Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: Fotog on Friday,March 15, 2019, 07:13:51 AM
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Hi... :newhere: I have a twincam, 2619R that I'm looking to get going. It ran when parked, as they say, but that was about 30 years ago. Although I love something cosmetically & mechanically beautiful I'm just concentrating on function now; trying to do just the basics to get it road-able.
This is good; much better than the Yahoo thing in terms of usability. I've already gotten a lot of good info here, but for a first post, I'll ask this:
Given the long period of sitting, would it be worth my effort to disconnect the radiator and flush the cooling system to whatever degree possible before I try to start it? Can I even accomplish anything without running the engine?
The thought came to mind when reading the recent thread about replacement radiators and Sandyman said that his was fouled from 40 years' worth of rust and the like from the transfer tubes. I don't know the condition of the radiator other than that it isn't leaking. If it's currently clean-ish I don't want to foul it. OTOH, I don't want to just make up things to do to delay my starting of this car.
Thanks for any thoughts-
Vince Harris
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My thoughts are to drain the system (don't forget the plug in the block.) Fill with just water and run until the thermostat opens. Drain and see the condition of the water. Go fron there. Fingers crossed.
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Sandyman has good advice. I was going to say that if you're only interested in getting the engine to run, you wouldn't have to worry about the condition of the radiator too much. That assumes it's not plugged up and that you don't run it fo long. I would certainly make sure your radiator was in good shape before you try to drive the car of course. I might take it to a radiator shop regardless. Of course when I did that, I ended up with a custom radiator the shop said was a more modern design. I finally ended up with an aluminum radiator not because I had any problems with the custom radiator, but I thought I'd get an aluminum one while I still could. Although China seems to keep making more.
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As Sandyman has said pretty much, I'd disconnect the radiator and flush it out with a hose, then disconnect the pipes that run down the chassis from the engine and flush them (Don't forget there is a heater matrix that could also have a possible blockage/failure) followed by flushing the engine - connect it all back up and fill with water for the initial start - hopefully avoiding pushing any loose debris around the system and you can get an idea of the condition of each area whilst flushing them?
Does the engine turn over ok?
Good luck and please post some pics of your car as I'm sure everyone would like to see it.
Jon
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I forgot to :Welcome:
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Going by my experience, I would recommend disconnecting the radiator from the coolant tubes and performing a a good flush with a garden hose flush the tubes from the engine side tubes. When I did the initial start of my S2 after it had been sitting for several years, I only drained and replaced the coolant. Unfortunately the start flushed all of the sediment in the tubes into the radiator plugging it up and had me chasing my tail trying to figure out why I was running hot. While you have the radiator disconnected, it probably would be a good idea to at least have it pressure tested by a radiator shop and :Welcome:
I should add that once you have the hoses removed at the radiator inspect the condition of the coolant tube internals. Mine was looked like a lava field of corrosion. Before refilling with new coolant, I used a homemade rust removal solution in an attempt to remove most of the corrosion.
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By all means, thoroughly flush with water. But, put properly mixed coolant back in. Internal corrosion is a serious issue.
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What are your plans after you get your Twink going?
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Lucky you. Very close to R D Enterprises. They have been very helpful with all things Europa.
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Hi Vince and another :Welcome:
To flush or not to flush: that is the question (with apologies to Bill Shakespeare's Hamlet) :)
I'm on the fence with this one and I'll admit that I probably wouldn't bother unless the coolant looked very dirty. I suppose it depends how the car has been stored.
If it's been parked up and left sealed up with antifreeze/inhibitor in the system then I don't think you'll have that much corrosion in the main tubes and engine block. There will be some of course, but you need oxygen for corrosion and from the header tank downwards, with no circulation, the access for oxygen is restricted. The inhibitor will degrade over time so you could expect something but probably not tragic.
If it's been left drained and open then I'd fill it up with water, run it for a few minutes then drain & fill with antifreeze/inhibitor.
However, if it's been stored with the system partially drained and open or with plain water in then all bets are off and I think I'd strip/clean completely.
