Berlinetta build and restoration

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Hi Mike, I made sure that the center line of the engine and gearbox was still parallel to the center line of the chassis.

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Propshaft bolted in with magnets glued on and a new sensor for the original electronic speedo.

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As far as sorting out the engine wiring, I decided to connect everything up and see if the engine will run first, rather than extend and shorten loads of wires to get all the components such as the ECU in their final position. So the first thing to do was sort out the air intake. When I mounted the engine the height was dictated by the anti roll bar which runs under the sump. This resulted in the intake being close to the bonnet. I have wasted a lot of time and a bit of money trying to make the intake fit under the bonnet; First I bought an adapter and rubber hose and cobbled it together, but the hose kept kinking. Next I fabricated something from stainless pipe, but it was very restrictive and looked rough. So I had to bite the bullet and go for a bulge in the bonnet.

This is the end result. The large chrome part is called a power cap and is commonly fitted to the Vauxhall engine to gain some extra horses, I am using it mainly to connect the pipe work to the engine and a wee increase in power would be a bonus.

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Here the wood shows the line of the bonnet with the intake being about an inch too high.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

The fuel supply was next. After a bit of research to choose between copper or plastic fuel line I went for plastic, it seems more resistant to modern petrol. I am running a swirl pot in the engine bay which has a continuous supply from the tank and an overflow back to the tank. The two pipes are routed along the transmission tunnel, you can just see them in the earlier pic of the propshaft.

I used a length of plastic water pipe, moulded to shape by heating, for protection of the fuel line where it loops down to the transmission tunnel. The return pipe fits on the top of the swirl pot and the supply fits on the top angled connection, but which fuel line is which? I used an air bed pump attached at the fuel tank end of each fuel line to find out.

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I used rubber fuel pipe to connect each plastic fuel line to the swirl pot.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

A while ago I bought new CV joints for the rear drive shafts but I left them off to allow access for fitting the fuel tank etc. Now I'm about to fit the boot floor and the battery so it is time to fit the drive shafts which is easier without the boot floor in place.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

I made a stainless tray to hold the battery, it bolts through the boot floor to the chassis.

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The original boot floor is in good condition so here it is refitted. You can see where the original battery was mounted in the middle of the boot, this time I thought if I mount it off to one side I would have more room in the boot.

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With the boot section placed in position you can see how the fuel hoses and battery are all at one side. With hind sight it may have been better to have the fuel return hose horizontal on the side of the tank and so not have it in the boot, but the breather hose needs to be there to get enough height to prevent spillage if the tank is filled to the neck. You can also see the original hole for the filler hose, which connected by a sharp 90 bend to the horizontal filler on the original tank, which made filling a slow job. The new position of the filler will be much less restrictive. I also cut a hole for access to the fuel gauge sender.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Houston, we have a problem. I tried to fire up the engine last night but it didn't. Plus I have a fuel leak. Stay tuned.

[milliemarlin]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Hi Scott,
You mentioned using plastic water pipe to connect the fuel lines. It’s not clear if that is a permanent or temporary measure. My slight concern is that you should use plastic that is designed to be used with fuel (marked Din74324 or Din73378). I believe that some plastics will allow petrol vapour to escape and can be a fire hazard.
Hope this helps, Paul
PS: I could not start Mark II the car I am building yesterday – No fuel in the tank (currently a jam jar).

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

The plastic fuel lines are proper fuel pipe as used in most production cars these days. The water pipe is an outer sheath for extra protection where the fuel lines loop down to the transmission tunnel.
Didn't have time last night to get in the garage but should manage tonight, so fingers crossed!

[milliemarlin]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Ah, that makes perfect sense. Now that I re-read your append I can’t see why I thought otherwise.
One other unease I have is your speedo sensor bracket. I have a similar setup on Millie. I made quite a substantial bracket out of steel but that affected the magnet pickup. I quickly remade a simple one in alloy. That works, but about once a year I have to adjust the gap as the bent alloy seems to relax. You might consider using a more substantial bracket possibly made of alloy or stainless. Perhaps contemplate some kind of adjustment. I’m not sure how accessible it is.
Paul

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Hi Paul, the bracket is stainless, the thinking behind it was to make it strong enough for the job but still bendable to adjust the gap. I did think about making the mounting hole a slot for adjustment but decided simple is best.
Was in the garage last night and attended to the fuel leak and a coolant leak. Then tried another ECU but still no joy.

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Berlis alive! as Brian Blessed may say. Got the engine running thanks to my friendly auto electrician. Next job is to lengthen and shorten wires to get all the components in their final position.

[dbazdavies]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Scott you are am inspiration - Starting mine tomorrow - well cleaning up the garage first !!!

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Scott you are am inspiration - Starting mine tomorrow - well cleaning up the garage first !!!

Looking forward to another build diary.

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Brakes. In the first life of my Marlin the brakes did not inspire much confidence, although it passed several MOT's. I think that there were two main factors that contributed to the poor brakes; lack of space to mount the servo in the correct position led to a Heath Robinson arrangement to operate a relocated servo (see page 2 of this diary), and the larger overall diameter of the Marlin wheels and tyres compared to the donor Sierra, which puts the brakes at a mechanical disadvantage.

One reason for fitting a smaller, although equally powerful engine, was to allow the servo to mount in the correct position. To address the second problem of larger diameter tyres I decided to fit uprated brakes. A few years ago, when the restoration was just on the list of things to maybe do, I spotted a Sierra XR4x4 in a breakers yard. I knew this would have rear disc brakes, a viscous diff and larger front brakes. When I asked the price and was told £100 for the lot I jumped at it.

I exchanged the calipers for reconditioned ones at my local motor factor.

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Here we see the standard 2 litre front calipers next to the XR4x4 calipers. The calipers are very similar with only different sized pistons.

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Here the 2 litre disc sits on top of the XR item to show the larger diameter.

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The front and rear brakes sitting in position.

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I have also purchased an adjustable limiter for the rear brakes as it would be very dangerous if the rear wheels lock before the fronts.

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I can now measure up for flexi stainless braided brake hoses. Does anyone have any recommendations which company to use to make custom hoses?

[hkp57]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

I can now measure up for flexi stainless braided brake hoses. Does anyone have any recommendations which company to use to make custom hoses?

I have used Venhill for many years, always a good service.

http://www.venhill.co.uk/content.asp?PageID=343&ThreadID=343