Bob Tucker

Congratulations and thanks to you all.... We're down to just one junior house guest now, so I sneaked a couple of hours play time yesterday. With a lead from the small alternator terminal, via the 5w bulb, to live battery.... voila! Both bulbs extinguished even while the engine was just turning over.. And I had 14.3 V at the battery at tickover.. Just the broken cycle wing bracket to fix now...

Would small (5-10mm) wheel spacers help?

Do what I do.....fill up, drive 120 miles, look for a garage, at 150 miles look REALLY hard for a garage, at 160 miles get the spare gallon out of the boot.

Is that a butt joint? The friction welding I have seen done used a cone shape on one side and a recessed cone? on th other side. The weld area is far bigger that way. The other way I have seen drive shafts done is to machine a cone on both sides, jig it up so its straight & can spin, then weld from the narrow part towards the wide end. Many moons ago, so things may have changed....LOL

I fitted my first pair made fro HD rubber matting, but they were flat, & blew up when travelling over 30. I made up a second set, same material, but widened them so they followed the curve of the cycle wing, & they have stopped everything but B^&*dy French gravillons, which have peppered the rear wings. I really must re-spray them now.

That looks nice.....& 4 seats too.....definitely a classic.

Given everything else that has been checked/replaced, I agree with Bob (CB750). It could well have been starved of oil, & knackered the mains & big ends and the small ends. Best to get an oil pressure gauge (a proper capillary one, not an electronic one) & see what the pressure really is.

Include some detailed photos of your front suspension when you contact them. They would need to understand why their brackets wont fit your car.

It's all bloody witchcraft to me.... But thanks for the continuing assistance...... You wouldnt believe how much grief I'm getting for "spending all that money, & you let them sell you a duff alternator!" LOL

Update 1. I used an interior bulb (5w) on a long flylead. Disconnected the small brown wire, connected one end of the flylead to the terminal & the other to the wire. with the ignition onThe LED lit up, but the 5w bulb didnt .???? At 3k revs the LED went out. My flylead wasnt long enough to connect to battery +ve so thats the next job. Also find the voltmeter that I knew was in my electrics drawer.....except it wasnt.

The drive pulley is the same, but when I installed my tuned redtop, I was advised to fit a smaller alloy crankshaft pulley, due to the considerably higher revs the engine was capable of. I fitted the same small pulley to the standard engine I now have, & with the LED ignition light it all worked well until I had the Bosch alternator fitted. I can refit the bigger pulley, but after a couple of hours trawling, I have found an article that says that specifically the Bosch alternator I have fitted, needs at least a 2 amp load to get it "excited". I plan to disconnect the lead from the alternator, and put a 5w bulb in the circuit to try that before I replace the crankshaft pulley. I can do it once all the grandkids move back home.....we're now down to just one, so fingers crossed!

Hi Sascha, Rally Design produce cycle wing stays for the Cortina hub. They deal with customers all over Europe, so no problem shipping them to Germany. It should be possible to fit any cycle wing to them. https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=11858 Great British Sposrtscars have a spares site with cycle wings... https://www.kitspares.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=_40&product_id=403

I'll check that too Dan......many thanks.

The old alternator put out the LED at much lower revs, but it still didnt go out immediately. I'll try a "proper" bulb on a fly lead to test it. Ta guys.

Any help?

I'll post one later...

Ive just returned from my annual French jaunt. DFDS cancelled my ferry to Dieppe at the last moment as their loading ramp broke down. The replacement journey from dover to calais got me to the campsite too late to get in. A cycle wing stay broke, luckily without any damage. & finally the alternator packed up....hence this post. A helpful village mechanic managed to find a new one after much searching. It is a Bosch, that looked identical to the unbadged one I had fitted, & it does charge OK...... but when I start the engine the ignition light stays on until I rev the engine to 3k revs. No good at all for a sneaky early Sunday morning run out. The ignition light is an LED if that make any difference. Does anyone have any ideas?

Hi Bob, tried to send you a PM but it couldnt be delivered. I've sent an email instead.

Just got home safe, big thank you to Craig & (Mrs Craig...apologies but I just cant recall your name) for the hospitality and all the hard work, that made it such an enjoyable weekend. And a big thank you to those who pointed out things I had forgotten (my boot box lid, Kerry) & helped me find my sunglasses with helpful suggestions (Sylvia). Cheers, Bob

Just leaving..... Well done with the weather order....

Drive it to work!! BTW what emissions did you get given?

Track day tip......dont turn the engine off right away when you return to the pits. Let it idle for 2-3 minutes, otherwise you can get localised hot spots and/or blowing off the rad cap valve. Essential for anyone with a turbo installation, otherwise the oil inside the turbo bearing can cook, which will b*&*&er it next time you start it.

One way may be to check if these cars all use the same part number for brake shoes, otherwise invest a tenner in a breakers yard & see?

I use stuff called nichrome wire. Its very thin & almost impossible to break. I can take some to Huntingdon if you are going?

where will you be working Kevin? We can convoy past & rub it in...!