There's certainly nothing wrong with uncoupling the radiator hoses and draining/flushing as best you can to clear the main tubes. If you're going that far then I'd also uncouple the header tank and drain/flush that separately because that's the obvious place in the system for an air/water interface and usually where you get most corrosion. It would be a pain if you flushed the radiator, started up and then filled it up with rust from the header tank !
Personally I'd start it up, check for leaks at the water pump and then drain the system from the header tank first and then the radiator/block/etc. Depending on what came out I might even run a system flush before draining and re-filling with fresh anti-freeze/inhibitor.
As John says, internal corrosion with an iron block/aluminium head is a problem you don't want surprising you down the line.
Brian
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:Welcome: Vince!
It would be a strong recommendation from me to flush the entire system. Radiator, heater box, cooling tubes and engine block. Clean out the header tank (it certainly has residue in it).
Pull the car outside, drain the system into a container and then stick a hose into an open water hose for the cooling system at the top pipe. Run full pressure until the water comes out clean.
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Well, Jeez!
Thank you all very much for your thoughtful replies. Very comprehensive thoughts, and generous of you.
I'll get on with figuring out how and where to disconnect things and connect up my hosepipe (I was looking for an opportunity to use that!) to flush things out. Unfortunately it was down a bit on coolant, maybe close to a gallon. There was a bit of leakage at the radiator hoses that I was unaware of. I've tightened them and they're not leaking. But that might mean some pretty nasty corrosion in some areas, particularly the block I would assume.
I'll get back to you about photos, plans, etc. as it's a nice Saturday morning and the clock's ticking. But yes, the engine is free. I turned it with a wheel. Very pleased about that!
The manual is kind of sparse wrt info about the twincam-specific aspects of the cooling system. Where do I look on the block for a drain plug? Lots of spiderwebs and stuff under there. And which is the outlet from the water pump? The one projecting straight forward, or the other connection? [edit: I'm thinking it must logically be the second one] Is there a drain plug low on the radiator? I didn't see one.
Thanks!... Vince
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(part quote)
There was a bit of leakage at the radiator hoses that I was unaware of. I've tightened them and they're not leaking. But that might mean some pretty nasty corrosion in some areas, particularly the block I would assume.
Where do I look on the block for a drain plug?
Hi Vince,
A half empty system might not be as bad as you think, at least it's all happening at ambient temperatures with no temperature cycling and so corrosion should be very slow. The real problem is when you have wind/waterline problems because the levels are rising & falling and even worse if you get air ingress - like when you constantly check coolant level in the header tank "because it's a Lotus" ;)
Anyway, on the drain plug question I don't recall any on the radiator or block. There could well be some, but whenever I've changed coolant I usually drain the lot out of the front pipes & header tank pipe in the engine bay. If you take off both hoses at the front that'll give you a reasonable chance at flushing the transmission pipes and radiator. It's going to be difficult to clear the heater matrix without some serious dismantling inside the cabin, so you might just have to live with that area.
One thing that's just occurred to me is that if you're flushing out the block via the top hose to the head then removing the thermostat might be in order. If it's closed (and it should be) then it's quite an orifice plate restricting flow into or out of the head.
It sounds like you've got a busy weekend ahead !
Brian
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Fotog, :Welcome:
After sitting so long it may be a good idea to change the oil and filter and pull the coil wire and crank till you see oil pressure rise , maybe even pull the plugs and spray some oil in the cylinder while cranking. I hope you have some good weather or a heated garage to change
the oil .
Secondly, I would drain the fuel also.
BTW we love pictures.😀
Dakazman
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Fotog, welcome. I know how much you want to drive your awesome "twink". However, if you follow all the excellent advice, you should save a lot of grief and money down the road. Get greasy, get to know your car.
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Vince, we are all waiting to hear how your start up is going. Any updates and pictures?
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So, Sandyman, I've kept you waiting for over a month. Sorry about that!
And no, I haven't been hit by a bus. But I have a number of other irons in the fire, so limited time I can spend on this.
