RUK - Project Recommission 1972 'Dolomite' Auto

[dollyman]

Hi Sam, PM sent.

Tony.

[tony g]

PM also sent

Tony

[yorkshire_spam]

So that's a bit of an embarrassment.... tonight she started just fine.
All I can assume is that extended cranking with too much choke led to flooding when I tried her yesterday.

Tomorrow on the way to work I'll see how the refurbed/balanced propshaft gets on at motorway speeds.

[yorkshire_spam]

The balanced prop seems to have cured a lot of the noise/vibration at 65mph+ but I wouldn't describe the ride as quiet.... I'll have to investigate further.
Next job is to cure the oil leaks around the pump/filter area though so she doesn't mark her territory quite so much.

[yorkshire_spam]

More of a running report than anything else, I changed jobs 2 weeks ago and handed back the company Vorsprung Wagen. So Binny has been pressed into service as my daily driver. 300 miles covered as a daily driver in bad weather, ice and snow.
She's got an intermittent mis-fire, sometimes pretty bad, which I think is fuel related. (I've checked the ignition side of things) I suspect she's got some muck either obstructing the fuel coming out of the tank or some grit/muck in the carbs.... I'll investigate further when time allows. (And probably investigate a fuel filter)

[James467]

Sam, have you checked the fuel filter inside the fuel pump, I think I put a new pump on her. DTR had the same issue and it turned out to be crap in the pump filter.

20180806_151825

20180806_152008

20180806_152018

[yorkshire_spam]

Thanks James, I wasn't aware of the filter mesh in the pump - I'll take a look.

[yorkshire_spam]

Since 18th January Binny has been my daily driver. Covering just over 1000 miles since then!
Apart from the misfire (which hasn't re-occurred) no issues so far (touch wood)
I think the thermostat might have been stuck open for a while, OR she's incredibly sensitive to ambient temperature - in the cold weather she wouldn't warm up, but in the last few days she's gone promptly up to normal running temp and stayed there. I'll keep an eye on it.

Also... rebuilding the oil pump with new seals hasn't fixed the oil leak. I'll double check the torque on the pump-block bolts, but I suspect I'll need to strip the pump off again and try another o-ring. If I cure the oil leak then it'll be time for a full oil and filter change.

I took her out for a "just for fun" blast up the a-roads and motorways around work yesterday lunchtime.... what fun! It's odd having a daily driver that you just drive for the fun of it.

In the next month or so I'll probably also re-check the back brake adjustment (just to ensure that the auto adjusters are working as they should be)

[Carledo]

Since 18th January Binny has been my daily driver. Covering just over 1000 miles since then!
Apart from the misfire (which hasn't re-occurred) no issues so far (touch wood)
I think the thermostat might have been stuck open for a while, OR she's incredibly sensitive to ambient temperature - in the cold weather she wouldn't warm up, but in the last few days she's gone promptly up to normal running temp and stayed there. I'll keep an eye on it.

Also... rebuilding the oil pump with new seals hasn't fixed the oil leak. I'll double check the torque on the pump-block bolts, but I suspect I'll need to strip the pump off again and try another o-ring. If I cure the oil leak then it'll be time for a full oil and filter change.

I took her out for a "just for fun" blast up the a-roads and motorways around work yesterday lunchtime.... what fun! It's odd having a daily driver that you just drive for the fun of it.

In the next month or so I'll probably also re-check the back brake adjustment (just to ensure that the auto adjusters are working as they should be)

Did you change the little O rings on the oil pressure relief valve? I've seen a lot leak from there!

The rear brake self adjusters DON'T work! No matter how well set up and maintained, they just don't work! Since i've been dailying the Carledo I have to reset them every 6 months or so. But there's a built in warning system in the car, when the handbrake reaches the last click, it's time!

Steve

[yorkshire_spam]

Hand brake is not great, but being an auto I just stick it in park.
Pretty sure it's leaking between the oil pump top plate and body.
I replaced all the seal/o-rings in the pump, transfer cover plate and filter assembly to try and cure the leak (including the pump relief valve)
Spitfire only has manual rear brake adjustment so I'll just treat the Dolomite the same.

[yorkshire_spam]

On Wednesday evening I swapped the fuel pump for a new one.... I've had suspicions for a while that the top on the existing one wasn't sealing properly... intermittent petrol smell... intermittent mis-fire... top of the pump "damp". On Monday and Tuesday the smell was consistently bad on the way to/from work.
The new pump looks poor - bad flashing on the casting etc, but with it fitted the "smells like a bucket of petrol" feature has gone.

[yorkshire_spam]

A minor update....
Binny has covered 4200 in the last 12 months, not a huge amount but a decent amount in my opinion.

Today she passed another MOT with very little trouble, I had to replace a track-rod-end (O/S), adjust the pre-load on the front wheel bearings and tweak the rear brake adjusters. (All done prior to the test, so she passed first time!)

Not bad for her age!

[dollyman]

Thats good news that Sam It makes mine look silly having covered just 209 miles since last August, but i did get her out today and gave her a polish to get rid of the dust and cobwebs etc But she will get a run this weekend Did your towbar fit ok?
Cheers,
Tony.

[yorkshire_spam]

Haven't sorted the tow-bar yet. Car stuff has been on the back burner, need to sort it soon though as I need to go and collect an engine!

[yorkshire_spam]

Some bits of Binny's bodywork have suffered from the salt of all-year-round usage.
I've been working around her trying to get rid of the rust before it bites and gets serious and then at least cover up with some anti-rust paint.... so she's looking a little bit "patchwork" at the moment.

Utterly depressed to find the (quite expensive) celly paint I bought is nowhere near the right colour despite being mixed to order.
Thankfully the aerosols I ordered from another supplier are quite close... so from a distance she should look ok once done.