MadaboutKitcars

Fabricated some brackets to take the Honda Civic alloy radiator this afternoon and it all fits quite nicely -











The space around the radiator is a luxury I didn't have in my Spyder as the straight six was mounted much further forward than this four pot motor. At least that means a lot less likelihood of grazed knuckles if the radiator ever has to come out!

Despite looking a bit tight height-wise, there's actually about two inches clearance from the top of the radiator cap to the underside of the bonnet.

To keep as much air as possible flowing through the radiator I'll be making aluminium side boards similar to a Spitfire's to seal the sides, and an aluminium undertray with a discrete scoop built into it will pull air from underneath the front and from the two MGF vents in the front valance. That and the electric fan should keep it all cool.

...I could stay one step ahead if you slow down a bit. Perhaps your fishing trip will give me time to progress mine a bit further.

One thought on how yours is progressing. I noted that your headlight buckets foul the ends of the front 'crash bar'. On mine they're sitting well below the headlight openings, just above the front valance cooling vents. As I've set my body to put the wheels at the correct height in the arches, that might suggest that your body is going to be lower than it needs to be. I'm all for the slammed look, but you've got to get an engine in there somewhere.

Thanks Car Photographer, progress is indeed rumbling along slowly.

What I've been doing for the last week or so isn't very photogenic, I'm afraid, hence no pictorial updates for a while.

I currently have the body off the chassis and I'm reinforcing areas of the shell that are too thin or where different mouldings need permanently joining.

These include the rear 'seat'/luggage area which is only a couple of thin layers of CSM making it flexible and fragile, and the sills under the doors which are a two part moulding that I'd bonded together but needed another 10mm of CSM & core-mat to keep the door openings rigid and raise the body up a fraction on the sub-frame.

While the body's off and upside down I'm also fabricating the mechanism for the fuel filler flap and spillage tray under the rear deck.

Should get some pictures of visible progress by the weekend.

I'm pretty sure my shell is a Banham New Speedster from the late 90's or early 2000's. To be fair, it's mostly quite a heavy-duty moulding where it matters if it were to be mounted over a cut down Rover 100/Metro body.

The engine lid and front bonnet are quite thin but will be easy to strengthen, and the only place it's really thin is the rear seating area, which I think might have been laid up by a previous owner rather than Paul Banham as it's got strips of chicken wire and aluminium sheet bonded into the corners. They're going to be cut out and replaced with CSM so I don't get any corrosion bursting through.

As you say, work put in now to strengthen what we have will result in a better built car in the long run

Progress is a bit delayed this week due to wife demanding DIY jobs be done before car, so I have some bathrooms to redecorate as I ran out of excuses not to

Hi Ozzie Dave, glad you like my off the wall idea. The body I have - a Banham New Speedster - was intended to fit over a cut-down Rover 100/Metro, which, just in case they never made it down-under, was a front engined, front wheel drive 90's supermini.
I've just taken it back in time a little with an older donor chassis, which also happens to have the correct wheelbase where the Rover 100 was about 200mm too long.

I'll take a look at the Thermolite sheet as I do want my floors to be strong and light. I do already have a large roll of core mat though (bought very cheaply as a part-used roll via ebay) so I'll probably be using that, but I doubt this will be my last build so it might just feature in another project.

You're too modest, Mick, your D Type and Monaco are every bit as cool as anything I could create.

Glad you like my Speedster though

DIY now finished so I've been able to make some progress on the Speedster. Nothing particularly photogenic, though, just connected up and filled the coolant system ready for the first engine start and routed the fuel and brake lines with the body off the chassis so far.

Cooling system had a few leaks - my water pump housing is cracked so a second hand one is on its way and the water outlet pipe arrangement that runs from it under the exhaust manifold is knackered so all new parts are on their way from Canleys.

I also opened Pandora's box yesterday which contained the flying spaghetti monster that is a 1970's Spitfire 1500 wiring loom. It has tentacles of many colours sprouting out randomly from the main loom, none of which seem to match the colours shown in any of the wiring diagrams in the Haynes manual. It's a good job I used to be a detective as I'm currently having to forensically analyse every circuit to establish what it's for.

I immediately discovered that I need a new alternator - the one on my engine has a four pin and a two pin connector, while the loom has a single three pin plug. Should be picking up a new MGB/Midget alternator from the MGB Hive later today, and I know it'll fit because I have one on my MG Midget (running a 1500 engine so the same mountings and loom).

Next headache is the main light switch. I've been trying to fathom out which pin does what, but there doesn't seem to be any difference in which pins connect to which between the two 'on' positions. I expected the first click to be sidelights only then the second click to add in the headlights but that doesn't seem to be the case. Anyone know what I'm missing here?

Anyway, I'll post some pictures when there's something interesting to show you, hopefully soon...

Thanks Mick, that's going to be very useful info. I should at least be able to make a start on wiring in the lights - I think I'm missing the relay for the main lights but it would make sense if the outlet supply from that relay was only live with the ignition on.