All who cautioned against barreling ahead too quickly needn't have been concerned. I can really spend some time looking stuff over and contemplating my next move. I like to know that things are right, or at least what the status is, before I act. So this isn't one of those exciting, fast-paced restoration threads. :)
Thanks for all the suggestions though. I've pretty much done everything suggested. But I haven't started it yet. But soon! Maybe today or tomorrow. I finally put a battery in it yesterday and cranked it over with the plugs out, and I got oil pressure. Hot diggity!
I did flush the cooling system. Separately the hot-side cooling transfer pipe, the radiator, and then the engine and cool-side transfer pipe, backflushed from the thermostat outlet as Brian suggested. Not the easiest to access everything but once I did it was successful. Actually very little sediment and rust came out. Happy about that.
I rebuilt the two Stromberg carbs, and couldn't resist cleaning them up in the process.
Carburetor question: Is the 'bypass valve' needed on the forward carburetor? The diaphragm is shot and I haven't gotten a rebuild kit (interesting that it's always a separate kit from the normal carb kit). I understand that it's involved with preventing backfiring during deceleration of the engine. Is that much of a problem and important? It's only on the one carburetor. I could used a gasket to block it off for the present.
I rebuilt the original glass-bowl fuel pump. It seems to be working right. I had some difficulty connecting the actuating rod to the lever, but I got it.
Fuel pump Question: Does anyone know where to source the actuating rod oil seal? This is the seal between the bottom section of the pump with the rocker-arm lever and the middle section with the underside of the diaphragm.
Lastly: Can someone explain what this connection does in the ignition circuit? Is this the 'starting' connection to the coil providing a higher voltage during starting? If so, is there a ballast resistor in the other line to the coil? I don't see it in the wiring diagram. The diagram shows a 'cold start coil', but the coil that's there is just an ordinary single coil. I don't know what a 'cold start coil' is. I guess pictures don't show up in the preview mode? Hard to know what I'm going to get..... Vince P.S. I will post some pix.
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The bypass valves are to reduce excess HC on deceleration. As you have already decided, simply replace the valve to carb gaskets with ones without holes for the vacuum passages.
Fuel pump oil seal... nope. It's just to prevent a potential oil leak out the pump base vent hole. Probably be fine without it.
Yes, it's a ballast resistor bypass for better spark when cranking. It is only useful if you have a coil with a separate ballast resistor. Otherwise, leave it disconnected at both ends.
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Boy, That's speedy. Thanks, JB!
-V
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The ballast resistor is a white rectangular thing attached to just above the chassis rail below the carbs.
It has spade connections at each end.
You only need to wire the ignition to the coil via the ballast resistor if the coil is a 9v coil.
With the 9v coil, the wire from the starter direct to the coil gives 12v only while cranking the starter motor over.
The hard part of this is working out whether you have a 12v or 9v coil. They are not in the easiest place to take out, and even once you have taken them out and cleaned them up, there may be no 9v or 12v markings on them.
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Measure the coil’s primary resistance (between the two small connections). 3+ ohms does not need a ballast resistor.
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I'll check into the ballast resistor question. I'm an electrical engineer (by training) but not particularly well versed WRT automotive ignition ckts, so appreciate the info. I don't think there's a ballast resistor there (haven't seen one) but I'm understanding better how that would work. Why were some coils made to work on less than the full 12V though?
I didn't start it today. Had some other things to do. But I went to re-mount the carbs and initially put them in place with 'Thackray washers' between the manifold and adapter flanges (or whatever those are). I got those spring washers from Ray at R. D. when I bought the carb rebuild kits. (They were not there when I disassembled things) Well, the manual says that the spacing between the two flanges should be .070 in. when the nuts are tightened, but those washers are ~.130 fully compressed. At first I thought I would just live with that, but then I decided that I would be risking a poor seal at the O-Ring, so I took them off and substituted some plain washers that gave me a spacing of about .070. I know that the Thackray washers are supposed to provide some resistance to heat flow to the carburetors, but I'm sure that it's not much if any better than my plain washers when they are fully compressed.
If I wanted to start this while watching at the engine bay, I just turn the key to '2' and apply power to the white/red wire going to the starter in the diagram that I posted above, right?
