Engine Donor

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Wow, doesn't time fly!!

I must apologise for the delay since my last posting. I can't believe it has been nearly three months! Anyway, the car has been making some progress although to be honest, not as much as it should have in the time elapsed. I have added quite a number of triangulation tubes to the chassis which took a bit longer than expected but should be well worth the effort. I have also completed the floor welding from the top (stitch welded 1 inch in 6) but have yet to seam weld the bottom. I have also been busy cleaning and linishing the remaining welds from anywhere that flat panels will be mounted later. I intend to leave most other welds just as they are unless they are particularly ugly.

That's it for the chassis. The other main item of progress recently is the procurement of a Rover V8 3.5litre engine from a tired old SD1. My original engine source never came good and I got fed up waiting for the engine to appears so when another source appeared I grabbed it with both hands. The donor is a 1977 SD1 which was on the road up until 4 years ago when it was put into storage iin anticipation of a full rebuild of the ailing bodyshell. However, the body went from bad to worse and the owner couldn't afford the parts required. I'm not surprised to be honest as the body is a basket case in my opinion. The engine has done 91K miles and I believe that to be genuine. The oil looked clean and the coolant was nice and blue. There was no gunge in the filler cap and the car started fairly easily once the carbs were primed with fuel. Unfortunately the exhaust was burst wide open so I couldn't easily ascertain that it was running perfectly but it idled at 700RPM happily with good oil pressure and seemed to be on all 8 cylinders so that's good enough for me. I'll do a compression check and might remove the heads for a look and a top-end rebuild if I feel it is justified. The engine cost me £175 complete with all ancillaries, carbs, electrics, clutch, flywheel. I got a few other bits including clutch slave cyl, master cyl, accelerator cable and pedal assembly and radiator expansion tank for another £25. I'm quite happy at that.

Here are a couple of pictures of the donor and engine prior to removal:

I hope to keep things moving now as I am keen to trial fit the engine asap. 

Rear Luggage Tubes & Chassis Painting

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I have now attached the rear luggage tubes which I had not added earlier due to difficulty getting the necessary 19mm round tubing. I finally got this from Metal Supermarkets in Ibrox, Glasgow. They have a website at http://www.metalsupermarkets.com where you can find details of your nearest store. I bought a 6 meter length of 19mm, 16swg ERW tubing for around £8 GBP which seemed good value and not too high a premium for getting it from this type of vendor. They are happy to cut the metal to length for you too at no extra cost.

I bent the tubes using a pipe bender from a local DIY convenience store who shall remain nameless. I decided after making my 4 bends that the bender was not worth the £40 which I paid for it and took it back for a full refund... Yes it is a bit naughty but I did take extra special care of it while I had it and even cleaned and polished it before taking it back. This DIY store makes plenty of money out of me during the year anyway so I don't feel bad at all. However my wife was disgusted at my audacity...

Here is the paint that I have bought for the chassis. It is an etch primer with a very high build and comes as a two pack mixture. The base on the right and the activator/thinner on the left. They mix 1:1 to form the paint which is designed for spraying but works well with a brush too. It dry's very fast too.

I am using Dulux weathershield as my top coat and following the advice of many other builder's by using Black Gloss. This stuff is reputed to dry into a very hard wearing finish and is much better than the likes of Hammerite or Smootherite which tend to stay soft. It goes on a treat and covers very well.

Here is a pretty hopeless picture of four trailing arms which have now been painted and hung up to keep out of harm's way. The panhard rod can also be seem up in the rafters if you look closely. I intend to paint the front wishbones shortly as well using the black gloss as well as the back axle assembly. The back axle assembly is currently on the workbench of a professional welder who has much better welding equipment and experience than my own. Since it is a critical and highly stressed component I think it is only sensible to get it done properly.

Here is a picture of a couple of grinding heads which I have found to be very useful. The flap disc is great for linishing down welds ready for flat panels such as the floor to be placed on top. It is more gentle and quieter than the normal grinding discs and is much more controllable. It also leaves a better finish. The wire wheel is brilliant at removing pitted rust from second hand components which you are reconditioning such as hub carriers and driveshafts. It really does give a result which is very nearly as good as a shot blaster. It is also great at cleaning out welds ready for painting.

Well that's it for now, next I hope to complete welding in the floor and a few more triangulation tubes before moving on to the steering system.