As for idiot shorts while fiddling under the dash, I had smoke and flame from behind Iris' (the Midget) dash when the metal wound oil pressure gauge tube shorted against a live connector and set fire to a masking tape label attached to a nearby cable on start up. Needless to say, everything in my Speedster will be very well insulated!

I think I expected the headlights to automatically switch off with the ignition off so you don't flatten the battery if you accidentally leave them on.

Modern cars tend to have a buzzer that's activated when you open the driver's door when the lights are on, but I seem to recall that in most of my cars back in the 70's and 80's only the sidelights worked with the ignition off, but I could be wrong as it's a long time ago now.

As for security, I had a transponder immobiliser in my Spyder - you had to hold a 1p sized key fob close to a hidden loop to activate the ignition - and I'll be using something similar in my Speedster.

Anyway, I'll be spending this afternoon with a test meter trying to trace which wire does what in my loom as there are coloured wires that just don't match anything in the Haynes manual wiring diagram. Once I've worked that out I'll be close to getting the engine started for the first time.

I hope that goes better than the first firing of the straight six in my Spyder.
On first turn of the key the starter solenoid exploded sending a shower of sparks into the fuel cascading out of the carburettors.

Yes, I remember heaters being optional extras on most cars. It was one of the selling points of the Beetle - it came with a heater as standard!

Revolutionary stuff back then, shame it made the interior smell like an oily rag, though...

So, electrical woes now hopefully sorted.

I'm really keen to have all the electrics fully sorted before my first attempt at starting the engine as I have fitted a reground cam. The instructions for the cam say to run the engine for 20 mins at 2,000rpm on first start without lots of slow cranking beforehand, as this will fuse the bearing surfaces of the cam and followers together, scrapping both, so it's important the engine fires quickly.

Now, the wiring diagram and colours/combination of actual wires in my loom indicate I have a built in ballast resistor wire on the ignition circuit, so I need a 1.5 ohm ballast coil rather than a standard 3 ohm coil.

As luck would have it, my Midget runs a separate ballast resistor on the ignition circuit and I have a spare ballast coil in the boot, hurrah!

For those unfamiliar with such wizardry, the ballast resistor or wire reduces the voltage from 12v down to 6v, which powers the 6v ballast coil in normal running.

The ballast resistor or wire is then overridden by another wire carrying 12v directly from the output side of the starter solenoid on engine start to make sure there's still a strong spark when the starter motor is pulling all the current out of the battery. The coil won't fail during start up because it doesn't have long enough to overheat while it's being 'overpowered'.

With this in mind I connected the battery and checked the voltage at the coil positive terminal, which should be 6v. Hmm, 12 volts present.

I checked the resistance from the ignition switch to the coil positive terminal and it's 2 ohms. The manual says 1.5 ohms, which is supposed to drop the voltage to around 6, but I have 12. I also checked the resistance through the secondary coil positive circuit from the starter solenoid and that's virtually zero ohms, which is right.

I then checked the voltage at the Midget's positive coil terminal and it's 8 volts as it should be.

As if that wasn't confusing enough, I then checked the resistance across the coil that's happily running in the Midget, the new spare coil, the coil that was in the Midget when the electronic ignition module failed and a new Lucas DLB105 Sports coil I have on the shelf, and they're all the same at 3.5 ohms.

After much head scratching (electrics are a bit of a mystery to me) I decided to run a zero resistance 12v to the coil positive terminal, use the Lucas sports coil which is the only one I know for sure isn't a ballast coil and ditch the ballast wire.

Everything seems to be fine now, I have 12v where I expect it and the right coil fitted to handle it. Hopefully...

I'm waiting on a few parts for the cooling system at the moment and once they arrive there's nothing to stop me firing up the engine. I do hope it all works.

Thanks Mitchelkitman, you're absolutely right, that is how it works. The problem I had was that the voltage was too high at 12v in the 'normally live' coil circuit at the end of the ballast wire, where it's supposed to be 6v or thereabouts.

I have a separate ballast resistor in series with the 'normally live' ignition wire in my Midget and the coil positive wire reads 8v until you crank it, then it jumps to 12v, as you say, from a connection on the output side of the starter solenoid.

I did a bit of research about the ballast wire in old Triumphs and it seems the resistance breaks down over time leaving you with burnt out points and a fried coil, hence bypassing it in mine as I suspect it's failed.

The whole ballast resistor thing was a good idea fifty years ago, but with a well maintained ignition system and electronic ignition starting shouldn't be a problem, fingers crossed...

Hmm, electrics really aren't my thing and I'm really confused now.

Wouldn't the current flowing through the test meter complete the circuit and drop the voltage? And why does the positive terminal of my Midget's coil have 8v after the ballast resistor from a battery showing 12.6v when I'm connecting the same test meter to it?

I need to read up on low voltage electrics, methinks...

