LagoonBlue

Now taking a mental break from my (quite very, very, much unsuccessful) dating attempts.. Rebuilding engines is soo much easier... Anyhow here is the underside of the head; And here you can see the hardened exhaust valve seat; So good time as any to put some bits back together; Used some rather primitive tools but then again so is the Xflow.. Had to do this twice as there was still some crud left in the nook and crannies of the casting. I used the best set of stock springs and retainer plates I had. New valve retainers and (obviously) new valve stem seals. Somehow i forgot to change the core plug at the end of the casting, seemed to be just fine but would be a pain to change later if it starts to leak. Should have couple in the shelve so will do that next time. Since I had a little bit time left I took a quick look at the rocker shaft; Too worn I might have a spare hidden somewhere though probably as worn as this one. Luckily not overly expensive to replace provided that the arms are good enough to reuse.

Priorities.. Those long commutes made me do something that I have not done for a good while; made me think. Let's face it, I'm 47 and not getting any younger. Seems that between all the work and tinkering I forgot to live. Here illustrated in a handy chart is what I came up: So I rented an apartment in the big city close to work (Spent my first night there yesterday), kitted out with brand new necessities and actually habitable by humans unlike my old dump. Thanks to some convoluted arrangements that I wont't bore you with I am able to have the use of my current garage but due to distance that will probably be mostly weekends and holidays. To be fair that has been the case for a while anyway. For now I will need to take a breather, meet new people, have fun, see new places and maybe find out what the fairer sex has to offer. Heck I would not even count out an heir, at this pace they can finish the job Though no time to waste if that's something I end up wanting. Fear not, the Cortina shall be done but got to sort this out first. -Peter

Got the head back from machine shop, actually finished ages ago but I only had now time to collect it as I have couple weeks of vacation lined up. Work done; Parts wash Inspected (NTD) K-Line valve guides (8pcs.) Hardened exhaust valve seats fitted Intake valve seats machined Head surfaced Exh. & intake faces surfaced Leak tested So apart from using K-Line sleeves instead of Burton valve guides all went as expected, no surprises. Shop recommended K-Lines sleeves since they are familiar with those and had all the requisite tooling ready to go, fine by me if the result is the same. Sorry no pics from the underside as I did not want to drop and mix the valves.. Not sure if this side got any work done but seemed straight enough for me and there will be a gasket here anyways. Intake manifold also got unbananad. Grand total 582€, 'bout half a grand in £ Sure, I could of found a "guy" that would of done it cheaper but for a professional shop with good reputation and that is willing to stand behind their work this seems to be the going rate these days in this part of the world. It's only money, more get's printed everyday So what's next? I guess i'll make a separate post below..

Finally got the distributor bushing from overseas. If I had thought ahead I would of have removed and replaced one bushing at a time though these should go in straight no matter what. I did shorten one of the original bushings to act as a guide for the other end which might of had helped, certainly did not hurt any. I could of have pressed in the new bushings but for finer control I opted to use a 12mm nut & bolt and a stack of large washers. To protect the new bushing I always had old bushing facing it. For some reason these went in better without heating the casting. After this I had to redo all the adjustments, these are detailed quite well in the works manual. I am happy to say that everything now works as it should, though there is still the tiniest bit of points bounce at about ~4K RPMs and beyond (goes away if I "help" the spring with my finger). Points with stiffer springs were available at least back in the day but for my use this will not matter too much. A good learning experience, main lesson being that checking play at the distributor shaft is critical.

Still waiting on the distributor bushings... In the meantime I scored these for the sweet, sweet sum of naught; Series 2 so not much use for me apart from few small odds and ends but for free I am not complaining. Steering linkage had some "interesting" repairs on it but even that has couple good spare bits. Not free but really close were these 8" NK 25 25 33 rear brake drums that I got on clearance; Listed to fit Courier Pickup and Fiesta MK4 Compared to original; Retainer screw hole in a different spot and the "top hat" portion where the lug nuts are sticks out a little less (fits the rim just fine). However all the dimensions that matter match. Nothing but to try them on. First I had to scrape off the paint that some idiot had sprayed on the hubs Brake bits thrown in. New retaining screw hole drilled on the opposite side of the original with using old drum as a template. One might as well skip this as hardly anybody in their right mind uses those. Contact patch on the new drum. Nothing scrapes and everything works as it should so I will call this a success, especially considering these cost abot one tenth compared to EBC;s offerings. I painted outside of the drums with caliper paint (couple thin coats) and assembled both sides on the axle; Might not seem much but finding suitable 8" drums at a sensible price was not easy. Not that I can't afford EBC;s but being a skinflint that just does not sit right with me

