Budget Road Rally Build (1.2 carb)

[George g]

Had this car since november and been doing this for a while now, but thought i would put up a thread.

when i bought it it looked like this (with no tax or MOT)





it already had the cage installed and the front panel has been completely replaced. The only rust was a bit in the engine bay and just on the drivers door just showing through on the pic. It also had the rear beam chained, upside down billes & gravel springs on the rear, Mk2 forest springs on the front and a full set of polybushes fitted.



i sorted the problems out for an MOT and took it to a local "friendly" place. passed on everything, but a few advisories, including the rubber brake hoses, so these came off for braided items, DOT 5.1 fluid and ran them through the car whilst i was at it.

it just scraped through on emissions and brakes(see above) and kept dropping a cylinder or two. it was diagnosed as a possible head gasket or just crap in the engine. ran it for a while as it go better but sure enough a month or so later this happened



damn...

time for a new head gasket... oops...

since then i have purcshased a ported & polished head (pics will come later), a kent cam(ast2),



a vernier pulley,



front 40mm billy inserts and bodies,



a 4 branch manifold,



oh and painted the cam carrier and cover white ( both because i am a bit of a bufty at heart, and it also helps to detect oil leaks)



Some items that are on the list for fitting, but came with the car

Bucket Seats & harnesses (excuse the mess but you can also see a set of knobblies down to the right)



An 8mm sump guard (derbyshire lanes can be harsh!)



along with running the fuel lines in the car and then getting a hydraulic h/brake its almost there. and believe it or not i have spent under a grand so far including the car! (although only just) :D

what do you think???

[greg1.4]

looks like a great wee project..

cant beat a road rally car.. great fun!

look forward to seeing the progress.

[dj_wudgey]

interesting project you got here matey!! that cam carrier looks **** hot!!

[greg1.4]

yeah it does, i am impressed with the cam carrier also..

[George g]

cheers. you have no idea how much work went into that... . a first set reacted with something and wrinkled up, so it got stripped off, then the next set ran, so was rubbed down and now finally this! phew!

already planning next years change... a 1.4 block with the current head to make it high-comp. but thats the future... this is now and i already have a list the size of my arm to complete before june/july. want to get it complete by then as my motor club has a day up a curborugh sprint circuit and would be good testing for it!

cheers for the replies!!

George

[LEWI007]

Im liking the head and cover :D

[Rickyb]

looking lovely that good work.

[George g]

Well, its been a while, but here are some updates.

Have spent most of the day lapping in valves for the head...



i did cheat with these and use a drill... as a result they have come out quite dull, with visible score in them... will have to get a new sucker and finish them by hand tomorrow...

was advised to fill the recess with parafin, as this is thinner than water and will detect the leaks better. none lost any through the valves, but is better to be safe than sorry, so want to finish them for piece of mind.



if you look closely below, you can see the marks left by using the drill... a really good contact area, but just too ragged for me...





whilst i was testing the head, i set about cleaning the coke off the top of the pistons - i wiped them off with some thinners and a rag with the intention of wire brushing the tough stuff off, but there was very little, so i am not goint to bother risking damage to the bores.







more updates soon as work commitments & money have dropped off, so have more spare time to do things with all the parts i have... .

[George g]

another update

once i found a spare minute or two, i stripped the lifters out and cleaned all the gunk out of them.



i then re-punched the retaining collar to ensure they wouldstay on!



However... i have come up against one problem.

i did originally think that the scores round the valve were just the way i had lapped them in, i.e. with a drill. However i got a firend on the case who knows 8v engines inside out, and he thinks that the hardness has worn away from them - basically they are scrap... GUTTED! and to top it off im skint...

so Anyone with a 12st complete head or valve set - would you mind donating the valves to a worthy cause??

[johnny_turbo]

nice project mate. where abouts in derbyshire are you mate as i have a spare head with valves in that i wont need.