Oh, and I have now managed to check that I do have a spark and I've set the advance with a strobe by turning the engine over on the starter for a few seconds at a time (any longer might damage the new cam). I should be able to start the engine for the first time later this week once some cooling system parts have arrived from Canleys, which are essential as the motor has to run at 2,000rpm for twenty minutes immediately on start up to bed in the new camshaft.

So, ten minutes of reading about resistors and I'm ready to electrocute myself, if only I knew how.

This is about the simplest explanation of how resistors affect voltage I could find and I still have no idea what they're talking about -

http://www.learningaboutelectronics.com/Articles/How-to-reduce-voltage-with-resistors.php

I'm so glad I decided to run a (nominally) zero resistance wire to my coil and give it 12 volts under all conditions.

The reason I've got myself in a tizzy about this is that when my midget developed a misfire I noticed that the coil was getting red hot, so replaced it with a non-ballast 12v one as I didn't realise I had a ballast resistor in the circuit.

First run out after fitting it the misfire had gone and the car ran fine suggesting the old coil was on the way out, but at the end of a 30 mile trip to the coast the engine conked out as I pulled on to my driveway and wouldn't restart.

After a bit of investigation I replaced the coil with a ballast coil but still no spark, then I took out the fancy electronic ignition module and put the points back in and it ran. A bit of research revealed that the electronic ignition module probably failed because of the wrong voltage going to it.

By then I had already committed to electronic ignition on my Speedster's engine and I don't want to burn it out by under or overpowering it. At least now I know that it's connected in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions so it shouldn't fail.

Fingers crossed.

Sounds good Gary, are you going weather-beaten patina paint and faded numbers?

Quick update as it's been a couple of months.

Progress has been a bit slow for a couple of reasons: First off, engine issues, more specifically trying to get a leak free cooling system. I've had two cracked water pump housings and the third one I tried had stripped threads on both bolt holes for the thermostat cover. That's all sorted now and I'm hoping to fire the engine this weekend.

Second reason is that it's now the season for my other hobby, grubbing around in muddy fields looking for 'treasure'.

I'd like to say 'There's gold in them there hills' but I live in Norfolk. Gold, there is, nonetheless -



Et Voila, one Ambiani Gallic wars gold stater, struck in about 57BC by a tribe in Gaul (Northern France) to pay an army of Celtic warriors to fight against the invading Roman army led by one Julius Caeser.

Nice.

Thanks guys.

Norfolk has the largest number of 'treasure' items recorded under the 1996 Treasure Act in the UK. Its history is one of the reasons I settled here from my native Essex back in the early 90's.

What I'll do now is record this find with the local archaeological unit then have it properly valued. I have a 50:50 agreement with the landowner for any valuable items I find and this certainly qualifies.

Once we know what it's worth I'll hopefully be able to afford to buy out his half so I can keep it as it's all about the connection with history for me rather than the value.

After all, the last person to touch this before me was almost certainly an Iceni warrior who fought in battles against Julius Caesar. You can't really put a price on that!

Thanks for the kind words, guys. It is a spectacular find and in pretty much as minted condition once I rinsed the mud off it.

Given that, I'd estimate it to be at the high end of the value range for one of these, so around £1,000 to £1,200

Luckily I can afford to pay my half of that so I should be able to hang on to it, but if the valuation is much more then my (wealthy although he'd never admit it despite the pristine E Type roadster/other classics/new Velar etc.) farmer friend might have to buy out my share.

He's also really interested in the history of his land and I often hand over small items that have a connection to the land he owns as he loves them just as much as I do.

These have included a lovely 14th Century bronze seal matrix used for impressing the owner's personal coat of arms in molten wax to seal documents, and most recently, an enamel badge from the National Agricultural Labourers and Rural Workers Union, which was an early 20th Century land workers' rights movement.

It's a great hobby which gets me out in the fresh air, but it does eat into the time I have for car building. It won't be long until all the land I have permission to search is under crops, though, so I'll be back in the garage soon.

Looking forward to seeing the Outlaw Formosa. Will you be doing a build thread or does the customer want to keep it private?

Hi Swifty, thanks for your interest in my little piece of history.

I will be putting my Speedster through the rebody process - I'm going to be crossing my fingers as I bought the bodyshell second-hand and don't have a manufacturer's receipt. I do have a screenshot of the ebay sale transaction though, so I'm hoping they will accept that.

Current delay is that I haven't managed to get the engine running yet. I have fuel getting into the cylinders, I have a nice, fat spark and I have provisionally set the timing to 6 degrees before TDC with a timing light on turnover, but it isn't making any attempt to fire.

Last thing yesterday I tested the compression on one cylinder with a compression tester and it read zero. That could be one of two things: my (cheap Chinese made) compression tester might be faulty or I've installed the new camshaft in the wrong orientation so there's a valve still open on the compression stroke.

I ran out of enthusiasm yesterday so I'm having a day off the car today, but I'll pick it up again next weekend (Thursday for me) and test the compression tester on the Midget's engine to see if it's the gauge that's faulty. If it shows compression on the MG then it must be the cam timing that's the issue.

Hopefully my next post will have some better news about starting the engine for the first time.