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As a note the Old engine which is in there till i get the new engine back is a 1600, +40 flat top pistons, Bryan SLark head with 1.75 inlets, WRM Group 2 cam and then my normal injection and ignition set up. Limiter set to 7300 when i get round to it, bit more than that in the 2nd video..........
All mapped on the A303 and A338 over 2 days last weekend.
I guess the engine is run in now.
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Thursday evening i went to see a work colleague who has just got him self a RS1800. I thought i would take the Tiger as the weather was nice and the way over is across country. On the way i noticed a few extra knock from the front end so had a quick check when igot where i was going and could see nothing untoward. Anyway on the way home just after dark i gave it some real beans with no problems until i got back to Andover and pulled up at a set of traffic lights. Just as the car was coming to halt there was a big bang and the near side locked up. Long story made short see below:  IMG_2375 by Nevtiger, on Flickr So imagine my surprise when i took the other side off:  IMG_2377 by Nevtiger, on Flickr I had the lugs plugged by a local engineering company and had asked them to thread and glue so that it was as strong as the original, in the photo the lug looks really thin where the plug is but actually its been worn away. They have actually 'snapped' off much higher. I am surmising, as the plug was not threaded or glued that they came loose and thus allowed a fracture to propagate across leading to this. Interesting that it should go on both at the same time but hey ho and thank god it did not happen when making progress across country or on an event. The front end comes apart quite often and i always check things out of habit having raced the Bowler as everything on that would break eventually due to the harsh conditions! Hence why i am now looking to change the brake callipers................ |
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I find it weird that it was fine for a number of years and then just lets go like that. Maybe it was the move to slicks!!!!
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The callipers had been on the car for 4 years or so and regularly inspected, and completely stripped back in the Summer/Autumn of last year with no signs of any impending problems. Therefore i am postulating that perhaps the mounting lug face was not quite true when they were machined for my car and so every time the calliper was used it induced a bending moment into the mounting lug one way or the other. This eventually led to the failure seen here. That might explain why they both went together.
Also last year i had the original alloy hubs go out of true and that of course would also introduced a bending moment to the mounting lugs. Infact i think this may have been the biggest factor.
I can't find any spare callipers of any sort in the garage so whilst i wait to save up for a new set up i shall fit the new springs and modify the ARB arrangement so thats it direct acting. Hay while the sun shines etc :-)
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I managed to get into the garage yesterday and cracked on with the new brakes. Thanks to a top tip from Roy2089 i got my self a set of Mercedes A Class front discs. These are from the first generation A Class (A210) as those have a smaller offset more suited to the Avenger/Sunbeam. As you can see the disc is bigger again being 276mm compared to the previous 260mm.  IMG_2427 by Nevtiger, on Flickr You can see the height difference here:  IMG_2429 by Nevtiger, on Flickr Its not massive and equates to an 8mm spacer between the bracket and strut. Here it is all fitted:  IMG_2430 by Nevtiger, on Flickr And with the pads fitted you can see that the combination is ideal:  IMG_2434 by Nevtiger, on Flickr My CXR's and Minilite Sports still fit over with plenty of clearance but as Edward1740 has found the Amil/Lotus wheel will not fit. I tried some spacers to see if i could get them to fit but ended up with nearly 20mm of spacer for the wheel to fit!!! Which means i need a different wheel for the road/track day/testing tyres. Luckily i still have a set of 6x15" Compomotive MO's i just need 2 new tyres to make them legal. So, ready to race again Well when i have done the brake pipes to the callipers that is. NB: Flash note from the future; this is the same calliper used on the Mk1 & 2 Escort big disc conversion done by AP. The studious individual will note that the calliper is mounted on the front of the strut where as normally the calliper is at the back of the strut! This is because the calliper is too big and hits the steering arm. The solution is to swap the strut legs from side to side on the car and turn the calliper over by swapping the balance pipe from top to bottom. These callipers use the Forest pad too. I use Pagid RS5 by the way. |
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mfmman
Part of things
Posts: 13
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Jul 17, 2015 18:56:48 GMT
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Ah right. O'Kanes i seem to remember but i suspect Jason Shaw can do them too. N Thanks |
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Jul 20, 2015 14:49:15 GMT
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They are OEM Pagid discs. I like the drilled look to. Looks good through the wheel........
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Jul 20, 2015 14:50:37 GMT
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Brakes worked fab at last weekends sprint and i was braking 150m later in some parts of the track, although most of that is down to tyres.....
However, after each run i found that the discs were rubbing coming back into the pits. There is very little clearance between the calliper body and the disc and with expansion it was beginning to rub. I have machined the discs slightly thinner to give more room for any expansion. I was a little surprised as Sprinting and Hillclimbing would not generate the same brake temps as in Rallying but all the same its been a good mod.
