DTR - Project Recommission 1972 'Dolomite' Manual

[yorkshire_spam]

The car and I have had a chat, we are now in mutual agreement that I am only trying to do good and it doesn't want to go to the Dolly scrapyard in the sky!

Keep at it James, you've gotta be on the home straight now. These things are sent to try us!
Cheers, Sam

[dollyman]

Hi James,
That's great, i wish i kept my set from when i had my garage, they are a pig to grind down..... But these things get binned
It is good to give to give the car a stern warning It should be gratefull for the love and care that you have lavished on it. I would leave it in the rain overnight to teach it a lesson

Tony.

[James467]

Another day another problem

No, even with thin shims the clearances are too tight, I cant even get feeler gauges in a couple of them.

So the head has to come back off, the valves need to come out and they need to be tipped on the grinder.

Waste of a sodding head gasket.

[yorkshire_spam]

Another day another problem
No, even with thin shims the clearances are too tight, I cant even get feeler gauges in a couple of them.
So the head has to come back off, the valves need to come out and they need to be tipped on the grinder.
Waste of a sodding head gasket.

If it wasn't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all!
Don't let the DTR grind you down!

[dollyman]

Another day another problem

No, even with thin shims the clearances are too tight, I cant even get feeler gauges in a couple of them.

So the head has to come back off, the valves need to come out and they need to be tipped on the grinder.

Waste of a sodding head gasket.

What a shame, i feel for you bloody cars are a pain Might be worth doing it on the bench? And also take a day off...... That works for me.

Tony.

[James467]

After tipping the valves I finally have a baseline reading!

[Mahesh]

After tipping the valves I finally have a baseline reading!

Making progress, good to hear,

Was rather hoping you would visit the Dolly scrapyard in the NeatherRealm and,
bring back VYK 974M & WLA 409S to me

[soe8m]

The shims are still pushing the valvestem and not the seat?

Jeroen

[James467]

The shims are still pushing the valvestem and not the seat?

Jeroen

I am pretty sure they are pushing the valve, I only took about 10 thou off them, I will double check when I put the new shims in though.

[soe8m]

The shims are still pushing the valvestem and not the seat?

Jeroen

I am pretty sure they are pushing the valve, I only took about 10 thou off them, I will double check when I put the new shims in though.

Hammer on the stems first with a suitable tool because when newly fitted the valve and collets can sink slightly in the seat.

Jeroen

[SprintMWU773V]

Another day another problem

No, even with thin shims the clearances are too tight, I cant even get feeler gauges in a couple of them.

So the head has to come back off, the valves need to come out and they need to be tipped on the grinder.

Waste of a sodding head gasket.

Been there and done that with the Sprint head, needed new seats. Hopefully yours are OK but you have to wonder why so tight?

[James467]

They are fine, after tipping about 10 thou off the valves with a special grinder I got a baseline and managed to get the valve clearances to Jeroens specs of 0.006 Inlet and 0.008 exhaust.

I apologise for the lack of updates, I have just been dealing with problem after problem, some of which were my fault and some not!! Hopefully now we are on the home straight.

Back to one week ago!

Block has been decked, the crank small ends have been ground, and everything has been polished and balanced. The small ends have been replaced and I have a set of Glacier big ends and Alun kindly swapped me a set of 10 thou big ends. Pistons are original Heoplite plus 20's













Mounted and ready for assembly.





I havent gone as far as Jeroen but they have been balanced like NWL, twist checked etc...



Everything is weight matched.



After cleaning and painting the block new core plugs went in.



New bearings and crank.





On to the pistons



Ring gaps set in the right place







Oil Pickup on



Freshly painted sump



Oil filter and pump



Back plate with new oil seals, dipstick has new felt seal



It is worth noting that because I have had the block decked the front cover needed to be on to make sure that he head aligns properly.



New nickel plated studs



Backplate on



On to the head!

[James467]

The head had a minor bit of corrosion that needed a dab of weld, some would say 'just skim it', I don't want to do that. It's a good head and by welding it we always allow any future skimming that may be needed.





The head has then been faced, not skimmed and given a thorough wash.



Valves are lapped, so its back into the workshop for assembly with new springs, followers and a new cam.





I admit that the first time it went together I got the bearing caps the wrong way round and the cam wouldn't turn, but after sorting that it turns beautifully with plenty of cam lube on it!



The valve clearance problem was resolved by a bit of tipping and the clearances have been set.

I set TDC on the engine properly, put the front cover on temporarily and aligned the marks on the front pulley.





Fitted the timing gear, German chain and a genuine Reynold tensioner.



When I fitted the head I was expecting to have to redrill the timing sprocket but it aligns correctly.





Fitted a brand new water pump and bush, this is with a ceramic ring so it should give no problems





Plus a new fuel pump which required a spacer.



On to the dizzy, I stripped it ready to be fitted with Lumenition Optronic ignition







New nos cap and rotor arm



Then it was on to just getting all of the ancillaries fitted.











Then a sketchy lift and roll out of the workshop ready to have the flywheel and clutch fitted which I forgot to photo!



Gearbox fitted and it is ready to go back into the car!

[James467]

I don't like putting engines in from the top especially on my own! I have a load leveller which helps get the right angle but it's still hard work and my friend was on holiday!

But I managed to get it in without causing any damage.







Connected up the Optronic, fuel system and electrics. I'll tidy up the wiring later on.





Exhaust on



New radiator in, Magnecor plug leads on and we are ready to go!





If you are on the Official Dolomite Club Facebook group then you'll know that I broadcast the startup and 20 minute run in live which was fun and apart from a couple of fuel leaks it all went fine so it was on with the wheels and I left it overnight too cool.



I had a few issues to deal with the next morning after torquing down the head. The gearbox was noisy, I topped up the oil and this has cured the problem. I needed to sort the fuel leaks, one of which was caused bu the rear carb float bowl screws not being tight enough, easy fix. The front carb leak was caused by the brass tube the feeds the fuel into the carb being loose, I took it out, cleaned it up and refitted it with some retaining compound tight.



The other problem that I had was that there was a lot of slop in the bottom pivot on the accelerator linkage. I took it out, drilled out the rivet and put it back together with a shouldered bolt and locknut, that has completely cured the slop. There is some more in the other parts of the linkage but it's ok enough to adjust it out.



I'm not getting full throttle on the carbs when the pedal is pressed down fully but I think that is more an adjustment issue.

With half term I haven't been able to do a huge amount with the kids around. I managed to get the interior back together fully with the parcel shelf back in and the radio working again.



I replaced the flat dash radio box with the correct one for the car and thanks to Tom Overton's advice on adjusting it now fits correctly.





Torqued the wheelnuts, swapped ERO and DTR around so that I can finish tidying the wiring, fit the horns, adjust the headlamps and give it a tune.

[dollyman]

The tune i would give it James, would be "Rule Britannia" before a ceromonial launch
Very well done

Tony.