Thanks....Vince
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An external ballast resistor has some advantages. Minor one being less heat in the coil, not a big deal. The main advantage is with cold starting in cold weather. When cranking a cold engine, increased internal friction causes the starter to draw more amps. Cold batteries also have fewer amps available. Battery voltages during cold cranking can drop to 10 volts, or even lower. Having an external ballast resistor allows you to bypass it during cranking and have more voltage at the coil than there would be with a coil with a "built-in" ballast resistor.
You are mis-reading the manual. The gap is NOT between the carb and the manifold, it is between individual coils of the thackeray washer:
http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/tcwork/l/index.htm#8
This is extremely important. There has to be some flexibility in the carb mount to prevent fuel frothing at high rpm -- just ask MGA Twin Cam owners what happens if there isn't!
You are right about the white/red wire energizing the starter solenoid; however, starting an engine for the first time is a bit fraught with peril. One bad backfire through the carb and the whole car could burn up, seriously.
- make sure you can shut off the ignition where you are standing. At least a clear shot at the coil's white wire so you can pull it off if needed.
- same with the battery. Starter solenoids can stick and the starter keep turning, and turning, and turning.
- also have a fire extinguisher TO HAND -- and not a little 2 lb one!
Not trying to scare the &$#t out of you... well, maybe I am, but, it's an unknown engine, you need to be prepared.
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Measure the coil’s primary resistance (between the two small connections). 3+ ohms does not need a ballast resistor.
So 3+ oms = a 12v coil?
What is the resistance on a 9v coil? Presumably noticeably less than 9v, needing the external extra white resistance bar.
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Yes, 3+ ohms is a 12v coil. Typical 12V coils in the day were in the low 4 ohm range with "performance" coils at 3 ohms. Coils meant to be used with an external ballast resistor are usually in the 1 to 2 ohm range. The lower the primary resistance, the higher the primary current flow. This gives a hotter spark but is harder on the points and a greater load on the charging system. If you are running points, stick with a coil in low 4 ohm range, much easier on points. If you have converted to electronic, follow the kit's recommendations. For example, pertronics wants a minimum of 3 ohms, any lower may damage the system.
All this is for 4 cylinder engines. Higher cylinder counts may use coils with lower primary resistance.
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I woke up this morning thinking I wasn't satisfied about mounting the carbs without the Thackeray washers. My impression is that with the O-ring in place and no nuts clamping, the gap between the mounting flange and manifold is only about .10 or so. I'll have to see. The car is not at my house.
About that manual, it says: "When assembling the adaptor flange/carburetter to the adaptor blocks, the 'O' rings should be located carefully and the nuts should be adjusted to give an even gap of .070 in.(1.78 mm) between these parts. "
The part about "...adaptor flange / carburetter to the adaptor blocks,..." makes it sound as though that's what they're referring to when they finish the sentence with "...between these parts." But I find it confusing since I don't know what they mean when they mention "adaptor blocks". There is an adapter flange bolted to the carburetor with an appropriate gasket. It has a machined lip that engages with a recess in the intake manifold to retain the O-ring, so I don't think it's missing anything. What's the Adaptor Block? I'm now thinking that as long as the o-ring is slightly compressed and the spring washers aren't clamped tight it will be ok.
I'll follow your precautions about starting when I get to it.
V
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Yes, 3+ ohms is a 12v coil. Typical 12V coils in the day were in the low 4 ohm range with "performance" coils at 3 ohms. Coils meant to be used with an external ballast resistor are usually in the 1 to 2 ohm range. The lower the primary resistance, the higher the primary current flow. This gives a hotter spark but is harder on the points and a greater load on the charging system. If you are running points, stick with a coil in low 4 ohm range, much easier on points. If you have converted to electronic, follow the kit's recommendations. For example, pertronics wants a minimum of 3 ohms, any lower may damage the system.
All this is for 4 cylinder engines. Higher cylinder counts may use coils with lower primary resistance.
Checked my coil. 9 ohms. Does that mean 12v or buy a new coil?
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What brand of meter are you using? Cheap and cheerful? Does it have a proper low-ohms setting?
Re: mounting to Strombergs. Probably your o-rings do not match the original sizes. No big deal. Set them up so each thackeray washer is tightened the same and is not fully compressed. 0.050 gap is what you should shoot for.
