This is a read-only archive of the old Madabout Kitcars forum. New posts and replies are no longer possible, but every thread is still here to browse and read.
Back out on the car this afternoon - first chance since the Christmas break.
Conscious that my compression and misfire problems are unlikely to be connected, and before purchasing any new components, I decided to replace the female connectors on the end of the wires that go to the coil. Defintely 'clutching at straws'!!
Ran the engine and the same misfire started occuring. But then I suddenly noticed a spark refelcted in the shiny vacuum unit which is attached to the distributor. First guess was that I have a crack in the distributor cap but, given I didnt have a spare to hand, I decided to elimenate the Dysnamo first. Unplugged the two female connectors from the Dynamo, ran the engine and misfire has disappeared. Engine sounds sweet under both low and high revs - albeit I am just running under no load in the garage.
I had given the Dynamo a full test before putting it onto the engine a few months ago. So my first thought is that there must be something wrong with the wiring or the Control Box. But can anyone suggest how the Dynamo could be the root cause for a misfire under load? Could this be the cause of the weak spark leading to the "eight stroking" suggested earlier?
Unusual but I have been told it can happen. The dynamo- control box setup can throw up some strange faults, you could try it with another dynamo and or control box. personally I would get rid of them and install an alternator not difficult to wire in google it (dynamo to alternator conversion) you will need a alternator, bracket and fan belt for a 1500 engine. much better and more reliable.
Lots of progress over the lock-down period. Bodywork is generally of the right sort of shape now and I am starting to think of getting an MOT. Plan then is to drive it for a bit and see what needs sorting before commiting to paint.
Couple of questions for for all of you who finished long ago.
a) Cant tax the car until I have an MOT unless I apply for a vehicle of historical interest. Would prefer to go through the MOT. Am I right in thinking that I am allowed to drive (insurance but no tax and on SORN) round the corner to an MOT appointment?
b) The donor just had its serial number stamped onto a plate which was riveted to the bulkhead. I think IVA requires it be be stamped/engraved onto the chassis. Is the riveted plate ok for a Sammio.
a) Yes - so long as you have an MOT appointment nearby and are insured to drive the car you can drive to the testing station.
b) Yes - manufacturer's commission plate is fine for a rebody as the donor car never had a chassis number stamped or etched into the chassis in the first place.
Your posts have been a massive help right from the start and I still look-up to see how you did Sammio things. Everytime I use bonding paste I think of one of your earliest posts where you forgot to add any catalyst and smile to myself.
Whilst prepping for an MOT, I spent ages trying to work out how to fit blanking plugs to the greasse nipple holes on my UJs. Problem was that the holes seemed so much smaller than the threaded blanking plugs sold by Rimmers. Spent time researching Saturday afternoon and evening but couldnt work it out. 4am Sunday morning I had a thought, maybe I was looking at the allen key socket in the end of the grub screws that I fitted to the holes 2+ years ago!
Like your new project and that MG Midget looks the business.
Ha ha, in my defence I'd never used bonding paste before and it didn't come with any instructions so I assumed it air cured. It was only when someone said 'did you put enough catalyst in it?' that the penny dropped.
Glad you're still finding my old Sammio posts useful. I found input from Gary J, Mike (who used to work with Gary) and those pioneering builders who'd gone before, particularly Phil Jacklin, to be invaluable in deciding how to proceed with my own build, so I appreciate the compliment.
Iris (the Midget) did turn out rather well. I took my wife out for a tour round the North Norfolk coast in it yesterday and it didn't miss a beat. Although it looks like a sixties car it has a torquey 1500 engine from a later Midget and (Spitfire) overdrive gearbox, so it's perfect for lazy touring on a sunny day.
Once my Speedster is finished Iris will be looking for a new home as I will need the space for my next project. I just happen to have a late MkII Spitfire with no engine waiting in the wings.
Luckily, I also have a MkII Vitesse six-pot and gearbox (still to be collected after lockdown), a choice of GT6 MkIII swing-spring or MkII Vitesse Rotoflex suspension and bakes on the shelf and a desire to turn it into a GT Sixfire. Shouldn't take long...
Well, still preparing for the MOT having noticed some 'loose ends'.
First thing was the effectiveness of the handbrake needed improving and second my thermostatic fan switch started playing-up.
Now I realise that I dont have the 'manufacturer's commission plate' after all, it is the smaller colour/body plate that I have.
