All dressed up and nowhere to go

[Doherto]

After three and a half years, much support from this forum and members of the Manchester JEC regional group, and of course ebay, I have finally transformed an abandoned 1968 Mk2 240 project into something I am quite proud of. Unfortunately though, as I am sure effects all of us, I am only allowed to look at the results of my labour in the garage for now. Along with a complete refurbishment of everything on the car, a complete rebuild of the engine necessitates a 500 mile run in period before we can begin to enjoy her, which I am itching to complete. Unfortunately I will have to be content with completing the list of jobs in the house which have been neglected over the last three years, at least I should end up in the good books of HTSBO. ( Her that shall be obeyed ) Stay home, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can get back on the road. I look forward to catching up with and meeting fellow members hopefully later in the year.

Moderator MK note to poster. I`ve removed the duplicate images to tidy your thread. What a beautiful job you have done on your car. Quite superb. Well done. I can appreciate your frustration in not being able to use the car during this period of virus lockdown. Look forward to the future. Mike K

[Doherto]

Sorry I messed up on the pictures but hopefully you get the drift. Tony.

I`ve corrected that, Tony. (Moderator Mike K)

[steve_m]

Lovely car; don't fret about the non-driving stage, that will come around.
My first car was a 1966 MGB Roadster which I bought when I was 19 years, 11 months and 3 weeks old.
Spent a week shuffling 30 feet up and down the drive before I could afford to insure it when I turned 20.
It cost me £450 and one company (Concord, they still going?)quoted £800. For 6 months.

[PPV]

Looks a great job. Any more info for the magazine as it sounds like it would make a great article and inspire others.
Regards,

[Doherto]

Already started it but its difficult to decide how much of the story to tell and how much detail to include. The engine has been in and out three times, long story, and rewiring without buying looms was interesting. I'm sure i'll get there but it may take a while.

[jlimonjagi689]

Great job
We are all in the same boat
Lovely car!
Gtjoey1314

[Doherto]

Non essential travel allowed Rang round and got a great deal from Adrian Flux with european travel and european breakdown recovery. So tomorrow it's time to check tyre pressures, oil levels etc etc and we start the the run in on Friday. I cannot imagine we will get through the 500 miles without a hitch or a niggle but let's hope they are all managable, fingers crossed. Hopefully others will be taking off the dust covers and enjoying the good weather and partial freedom.

[Doherto]

Happy days. Clocked up just 20 miles today and she purrrrrred all the way. Everything seamed to work ok, including the overdrive. Just one issue, a knock on the offside rear going over potholes. Had a look for anything obvious this afternoon but there is very little under there which can knock as far as i can see. The exhaust, even though it is on the near side, is solid so i can't see that being the culprit. Will have to try again over the weekend but i have taken the two heavy toolboxes, which are strapped into the boot, out in case they are the cause. If anyone has any suggestions of anything to check i would appreciate it.

[Doherto]

Problem solved, the new shock absorbers on the rear must have seated properly under driving load which took about four or five full turns on the nuts on top in the boot. Sorted. Now i just have the odd rotary catching and scraping noises which disappear when I apply the brakes so i guess i will have to suffer them until the pads bed in. Good weather forecast this week so hopefully i can start eating up the run in milage. ( 2000 revs / just over 40 mph )

[Doherto]

OK i have now clocked up the first 100 miles and have a strange one i could do with some help with. During the rebuild the new thermostat opened at 70 degrees ish and all was ok. Now as I am driving her it seams to open at 60 degrees and the water temp settles at about 50 degrees and holds steady. Could that have anything to do with the fact that I am only driving up to 2000 revs? Will it increase under normal driving conditions ? I have borrowed a friends clock and wired it in and that reads the same. Just to complicate matters, I installed an aditional electric fan which is controled by a manual setting thermostat with the sensor installed in the hose from the thermostat housing to the top of the radiator, which i have set at 85 degrees. When i am driving, generally along a dual carridgeway with islands and lights, the electric fan kicks in when I am waiting at traffic lights and switches off after a few hendred yards normal driving. Also when i garage the car after a run, engine off, temp guage still on 50 the electric fan kicks in and when i rotate the thermostat control its sensor is reading 85 to 90 degrees. I know I will need to drain down the coolent liquid and test both the sender to the guage and the sender to the electric fan thermostat to get to the bottom of this but just wondered, assuming both sender units are ok, both new, if anyone has any ideas. The engine is not running hot, she is warm under the bonnet after a run but I expected it to be a lot warmer.

[PPV]

A cheap laser/infrared thermometer is very useful I have found when checking temperature and cooling system problems.

[piman]

Hello Doherto,

I don't know how you know at what temperature the thermostat is opening?

What you can do though is to blank a portion of the radiator with some cardboard. Back when these cars were current, radiator blinds were very popular (The Jensen 541's grill was able to be opened or shut in increments, which was a neat solution) to counter cool running.

Alec

[Doherto]

Hi again, just as an update and to pass on a little knowledge. The infra red thermometer arrived eventually today. I ordered one from ebay from what was advertised as a uk supplier but the b.....y thing came from China, an origin for tools I try to avoid. However having tested her now although the guage is reading 60 she is actually running bang on 72, perfect for the thermostat. Therefore the next time I have cause to drain her down I will fit a new sender unit, for now as long as the reading is constant I am confidant with the cooling system. As for the electric fan I can only assume that, as I mounted the rehostat ( for controling the temperature at which the fan kicks in ) on the heater box, it was getting too warm and triggering the fan. I have relocated it now to the space behind the grill in front of the radiator and it only kicks in when the engine is stopped for about 5 minutes so happy days. Just as a closing note to this saga, as it may be of some use to someone else, i wired the fan supply in parallel with the map light switch which has two benifits. One, the light illuminates when the fan kicks in, otherwise i would not have known of the original problem, and two, if required, ever, i can switch the fan on overriding the rehostat. I have no need for the map light anyway as i have wired in a slidable sat nav behind a now hinged radio speaker grill. Looking forward now to what i assume will be our first show in Rippon.

[PPV]

Glad that you seem to have sorted the problem. I have found the infrared/laser thermometer very effective with identifying cooling problems, brakes binding and cylinders not firing also.
Regards,

[piman]

Hello PPV,

I use one quite regularly but always bear in mind that the reading depends on the type of material you are pointing at, from reflective to matt black. the better ones have an adjustment to compensate for different materials. I generally just use it as a comparison between diffent parts that I want to do a temperature check on rather than trust as an absolute figure.

Alec