Hooray for sunshine this afternoon when I got home (although maybe a bit much at 30 degrees)

This setup is due to the fact that my engine crane doesn't fit under the control arms of the suspension. Gotta jack it up a bit and brick just incase

On the way in...

Put in the radiator next after this photo. The brake booster looks a bit manky, but I don't want to touch it because it works ...and I hate brake fluid

So I'd just got the engine in and was putting the fan and radiator on and it started to storm. But I now had a nice empty space at the front of the garage big enough to keep working once I pushed the front in.

I cranked it over till oil and fuel were getting through and then attached up the last of the bits. It started first crank with a bit of choke and a few squirts on the throttle! Gave it a few revs and realized I'd forgotten about a throttle return spring.. I found one on one of my spare carbys and checked the timing: I got 9 degrees BTDC after setting the dizzy in by eye yesterday, against the recommended 8! I've got to put the fan shroud back on before it gets some tweaks. The valves need to be redone hot and the idle and timing need to be sorted - not that it's too far off at the moment.

My biggest fear was that after all this work the gearbox wouldn't work.. The last job to do was connect up the shifter and driveshaft and hope for the best. The clutch was in pretty good condition, and it works fine, and the pedal pressure is just right. From the short reverse and forward up the drive it seems to go well, I might sneak round the block tomorrow if I get home at a decent time to check it out properly.

I had a few things to sort out today:
Rattley valves
Poor idle
Gearbox condition

The first issue ended being exhaust valve no.1. It had somehow rattled itself loose and it wasn't opening the exhaust valve enough and bouncing around between the cam and valve. I re-did it up after checking the clearance, and tightened up the rest to make sure. The engine was now much quieter and smoother.. But not idling very well

The engine would only idle with almost all the choke on, and it didn't get better warm. I checked a few things and the float level in the fuel bowl was well over the mark. To fix the float level it a fair effort, so I just swapped in another carby for now. After I changed the carby the car was super smooth and very easy to start

I did a lap around the block after making all these changes and it goes pretty good. Gearbox shifts well and doesn't make any funny noises. It drives really well so far, I'm really impressed!

Still to do:
Check and tune timing and idle speed
Top up gearbox oil
Fix leak onto passenger floor then put the carpet back in
Split pins on the tie rod ends
Clean inside + out
Boot for the shifter + new gear knob
DIY front wheel alignment

Good job

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Carina TA12, Starlet EP70(sold) and EP71, Mitsubishi Lancer CS9W

I had the weekend free so I managed to get a few things done.. I have misplaced my memory card, so no pictures today again.

Still to do:
Check and tune timing and idle speed - done
Top up gearbox oil - done
Fix leak onto passenger floor then put the carpet back in - done
Split pins on the tie rod ends - done
Clean inside + out - done
Boot for the shifter + new gear knob - done
DIY front wheel alignment - it looked pretty good and drove straight so I'll just get a proper one done later

So I'm going for a rego inspection this week hopefully


I took this as a challenge to show how big the boot is... Now the boot is clean and empty, it seemed like the best time... and I ran out of wheels I could get another 8 in to bring to a total of 18! And enough room for two eskies at the back.

Rego inspection today....

PASS!

I've got 130km on the clock so far, and I cracked over the 88888 mark on the odometer, my new goal is to make it back to 0. (It's only got 5 digits on the counter)

(still can't find my camera memory card so phone pics will have to do)

With 700km on the clock so far, it was about time for a tune.



There was a bit of an exhaust leak near no.2 spark plug. I replaced all the plugs and tightened up the exhaust manifold


Looks all good up the top. The valve clearances were all pretty much spot on, which was nice. Gave it an oil change too. The old oil was a bit dark, as to be expected from a rebuild I guess, and there was no trace of water in the oil. It's still has a ticking noise to it, I'm thinking it could be the oil pump chain as it had a bit of slack when I was putting it back together?


What's happening next?
- Wire up the all orange blinkers
- Get a quote on refurbing the rial wheels
- Investigate lowering the rear
- Strip down the 1.3 for a possible rebuild as a spare
- Fix the buzzing speedo cable

is the speedo itself flickering (ie the needle?), the cable, the gear end inside the gearbox and the instrument cluster themselves get tired. My 1300 got worse and worse until one night when I was out street racing the needle flicked so hard against the end stop that it fell off.

ticking noise is usually valve gear. Did you check the tolerances when cold or hot or both? OR it could be the chain adjustment pad that is spring loaded and lives behind a little inspection plate on the front timing cover.

Great to see this on the road, I'm now fired up to get my wagon finished for summer.
*internet high five!*

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occasional blog: http://ewokracing.tumblr.com

Brought to you by me as I browse Geocities webpages using Netscape Navigator while listening to Jam & Spoon.

The problem with the speedo was that the drive cable was rubbing on the bends of the inside of the cable casing. It was causing a buzzing noise, and the needle would sway up and down- like between 95 and 110 when doing about 100. I ended up pulling the cable off the back of the speedo and squirting a bit of oil down the cable. It's been fantastic since then, the needle doesn't sway and it's nice and quiet

I did the valves first on the engine stand and redid them hot the other day. They didn't change much, and none seemed to be far out of spec. The noise hasn't stopped or got any quieter since either.

When I pulled out the plugs the other day the ends were white, which I later found out meant it was running lean. I adjusted the idle a bit lower at the same time, and it started running a bit funny - popping on engine braking and being not very responsive. I pulled out the timing light and set it to where I thought was the right mark. Car had a bit more pickup but still popping a fair bit..

