peter_m7uk

Nice idea! By the way, Bob, I see you live in Orpington, which is London rather than Kent as far as I can tell. Do you know where the Premier League referee, Steve Bennett, lives? :gdit: Perhaps you could "accidentally" shed your spare tyre through his front window next time you're driving past?! Pete

Cheers chaps. I'm also quite interested by the engine lay-up kit on Enginewise's site, although it is quite steep at £25.95 for a 4 plug kit. Seems that it can be re-used indefinitely, though, so would be handy when the the Hood is off the road each winter. Anyone know the spark plug size for the Pinto off the top of their heads?? The engine-wise kit is for 10, 12 or 14mm threads.... Pete

Cheers Grizzly. I'd thought of the WD40 idea, but wasn't sure how healthy it was to get WD40 mixed in with normal engine oil later on when it's running...? In the house? Have you gone mad?

Rebuilt my Pinto head a couple of months back and it's just been sitting there waiting for the rest of the engine and a car to go into. Had a look under the camcover last night and there it was, the orange stuff :gdit: :boohoo: As it will be another few months before I get close to actually starting the engine again, I need to stop this happening So, what do the Hoodies do to protect their engines when lying dormant in potentially damp garages??? Pete

Thanks a lot for the reply, Chris 121 views and one reply Anyone else got views on Lolocost bits?? Any particular company you'd go to for the tank, Chris, and what price do you reckon? Were those seats the ones I saw? i.e. Made of sheet ali, with holes drilled in and rubber edging? I thought they were perhaps made to demonstrate the Lightweight ("flimsy") concept, but not sure I'd have them in my car! Nearly Friday home time Pete

The day of my Lightweight collection is upon me. Next Friday, in fact Just thinking, though , as the kit is less than comprehensive, I need a few other goodies. What do people make of Lolocost?? I still need mirrors, steering wheel and boss, track rod ends, brake pipes, fuel pipes and heater/demister, which are all stocked by Lolocost. Before I trawl through all possible suppliers, anyone have comments on how they compare on price and quality of components?? Additionally, I need a fuel tank, seats and full wiper system, not sold by Lolocost. Anyone suggest good suppliers for these things? Cheers Pete

I ordered some stretchy gaiters from my local motor factor, but when I went to collect them, I told the guy that I'd never done this job before. His attitude was "Oh, it's a bloody difficult job, are you sure you can do it?" etc. It was enough to put me off and have a rethink, so I didn't buy them there and then. Starting to wonder if he was being a bit pessimistic though? Anyone fitted the stretchy boots with the cone technique? Just how difficult is it and do you risk knackering the rubber? Pete

Hi Nigel. My analysis could be wrong, as I've only thought about this electrically in terms of the primary windings , in which case there definitely wouldn't be reverse flow. I guess the secondary winding could somehow induce a reverse flow in the primary, but I'll have to think a bit more about that one. Where did you get your diagram from? Cheers, Pete

Yep, that's basically what I said, but a bit more technologistically, like! Now I'll put away my notes from my degree in electrical and electronic engineering and shut up

I don't really want an argument on this friendliest of boards, but... I can't resist a good discussion! I attached a picture of a 'typical ignition system', except that I'd have a resistor in series with L1 and C. What I reckon is happening on the primary side is that when the switch is closed, L1 conducts current, establishing a magnetic field with +12V at the top of inductance L1. When the switch opens, the energy in the magnetic field creates a positive spike in voltage at the bottom of L1, which would arc across the switch but instead charges the capacitor/condenser, C. That is the points protection part. The sudden release of energy from L1 into C collapses the magnetic field, inducing a huge positive voltage spike at the top of L2, which causes the plug to spark. In fact, come to think of it, there is no reverse flow, in the sense that current flows from C back through L1. Is that what you meant by reverse flow, Nigel, or perhaps we're at cross-purposes? When the switch closes again, current flows out of the condenser and through the switch, grounding the bottom of L1 and re-establishing the magnetic field. There must be a resistance in series with the switch, though, or else you would short-circuit the capacitor! Or maybe Andy is the one talking sense here?

Just a small correction: When the condenser is fully charged, the coil's magnetic field has already completely collapsed. The reverse flow just reduces the voltage across the coil back to zero, ready for the next time the points close. It's a bit of a trade-off as well - The smaller the condenser, the faster the collapse of the magnetic field, but the more contact burning. With a large condenser, the contacts will be fine, but the magnetic field collapses more slowly, giving a weaker spark at the plugs. I can create some graphs of the voltages and currents in the ignition system if you like? Pete

Don't bother with all that! Don't you have some wrench pliers with the sliding adjustable jaws? Set the jaws to the widest setting and it'll come off easy, or mine did! Pete

By the way, I'm sure I've allowed my CV joints to go to "an angle greater than 13degrees" several times, as stated in Haynes. But has anyone found this matters in the slightest?! I could understand if you were actually driving the car and the joints were under load at a big angle, but during handling in the workshop, can it make much difference??

Thanks Andy My driveshafts don't seem to be knackered at all - The bearings are even silent! Just wanted to tart them up a bit. What sort of grease did you use in your spider joints? It seems a lot runnier than normal grease. Also, did you just "pour a bit in" ? Haynes is on about using 15g at particular points, but you can only do that if you take the joint apart. Pete

Cheers chaps. I ordered some seals from my local auto factor in the end, using that part number. My pistons and bores look very shiny and smooth, so I have no concerns over their integrity. Will just be very careful that everything is spotlessly clean before I reassemble. Pete

Looking at my Haynes manual on Sierra driveshafts, I was amazed by the hacksawing procedure necessary to do anything with the joints. It set me wondering, if one of the gaiters had split and needed replacing, would it really be necessary to go through the whole hacksaw palaver? Although my gaiters are intact, the rubber is clearly a bit old and brittle and I thought it would be an idea to replace them. Maybe stick some new grease in there while I'm on. But unless I'm being rather dumb, it seems that you'd have to remove a joint to be able to slide new gaiters on. So, just wondering what other people have done? Do you just give the driveshafts a bit of clean up, then use them as they are? Cheers, Pete

Spoke to Tottons and he told me that the seal kit was £9.15! He was also surprised that I couldn't get the seals in Brighton, but I've been told that sale of seals is discouraged now on safety grounds. Several motor factors have offered me reconditioned units on an exchange basis for £25-£30 each. One factor told me that people used to recondition their own brakes and ended up in accidents, so they let the "professionals" do it. Personally, I'd rather do it myself, so I know the standard of the job and it's cheaper! Anyway, the guy at Tottons said he would post some over, but gave me the part number (Girling SP8896, strangely for a Teves caliper) and told me to try again in Brighton first. Could be worth remembering, Hoodies, if supply of those seals is becoming a problem Pete

Cheers for the info. What did you get for £21, Cryo?? Ford were going to supply me with piston seals, dust seals and bleed caps for both front wheels for £9.... Pete

Cheers, Enforcer. How long ago did you get the seals, though? I just tried ringing all of my local Halfords and no joy :gdit: I can't believe that something fundamental and reasonably in-demand like that can be impossible to get hold of!!! Pete

Was doing a bit of reconditioning on my front calipers, including popping the pistons out, but managed to split one of the dust seals while putting a piston back in. Haynes recommend replacing the seals when overhauling the brakes, so I went to Ford and ordered some. Got a message this morning saying that, in fact, Ford don't do those seals any more! Tried my local auto factor, who couldn't get them, so how on Earth are people supposed to recondition their Sierra brakes?! And does anyone have any seals in new or nearly new condition?? Cheers, Pete

Aaahhh! I thought it seemed bloody heavy, but put it down to the steel tube chassis and steel panels! So has anyone weighed their car recently? I'd be interested to see a comparison of the different models with different engines..... Pete

I've read that the official design weights for the 2b are 600kg Front Axle, 450kg Rear Axle and Gross Weight of 1050kg. Have you weighed your 2b and found it to be 700kg?! The standard 2.0efi is quoted at 115bhp, so the mods have to take it at least into the 120s??

Decided to do a bit of distributor reconditioning, but fell at the first hurdle when I couldn't remove the rotor arm I've tried pulling, twisting and levering the arm, but the bu**er won't come off! (Confession: I snapped the plastic on the non-contact side doing so). Could anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?! Cheers, Pete

It is only a mild cam (Kent FR34) and I bought it because the existing cam lobes were wearing away! Kent say that it will go with the Ford ECU and give up to 15 extra bhp. Can't afford the stuff you lads are talking about! :boohoo:

Hell's Bells! I'm building a guided missile. Where have RH stated 500kg with a Pinto/Type 9, out of interest, as that is my boat-anchor choice?!! I'm sticking with injection, plus I'll have a hot cam, K&N filter and 4-into-1 exhaust, so I reckon around 130Bhp? 'Twould appear I'm looking at the 5-secondish mark, so stick that in your pipe, Rizla