Note from the future: Its thermal expansion radialy which means the disc rubs on the pad retaining pin when really really hot.............
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Jul 20, 2015 14:52:24 GMT
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Jul 20, 2015 14:55:41 GMT
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Last event of the year for me has come and gone. Pegasus sprint at Castle Combe, very wet in the morning but it dried out for the afternoon and the car went well. Found a weeping head gasket when we had finished but otherwise a faultless day. Loads of interest in the car as it seems it gets most places now! Even the Police stopped by to have a look....... Here is a link to the fastest lap of the day which was also the final one.  IMG_0725 by Nevtiger, on Flickr |
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Jul 20, 2015 15:03:54 GMT
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Tiz the end of the season so its time to start playing again :-) Throughout this season i have been having a bit too much body roll. The upshot of that is that i have 'fallen over' the front tyres. I did not have enough negative camber adjustment to make it work so have decided to stiffen the car up. The front is going to use 350lb springs and the ARB is going to be direct acting onto the strut an increase of ARB rate of approx three times.. When the figures are run through the suspension programme this is what it suggests, it also seems that a number of well sorted Sunbeams use a similar approach..... So off with the ARB:  IMG_0733 by Nevtiger, on Flickr This being the 22mm 'Lotus' ARB. I have now chopped off the standard end. This gives me a couple of benefits:  IMG_0734 by Nevtiger, on Flickr First benefit is that i can weld on an extension tube which is straight and at the same angle as the ARB.  IMG_0736 by Nevtiger, on Flickr  IMG_0741 by Nevtiger, on Flickr  IMG_0747 by Nevtiger, on Flickr  IMG_0749 by Nevtiger, on Flickr I have added a small amount of adjustment so that if i ever get time then i can have a play and see what happens! The other benefit of the straight arm on the ARB is that it lowers the ARB arm in relation to the suspension. On my car the body is dropped around the suspension which means the ARB is much higher than standard which in turn means it gets very close to the steering rack when at ride height:  IMG_0744 by Nevtiger, on Flickr  IMG_0745 by Nevtiger, on Flickr A bit dirty under there from the respray and a small oil leak from the rocker cover, so when the engine is out i will need to get in there and give it a clean. After all, dirt is weight................ Next times thrilling instalment will include helper springs and thread cleaning. |
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Jul 21, 2015 15:49:52 GMT
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The front springs are at 250lb now and when running the figures 350lb on the front came up as the best option with the type of tyres I am using. Surprisingly the rear rates (total as these are progressive) have gone up by a factor of 3 from where they are now............and it all ties in together and has to be done at the same time.
The jury is out on whether they will work but not using a rear ARB does result in these high rates at the back. This will mean I am compromised on the hills with less traction BUT due to the design of the rear suspension and weight over the rear axle this can not be improved upon by any significant amount. For example at Gurston Hill it might make a difference to one corner but the changes made to the suspension will improve the situation on three corners. I am therefore hoping there will be a net gain. Sprints will all be a net gain.
I have not quite finalised the design of the bracket on the strut body as it needs to be adjustable to allow the suspension to be adjusted. I have a solution but its a bit heavy, I am sure I can save the a few grams. Or I could eat less pies??
The ARB mounts are already poly bushed and I am hoping that will be enough otherwise I shall get some nylon bushes made up, the mounts have been strengthened as well at the chassis previously.
The bell housing has always been like that as I bought it second hand yonks ago, really I could do with a new one but it works......
Why is the 20.5mm written on the ARB??? Measure twice, write it down, measure again, write it again and then fire up the disc cutter. I did not want to thingy it up........... Not really a place to be doing it all by eye. I was using 2 steel rules along with two levels.....
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Jul 21, 2015 15:55:07 GMT
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I ran into a bit of problem with the new springs. They are a stronger rate so can be a bit shorter but to still maintain the same ride height i need to drop the spring mount but then the spring can flop about so i got myself some helper springs:  IMG_0755 by Nevtiger, on Flickr ll good and a set of the spring divider seats to make the two springs. Double with that is the helper springs are designed to go flat but the divider seat would not travel all the way to the bottom, jeez i mean, just work, why do i have to modify everything?  Oh hang dinners ready:  IMG_0754_2 by Nevtiger, on Flickr Nothing can't be sorted so after a bit of a thought (or anger, stropiness or general ignorance) i used a bit of exhaust pipe of the correct inside diameter:  IMG_0757 by Nevtiger, on Flickr That solved the spring problem. Now to mount up the ARB. Using a set of exhaust clamps with suitable holes drilled and a tab welded on resulted in this:  IMG_0758 by Nevtiger, on Flickr  IMG_0759 by Nevtiger, on Flickr Amazingly with a bit of jiggling about the brake hoses miss at all angles of steering. I also bought some stainless steel fixings for the ARB off of Mark at SOPS. I needed to clean out the existing thread to help but it all fitted and should not be issue now. I also changed the TCA inner fixings for stainless from Mark as well. That showed that the drivers side rose joint side spacers have worn slightly and there is a bit too much play for my liking so next i will have to sort that but i think the next task will be fitting the front spoiler i bought off of Eamon earlier in the year. :-) |
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Jul 22, 2015 11:28:13 GMT
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Think you Have helped rekindle my avenger love! Brilliant stuff.
