kevin the chicken

Not to mention all the bits you will look at and go hells teeth what we're they thinking of? I bought a completed car that had been on the road for years and believe me there were plenty of those. Every time I went to change something I found something else that needed attention. It's a massive sinkhole for time and money when you could be out driving. Have a look around for something that is already finished and has been on the road for a while, you will get plenty of chance to stamp your mark on it. Don't get me wrong I like a tinker but there are limits. At the end of the day it's your time and money and whatever you decide to do nobody will have a go at you for it, there will always be plenty of help available on here if you need it. At least you are looking for a car at the best time of the year for buyers!

Might it just be something you disturbed when the engine was removed or replaced? I'm thinking a kinked fuel line or a piece of muck on a filter. I it was running and then stopped so more likely to be something basic. Loose wiring plug, lead or strap? I think you are thinking the worst when hopefully it's much more simple

Is the shaft worn in the distributor causing movement between rotor arm and pickup in cap

Someone in the club rewired mine for me. If I had it done earlier I would have been on the road a year before I actually was but my loom had been cooked due to position after an engine type change. I would start be redoing all the dash connectors as it would be a cheap and easy fix if it worked. The new loom was the end to my electrical problems though.

Probably 40s I would guess. I run 45s on a tuned redtop but 40s should be enough on a mildly tuned pinto. My tuner reckons dellortos slightly better for road use but use whatever is available at the right price

It does sound like timing. Presumably it's fitted with a distributor? If it is then check the clamp hasn't worked loose. Other than that if it still starts and runs well enough to get to the rolling road then I wouldn't touch it. All will become apparent as soon as it's on the rollers and connected up, they will sort out any problems far faster than any mere mortal working out of their own garage. Mine found another 25 horsepower just by bending the stops on the advance retard mechanism! It will be money well spent as they can check so many different parameters against each other while the engine is performing as it would on the road. Can't do that at home.

I'd start off by checking the spark plugs, it could be as simple as that. I have had a few fail or play up over the years for no reason. One might show up as faulty by being a different colour.

My twin 45s run on about 2.5 psi. Any more than that and they leak like sieves, they are only put together with paper type gaskets. Flow is more important than pressure. You would be asking for trouble if you used a pump that was delivering 1 or 2 bar on a carb.

I was just wondering if there was anyone really close who could take some photos of a tractor I was interested in as the vendor is not being very helpful. Never mind maybe they will get back to me. If I had something for sale and somebody wanted photos I would be falling over myself to get them

Bit of a long shot this. As per title Regards Kevin

The fuel line on my car runs along the inside of the transmission tunnel out of sight. The builder used copper pipe which was probably a good idea bearing in mind the way even the proper fuel hose seems to decay. Mine had a sender unit in the top of the tank with fuel pick up attached but as the sender packed up I replaced it and did away with the top piping, utilising a blocked off outlet near the bottom straight into an electric pump via a short rubber hose with a disposable filter before the pump. The copper pipe is picked up by a rubber hose in front of the firewall feeding straight into a fuel pressure regulator then straight to the carbs. All the bits that can be troublesome or requiring maintenance nicely to hand

Harder to come by now but if you already have one do it! Mine is as simple as you can get with a distributor and twin 45 carb's but makes good power and is a good engine to drive with loads of torque. I didn't do the original installation on mine but I did re-engine mine with a much better unit and replaced many bits and pieces associated with it so may be able to anewer some questions.

Wristband arrived safely, water leaks fixed. See you all Sunday

If it doesn't survive then fix it or bin it. Rather have it break down on the RR than in the dark when it's raining on a blind bend. On my instructions mine was tuned not for ultimate power but for driveability and it made it a dream to drive, lovely and torquey but it still goes like a missile if you need it to. Looks a bit tatty but all the money has been spent under the bonnet.

Money spent on a rolling road is money well spent as far as I am concerned. Strap it down and give it hell, if it survives that then it will survive anything I can give it on the road. The old engine i had in had scorching on the top of the pistons, probably caused by too lean a mixture, something that would have shown up on the rolling road if the previous owner had bothered. My distributor was giving too much advance at low revs and to much retardation at high revs or the other way round, I forget which. The owner of the RR whipped it off and adjusted the stops and hey presto another 26 horsepower. Changed the chokes for some bigger ones too as I knew it would take him a lot less time than me. A couple of hours work for him and it only cost me 80 quid.

If yours has a five Year warranty then take it back and tell them it's knackered. They will be able to test it. They most likely won't refund all the money but should give you some back, maybe nearly enough to buy a new one from eurocar parts.

Thought the 2b was heavier but I could be wrong. Go right through ignition system and carburrettor, don't forget it is an old engine and may be worn but your car is a lot lighter than a sierra so you should get a reasonable performance. Once you have got it as it should be then you can decide whether you need to invest in any improvements.

Forgotten all about . Can I have one please. Sorry about that

While I was looking for something else online I spotted a sonic mouse deterrent, OK if you wanted to spend 70 quid I suppose. I personally favour a little nipper wooden trap with one of those toffee pennies that always get left at the bottom of the tin at Xmas.

Ebay is your best bet. Several listings of different widths on there the last time I looked.

Well worth doing, makes loads of difference. I had somebody else do mine but if you can do it yourself good on you.

Does sound like a sticking prv. They get little gritty bits of carbon on them. It can be a bit of a pig to check them on my redtop but I treat it as part of the annual service even though I replaced the original metal piston with a motorsport spec plastic one at an eye watering 60 quid. Getting it back in against the pressure of the spring is the difficult bit but I have developed a way of doing it which is a bit easier. It may be that yours is the same, clean out and inspect bore for scratches and grit.

Ether is pretty volatile compared to diesel but I would doubt a petrol engine would ignite it under compression. Having said that quite often an engine will kick over when you use it but not otherwise. Don't have a great deal of experience using it thankfully. I would say that nigel is right about fuel, the mixture is not correct or too lean to run without the Ether.

Are they for rocker cover bolts? Wild guess,haven't really looked at a pinto for ages.

Make sure all the gaps around the radiator are blocked so the air has to go through rather than around it. You need somewhere for the air to escape too. Then you have extracted maximum efficiency out of your radiator. An electric fan is a good idea as it works at maximum speed when you need it and not at all when you don't. The expensive fans are much more effective than the cheap ones as others on this forum will testify. Having said that my sierra radiator and cheap fan cope with my modified redtop on road usage with no problem.