Marina Roadster

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Marina Roadster

Thanks Peter they look tasty!
I take your point David - very well put - Im pretty well convinced that the engine doesnt have any trickery in it - I have original build photos which show it was rebuilt with nothing more than a bit of polish to the ports. Im hoping it was done well and not too enthusiastically. My personal though is that the B series is too much cast iron in there for a little car and the 1300 is probably a better match, in order to get more power, the right way would be with ally engines not more iron - what it contributes in power it loses in weight! (someone will now come along and quote the figures I'm sure!).
I do think the chassis can take more power and will handle well if the engine is kept lighter. - K series springs to mind. Maybe Fiat/Lancia twin cams? Zetec? For now I'm content to get what I have running as well as possible.

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Marina Roadster

just found this pic - this was earlier in the year when I was swapping out the clutch - might be useful to someone.

10959785_10153765415875021_2353113614415155028_n.jpg

although it might not look safe - it was on big solid blocks on the top of the ramps - but the weight is on the steel wire from the hoist. Rear wheels are chocked and axle stands placed under the chassis too.
At that time I had quite a lot going on - one of my boys was rebuilding a trials bike - my daughters car (in the background) was needing work, my other lads lorry was having something else done and I was building a conservatory.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Marina Roadster

just found this pic - this was earlier in the year when I was swapping out the clutch - might be useful to someone.

[ATTACH]5931[/ATTACH]

although it might not look safe - it was on big solid blocks on the top of the ramps - but the weight is on the steel wire from the hoist. Rear wheels are chocked and axle stands placed under the chassis too.
At that time I had quite a lot going on - one of my boys was rebuilding a trials bike - my daughters car (in the background) was needing work, my other lads lorry was having something else done and I was building a conservatory.

Here is a slightly safer looking is from the States.


here or there

[Waterscumbietoo]

Re: Marina Roadster

The electric pump is mounted on the bulkhead and is in fact a Moprod part. I took it to pieces and as you would expect nothing to fix. I powered it up on the bench and even with the outlet completely blocked up it continues to pump. I have ordered a new one in any case. It is wired up Steve simply by taking an ign live from teh wiper motor and earthing there too. Ideally pumps need to push rather than suck so it ought to be in the back somewhere but its accessible and must have worked ok before so I will leave it (or the replacement) where it is.

Onto the front suspension next. I cant seem to find the bushes that go on the end of the front tie bars, they seem to be called Pads in the manual. Item 22 in the pic. I found some at superflex for about £25 a set and Earlpart do them for £7.50 but I need to talk to them first. Anyone have a recommendation?

[ATTACH]4657[/ATTACH]

I too am looking for a pair of item 22 for both sides of front suspension tie rods. What did you eventually buy/use?

Thanks,

avid

[stevejgreen]

Re: Marina Roadster

I too am looking for a pair of item 22 for both sides of front suspension tie rods. What did you eventually buy/use?

Thanks,

avid

Superflex every time, also worth changing item 4 whilst you are there. Superflex usually price parts for both sides together, as it's best to keep both sides identical.
Top tip is to loosen item 12 and the Marlin shock absorber mounting bracket to allow the two halves of the lower arm to settle in its new position.
Some claim that an adjustable, rose jointed, tie rod is the way to go. but it's always useful to look at the Mini top arm, that in my experience has way too much play fore and aft.

here or there and here or there and here or there

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Marina Roadster

My son now has a 2.7 V6 Hyundai Coupe and so the little roadster has been returned. Looking on the homepage for this website I see the AGM counter is 1 month 1 week and 4 days so plenty of time to break things and turn up to the agm once again in modern day metal.

So...I have taken off the nose cone - took 30 mins this time. Removed the old Vival rad (My brother has a concourse 1972 viva so he can have it as a spare). Moved the oil cooler forward and have begun to measure up for the civic rad. I reckon it needs to go in so that the top of the lower tank is level with the crossmember. My plan is to make a couple of brackets with grommets to mount the bottom and see what happens when we get to the top. The old side panels from the viva rad will be used to construct a baffle to direct all the air through the core.
Here's some piccies.
cooler.jpg

cooler2.jpg

cowlOff.jpg

garage.jpg

radCivic.jpg

[stevejgreen]

Re: Marina Roadster

Interesting pictures. Do you think the oil cooler actually makes a difference cooling the engine, it looks as though the airflow is quite heavily obstructed? When I tried mine, I used braided hoses for a bit of added protection, but I did not notice any improvement in cooling.
When you get to the top I hope you have access to the filler cap. What is the small up-stand in the middle of the header tank next to the filler? Part of the original mounting?

Don't forget to close off the gaps around the rad once its installed.

