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Lightweight engine

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This is why they call it a lightweight.

 

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Torsion bars

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One side of the silver 4.2 sits lower than the other so time to reset the torsion bars.
As usual about 10 min each side to correctly calibrate the bars.
Pity it took about an hour a side to get the bloody ball joints apart!
Last weekend I replaced the front anti sway bar bushes with some "NOS" ones.
Hmmm. They seem to have evaporated during this morning's 60 mile drive... I guess they were "nasty old s#*t" ones..

 

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Are URO branded C15474 senders any good?

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Object.

To test the accuracy of URO Parts replacement oil pressure senders for the E type Jaguar.

Results.

All 4 sensors measured consistently at 2 known pressures, however all under read, with greater inaccuracy at lower pressures. The inaccuracy was such that it would not preclude the use of the sensors as a safety device in the case of a real loss of oil pressure in the engine.

Materials and methods.

4 URO C15474 senders were purchased from Ebay for US$28 each.

These were tested using a Smiths 0-60 psi dash board oil gauge from a 1967 Series 1.5 E Type. Testing involved pressurising the sender using compressed air to 30 and 57 psi and recording the pressure measured on the Smiths gauge. The air pressure was applied using a regulator valve attached to a 150psi shop compressor. The pressure was verified using a bourdon gauge known to be accurate. It was not possible  to test at pressure below 30 psi due to limitations of the regulator valve.

Power was from a 12V 2A DC plug pack.  Voltage during testing was measured at 13.8V using a voltmeter connected in parallel across the sender.

Results.

Results are collated in Table 1.

	Sender 1	Sender2	Sender3	Sender4
30psi air	22	21	15	17
57psi air	56	49	50	48

 

 

 

 

 

All senders under read at both 30 and 57psi of air. The degree of inaccuracy was greater at lower pressures. No sender over read.

Within the constraints of the testing all 4 senders seemed to read in a similar fashion. Average readings were 17.5psi at 30 psi air and 50.75psi at  57psi air respectively.

All 4 senders exhibited consistent measurements across the 2 measured pressures. All four were consistently inaccurate, under reading by an average of 42% at 30psi and 11% at 57psi.

The time to reach a steady reading was noted to be a lot longer than for either (a) an original sender or (b) another aftermarket sender. Once the sender reached pressure there was no fluctuation over a period of one minute.

Discussion.

The point of measuring oil pressure in an E Type engine is to be made aware that oil pressure has dropped to dangerous levels before the engine fails. A sender that falsely reads a pressure higher than the actual oil pressure may fail to do this. All 4 of the senders tested were inaccurate but all under read the pressure. In a situation where there was a real loss of engine oil pressure these senders would tend to alert the driver earlier rather than later.

2 other senders were also tested; both were previously installed in my cars. One sender read low but was consistent with the URO senders (22 and 53 psi) but the other, a recent aftermarket replacement read high, reading 35psi at 30psi air and deflecting the needle to the far right of the gauge at 57psi. This sender could potentially delay alerting to a fall in oil pressure.

I have removed both these senders and have replaced them with the 2 most accurate ORU senders. I will now drive the cars and see what the longevity of the senders is.

Sources of error in the study include the inability to positively calibrate the Smiths gauge and potential unobserved alterations in supply voltage.  

Maintaining a stable and accurate air pressure with the regulator used was difficult. The range of pressure the regulator is designed for is higher than an average 10 to 40psi pressure range expected from an E Type motor.  It was not possible to maintain a stable pressure of 10psi long enough to allow testing at that pressure. In addition the compressor is positioned under my work bench and getting an accurate parallax free view of the gauge was difficult. That said the pressure readings of 30 and 57 psi of air were stable during the testing.

 

 

 

 

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Test pilot

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Classified:

Secret Jaaaaaaag Test Base, 0855 hrs CST

0855 hrs. Excited to have a day permit to actually drive the 3.8. It is after all nice to know that the brakes work BEFORE the Road Worthy test.

0910 hrs. Steering and brakes are surprisingly very good..but the engine coughs and misses with all but the tiniest bit of throttle. Bugger. 

0945 hrs. Mayday to Stately Jag Manor. Chief Engineer will attend ASAP. Need to find Kitchener Bun and brew tea. 

1017hrs. CE arrives. Is it fuel? Check carbs, mixtures, carb piston drop, etc etc etc. 

1101hrs. Still runs like a pig. Hmmm. Not fuel then? 

1105hrs. Check plug leads...hmmmm very high resistance.

1119hrs. Diagnosis #1. All six brand new "Champion" plug caps have essentially infinite resistance. IE they are buggered.

 

 

1120hrs. Cannibalize plug leads from conveniently co-located 4.2 FHC. Always helps to have a spare car...

1131hrs. Test drive. Better but still misses badly with throttle.

1141hrs. Recheck timing. 

1141.00001hrs. Diagnosis #2 DOH. Some idiot has set timing to TDC. 

1142hrs. Set timing to 10*BTDC. Car runs perfectly.

1145hrs. Have cups of tea and biscuits.

1205hrs. Car won't start.

1206hrs. Diagnosis #3. Battery is not charging.

1206.00001hrs. Apply battery charger.

1207hrs. Ham cheese and tomato sandwiches with mineral water.

1304hrs.  Drive car to Statley Jag Manor. Total of 29 miles on clock. Runs beautifully.  Really REALLY beautifully.

 

Executive Summary. 