Are the rear coilovers mounted up? Given me some great ideas for mine, cheers :-)
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Jul 23, 2015 17:24:19 GMT
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The dampers get fitted in the Winter of 2014/2015 so not long before the updates hit there.
But as a teaser they fit with out too much drama and in the old position too.
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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Jul 24, 2015 19:57:30 GMT
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Think you Have helped rekindle my avenger love! Brilliant stuff. Are the rear coilovers mounted up? Given me some great ideas for mine, cheers :-) This is very good news  |
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Jul 30, 2015 15:01:20 GMT
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Ps Lock nuts will be fitted once the left hand thread nuts turn up.......
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Jul 30, 2015 15:02:14 GMT
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Things have not gone quite to plan.
My hope was that the new 4.7 CWP's would have been done by now but unfortunately there has been a bit of a hold up and it seems they will not be done till next year. I wanted to build up a new axle with a 4.7 CWP which I (that's the royal I) could then fit new damper mounts for the new rear coil overs.
So I shall just have to fit a set of drive shafts to the bare axle casing and carry on with that work and hope that the new CWP turns up before the first event. Fingers crossed.
But before all of that I get my new front Spoiler/Air Dam fitted. And that is something I cant do and is being done by Scott who did the paint on the car last year.
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Jul 30, 2015 15:02:46 GMT
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No updates as of the moment but work going on with the car.
One thing of note is that I found a set of Ti pistons in a Ti block under the bench yesterday.
Really good bores too, oh well its off to the machinists as the existing 'Big' engine needs a new block.
However, I have another block with damaged bores due to a dropped valve that will not bore out even to 90mm.
So its time to look into Liners........
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Jul 30, 2015 15:03:32 GMT
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I spent yesterday doing my axle with my Dad.
I had asked on the Wanted section if anyone had the Special Diff Setting Tool but alas no one was forth coming.
Therefore, i pressed on and removed the the CWP and Diff and all the bearings from the old axle including the old bearing races.
Having read the Workshop manual i sort of knew the process but did not have experience to draw on like Dad does, as he likes to tell me he has worked on these axles when they were new. And they weren't quiet then!!!!
Anyway, upon looking at the teeth of the CROWN wheel two things became apparent:
First; the teeth were not meshed correctly in their current axle location, but had been in a previous incarnation. i.e. 2 sets of marks.
Second; the teeth have some weird damage on them in places that looks like pock marking.
As we had no Special Diff Tool or the ability to remove the Pinion bearing without destroying it. That meant even if we saw where the teeth sat we could not alter the depth of the pinion as to remove the bearing we would destroy it and a new bearing would be in a different place.
So with this in mind we fitted it all in as the existing bearings were either very good or good. Then i remembered that this diff and CWP had come from this axle axle casing a few years ago - its a long story why the diffs were swapped but its in this blog somewhere :-)
Therefore, i crossed my fingers and hoped the bits would all go back where they had been before as that tooth mesh had been excellent. Maybe extra wear would be an issue.....
In the end the thing all went back together in a slightly different place and the tooth mesh is almost where it had been in the first iteration but much better than it had been in the previous axle casing.
The only other remaining issue was back lash. We could get back lash as per the manual for old bearings or not depending on where the CROWN wheel was, seems there is some uneven wear on it.
Axle finished and back ready to fit back into the car.
The 4.4 CWP in this axle is really quite worn and will eventually fail/wear out but should last a few seasons as Hillclimbing/Sprinting is a bit gentler than rallying on them, especially now as we have to use cold tyres off the start line.
I have been keen to get a new CWP since Joe O'Kane produced the 5.1's and he is getting some 4.7's made 'soon' A 4.7 will be ideal for me but i shall not be fitting it unless i have managed to secure a loan/borrow/hire or bought the Diff Special Tool or got a proper bearing puller so even if its long winded i can change shim thicknesses as i go along.
So, anyone got a Diif Special Tool they can lend me or a bearing puller :-)
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Oh hang dinners ready:
