Hi,
I have recently aquired a 1968 3.4 mk2 /340.
The floorpan / shell and panelwork is extremely sound and i'm keen to keep it that way !
I have a bettery isolator and Halfords maintainence charger / conditioner hooked up.
Tyres (all newish avons) are inflated to 32psi and I move the car back / forth every week or two to avoid flat spots.
I start the car and run to operating temp for about 15/20 mins at least once a fortnight and operate the cluch, gears.
The car is left with the handbrake off to avoid seizure.
I keep the tank brimmed full and almost 100 per cent anti freeze mix (as did the previous owner of 30 years).
Are the any other observations or advice from members on winter storage, please ??..............
Garage is concrete block, no heating or dehumidifier installed at present.
Winter Storage Advice
Moderators:Aceman, ecosselynx
Hello,
I too have recently got 3.4 but a 1961, that has only done 2,300 miles since its 1990 MOT. I have now done some 800 miles in it and the issues of essentially long "no miles storage" are begining to emerge. having had several classic cars over the years my advice is this.
Use it as much as possible when conditions allow, fine days do occur even now and theres nothing to beat a good run to blow away the cobwebs and work the car as she was designed.
Best, Ian.
I too have recently got 3.4 but a 1961, that has only done 2,300 miles since its 1990 MOT. I have now done some 800 miles in it and the issues of essentially long "no miles storage" are begining to emerge. having had several classic cars over the years my advice is this.
Use it as much as possible when conditions allow, fine days do occur even now and theres nothing to beat a good run to blow away the cobwebs and work the car as she was designed.
Best, Ian.
Thanks Ian,
Mine had been laid up for a year or two however, the previous owner of 30 yrs kept 100% anti freeze, fuel tank brimmed full etc and sprayed the underside with engine oil / waxoyl hence the car is rock solid.
Handbrake was poor and the rear calipers were sticking but that seems to be sorted now.
I agree regular use on suitable days is the way forward.
How are you getting on with the shake down of your 3.4?.........
Mine had been laid up for a year or two however, the previous owner of 30 yrs kept 100% anti freeze, fuel tank brimmed full etc and sprayed the underside with engine oil / waxoyl hence the car is rock solid.
Handbrake was poor and the rear calipers were sticking but that seems to be sorted now.
I agree regular use on suitable days is the way forward.
How are you getting on with the shake down of your 3.4?.........
Hi David,
Thanks for the response, this is whats happening with the beast.. (never had anything over 2 ltr before so...the beast.
Problem one: "Dry" seals, after about 3 days and 100 miles of very gentle running, as I didnt know the car, the rear crank case seal let go and she dumped 4 or 5 pimts of hot engine oil on the gargae floor. OK bite the bullet, I have good friendd and excellent Jag man(TVR Maidenhead) who had a new "rebuilt" 3.4 done by C & M (Classic and Modern in Bracknell {Paul Adams is a superb engine builder}) In it went.
Cold (well warm but not hot) it shows what a good 3.4 should do but....
Problem two:
Coughs and splutters a anything above 3k rpm , the hotter the worse. I suspect several things and am working through them slowly... fuel starvation ( have new SU pancakes on it and it may be getting the wrong mix, did re set the carbs but did not re jet....) leaking servo destroying vacumn as the revs build ??... Front loom (which is a bit rough in places need replacement as there is an electrical issue as the power goes on. Note she would not run on luminition at all, had to go back to the old dizzie and points.) Now done 1k on the new engine.
Problem Three:
Brakes, the Jag had Cooper Craft all round fitted in 1996 and the front off side pulled heavily then as it almost locked on she went the opposite way. After 100 miles its worked itself out and she now stops hands off from 60 in a straight line (lucky I guess)
Problem four: The more miles she does the more niggles appear, one headlight gets dimmer than the other (loom??) Interior lights come on as they wish with all the doors closed (loom??) Unless locked the boot now comes open after 5 or 55 miles (latch slipping??)
Enough for now, I feel as though I am giving up family secrets....
These issues will be sorted but its a bit cold out in the workshop at the mo....