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What brand of meter are you using? Cheap and cheerful? Does it have a proper low-ohms setting?
A decent digital multi-meter.
0-200 ohms scale gives the rear-out of around 9.
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and using the same multi-meter, the resistance of the Lotus ballast resistor which goes in series with the 9v coil, measured at 4.5 ohms.
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I think your meter is off.
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Back to the carburetor mounting, I've had a revelation about those Thackeray spring washers. Given that they are springs and we don't want the carburetor adapter flange (whatever it's called) in contact with the intake manifold, I thought that they went between the two to spring them apart. Not so! The O-ring holds the two apart, and the washers go under the nuts to allow some flexibility after the nuts are tightened.
Not having seen it properly assembled on my car, nor in any manual, I had the wrong picture in my head. After looking at it and considering that possibility, I came home and googled for some images of mounted Strombergs, and damn if they don't have the washers between the nuts and adapter flange instead of between the flange and the manifold! Hot diggity!
V
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I'm not getting fuel. So I've got a leak on the suction side, a fuel pump that isn't working, or a blockage. Working on it! Manually I could pump fuel at least a few inches out of a jar when the pump was on the bench, so I thought it was ok. I'll investigate.
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One GD thing after another. Have you tried to put a spoon full of fuel into carb inlet and fire the engine? Sometimes just cranking the engine does not actuate fuel pump fast enough. Fire extinguisher at ready.
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I'm not getting fuel. So I've got a leak on the suction side, a fuel pump that isn't working, or a blockage. Working on it! Manually I could pump fuel at least a few inches out of a jar when the pump was on the bench, so I thought it was ok. I'll investigate.
If the fuel tanks are full enough, the level is above the pump. That should help any reluctance for the pump to pump fuel.
I had a huge problem starting a 5.6 litre Ford V8 that had been unused for 3 years. I had to drop fuel from a 2" paintbrush into the 4 butterfly inlet. I checked to see which cylinders were firing. Only #8. I put more fuel in and gave it some right foot and it started on 6. After about 2 minutes running, the other 2 started up. I was told hydraulic valves may have been to blame.
Try cranking the engine with the plugs out to see if you can persuade the pump to work. Sometimes it takes a lot of cranking to get things primed and firing.
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Thanks for the suggestions.
I was able to spend a little while on it yesterday. Though I'd be glad to see it go, I'd just as soon make sure that the fuel supply system is all working right before I start it. So I don't feel the need to cobble up some other way to supply fuel just to see it run.
The setup is that I have one carb in place, and I'm looking to get fuel flow out the open branch of the tee at the carburetors when I crank it.
-The carburetor float bowls were filled on the bench.
-I don't have any plugs in. Cranking is easier. I'm not trying to start it (yet).
The hard thing was coming up with some kind of fitting for the inlet to the pump. When I did, I ran a piece of tubing down into a can with some fuel below the car. When I cranked it, it sucked that right up. No problem, so the pump is fine. I just have to crawl under there and get some gas on me while I figure out what's blocked, or where I have an air leak. I didn't have time to work on that.
The starboard-side tank, near the carbs, had an inch or two of 30 y.o. gas that I drained a few weeks ago. There was a bit of stuff in the bottom of the tank that I didn't worry about too much, as I put a filter above the tee between the tanks. I put the other tank in place that hadn't been there in ages. Of the 10 inches of gas I put in the starboard tank, none of it made it into the tank on the other side. So that's pretty weird and not a good sign. Maybe I should have been more concerned about the stuff in the bottom of the tank. Need to investigate!
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Is there fuel coming out of the tanks? If there's a blockage in tank remove the fuel tank caps and put air pressure to the tank side of the fuel pump.
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Several of the 14 tanks I have taken out have had the small 1/4 outlet tube blocked.
I use a small drill in my hand to cut out any crap in the straight bit, then I use thick copper fuse wire or earth wire to get around the bend. Then I blast the pipe with high pressure air from a compressor to clear any crap in the pipe.
