Problems, problems

After nearly twenty years sat in the garage it really was time to finish the project !!!!!
A blowing exhaust-box became a problem difficult to resolve. Original system had been fitted many years ago by 'Kwik-Fit' together with a 'life-time' guarantee and it would have been something of a laugh to try and hold them to the guarantee after some twenty years !!!   Without an MOT certificate it would have been physically difficult getting the car to the nearest depot and I am sure that there would have been some small print for them to get out of the promise as most people sell the car before claiming ( had to be in the same ownership to claim) but it would have been a hoot to try after all that time :)

This had to resolved and I really did not fancy trying to source a mild steel system and fit it myself so I decided to 'give the cat a gold-fish' and get a local company to design and fit a stainless steel system.  A car-transporter had to hired to take 'ANA' the three miles or so becoming a milestone moment as she actually moved to another location for the first time since 1994 !!!!! 

Moving for the first time in nearly twenty years.......Vauxhall Viva 'ANA 78M'

Moving .....if only by 'Motor Move'

  

Shiny new stainless steel exhaust.

Mission completed and exhaust fitted this was at least some progress towards 'ANA' passing an MOT test and the long-winded restoration moving towards being finished. As with most things in life ( at least mine) this early confidence  was to prove ill-founded. Current engine   (fitted in 1994) had only done some 4000 miles and I had recently added an electronic ignition converted distributor together with a new coil.....what could go wrong ???

Full of confidence........Vauxhall Viva 'ANA' restoration team........what could go wrong?

We had started 'ANA's engine many times after the fitting of the new distributor and everything seemed to be O.K apart from a marked reluctance to start again after reaching operation temperature. We adjusted the timing without much success and decided that it must be the Stromberg 150 Carburetor.

After moving it from the garage to the drive on one occasion without problem, she just refused to start again.  We began to suspect the carb' and after checking the diaphragm, etc, I made the classic mistake of dropping the metering needle which naturally bent like a banana. After attempting to fix this fuel started to leak from the bottom of the carb'

"Damn, damn, and double damn"
       .... were just a few of the expletives  expressed.

I managed to source a re-built unit and we tried again.  Nothing.........well worse than nothing, something additionally seemed be wrong as the 1256 engine now stated to turn over very,very slowly on the starter motor. Battery was fully charged so why?..........why indeed?

I tried to turn the engine over by hand with a socket wrench after taking the plugs out to try and get a clue to the problem.  The 'clue' was that the engine had all but seized, despite the fact that without the plugs it should have been easy to turn with no compression to act against.

"Oh dear"  as they say..........what to do now????

'This looks like an engine rebuild' was the annoying dark whisper from deep in my thought processes....and the dark whisper is always right !!


Follow our next blog post.......A winter's tale ( rebuilding an engine in a freezing garage)  



Like many Google 'blogspot' users I am having problems with the 'comments' form appearing.....if you have a suggestion to resolve this or just comment on the blog click on 'No comments' and the form will appear like magic !!..........clever huh?  :)