'71 SL Estate - Progress!

[Kat]

Hi,

I've been a busy girl this last few days

Poor old 'Emma' was not happy. A couple of attempts to go round the block were accompanied by clouds of smoke, backfiring, and very little power. Several times the engine just cut out and refused to restart.

The first thing was to figure out what I'd got, as I knew the car wasn't entirely original. After some detective work it turns out I have a '71 Viva with a '79 1256 engine. The engine number is some 240,000 or so higher than the one in 'Lurch', the disintegrating remains of my '79 1300L (which is all original.)

It also turned out that the carb was a 150CDS, spec. number 3350. Burlen's site says that's a '70 - '71 1159 HC90 carb...

So... time to swap some bits around. The engine in 'Lurch' was running fine when last tried and it's the same spec. So, that's a source of known good bits.

I'll omit all the head-scratching, simple and compound swearing, blood loss and rummaging. But I've ended up pinching the carb (150CDSEV, spec. no. 3946B), fuel pump, and fuel pipe from 'Lurch' and played a 'mix-and-match' with a few other bits from both cars and from my spares stock. I didn't know that the fuel lines are smaller diameter on earlier HCs, but I know now. That problem was solved with the aid of an inline filter with ends which are usefully stepped to take both sizes of pipe, inserted before the fuel pump.

Just for good measure I pinched the distributor as well, since I knew that was a good one and definitely right for the engine. I will have set the timing and dwell angle correctly at some point, so removing it along with the clamp meant the timing wouldn't be too far out, either.

Now, the moment of truth... battery reconnected, check everything again, turn the key, and... we have life..!

Now, this is what I've been missing. Within a short time I could get the choke fully in, the engine idled smoothly and was much livelier. A quick spin around the block and everything seems fine.

I'll get the timing strobe and dwell meter out tomorrow and have a little tuning session, even though I can tell it's not far out I'd rather make sure.

There's still more to do - isn't there always..? I've yet to replace the leaking fuel filler connecting pipe and might need to swap the the tank (but I hope not.) The wipers need attention, as do the lights and various other bits of electrical system. The trip round the block showed that the steering is a bit sloppy, too.

So, poor old 'Lurch' is going to donate a few more bits including a good steering rack and coupling, and the two-speed wiper motor and linkages.

There's also few bits of welding to do, but that'll have to wait until I can get 'Emma' on the drive and off the ground. There's a 'tired' BMW in the way right now...

Watch this space; there'll be more rambling from me as I sort things out.

Cheers, Kat

[Clara]

Great stuff Kat, we (that is the blanket and I currently reading this) look forward to seeing the wee beastie up around around soon!

[lisbon_road]

Another Viva on the road, well done.

Do you still have the PB Cresta and the FE Ventora - assuming my memory is correct?

Jon

[pbottomley]

Lucky you Kat, was searching through parts today and found the carb repair kit its for a 150 CD SEV carb!!!!!

so will stick it in a jiffy and post it on up.

[Kat]

More progress

The fuel filler/tank coupling is now on, many thanks to vitaminc74 for the replacement.

It wasn't too tricky, removing the four screws holding the filler to the body allowed the filler neck to move just enough to take the old coupling off and fit the new one. As hoped, the tank stub turned out to be in good order, the leak being due to the badly-decomposed coupling. The original hose clips turned out to be too small as the new coupling is made of thicker rubber. Halfords 38-54mm hose clips were just about large enough.

Since I had to walk to Halfords anyway, I picked up new fuel hose clips and finished off the pipework from the pump to the carb. I had some genuine BMW fuel hose left over, so a couple of short lengths were used to couple the steel fuel pipe to the carb and pump. If it's good enough to handle the high pressure present in the BMW fuel injection system it ought to be good enough for the Viva.

With that lot out of the way, I turned my attention to the charging system. With the engine idling and the door open, I watched the interior light and turned the headlights on. The interior light dimmed. Then I revved the engine and the light stayed dim. Just to make sure, I asked my partner to watch the headlights. They didn't brighten up when the engine was revved. So, this quick check suggests that the alternator isn't doing anything.

Tomorrow I'll check the fanbelt tension and perform a proper test with a voltmeter connected up, but it looks like Lurch is about to be relieved of a known-good alternator.

Another fault I'd noticed was that the oil pressure warning light wasn't coming on before starting the engine. With the ignition on but the engine stopped, I asked my partner to watch the warning light. I pulled the connector off the oil-pressure sender, touched it to the body of the sender, and the warning light lit. So, the wiring and light work, but the sender's faulty. I might have one in my box of bits, otherwise that's something else to pinch off Lurch tomorrow.

Well, I'm getting somewhere.

[pbottomley]

Swap the alternator Kat

Rememebr I said I thought it was duff... It got red hot one day and then made loads of squeeely noises and then as ytuo say seemed to stop charging!!!

[Kat]

Another day, more tinkering...

The charging system turned out to be easy to fix. Rather than diving in and swapping bits straight away, I decided to be systematic about it. The fanbelt was loose, the lower bolt on the alternator ended up about 1/4" further out to get the tension correct.

Then I connected my DVM across the battery and propped it on the bonnet. 12.4V, it read. This dropped to around 10V when I cranked the engine, then shot up to 14V with the engine at a fast idle. So far, so good...

Within about a minute or so the engine had warmed enough to idle smoothly without the choke; the meter read 13.8V. Turning the headlights on caused the reading to drop; revving the engine brought it back to 14V - and this time, the interior light was seen to brighten up.

Rememebr I said I thought it was duff... It got red hot one day and then made loads of squeeely noises and then as ytuo say seemed to stop charging!!!