That outlet pipe is about 1" above the bottom of the tank (so sediment stays in the very bottom of the tank) and goes a long way into the tank. So it is easily blocked if the car has been standing unused for years.
I replace the pipes with 1/4" copper pipe, with brass Ts and short rubber connectors tank to copper tube, copper tube to T x 3, and then copper tube to tube into pump.
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Yes; the 1/4 in. tube is plugged up with schmutz. I assume I'll get it cleared out yet. I have a solution in the tank working on it now. Also, a wire; a fine tube brush; a 'pipe cleaner' if I can find one. They used to be a common thing when people smoked pipes. I can't imagine doing it, but to be clear, you replaced that tank outlet tube with a new copper tube? Did you braze it in place? 'preciate your input though.
I might break down and just put some fuel in a can and suck it out of there and start the damn thing.
Vince
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And...14 tanks. Wow!
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No, I have cleared out all the blocked tubes into the tanks.
I replaced the black plastic original fuel pipes with copper from tanks to T and T to pump.
Several of those tanks have had very badly rusted tops as the rain just sits on top, so I have made new tops and I am about to get them welded into place.
Hence I can clearly see into the bottom of the tanks to see where the tube lies and ends.
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Ahah! Actually I later re-read your post and realized that you were likely talking about the plastic pipes. I think they're supposed to be clear, but become black with sediment and general schmutz inside over time.
I spent some time on it today, without success. I figured that I could clear the blockage pretty easily with a copper wire as you suggested and pipe cleaners. Not so. I can get them in there about 5 inches and then no further. That 1/4 inch tube coming out of the tank makes a pretty hard bend outside of the tank. What does it look like inside, since you've seen it? Is there another bend or is it straight? And what is the typical length inside the tank?
I'm thinking of buying a gallon of lacquer thinner and let that sit in there for a few days or removing the tank and taking a torch to the outlet pipe while I poke in there with a wire. Just heat it up to about 200 F or so and see if that softens the crud.
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The pipe is straight inside the tank, and about 9" long.
I suggest you try clearing the tube with compressed air.
Then fill the tank with about half a gallon of fuel, put a plastic washing up bowl under the tank and see how quickly it comes out.
If you use anything other than fuel in the tank, such as very hot water, you can drain the tank dry by unscrewing the drain plug. I think it is a 9/16" spanner that fits. Otherwise about 1" of other liquid will sit in the bottom and mix with the fuel later.
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Well.... I started it! Hah! Very cool. A week ago, on Monday.
First, I got the fuel flowing. Where we left off, I was having trouble with that. I used a heat lamp for about a half hour in the vicinity of the outlet tube from the fuel tank to soften the schmutz, then was able to get a copper wire through it. Without the heat I ran into a dead end. I followed that with pipe cleaners saturated with lacquer thinner. Many of them. Maybe 20. Normal pipe cleaners for pipe smokers are are more abrasive (good), but only 6 inches long; not long enough. The pipe into the tank is 8-9 inches long. I used pipe cleaners from the craft store. They're very soft, so not ideal, but they're 10-12 inches long, so that was good. Anyway, I cleaned it out and got my fuel flowing from the tank.
Then I found that I didn't have a spark. I should have checked for that earlier but didn't think it through in terms of how to test. Not like me. The inside of the distributor had looked clean, so I just gave it a go, with no success. Next I checked the coil. Resistances were 3.1 ohm primary and 7.8K secondary, and my inline spark-testing gizmo showed a spark when I wired the coil secondary (HT) to a plug with the gizmo in-line and made/broke the coil ground while the coil was energized (simulating the action of points). So the problem was with the points.
I used a lightbulb in series with the points to confirm that they weren't doing their thing.
I removed the distributor, cleaned, and re-set the points. Everything in there looked clean, except the points were a bit corroded from sitting for about 25 years along with the typical erosion from sparking. They weren't making good electrical contact when closed, but now they are. I re-installed the distributor. I'm sure that the points are working right. On the bench after cleaning I confirmed that they made and broke a connection to ground, and I'm confident that I got things back the way that they were: Distributor in the same position and the rotor in the same orientation.