It was later that night I realized I'd set the timing to the wrong mark, and diagnosed the white plugs as being too lean. So this afternoon I had some time to set it right. First I set the idle back up a bit and made the idle mixture richer. I plugged up the vacuum advance (forgot to do that last time) and did the timing again to the right mark. I also adjusted the throttle cable to remove all the slack, which makes it feel more responsive too. I took it for a drive after these changes - drove like a new one! So much more power and response everywhere through the revs, and I can make it up all my benchmark hills without downchanging with some power left to spare very happy with it

Took the car out for an excursion with work the other day too..

Nice day for a drive through the countryside

Not another car on the road going the same way as me

Zoom-zoom

The economy has improved since the tune from 10-11L/100km to 9L/100km, which is really not too bad.

@ here the leafs are gone. Strange view..

Nice you finished the engine at last

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Carina TA12, Starlet EP70(sold) and EP71, Mitsubishi Lancer CS9W

Had some time to put on my orange lenses..

They fit perfectly in the mint surrounds I bought

But not so well in my dented up old ones.

I made up some wiring adapters to convert the Aussie wiring to the modified US spec. I might have messed it up first go...

We have parking lights...

And some full height indicators!

The only problem with the new surrounds is that they didn't fit the guards very well, so I pulled off the guards to put them back into shape.

The left one was sculpted out of bog, rather than being fixed properly.. So most of it cracked up when I tried to bend it back to shape. It's now all back together, mostly in the shape it was intended. I'm on the lookout for some better guards, and a few other panels...


I took the rial rims to the repair shop.. He said $240 a rim for repair/repaint and $120 each without paint. It seemed a bit steep so I might try another shop for a quote. One rim has a decent gutter scrape and two have a small bump on them. I really like the fit of them and that I haven't seen another set on an old Mazda before... Not sure what's going to happen with them yet

You've come a long way! It's looking very nice.

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-Bob

1988 Isuzu Trooper LS 4ZE1 MUA5

Thanks, it's getting there slowly!

I've got some new rear shocks on order to hopefully stiffen up the back a bit. They had some new nolathene bushes in stock too

Thought I'd see if the 1.3 was any good before I clear out the garage

Usual mess after an hour...

Internally the engine is in great condition, except for the clutch, the one thing the seller warned me about.

So that's the next project - new gaskets rings and bearings. I've got the tyres pulled off the rims too, just for the rainy day when I get some money..

It's sitting lower at the back. Only hit the bumpstops like a hundred times on the way back from..

Picking up some concrete. If you have a wagon, you may as well use it!

And also got some new rear shocks. It's been a bit floppy at the back around corners, and doesn't like quick direction changes.

I didn't realize the shocks came with the new bushes, and the rubber ones had a much better fit than the nolathene ones, so I'll take them back.


It was a bit of a struggle to get them in, but well worth it in the end! The body roll at the back is now almost none, it doesn't feel dangerous like before going through fast corners although now it makes the front feel a bit floaty...

I put in my retrimmed seats last week. No pics in the car yet, but they look much better than the dirty old ones.

My friend helped wiring up the gauges today. Took a couple of hours but we got it looking nice in the end

All lit up..

So not much has been happening recently. I've been fiddling with the timing and idle trying to get it running better. After I did an oil change a few weeks ago I decided to check the points gap.. It was at 0 mm, so I fixed that up. It runs a bit louder now, but smoother after I redid the timing. The idle speed is also now down to 800 rpm from 1500 now thanks to the tacho, I didn't think it would idle that low

There has been an occasional creaking noise from the right front suspension too. I pulled the front end to bits, and I think it was the ball joints, so I've got a new pair waiting to go on.

The fuel economy could improve a bit too - I noticed a petrol smell after going around right hand turns - its going out the fuel filler. I don't know why but the cap has a hole punched in it. Possibly venting fumes? it's either that or the old rubber seal.

I found this 323 on the net. I'd like mine to sit like it...

I had the same problem with fuel filler my 30years old cap was sitting tight and i never thought it was a problem i cheked everything changed fuel filter there and been looking for leaks. But in some point i realise it was coming out of my filler hole so i just changed cap and fuel problem disapear.

I've got a new cap on the way now.. First time buying from a certain QLD parts dealer so hopefully it goes ok. It was only $20 if it doesn't work out I guess..


The rebuilt engine is now up to 4500 km (or 2800 miles) and seems to be improving with age. Assuming the tacho is correct, it's happy hitting over 6000 rpm in second gear

I found out the creaking noise was the front ball joints

Looks to be the original set...

They were pretty gross and were loose in the sockets. The front stuts are now out too, so I may as well get some lowered springs in there at the same time...

The control arms were in pretty bad shape. I'm on the lookout for some replacements

So instead I thought I'd install the oil pressure switch. Had to pull of the intake manifold to get enough room

I ran out of time to finish it off today, I've got to tighten up the new switch into the adapter and wire the signal to it..

The cap may have had a hole put in it for a non venting/circulating petrol tank (if such a thing exists), the hole would let vapours exit so that when you take the cap off on a hot day, it doesn't blow back all over you.

(just check your fuel tank and the evaporation lines to be sure, they might be a bit brittle).

_________________
occasional blog: http://ewokracing.tumblr.com

Brought to you by me as I browse Geocities webpages using Netscape Navigator while listening to Jam & Spoon.