Best Ian.
Thanks for the response, this is whats happening with the beast.. (never had anything over 2 ltr before so...the beast.
Problem one: "Dry" seals, after about 3 days and 100 miles of very gentle running, as I didnt know the car, the rear crank case seal let go and she dumped 4 or 5 pimts of hot engine oil on the gargae floor. OK bite the bullet, I have good friendd and excellent Jag man(TVR Maidenhead) who had a new "rebuilt" 3.4 done by C & M (Classic and Modern in Bracknell {Paul Adams is a superb engine builder}) In it went.
Cold (well warm but not hot) it shows what a good 3.4 should do but....
Problem two:
Coughs and splutters a anything above 3k rpm , the hotter the worse. I suspect several things and am working through them slowly... fuel starvation ( have new SU pancakes on it and it may be getting the wrong mix, did re set the carbs but did not re jet....) leaking servo destroying vacumn as the revs build ??... Front loom (which is a bit rough in places need replacement as there is an electrical issue as the power goes on. Note she would not run on luminition at all, had to go back to the old dizzie and points.) Now done 1k on the new engine.
Problem Three:
Brakes, the Jag had Cooper Craft all round fitted in 1996 and the front off side pulled heavily then as it almost locked on she went the opposite way. After 100 miles its worked itself out and she now stops hands off from 60 in a straight line (lucky I guess)
Problem four: The more miles she does the more niggles appear, one headlight gets dimmer than the other (loom??) Interior lights come on as they wish with all the doors closed (loom??) Unless locked the boot now comes open after 5 or 55 miles (latch slipping??)
Enough for now, I feel as though I am giving up family secrets....
These issues will be sorted but its a bit cold out in the workshop at the mo....
Best Ian.
Ian,
Glad to hear you're working through the niggles..............
Re your interior lights coming on, the courtesy switches in the leading edge of the doors can "stick" and short out, possible causing the interior light to come on, id suggest stripping the switches out, cleaning and replacing all the door switches and checking the wiring / connectors.
Re the headlamp being dim, i'd have a good look at the connectors / earths (reasonable wiring diagram in the Haynes manual ).
Re the spluttering etc, have you looked at the fuel filter, it could be blocked with sediment and not allowing sufficient flow. Also, if she's been stood a while the fuel could have gone stale and some blocking of the fuel lines could have occurred, may be worth checking fuel pressure / stripping and blowing out pipes. I've heard the fuel pumps can sometimes unreliable also, so it might not be providing sufficient fuel pressure.
With the front loom, I traced and replaced the feed for the ignition coil from the control box, taping the fresh wire up around the existing loom as the original coil feed looked a bit dog-eared. The rest of the wires were ok, and some cleaning of connectors and re-insulation has sufficed so far
I also fitted a battery cut off for peace of mind.
Is yours still wired positive earth ?
Also don't discount plug leads and the caps which I believe carry some sort of resistor and can break up especially when warm. The screw connectors into the distributor cap can also give trouble and are worth stripping / cleaning.
Sure you may have covered all the above anyway, however just a few suggestions which may help !
Best of luck and please keep us posted !!!
Dave.
Glad to hear you're working through the niggles..............
Re your interior lights coming on, the courtesy switches in the leading edge of the doors can "stick" and short out, possible causing the interior light to come on, id suggest stripping the switches out, cleaning and replacing all the door switches and checking the wiring / connectors.
Re the headlamp being dim, i'd have a good look at the connectors / earths (reasonable wiring diagram in the Haynes manual ).
Re the spluttering etc, have you looked at the fuel filter, it could be blocked with sediment and not allowing sufficient flow. Also, if she's been stood a while the fuel could have gone stale and some blocking of the fuel lines could have occurred, may be worth checking fuel pressure / stripping and blowing out pipes. I've heard the fuel pumps can sometimes unreliable also, so it might not be providing sufficient fuel pressure.
With the front loom, I traced and replaced the feed for the ignition coil from the control box, taping the fresh wire up around the existing loom as the original coil feed looked a bit dog-eared. The rest of the wires were ok, and some cleaning of connectors and re-insulation has sufficed so far
I also fitted a battery cut off for peace of mind.