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But I had a doubt about the plug wire positions on the distributor cap . A few weeks ago, before I removed the distributor, I had removed the distributor cap and re-installed it, and although I labeled the plug-end of the wires, I later couldn't make sense of their positions on the cap. I didn't think I removed them, but... it wasn't making sense. I was comparing them to the info in this article from Lotus Marques in Australia: https://www.lotusmarques.com/info/technical/36-lotus-europa/163-tc-distributor-and-plug-lead-orientation , just trying to make sure everything was right. It seemed to be a very comprehensive description about distributor installation. Seems like good information, but it caused me some unneeded agro it turns out.
The low voltage lead to my distributor is at ~10 O'clock position. I think that's non-standard. The distributor isn't original, though it is a Lucas, as is the cap. It has centrifugal advance, not vacuum. I forgot to get the model number off it when I had it out.
-The cap has screws, with one near the block and one toward the side of the car, as the distributor is installed. With this orientation, the plug wires exit directly toward the rear of the car. Maybe in a different orientation I could get the screws out easier. Pretty difficult access to the one near the block.
Let's just say that I ultimately satisfied myself with enough thinking about this. I set it up so that my test-lamp showed points just opening at 5 deg BTDC on the compression stroke. I didn't change the position of the distributor or wires, but I realized that there are 4 possible positions where it could work, and made sure that the rotor position was agreeing with the wire position for no. 1 and the other wires were in order counter-clockwise around the cap.
Some other historical threads here were helpful. Nothing exactly specific to my big question about the distributor, but it was useful for my overall understanding of the system.
I started it about 10 times over the first few days after I got it going. I couldn't help myself. Like a 16 year-old.
One thing: It doesn't run well when the fuel level is at or below the level of the outlet pipe in the tank. :-) Caused a little panic for an evening.
I've got other stuff on my plate, but when I steal some time, I'm working on installing seat belts and getting brakes working.
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BTW, when I finally did it, it was incredibly smoky. Probably due to the ounce of transmission fluid/acetone mix I had put in each cylinder a few months ago. White smoke that just filled the garage, even with a door open. It took about 20 minutes to clear. But so cool to have it run!
Vince
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Congrats! Always exciting to get it running!
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Congratulations! It really feels good to hear it run that first time! :beerchug:
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Fotog, Great to hear. Congratulations on getting the heart of your baby ticking over. :trophy: Any idea when you can cast off and do a shakedown cruse? Can't wait to see pictures of her out.
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Congrats Fotog,
:trophy:
Dakazman
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Thanks, fellows.
A photo of the scene at present:
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I think a couple of weeks before the first drive. I need to reassemble brakes and maybe get a license on it. I'm more conservative about such things than when I bought it 30 years ago as a foolish, naive young man. Busy with other things.
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Dang, you and Certified could be bookends. That seems to be the color of choice.
Dakazman
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It seems that was a very common color in the day. The car is un-original enough that when the time comes, I might go for a real "fly" yellow. I do like yellow. But I think since they were in showrooms (were they ever?) nobody has bought their Europa with color as a significant factor in the decision. There was no choice involved.
Body and paint are pretty rough. One 'good' thing is that I can use Scotchbrite to clean it! It doesn't make anything any worse than it is. Follow that up with some polish and it looks like a hundred bucks.
V
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I see I need to work on that picture sizing. That last one wasn't too good.
Can anyone explain how to intersperse pictures with text in one post? I've seen it done, but it isn't obvious how to do it.
Like:
PHOTO 1
Text
PHOTO 2
Text
etc.
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What type phone do you have? I have an I phone but it work on others.
Take your picture, go to your photos on phone , select picture and email it to yourself. A selection will come up and ask what size. Select l as than 900kb or less. Open your email and save that picture to your photos because that is the one that you select from your post on site.
Hope to see some pics soon.
Dakazman
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Well! Yesterday was a big day. My car not only got some direct daylight, outside the garage, but I DROVE the damned thing!
Just a few laps around the neighborhood. But it seemed to run well; got all the gears I could try (not 4th), and sounded good too.
Very cool though. Wow!