The Champion plug caps with the 10K ohm stickers are rubbish. This is the SECOND set we have had in 12 months that don't work.

I cannot be trusted with a timing light.

I cannot be trusted to rebuild a dynamo.

 

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Tools

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Cool old paperwork

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This is a photocopy of the 1967 Californian registration receipt for 881824. $3!!

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I'm still here!

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It has been said that the Devil makes work for idle hands, and enforced idleness has forced my hand.

My 3.8 OTS is sloooowly grinding its way toward road registration. At present I am still waiting to get the last of the trim completed.

There is no room in the shed for my 4.2 series 1, so it is stabled elsewhere and as such can't be fiddled with.

Sooooo..... time to repaint my original car, 4.2 series 1.5.

Below some pictures of the lady sans jewelery and makeup. 

Then..... off to Ross for a makeover!

The boot interior will need schutz and paint too so it's a good time to work out while the car always stinks of fuel. Tank out. Note tank sump half full of rust. I acid dipped this tank spotlessly clean only 2 years ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Two heads are better than...

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Waiting to jump through administrative hoops to register my 3.8; hopefully driving it before Xmas...

My shed is being enlarged (no surprises there), so the grey coupe is at Dad's and the red coupe at Chris's to make room for the builders.

No harm in working on other people's cars...

A good day's work. I really like shimming heads.

All we are waiting on is a set of head studs and one of these can go onto the motor Chris and I have just built for my friend Andrew's 4.2 roadster.

Then I get to build the engine for the other head! Machining on the block is finished and I have cleaned and tapped it so I'll start that one next week hopefully...

 

 

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Introducing...my new car!

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OK so two E Types clearly aren't enough. My friend Rob was kind enough to sell me his original RHD Australian delivery Series 1 FHC.

Beautiful car in opalescent sliver grey with original red leather interior. An older restoration, Rob's owned her for 10 years. After taking delivery of her last week I spent a couple of hours doing a full lube and oil change. I then spent some time tuning as there was a miss. Turned out to be a broken plug lead cap and a few minor irregularities with one of the carbs.

As with most cars that have sat for a while there are always a few problems. In this case spongy brakes, disappearing brake fluid and very heavy steering.

To cut to the chase this weekend I have replaced the servo (leaking) and the master cylinder (see servo). The clutch master seemed to be working fine but was full of rust.

The steering problem turns out to be (at least in part) the rack which is stuffed. So it's new rack time too. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Notes on brake bleeding

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Bleeding the E Type brake system can be very difficult, especially if there is a lot of air in it.

The use of a urinary catheter syringe has revolutionised this process for me. I replaced a brake servo on my S1 4.2 yesterday, and went from scratch to hard pedal in about 10 mins. I used just under 500ml of fluid, 240ml for flushing, the rest for refilling the reservoir bottles, although it would be wise to have a litre available. 

These syringes are designed for flushing urinary catheters. They hold 60ml and differ from normal Luer-Lok syringes in that they have a much larger diameter conical tip. This is a perfect size to make a good push fit into the brake reservoir hose. I steal them from work but I'm sure you could buy them from any pharmacy. 

 

 

A note about reservoirs. On 3.8 cars each master has its own reservoir. On most 4.2 cars the reservoir attached to the brake master cylinder supplies the front calipers. The servo reservoir supplies the rear calipers. This is apparently reversed on some early 4.2s but won't affect bleeding as long as you know which reservoir serves front and rear. You can tell by tracing the metal pipes coming from the booster. If you are unsure check the schematic diagram in the manual. If you are wrong you won't be able to inject fluid. 

To bleed the brakes: 

1. Select either the front or rear reservoir. It doesn't matter which as the systems bleed independently. Using the syringe, remove all the old fluid from the reservoir and discard this fluid. 

2. Disconnect the reservoir from the end of the hose.

3. Fill the syringe (or another clean one) with 60ml of brake fluid. The less air in the syringe the better as you will be able to generate more pressure. Push the syringe firmly into the hose. 

4. Attach a clear PVC tube about 1m long to the end of the brake caliper nipple. Run the hose so that it loops above the height of the nipple for a small distance before going into a waste container on the ground. The upward section of tube will allow you to see any air bubbles in the fluid. 

5. Open the brake nipple. As usual start with the nipple furthest from the reservoir. 

6. Forcing the syringe tip firmly into the hose, inject the majority of the 60ml of fluid. Hold the hose very firmly or brake fluid will go everywhere. 
I tend to inject the first half of the syringe slowly, then inject more in a jerky, pulsatile fashion to try to dislodge any small bubbles. 
If you have a helper they can tell you when no more bubbles are coming out of the PVC tube. You can do this by yourself however; just leave the syringe and inspect the clear tubing on the nipple for bubbles. If you have a few inches of fluid in the tube with no bubbles in it the bleeding has been successful. Keep going, with more syringes of fluid as necessary, until you have no air. Close the bleed nipple and move to the other side. and repeat 3 to 6. 

7. Once you have finished the other side, carefully remove the syringe. Carefully add small amounts of fluid into the end of the hose until you can see a meniscus of fluid about half an inch below the end of the hose. 

8. Reinstall the reservoir onto the hose. There will still be a small bubble of air within the hose. Put about 20ml of fluid into the reservoir. Tap and squeeze the hose until you see no more bubbles emerging into the fluid in the reservoir. Now put the reservoir back into the supporting clamp and refill it with fluid.

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