Is yours still wired positive earth ?
Also don't discount plug leads and the caps which I believe carry some sort of resistor and can break up especially when warm. The screw connectors into the distributor cap can also give trouble and are worth stripping / cleaning.
Sure you may have covered all the above anyway, however just a few suggestions which may help !
Best of luck and please keep us posted !!!
Dave.
WINTER RIDE OUT !!
Decided to fire up the mk2 today and take her for a spin, owing to the dry conditions. First time i've had chance / decent enough weather to have a ride out in about a month.
Got her fired up and warmed up. Only niggle was the speedo had stopped registering. However a tap on the glass soon cured things as the needle shot up and registered speed again !
Filled the tank with Shell V Power. The previous owner of 30 years had told me that after much experimenting on fuels and additives, V power resulted in the best running for the car.
There's certainly no pinking, running on or other problems anyway !
Brakes felt "interesting", although improved with use and always pull the car up to a halt! Next spring i'll fit some new front discs / pads.
Fancy a Moto Lita leather rim steering wheel (15") as the original wheel feels just too thin for my liking.
Temp sat at 70, moving up only slightly when stationary after the run.
Overall very happy with the performance. Upon my return home, I treated her to a wash / leather dry and hosed the wheel arches to ensure no salt remained. Left her to dry outside for a few hours before tucking away in the garage.
Planned improvements then are :
1) Front discs / pads
2) Moto Lita wheel
3) Coolant hose kit
4) LED bulb kit (see posts on electrical section)
5) Clean , feed leather and sort out some better carpets for the interior !
Plenty to look forward to !!!
Got her fired up and warmed up. Only niggle was the speedo had stopped registering. However a tap on the glass soon cured things as the needle shot up and registered speed again !
Filled the tank with Shell V Power. The previous owner of 30 years had told me that after much experimenting on fuels and additives, V power resulted in the best running for the car.
There's certainly no pinking, running on or other problems anyway !
Brakes felt "interesting", although improved with use and always pull the car up to a halt! Next spring i'll fit some new front discs / pads.
Fancy a Moto Lita leather rim steering wheel (15") as the original wheel feels just too thin for my liking.
Temp sat at 70, moving up only slightly when stationary after the run.
Overall very happy with the performance. Upon my return home, I treated her to a wash / leather dry and hosed the wheel arches to ensure no salt remained. Left her to dry outside for a few hours before tucking away in the garage.
Planned improvements then are :
1) Front discs / pads
2) Moto Lita wheel
3) Coolant hose kit
4) LED bulb kit (see posts on electrical section)
5) Clean , feed leather and sort out some better carpets for the interior !
Plenty to look forward to !!!
Good to hear that you have had a good run,
Do you have power steering on the 340? If not a 15" is going to be tough to park, I have just put my early Xmas press on, a 16" Moto Lita wood riveted, looks great and I can deal with the drag on parking etc.
V power was what I ran all the time on my Race B along with CVL to boost the octane to 101.
Weekend coming and heavy rain for Saturday means more garage fettling
but maybe sunday a swift run down the Henly road????
Ian
Do you have power steering on the 340? If not a 15" is going to be tough to park, I have just put my early Xmas press on, a 16" Moto Lita wood riveted, looks great and I can deal with the drag on parking etc.
V power was what I ran all the time on my Race B along with CVL to boost the octane to 101.
Weekend coming and heavy rain for Saturday means more garage fettling
but maybe sunday a swift run down the Henly road????
Ian
Coughs and splutters.
The fact that your car wouldn’t run at all on Lumenition suggests a low-tension problem: loose or oxidised contacts, poor earth etc.
I’ve had Lumenition fitted on my 340 for 17 years, and has proved one of my better investments, in terms of easy starting and stable ignition timing.
One thing that Lumenition does highlight is weaknesses in the HT loop.
I’ve had three failures due to HT problems, all three causes were due to the Rotor Arm. There are some very dodgy components out there, mostly pattern parts.