So I need to get a commission plate made before I can MOT. Thinking that I will just put the model as 13/60 and the VIN number from the V5. Do I need weights on there (some plates have them and others dont) as well? Is the colour important as I have yet to decide what to go for?
As far as I know you only need the chassis number on the plate for MOT purposes. The MOT examiner will enter the colour of the vehicle as presented unless you tell him otherwise.
9 years after I started the build, UAX 31G passed its MOT this morning and is now on the road.
I decided to leave-off the rear deflectors to see if MOT required them. I put a couple of self tappers into the rear and took the reflectors (and a screwdriver) with me to the MOT station. Nothing was mentioned but maybe lighting regs are not MOT matter?
Planning to drive it for a few months and sort-out some of the niggles that I have been reluctant to mess with pending the MOT. Then it will probably go up for sale (price to include paint job in purchaser's colour of choice) next Spring to make way for my next project.
Congrats re. test . Any thoughts on colour? I'm not a big 'BRG' fan but I think this (Connaught Green?) with Old English White roundels, would complement it perfectly.
9 years after I started the build, UAX 31G passed its MOT this morning and is now on the road.
I decided to leave-off the rear deflectors to see if MOT required them. I put a couple of self tappers into the rear and took the reflectors (and a screwdriver) with me to the MOT station. Nothing was mentioned but maybe lighting regs are not MOT matter?
Planning to drive it for a few months and sort-out some of the niggles that I have been reluctant to mess with pending the MOT. Then it will probably go up for sale (price to include paint job in purchaser's colour of choice) next Spring to make way for my next project.
Hi cbjroms,
Which colour is registered on your V5 at the moment please?
Have had a fun few months on the car during the 'cold'season'. The cooling system seemed to have some gremlins and I concluded that it was either:
a) Head gasket
b) Air trapped in themostat housing.
So I decided to fix both - first whipped the head off and all looked good. Had the valves regorund and head tested at local machine shop. Also tapped a thread into thermostat housing and connected a hose from here to the expansion tank to bleed any trapped air.
This work was completed within 10 days and cost £50. It then took me 3 months to get the engine running properly again! First I bent a pushrod and for safety removed the head again to check everthing. Second I tried re-using the old head nuts and found that they wouldnt hold the correct torque. Third I snapped the accelerator bracket tongue off the exhaust manifold and my solution prevented a proper seal between the inlet manifold and the head causing an air leak. Finally, I got the engine running properly and found one of the core plugs was leaking and needed to be replaced.
But all the work was completed in time for a test drive on the first warm and sunny day of 2021. Suddenly it was all worth it!
I need to lean on the collective wisdom of the forum to help me resolve a dilemma.
My car looks as per the photos above (September 2020) and I had been planning to get it painted this summer.
However, I may have stumbled across my next project and have been told that I would need to sell the Sammio before I can commit to getting something else.
So, I am wondering whether the Sammio will be easier to sell unpainted as a 'blank canvas' or whether a nice paint job will make all the difference.
I see MikeD has his on Ebay at £17500 but that has a nice paint job and looks really nicely finished. So what would be a sensible price for mine as it is?
It sounds like if you dont want to invest much more time into it, a single colour (primer) will be your best bet. At the moment, it looks like it still needs a lot of work for someone to be able to jump in and drive it, without feeling like they are driving a half-finished project. A single colour will help it feel like a work-in-progress, much closer to completion. I would expect it will also help show up any imperfections, so a buyer would be able to see more easily how much work there is actually left to do, just by looking at photos, and how good the work is that you've done already.
Looking again at your photos above, the more I'm thinking a grey primer would finish it to a satisfactory level for sale. You have a good set of wheels, the lights look fine as do the instruments. Steering wheel and seats look good too ! £40 worth of grey primer in rattle cans will transform it into a saleable car, good luck !
At the first local paintshop I visited, the two guys I met were exteremly helpful, generous with their advice and clearly loved the car. I was chatting with them for ages and they were very excited about the chance to finish the car for me.
I visted them again a few weeks later to chat to them about me just putting it in primer , having had quotes ranging from £3000 to £6000 to finish and paint the car. Having talked through the options they made me a good offer for the car as it was.
A quick and painless sale to people who know what they are doing was too good a chance to miss. So the car has gone to a very good home and I am looking forward to seeing how they finish it.
My garage is now fibre and dust free for the first time in many years!