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Marina Roadster

I think the oil cooler makes marginal difference in reality - I dont think it has a negative impact as I have a thermostat in there which opens when the oil is hot enough. THere is a heavy duty ally guard in front of it liberally dotted with holes so the air should get in there ok.
Access to the filler will be nigh on impossible so a remote filler is the order of the day - and an overflow bottle.
The little upstand is a block of alloy which is used as a locator in the original fitment, there are two on the bottom. I will be bracing the rad at the sides though and although the bottom ones are used to locate the rad I wont use that top one. THe original Z brackets which held the old rad in place are ally and have bent out really well - enough to block almost all the air passing down the sides - so over all it looks like it may be a fairly straightforward mod. Will keep you posted though Im not hopeful I will get anything done today as I have back to back meetings

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Marina Roadster

Quick update - it all looks like its going in fairly well (famous last words). I will get some pics later today as I'm working from home. I made a couple of brackets to put the bottom mounting lugs in (with grommets like on the original civic) and some C clamps attached to the sides of the radiator and bolted to the original rad mounts.
The filler will be impossible to use so I have made a change to the cooling system by putting in a header tank. (old plastic Marina item I think). I have plan B ready if its not good enough.
Making room for the header tank meant moving the washer bottle, which meant moving the fuel pump onto the bulkhead. One thing leads to another! Ideally I would like to put the pump at the back near the fuel tank as they push better than they pull. Any ideas as to a suitable location?

Whilst my son had the car he took it to his friendly neighbourhood mechanic who pronounced the tappets were out making it run hot. It now sounds like a tin can full of stones! I wonder if anyone has one of those accurate clickadjust spanners I could borrow - just in case I was wrong in the first place).

[Tony Stott]

Re: Marina Roadster

Yeap got one of them, problem is, its here a la frog, if no one else has one I'll post it over!

[stevejgreen]

Re: Marina Roadster

Quick update - it all looks like its going in fairly well (famous last words). I will get some pics later today as I'm working from home. I made a couple of brackets to put the bottom mounting lugs in (with grommets like on the original civic) and some C clamps attached to the sides of the radiator and bolted to the original rad mounts.
The filler will be impossible to use so I have made a change to the cooling system by putting in a header tank. (old plastic Marina item I think). I have plan B ready if its not good enough.
Making room for the header tank meant moving the washer bottle, which meant moving the fuel pump onto the bulkhead. One thing leads to another! Ideally I would like to put the pump at the back near the fuel tank as they push better than they pull. Any ideas as to a suitable location?

Whilst my son had the car he took it to his friendly neighbourhood mechanic who pronounced the tappets were out making it run hot. It now sounds like a tin can full of stones! I wonder if anyone has one of those accurate clickadjust spanners I could borrow - just in case I was wrong in the first place).

The source of a lot of top end noise is not so much badly adjusted rockers but wear on the underside of the rocker shaft and the bottom of the rocker bushing. Located at the point just before maximum lift, not at zero lift where you adjust clearances.
The permanent solution is to fit a Tufrided rocker shaft with re-bushed rockers. You can re bush the rockers yourself if you have the correct sized reamer, but frankly it was more expedient to buy them off the shelf.

[h_m_cumming]

Re: Marina Roadster

This is where my pump has sat for the last 20 yrs. without missing a beat and it feeds twin delOrtos on my 2l Fiat engine.
It's a bog standard Mini one with an in line filter between the tank and the pump.

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Marina Roadster

Perfect - thanks Hugh.
Steve, thanks for the advice on the rockers. When I set them myself using the time honoured method of doing it by feel with feeler blades the engine ran really well and wasn't at all tappety (well about what you would expect for a B series). Its just that if a professional mechanic has re-adjusted them and now it sounds rattly I'm a bit worried. I thought if I could set them with one of those clik adjusts (many thanks for your kind offer Tony) which accounts for wear then I wont be relying on my own apparently flawed method. Of course - it could be that the professional has done em wrong - wouldn't be the first time.
I do now have another head which I intend to convert to unleaded etc so I do have a long term solution.

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Marina Roadster

Many thanks for all the help. A SPQR clikadjust arrived in the post yesterday and I immediately reset the tappets. on taking out the plugs no 2 was much darker and sure enough the valve clearance was loose. All tightened, checked with feeler blades and she satrted up and sounded much nicer

[stevejgreen]

Re: Marina Roadster

Many thanks for all the help. A SPQR clikadjust arrived in the post yesterday and I immediately reset the tappets. on taking out the plugs no 2 was much darker and sure enough the valve clearance was loose. All tightened, checked with feeler blades and she satrted up and sounded much nicer

Which all goes to show that not all mechanics know what they are doing. The trouble is, things like SU carburettors, Lucas Distributors and push rod engines are not things that the modern mechanic sees every day, let alone knows how they work.