"If it ain't broke..."

Given it's working perfectly but the belt was very loose; I wonder if the noises/heat were the belt slipping? I once fitted a replacement alternator to a car, started it up, and ended up with great clouds of smoke, a smell of burning, and a lot of noise. The alternator had been out of use for a while and the pulley had some surface corrosion. This wore the belt out so quickly it was on the verge of catching fire. It also cleared much of the corrosion; with a new belt, properly tensioned, everything was fine.

Anyway, at long last I've been able to go for a drive. There's now 20 litres of unleaded and an appropriate amount of Castrol Valvemaster in the tank, none of which is escaping anywhere. There's also an oil-pressure sender on order at Halfords.

There's still plenty more to do but at least all the basic functionality's there. I can drive to places, and even get back.

[Kat]

There's still plenty more to do but at least all the basic functionality's there. I can drive to places, and even get back.

Umm... I spoke too soon...

Yesterday (Friday), we went out a couple of times and all seemed well. A little blast round the Leeds ring road saw 60mph on the speedo quite easily with no major problems apart from slightly loose handling. But on the last trip, I was at the head of a queue of traffic at a set of lights about a mile from home, the lights changed... and the engine died just as I touched the accellerator. It then refused to restart.

Cutting a long story short, I had one screwdriver and no spares with me, and couldn't figure out what was wrong. So we ended up completing the journey with the aid of a recovery truck...

When I investigated the problem today (Saturday) I found that the points had burned badly; probably due to a duff condenser. Both were replaced and all is well once again.

I've not adjusted the ignition system correctly yet, tomorrow (Sunday) I'll get the dwell meter and strobe out. I'll probably adjust the valve clearances as well as it sounds like they're in need of a tweak.

I think I'll return to the habit I had with Lurch of keeping an assortment of tested and "known-good" spares and a few tools in the car, just in case. I prefer to deal with problems myself if I can. If I set the timing and dwell angle on a spare distributor and remove it with the clamp, it takes minutes to swap them and won't need any adjustment. I could have been back in action in less time than it took to wait for recovery.

Ahhh... the joys of classic motoring... every journey's a potential adventure...

[AUTOMAN]

I don't understand all this, what happened to the car after leaving me in October and getting to you in April. I think that Mr Bottomley is jinxed as the car ran excelently for me all the time I had it. Never had one problem except for a slight smell of burning which was sorted easily. Paul came to get the car and it did not start when we picked it up. Then it broke down on hes way home and he had nothing but problems which he tried to resolve by replacing bits and bobs that you have now also replaced. I do hope that this all works out for you Kat, as I spent over £350 on the car prior to Paul collecting it to ensure that it was right and then I just gave the car to Paul to bring it on further. Now its with you I hope that you can get it to the stage where you can enjoy owning it just as much as I did. I love that car and hope that you will grow to as well.

Ian.
AUTOMAN.

[Kat]

I don't understand all this, what happened to the car after leaving me in October and getting to you in April.

Possibly two things are at work here. Firstly, I don't think the car's had much use and I don't think they like that much. Secondly, I have to admit to being something of a perfectionist. If something's not right then I have to do something about it.

I may have been spoiled with my first Viva, this had 56,000 miles from new and was mechanically pretty good. Even so, I replaced numerous bits of brakes and suspension, had the steering rack reconditioned, religiously changed the oil and filter every 3000 miles and tuned the engine to perfection. While the bodywork was a bit frilly round the edges and covered in seventeen different colours, it drove like new and only broke down twice in 5 years and 22,000 miles as my daily transport. (On both occasions I was able to repair it by the roadside and carry on.)

So, I know just how reliable a Viva HC can be. As a somewhat enthusiastic driver, I also appreciate how well they can handle. The direct and precise steering is an absolute joy; with the excellent servoed disc brakes, lively and willing engine and well designed suspension they're a "driver's car" in my opinion. It's testament to Vauxhall's designers and engineers that the same basic package was able to cope with the power of the 2300 OHC and provide what sounds like a very entertaining drive. That's underlined by the competition success in the hands of Gerry Marshall and others.

So, put it down to my perfectionism that I may be finding fault with things which others might tolerate. Since being able to drive Emma, I've found that the rear suspension feels a little "tired", axle location doesn't seem as good as it should be. There's some play in the steering and the column bushes feel worn as well. One of my aims is to regain the "like new" handling I enjoyed with my previous Viva.

Now its with you I hope that you can get it to the stage where you can enjoy owning it just as much as I did. I love that car and hope that you will grow to as well.

Don't get me wrong, I already love this car to bits, and appreciate the work which has already been done.

In many ways, this is the perfect car for me. The work I enjoy the most tends to be on the mechanical and electrical bits. Starting off with a car which already looks good and doesn't need much attention to the bodywork is just my idea of fun.

I can already tell that the engine is a good one. Fitted with the correct specification carb it's already performing very nicely although I've still to go through my "tuning ritual". My poor old 1300L is dissolving too rapidly to be saved, but will donate a lot of useful suspension and steering components. That's an advantage; I can remove bits from Lurch then clean, paint, rebush and restore as needed then fit them at my leisure to Emma.

When I'm not tinkering with cars, I repair and restore vintage television sets, radios and test equipment. I get a great deal of pleasure and entertainment from taking something which doesn't work then returning it to perfect working order. There's no fun in acquiring something which already works perfectly..!

So, yes; I'm finding faults and things are going wrong, but fixing them is all part of the fun for me...

I hope you think Emma's in good hands, Ian; and I hope you'll enjoy reading about the work I'm doing as much as I'm enjoying doing it.

Kind regards, Kat.