Lagoonblue's MK2 1600 deluxe

[LagoonBlue 141]

I've been doing more miles (or kilometers rather) on my commute than a 90's sales rep 

My poor old Avensis needed it's first clutch job at 441000 km's, double mass flywheel gave up the ghost. Was not cheap to get sorted but I really was not in a car buying mood. I had it converted to a normal flywheel setup and have not regretted as I can hardly feel any difference. Should last the remaining life of the car.

 

With the holidays I finally had some time to work in the garage. First order of business was to install my new heater.

I made an additional heat exchanger for better efficiency, designed to add as little back pressure as possible. Seems to work fine so far. Better fan and enclosure still to be added but usable as is.

 

And the first part turned on my lathe for the car is:

After doing a file test on the original pin I chose a 10.9 hardness bolt as the material. Thread was made with a normal die since I had one and it was easier than muck about with the lathes gearing.

 

For making the flats on the hex head portion I used this contraption I made last summer. Certainly not a surface grinder but sorta kinda the same idea. Cobbled together from junk as usual. Manually operated and has linear bearings for X,Z and Y. Axle nut attached to an old drill chuck allowed for accurate clocking of the flats.

 

New pin pressed in place. I made my interference fit as 15.16mm but I did also preheat the arm. Force felt about on par as when the old pin was pushed out.

 

Looks like factory, which is a good thing as according to our MOT rules one is not supposed to monkey with these sorts of parts

(some exceptions do apply for really old stuff).

Still 100% better than what it was and should last a good long while.

 

Also sorted out my camshaft troubles;

Bought a new one. From Small Ford Spares their 109E-6250-kit, the only stock Kent cam I could find. Updated part with the wider lobes, quality seems decent. Maybe this will last longer than the originals did. Possibly made by Kameks Eksantrik Milleri in Turkey as the CoO on the customs declaration was TR. I had previously asked Kameks directly on their KMS 10204 cam but they only do wholesales. Not that it matters as the folks at Small Ford Spares (Vintage Supplies Ltd.) were very helpful and nice to work whit and the price was about as good as it can be nowadays.

[68 Cortina 17]

I just noticed you been building this one for over ten years now 😳👏👏👏👏👏

[LagoonBlue 141]

3 hours ago, 68 Cortina said:

I just noticed you been building this one for over ten years now 😳👏👏👏👏👏

I know No regrets, have learned a lot. But about time to get this bugger done, biggest hurdle seems to be finding a decent painter. I would do it myself but have not got the time, facilities nor skills. Apart from the paint, engine and gearbox (and even those are slowly coming together) this thing is almost ready to bolt back in to one piece and enjoyed as it was meant to be.

Let's all hope that won't take another eternity.

[LagoonBlue 141]

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.

[LagoonBlue 141]

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

[LagoonBlue 141]

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 

[LagoonBlue 141]

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.

[LagoonBlue 141]

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.

[LagoonBlue 141]

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.

[LagoonBlue 141]

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.

[LagoonBlue 141]

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.

[John Mack 304]

You Sir have way too much time on your hands !   I'm not jealous one little bit ! 

 

Loving your home made equipment and dedication 

 

For the vacuum advance what about one of these.... Hand Held Vacuum Pressure Pump Tester Set Brake Fluid Bleeder Bleeding Kit + Box | eBay   

[LagoonBlue 141]

1 hour ago, John Mack said:

You Sir have way too much time on your hands !   I'm not jealous one little bit ! 

 

Loving your home made equipment and dedication 

 

For the vacuum advance what about one of these.... Hand Held Vacuum Pressure Pump Tester Set Brake Fluid Bleeder Bleeding Kit + Box | eBay   

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.

[LagoonBlue 141]

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.