Got my new Bosch points; Much better quality compared to Intermotor points, though twice the price. Sadly did not change anything, dizzy still loses the plot at around 4K RPMs. On closer inspection what I had thought to be good bushings were not. After running in the tester whatever varnish etc. had worn out and the shaft now has noticeable radial play on it, especially at the top bushing. Previously I did not dare to thoroughly clean the bushings so had not spot the issue. I did remember to keep the shaft well lubed whilst testing it, which probably helped wash them out. Sensible thing to do would be to get a new pointless ignition unit but where's the fun in that Parts book did not have a number for the bushings but after a deep dive in the net I found the right part (bot. & top the same); A8A-12120-A 1948-56 US cars,trucks and tractors. OD .596" (19/32", 15.1384mm) ID .4695" (15/32", 11.9253mm) L 7/8" (22.225mm) So in typical Ford fashion they must have found a railcar full of these and decided to use them up. And of course some weird SAE size but luckily still widely available inexpensively... stateside Shipping will take for ever (and cost a bunch). Taking out the old bushings was fairly easy; There is a cast and machined stop in the middle of the casing for locating the bushes so a 12mm tap was wound through until it got hard to turn. And the tap & bushing combo was then pounded out from the other side after heating the casting with a blowtorch. Same was done for the bottom bushing.

Thank you! I did though about using one of those hand vacuum pumps but local ones were too expensive and it can take close to month for one to arrive from the far east. One reason why I have so much jun.. I mean useful stuff, I hate waiting on things to ship We did use syringes for pulling vacuum at the hospital I previously worked and provided that the system is properly sealed they do work surprisingly well. Might add one to my buy list though and also a proper flaring tool.

Yesterday was spent spent with servicing my daily hack; change to summer tires, one ball joint, front caliper slide pins, oil & filter and tailgate latch adjustment. After the recent clutch job left side drive shaft seal has started leaking but I had to order the part so will have to do that next weekend, topped up the oil for now. Sure seems that any small issue needs to be promptly attended with the driving I do nowadays. Anyhow, today I had the change to play with my distributor tester and my "good" distributor. Note that the mechanical advance springs are different; Correct advance slot also needs to be used, 16L in my case. Vacuum advance pin and breaker plate had excessive play so I drilled hole on the plate to 4,5mm and turned a new pin to match. Shaft end-float approx. 1,5mm, barely a perceivable axial play on the shaft and breaker upper-lower plate clearance of 0.15mm on this one. I verified the RPM meter calibration with a scope. Being a VDO it was ok as expected. Pulses are 90 degrees apart. Resistance on the points was less than 1ohm which seems reasonable (4 wire measurement used due to low resistance). Of course the full path from lead to distributor body needs to be measured. After setting the points cap dwell angle was measured; Spot on at 1000RPM (engine). But starting at 4K RPM things do not look great, 5K RPM here; Dwell measured at 36~37 degrees. Again difficult to take a pic but you can just about see that there is something funny happening with the signal. Since everything else feels fine I think this might be points bounce? This would not surprise me at all since my new Intermotor points looked like crap to begin with. I need to try a proper set of points to be sure though. Maybe Bosch would fare better Also took a quick look at vacuum advance; Linearity of the curve seems fine but starts to advance too early. Should be adjustable with shims at the vacuum unit. Did not have the time to check and/or adjust the mechanical advance, something for the next time. Also better to adjust with a good set of points.

The complicated thing about fixing distributors is that for checking their function one really needs a distributor tester... So I made this; Took entirely way, way too much time to make.. Made from junk I had squirreled away (as usual). Thing has a AC motor that is controlled by a variable frequency drive (VFD) which rotates a flywheel that has a LED attached and a mount for distributor pinion. On the top there is an adjustable degree wheel and a standard automotive RPM meter (divide by 2 for distributor RPM). Brushes for the LED. Copper from water pipe, brushes from a drill motor. Good practice for getting used to my lathe. Back is bit of a mess, ehh works so good enough. BNC connector for scope etc. if needed. LED has three main modes; Points open (surely has some use cases, mainly here because it was easy to implement) Points closed Dot mode for easier alignment Points closed mode is the inverse of points open, made with one transistor logic inverter. Dot mode was a bit trickier, I used a 4538 monostable multivibrator to pulse the LED when input goes high and resets after it goes low. By changing the motor RPM with VFD advance curves from the centrifugal weighs can be deduced. For vacuum advance I thought about using a syringe and a suitable vacuum gauge, does not need to be high tech. Max RPM is about 6k (engine) which is plenty enough. It is nigh impossible to take good pics when operating, just trust me that in person the LED is sharp and easy to read. DOT mode. Points open. In addition to advance it is easy to spot points bounce or dirty contacts and cam wear. Dwell angle can be calculated from RPM and degrees but for that I have a Fluke 78 automotive multimeter that has the dwell angle measurement built in. Resistance is also easy to check with a suitable meter. With this tester I can test my distributor as much and more than needed Certainly better than just hoping that it works.

Checked my other front cover; Later 681F part so a little bit different, might work but is in a sorry state so let's continue with my original cover. Seal on the rear main seal carrier was also removed, for this I machined couple tools. Without these the carrier might easily get bent. And after sodablasting. Both came up looking really good, front cover has minor marks near the seal but those should not be too visible with the pulley installed. However this lead me to another issue for when it's time to reassemble. Workshop manual calls for centering tools to be used when installing the covers but these are no longer available (at least I could not find any) and pictures in the book are not very good. I am sure installation could be done without the tools but if (whit my luck..) the seal is not properly centered it will not last too long. Will have to do some figuring how those centering tools are supposed to work. In preparation I cast some aluminium stock (have you seen the price of ally lately); Do not mind the kitty, tried some lost foam casting while I had the pot going. Machines like butter, and about as messy too Some voids here and there but will not matter for my use. And lastly I finally found enough time to send my head for machining. Let's hope that will go as planned.

