under the heater hoses near the bulkhead. I had missed this one and it is rotten/split so will need a new one.
Moving on then to another area. I had bought months (years?) ago new braided brake hoses so I went to fit these to the front. The old one at the front nearside was a pig to get off but after the usual old tricks I was successful and refitted the new one. Thing is though, because I had dropped the suspension to change the engine I couldn't remember how it all fixed to a plate and the coppper brake pipe that goes to the union inside the engine bay.
I even went to the trouble of taking photos so I could ask on the Club Triumph forum for guidance but in the end didn't need to as I worked it out - see the photo below.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
No connection
Well I didn't have a connection to the starter motor on UNJ as it snapped off - see one of the previous blog entries.
So yesterday I lay under the car and carefully stripped the end off the wire, used a "proper" crimp connector with a "proper" crimping tool whilst remembering to put an insulating boot on the wire first. None of this being at all easy whilst lying on your back as opposed toin a lovely warm workshop and bench in said workshop preparing a new wiring loom.
Managed it tho - hurragh!
Blooming car won't start though - not even a hint of the starter motor responding :-(
Next then on this member of the fleet will be to tke the starter motor off and see if one of the three spare second hand ones ---
a) fit
b) work
If none of the above I won't be a happy bunny.
Still, there's always PMW to go back to and see if I can have running by the end of the Christmas break.
So yesterday I lay under the car and carefully stripped the end off the wire, used a "proper" crimp connector with a "proper" crimping tool whilst remembering to put an insulating boot on the wire first. None of this being at all easy whilst lying on your back as opposed toin a lovely warm workshop and bench in said workshop preparing a new wiring loom.
Managed it tho - hurragh!
Blooming car won't start though - not even a hint of the starter motor responding :-(
Next then on this member of the fleet will be to tke the starter motor off and see if one of the three spare second hand ones ---
a) fit
b) work
If none of the above I won't be a happy bunny.
Still, there's always PMW to go back to and see if I can have running by the end of the Christmas break.
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