Snapperpaul

I’ll add to this post by describing the heat management I have done on my S3a.

I double wrapped the exhaust manifold which made a big difference, you can wiggle the manifold out with the engine in place if you disconnect the steering at the bulkhead and remove a couple of manifold studs.

I put insulating silvered bubble wrap on the engine bay bulkhead and down the tunnel, you can use other heat reflecting material but I had a role of bubble stuff.

I used proper heat mat on the inside of the drivers side footwell before I glued camping mat to the tunnel and door sides then covered with carpet, floor was left bare and carpet held down by carpet studs.

bonnet was wedged up 5mm to let hot air escape ( this had an extra cooling effect.

some cars have a cold air scoop fitted to the rear of the alternator as cooling air is drawn through from the rear so I added a cold air feed from the nose one to the alternator.

I made up aluminium heat shields with heat mat to protect the alternator and the master cylinder/servo/ignition leads.

heat is transmitted by conduction (touching or connected to a heat source), convection (heating the air around something) and radiation (like heat from an infrared lamp).

People have left stuff in the sump but you’ll always know it’s there. You could try a large magnet under the sump to see if you can get it near the magnetic extending pickup or near the sump plug, you could fit a magnetic sump plug and hope but I would drop the sump.

hard lessons learnt there, plug all the holes before you do any work, that also includes inlet and exhaust ports and when the head is on the oil drain holes when working on that.

I’ve used it as an oil drain back from the catch tank, it could also be used as an oil drain from a turbo as it’s just a hole above the sump

I’ll add to this by saying that while fitting a Duratec maybe a bit more expensive than a Zetec it will be a bit easier due to the exhaust being on the same side as the Pinto and I have been told that the exhaust port spacing is very similar so by cutting off the Pinto exhaust manifold plates and welding on a Duratec exhaust manifold plate you get a very cheap 4 branch exhaust.

On 7/4/2023 at 10:04 AM, nelmo said:

Interesting to see the process. How do you get the power curve to be lower down the rev range? I'm assuming there is no ECU here?

I think Graham Bahr is looking at a different cam but the owner wants to keep the twin 50 DCO SP carbs so that complicates due to venturi fitment and the other demand to not loose any more than 10bhp, 45 DCOE with 38mm chokes should be more appropriate. It will be an interesting project

22 hours ago, Kerry said:

Not enough torque for good road use. 

I think you mean not enough torque lower down in the rpm range, the problem here is that it is sluggish below 4500rpm then takes off like a scalded rat.

Before I had my 2.1 RL31 cammed engine dyno tuned by Graham Bahr it had a massive flat spot below 3500, now with proper jetting and programmable ignition we have filled in the torque dip.

iIt will be interesting to see what Graham comes up with to make this engine more drivable

Harris Pinto with Weber 50 DCO SP

For those that know a Harris Pinto is a legendary thing not often seen in the wild a certainly never seen on a non Harris dyno. Graham Bahr of Penguin motors has been asked to make this Harris Pinto more drivable for a street car

1 ½ turns on the air fuel screw (out increases fuel)

caveat if screw is at back of the carb underneath effectively behind the throttle butterfly which all the bike carbs I have are.

if screw is at front of carb then out is lean

Air fuel should be about 1 ½ 

2 ½ way to rich

float level can be an issue

fuel pressure usually 1.5 psi but can go to 2.5 if engine requires

main jets and needle position influence mid to high rpm

Having been fooled by this one check for exhaust manifold leak at one of the cylinders as this can make the same noise.

then a long screwdriver to the ear (blunt end) and sharp end on rocker cover and block in multiple places to try and find where the noise is coming from.

pull the rocker cover off check rocker gaps, look for wear etc

On 5/11/2023 at 2:19 PM, Bob Tucker said:

All the right numbers, but not necessarily in the right order....

That’s my tax return right there

Sorry I’m late to the party. 
camshaft rotates at ½ crank speed so you can be 180 degrees out which I think you are. You should have a little valve lift (open) at TDC and maximum valve lift (open) at the prescribed degrees ATDC.

doing it by eye is not accurate but you would be somewhere near.

Never run an engine until you have turned it over by hand.

a DTI gauge is required for accurately finding actual TDC as the piston stops moving at TDC for around 5 degrees, TDC is in the middle of the dwell. On the degree wheel turn engine until DTI stops moving (DTI down plug hole to touch piston near TDC) mark, carry on until piston moves, mark, TDC is the centre of the 2 marks, reset degree wheel.

move DTI to valve spring retaining cap

I check both lift at TDC and lift at cam designated max lift degrees ATDC

I would say that it’s been fitted upside down but whichever way it’s fitted it’s not an ideal catch tank. The best tanks are baffled and vented to separate the air from the oil

A bit of toe out and pump the tyres up to 30psi or more, this is what we did to get a car past SVA and another past IVA then investigated and fixed the issue. 

I would not install 1 spacer on one side of an axle… ever.

you can stick something on the arch to cover the tread if it shows but as said before if it’s just the sidewall and/or wheel rim it’s not a fail.

as for the visual difference either side unless you are a place or a goat your unlikely to see both sides at once.

Snake oil

On 1/30/2023 at 8:11 PM, Burney said:

Have you still got this manifold please?

No manifold sold

Tin box, noisy when it rains, condensation, in hot weather it’s like a sauna, they always rust and hammerite paint is so much more expensive than wood stain or wood paint and then there is lightning…

I am going to the Malvern show and maybe the Newark show as well. Malvern is a camping job Newark I can do in a long day

On 1/8/2023 at 11:42 AM, richyb66 said:

Yes I've still got it.

I’ll take it, posted please, message me to sort payment and postal address Ta

Do you still have this? I have had problems with clutch pedal position on my car and this would probably solve the problem

A friend with a sliding pillar 2b bought the double wishbone kit and fitted it, I have photos of what needs to be cut and where the brackets go somewhere, send me your email and I’ll look them out for you.

I have done a huge amount with the car over the last year and am now going to look at the geometry in a bit more detail, currently I have camber wedges on the back and little else, I have looked at the Haynes build your own sports car by Chris Gibbs, some very old notes from Track Developments and came across Caterham CSR settings and this is the confusion I am trying to deal with.

across the 3 the range  for camber front is 0.25-1.5 degrees

rear 0.66-2 degrees

caster 5.5-6 degrees (CSR only)

Toe front 0-0.5

rear 0.16-3

i am tempted to start with the Haynes settings but for now what are other peoples RH S3 settings for Caster, Camber & Toe Front and Rear

thanks

I have been meaning to do this for some time on my S3, the problem is that I have Cobra seats with the seatbelts going over a crossbar on the roll bar and through the seats but mounting on the rear of the car meaning I need 2 pockets for the seats and some strategically placed cutouts and zips or Velcro, clearly this is way beyond my skills.

where do I go? Who can help?

I took the frame apart, drilled and tapped the holes, shortened the cap head bolts and checked clearance.

I fitted the glass with bicycle inner tube originally so easy to get apart.

I fitted reversed rivnuts in to the lower frame to fit the completed frame to the support arms.