Straightening the carburettor flange was far easier than I had thought; I made a notch in a sturdy piece of angle iron which was then clamped to a table. Corner could then be carefully massaged back in to line with a plastic/rubber mallet. I did slightly heat the part, though do not know if that helped any. After that corner (and only the corner) was filed and stoned flat. Because the gasket is so thick this does not need to be absolutely bang on but I did get fairly straight. Next I soda blasted and cleaned the carb body again; Not too bad! On the side I took a better look at my front timing cover. There are some nasty looking dings around the seal but luckily bore seemed fine. I might have a better one at storage, will have to remember to check next time I'm over there. Knocking the old seal out was easy with the cover uninstalled, I only needed a large enough pipe to receive the seal and a big socket that happened to be just the right size.

A small interlude as I prepare another pot of carburettor soup in the ultrasonic cleaner; A long time ago a idiot that looked just like me but much younger decided to cut the nylon fuel line at the pump end.. Otherwise these lines would last forever. Naturally imperial sized so was not easy to find a replacement. I found the correct sized PA12 line from Advanced Fluid Solutions Ltd, Product code INT-04N 1/4 Inch O.D x 0.170 I.D Imperial Nylon Tube Black Flexible Tubing. Original length is about 10ft but better to have some extra. Double taper ferrules I found from aliExpress; A proper tubing cutter is nice to have but a Stanley knife will also work, ferrule is a tight fit to the line so any deformation to the end is best to be avoided. Ferrule will bite on to the line as the nut is tightened. If memory serves me the tank end has a small bit of hose and clamp between sender and pipe. So, the carb body cleaned ok; I will soda blast it when the weather permits, also one corner needs to be carefully straightened; Over torqued After ultrasonic cleaning and especially after soda blasting the carb needs to be thoroughly washed and blown clean with compressed air, otherwise the small passages and brass bits might go all fuzzy. I use boiling water and brake cleaner and as a last step a small spritz of WD40 for added protection.

Finally found enough time to continue refurbing the carb. I bought a lifetime supply of bearing bronze, one of the few upsides on working at the big city is that it's easier to get supplies. I had some sintered bushings in stock but the resulting wall thickness would of been too thin. Reaming to 1/4". As the shafts are ever so slightly worn I heated the bronze before reaming, maybe got me a tiny bit smaller hole For turning the OD I made a small mandrel. For the carb end I modified a 8mm long reach reamer by turning the shaft to 1/4", luckily it was close to the right dimension. Since the end was naturally hardened this was not easy but got there eventually. Flutes at the far end were modified with a Dremel to make them able to cut, maybe would not work for steel but the carb body is fairly soft so had no issues. 8mm is about the max that the existing bores can be reamed to. I left about 1~1,5mm of material at the inner edges. Oopsie, maybe not make the bushings fit so tight I can and will fix this later but for now I continued with a just as good spare carb.. New bushings fitted with Loctite, this time with a slip fit.. Installing was done using a spare carb shaft as a driver to get the bushings in parallel. Ends were then filed and ground to length, except the one in the right here which can be left over sized. Would of been better to clean the spare carb before installing the bushes but I wanted to get this done so will do that later. No excessive play anymore and the shafts move butter smooth so I will call this operation a success

Still waiting for supplies for overhauling the carb to arrive from overseas but in the meantime I did found a set of new old stock intake valves. Good find for 46€ inc. P&P Apart from finding the time to do so I should now be able to have the cylinder head inspected and machined. Machine shop I like to use is a bit ways off from me but they have a good reputation and this should be no challenge for them. Cost on the other hand... well, it only hurts once

As expected my carb needs some work. FoMoCo C7BH-B, simple unit as far as carburettors go. In preparation I bought a carb kit. S31G or FoMoCo 1250, a "one size fits all" deal. Contents of the kit; Extra gaskets and automatic choke related bits were filed away for safekeeping; And the rest were compared against the originals; Close enough, needle valve could be a little longer but adjusting the float should take care of that. That's the simple stuff, Achilles heel for these carbs seems to be oblong wear on the far side bore for choke lever as there is very little bearing surface there and no bushings, steel against zinc; In all my carbs there was excessive wiggle here that will result in a vacuum leak. I could not find a spec for the shaft or bore diameter but measuring the shaft as ~6.258mm..; and a good bore as ~6.35mm would make the nominal size 1/4" (0,250"). That would be 6.35 - 6.26 = 0,09 clearance on the tight side as design (I think). What this means is that I will be making and installing bushings for the bores, I have necessary tools and materials on order but those will take some time to arrive. Straightforward job but care must be taken to make everything straight and true.