I'm going to experiment with some photos in different sizes, etc. Seeing these made me finally change the scratched lens-cover on the phone. Newer photos will be better, without the beautiful haze.
Vince
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Excellent Vince! Are you bringing it to LOG?
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Nooo..oo. Maybe next year. I need to check out the suspension, drive-shafts, etc. and do some driving. The impetus for this whole effort is the need to sell the house where it's been sitting. I've been very busy getting ready for that, and will be for several more weeks.
-V
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Congrats Fotog! :trophy: Confidence in the car builds the more you drive it. You really can drive them further than you can push them home.
Tom
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Congratulations Fotog! :beerchug: I can see that it feels good!
Good luck on the house sale! Moving somewhere with a bigger garage?
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J/24 ?
And congratulations :) .
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J/24 ?
Another sailor?
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Another sailor?
Yes, I think sailors are attracted to cars that are built like boats. It feels more ... familiar.
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Another sailor?
Yes, I think sailors are attracted to cars that are built like boats. It feels more ... familiar.
Agreed! I can't weld worth a damn, but years of clumsy boat ownership has made me very familiar with fiberglass repair. :P
t
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I'm also a sailor! Last boat was a Pearson 303. Used to sail from Barnegat Bay to Block Island and Newport all the time. Lots of adventures, North Sea off the coast of Germany, Caribbean, Hawaiian Islands (Charter boats, not the Pearson). Sold it when I decided to race sports cars. I just charter now and sail with friends. Much simpler life and much much cheaper!
And yes, fiberglass cars seems to have a strange sense of familiarity.........
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Well! Yesterday was a big day. My car not only got some direct daylight, outside the garage, but I DROVE the damned thing!
Just a few laps around the neighborhood. But it seemed to run well; got all the gears I could try (not 4th), and sounded good too.
Very cool though. Wow!
I'm going to experiment with some photos in different sizes, etc. Seeing these made me finally change the scratched lens-cover on the phone. Newer photos will be better, without the beautiful haze.
Vince
Very cool to have a running Europa. Time to go driving.
Your mags are the same ones I have, Appliance Mags from the early 70's. Mine were made in Japan by Enkie. I painted the mesh area gold, looks great with the yellow.
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J/24 ?
And congratulations :) .
Yes,. I should have sold it 10 years ago. I stopped racing then after having done so for about 13 years in Annapolis. It was ridiculous for me to drive so far from the Philadelphia area. The crew got a little long in the tooth, having babies, and not being able to come all the time. And then sails grew in price from about $1,000 each 10 years before to about $2,000 each. So I stopped.
It's just as well because about a year later the class pretty much collapsed during the recession, after having been super popular for 25 years.
We had so much damn fun though! I just had a hard time parting with it.
BTW, "Foto-G" is short for Fotogelegenheit", the boat name, and a nice simple German word meaning photo opportunity.. 😊
Thanks all for your congrats.
Vince
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[/quote]
Very cool to have a running Europa. Time to go driving.
Your mags are the same ones I have, Appliance Mags from the early 70's. Mine were made in Japan by Enkie. I painted the mesh area gold, looks great with the yellow.
[/quote]
I kind of like those wheels. I was thinking of doing the center portion in Black. Your gold looks nice though.
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Hmmm. Hard to do this stuff on a phone.
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Hmmm. Hard to do this stuff on a phone.
That’s all I use..😅
Congrats on the milestone, my choice was a 20’ Nimble. Very fun and you don’t get caught on sandbars. Sailed it in the Hamptons , tiana bay, NY. , bunch of different lakes. And of course down here where it’s not fun. Hence the sale. I saved the compass , just in case!
Dakazman
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Moving somewhere with a bigger garage?
I'm afraid not. I've been living in a different place for several years. And bummer, but it only has a one-car garage. That's a step down. Hopefully down the road I'll have something with a larger garage.
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I'm really looking forward to driving it farther than around the block. About a month ago, I (finally!) transferred the title from NC to PA that I've been sitting on for all these years. One mustn't be in too much of a hurry, you know?
Because of the age, they used the non-internet process. I guess it goes along with the pre-internet car.
And now I'm waiting to get the new title back so I can register. Can't wait!