All C-D systems produced significantly higher voltage than the standard points system and this does put a strain on Distributor and HT leads, which can cause unpredictable results.
Do not exclude the Rotor Arm, even on a conventional system.
They are not expensive and it’s worth swapping for a new one just to see.
On two occasions the RA broke down at tick-over but on the other occasion the RA was the wrong length, resulting in OK tick over but misfire at higher revs, exacerbated by high temperature.
The fact that your car wouldn’t run at all on Lumenition suggests a low-tension problem: loose or oxidised contacts, poor earth etc.
I’ve had Lumenition fitted on my 340 for 17 years, and has proved one of my better investments, in terms of easy starting and stable ignition timing.
One thing that Lumenition does highlight is weaknesses in the HT loop.
I’ve had three failures due to HT problems, all three causes were due to the Rotor Arm. There are some very dodgy components out there, mostly pattern parts.
All C-D systems produced significantly higher voltage than the standard points system and this does put a strain on Distributor and HT leads, which can cause unpredictable results.
Do not exclude the Rotor Arm, even on a conventional system.
They are not expensive and it’s worth swapping for a new one just to see.
On two occasions the RA broke down at tick-over but on the other occasion the RA was the wrong length, resulting in OK tick over but misfire at higher revs, exacerbated by high temperature.
Ian,
Thanks for the advice on the wheel, I have no power steering so I might go for a larger diameter wheel, or an arm workout !
Re the rotor arm, I fitted a new one from SNG Barrett, its the non riveted type and apparantly is supposed to be a lot more reliable.
The ignition feed wire from the control box can get dog eared and even a little fried especially if there have ever been any shorts from faulty points etc so it might be worth tracing from your wiring diagram and fitting a new feed cable to your ignition coil, I did this as a precaution.
Hope you manage a run out Sunday, it was good to get mine on the road and warmed up, I always feel guilty if the car is left standing in the garage for any length of time !
Thanks for the advice on the wheel, I have no power steering so I might go for a larger diameter wheel, or an arm workout !
Re the rotor arm, I fitted a new one from SNG Barrett, its the non riveted type and apparantly is supposed to be a lot more reliable.
The ignition feed wire from the control box can get dog eared and even a little fried especially if there have ever been any shorts from faulty points etc so it might be worth tracing from your wiring diagram and fitting a new feed cable to your ignition coil, I did this as a precaution.
Hope you manage a run out Sunday, it was good to get mine on the road and warmed up, I always feel guilty if the car is left standing in the garage for any length of time !
Thanks guys for the advice, all well taken.
Whats next is a change of RA, condensor, maybe leads (although these, the plug caps and the plugs are new) and if no joy I will bite the bullet and do the front loom. It almsot seems that replaceing bits just prolongs the agony.
It must be something that occure as the engine and systems get hotter, when well warm and in the first 20 miles she pulls so well I have to remeber that the engine is new (950miles now) and stop from pulling more than 3,500rpm.
Again thanks,
Ian.
Whats next is a change of RA, condensor, maybe leads (although these, the plug caps and the plugs are new) and if no joy I will bite the bullet and do the front loom. It almsot seems that replaceing bits just prolongs the agony.
It must be something that occure as the engine and systems get hotter, when well warm and in the first 20 miles she pulls so well I have to remeber that the engine is new (950miles now) and stop from pulling more than 3,500rpm.
Again thanks,
Ian.
Ian,
Just a couple of thoughts...
Is your vacuum and mechanical advance working ok on the distributor ? You can check this with a timing light at different revs. Also is your distributor plate able to move in accordance with the advance mechanism, sometimes if the wires are too brittle / short then it can prevent the base plate moving therefore hindering the advance mechanisms.
Sure you'll beat the problem soon !!!
Dave.
Just a couple of thoughts...
Is your vacuum and mechanical advance working ok on the distributor ? You can check this with a timing light at different revs. Also is your distributor plate able to move in accordance with the advance mechanism, sometimes if the wires are too brittle / short then it can prevent the base plate moving therefore hindering the advance mechanisms.
Sure you'll beat the problem soon !!!
Dave.
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