:: Diary - April 2023 ::
:: Sunday, 16 April, 2023 ::
The TVR has been languishing in the barn along at the farm since we came back from Chatsworth. The Chevy has been away for a couple of weeks
getting a couple of wee painty bits tidied up, and came back on Friday, so I had it here at the house while I put the chrome trims back on
the door and around the windscreen. Oh and the door handle. And the wipers...
I also had a go at fixing the brake pulling to one side because of a partially seized caliper - it's sorted but I don't think it's properly bled.
Anyway, today I swapped them back, and discovered that I can (just) squeeze the Chevy into the shed without taking another car out first.
My arse was twitching like a rabbit's nose while I did it, mind - memories of skips come flooding back....
On the way back from the farm, I remember that during our trip, the car was misfiring at higher revs, but was ok if you backed off even slightly.
It felt more like fuel starvation than an ignition problem, the car still pulled, but a little bit flat. The next task, then, is a good service
including the fuel filter.
A check through my extensive service record (or a search for "filter" in the web site files) shows that the fuel filter was last changed when
I replaced the fuel hoses in June 2020 - not that long, but the car has done 4,000 miles since then, so maybe it's time eh? Also, modern shitey
fuel doesn't help...
I order up fuel and oil filters, and go and buy some oil.
:: Saturday, 22 April, 2023 ::
It's service day!
First though, the mirror that fell off. Here's the temporary repair that I did in the hotel car park with the help of some cable ties. Cable ties
are wonderful things eh? I snip them off and then apply "weatherproof" (it says on the box) double sided tape to the back of the glass, and stick
it back on.
On to the service, where there's nothing specific to report. Jack the front of the car on to axle stands so that my carcass fits under, put down
a drain tray, remove the sump bolt until it's empty. Put the bolt back, tighten it (!) and then move the tray under the filter. Loosen the filter,
wiggle it out (which gets easier if you've practiced it many times) and screw the new filter on hand tight. Then put down the jack and refill the
oil to the dipstick mark.
So far so good. Now for the fuel filter.
I take off the rear nearside wheel, and loosen the banjo nuts - 19mm on the front, 17mm on the back. Then loosen the clamp bolt underneath, remove
the banjos, soak myself in petrol and remove the filter. Then I fit the new filter to the clamp and fit the front banjo, then the rear one. Tighten
the clamp then the banjos, and then I switch on the ignition. The front banjo is leaking slightly so I tighten it a wee bit more. The rear one is
leaking around the jose connection, not the banjo, so I fit a new hose clamp and tighten the banjo nut.
Engine on and running, I check that there are no leaks... sorted!
Then I check all the ignition HT connections at the distributor and coil, and take off the cap and clean the rotor arms and cap connections.
Last, I take out the plugs and check the gaps.
A wee test drive turns into a slightly longer test drive - it's pulling well even from low revs and I don't encounter the holding back / misfire
that it showed when we were away.
:: Sunday, 23 April, 2023 ::
A friend phoned me up the other day and told me that he was selling his old flat in Edinburgh, that he has been renting out. He kept it because it
has a garage where they kept their MGA. The MGA is now sold, the flat's tenant has moved out, so they're selling it. The point of the call was -
there are imperial tools in te garage, do you want them?
Let me see... I have a garage full of tools that I have accumulated over the years. Some of them I haven't used for nearly as many years. I have so
many tools that I forget what I have - yesterday I spent ages looking for a particular spark plug socket that fits under the alternator bracket
and you can turn it with a spanner, but I couldn't remember what socket set it was in...
I need more tools like I need a hole in the head (or another electric drill to make such a hole). So of course, my natural reaction was "oh yes please!"
So today I stood outside this garage while he threw things at me, including:
Imperial spanners that I already have
A bench grinder (could never justify one of these)
a pillar drill stand (would have been handy for the power steering install)
an exhaust gas analyser (what am I going to use that for)
an engine stethoscope to replace my long-serving wooden stick
bolt cutters
a magnetic cover that goes on the car wing when you're leaning over (should work well on a fibreglass car)
a 1 and 11/16 socket which by my mental calculation is around 41mm - the size of the rear hub nut
a mains-powered timing light to replace the one that got clattered to bits by the Chevy's fan blades.
All useful stuff, I'm sure you'll agree...
During all this, I moved the TVR out of the garage and found a wee pool of antifreeze/water under the middle of the car, in line with the front of
the engine - I didn't have the radiator cap off yesterday or loosen any hoses, so leaky water pump maybe? I'll need to investigate.
:: Sunday, 30 April, 2023 ::
Time to investigate this antifreeze leak. I had a look the other day and there was another wee pool of antifreeze underneath. A bit if examination
showed that it was under the bottom hose from the radiator. There's a wee rubber connection to the radiator, and then a long metal U-shaped section
that looks like a section of trombone, and then another short rubber section into the bottom of th water pump. The leak is under that connection
where the pipe joins the rubber hose to the pump. The connector is wet too.
I can't get to the hose clamp from above, so first I loosen the wheelnuts and then jack the car up on to stands and take the wheel off, discovering
in the process thata the wheel is a wee bit stiff to turn - as if the caliper is sticking...
With the wheel off I can get a screwdriver on the clamp but it won't tighten, partly because it's a bit rusty. I put a bucket under just on case the
hose comes off, and then remove the hose clamp, and put on a new one. That one tightens up nicely... I haven't lost much water (and neither has the
car) but I put some more in anyway.
However, you never start a job on a TVR without finding something else to do, and in this case, a minor water leak has led me to a possible brake
problem...
The pads look almost new so the caliper piston doesn't have to retract much - but it does move. The pads seem to be sticky on the bracket though.
I remove the two slide bolts and pull off the caliper, and put in a bit of wood that's thick enough to let the caliper move a wee bit, but not let
it pop right out. A wee press on the brake pedal, back to the caliper and the piston has clamped the wood in place. So it's moving under pressure
but not retracting properly...
I undo the joint between the short hose and the fixed pipe, and put in a blank (that I made years ago from a wee bit of pipe with a connector on one
end and a crimp on the other). Then I can take the caliper right off and over to the bench.
I clamp it in the vice with those bits of wood to limit piston travel, and pop the piston forward a bit with an airline. IT moves easy, and retracts
just by twisting the wood. I pop it a bit further with a thinner bit of wood, and again it retracts easy.
With that all checked, I clean up the surfaces that the pads contact, on the caliper and on the mounting bracket, apply a wee bit of copper grease,
and put the caliper back on the car, making sure I also grease the slider pins (I know some people advise you shouldn't, but I do), replace the pads
and mount the caliper back on the bracket.
Then I refit the hose and bleed that front brake, making sure that I don't empty the reservoir.
The brake feels firm, but the hub turns more freely when you lift off the pedal. I think that's a success!
Wheel back on, off the jack and then leave it running outside to get hot while I'm tidying up, to check for that water leak. I leave it until the fan
kicks in - no leak!
Fortunately nothing e;se falls off before I lock the garage door.
First though, the mirror that fell off. Here's the temporary repair that I did in the hotel car park with the help of some cable ties. Cable ties
are wonderful things eh? I snip them off and then apply "weatherproof" (it says on the box) double sided tape to the back of the glass, and stick
it back on.