DaveCymrus' Countach thread :D - Page 8

davecymru · #**141** 3rd July 2013, 16:33

Cheers guys. I did duct the airflow and I did also mess around with the pipe routing in order to try a near identical setup to what Oxford describes, but to no avail.
I agree that from my experiences i also think that the original pump isn't up to long piping runs at low revs, but I think that I'll leave the electric water pump plumbed in as that seems to cure those symptoms and changing to the new header tank and a 2-pipe header with a constant flow rather than the old Rover 1-pipe header should also give me the setup you mention.

As I said, this time its belts-n-braces! :-)

davecymru · #**142** 9th July 2013, 18:56

The first of the Renault 5 GT Turbo radiators has turned up and i think this may just solve my issues!

Side-by-side with one of the mini rads, which i thought were deep!

Then a quick bit of fettling and it went in _very_ easily! In fact i'm a bit unnerved by how easily and how well it fitted as it looks custom made and is, quite frankly, a bit of a monster!

side-by-side comparison with the previous setup:

And with the airbox top on it really is a very, very good fit!

So back to the plumbing and i hope the 2nd radiator and the new header tank turn up soon as i'm dying to try these out!

AcC8braman · #**143** 9th July 2013, 19:00

Wow, what a result Dave, about time you had some good luck with your mods, well researched

~dan~ · #**144** 10th July 2013, 18:32

nice one mate. Might be worth infilling the gaps above the rad with blanking of some sort to force the air through the vanes of the rad. A couple of the guys on the other forum swear by it.

davecymru · #**145** 17th July 2013, 21:54

Quick update as I'm shattered after 2 long night nights of tinkering.

I've got the new rads and header tank plumbed in and all the leaks sorted and. I've now had a few long in-garage test runs under both low and high revs and the initial results are very promising!

It eventually gets hot and then the new fans kick in for a few mins and the temp drops noticeably and then the fans switch off

. This is a massive difference to what it used to do and much more how I was expecting it to work!

Now I just need to try and fit the car around the new rads and hopefully do a few test runs over the weekend to see how on-the-move cooling has changed.

Fingers crossed!

davecymru · #**146** 31st July 2013, 12:15

Bodywork all back on with a few minor modifications to one of the grills for the moment (i'll get some photos shortly) and i took it out for a 10 mile drive the other night and the temperature stayed right on the 1/2 way mark!

But.... not wanting to break with tradition, when i got home and I let it tick over on the drive for 10 mins (to further give myself confidence that it's not going to overheat) the engine slowed and stopped and it turns out that i'd run out of electricity

From what i can see this was caused by a not especially well charged battery, lots of small test drives, and the cooling fans and water pump being set to kick in too early so being nearly constantly on.

I have now fettled the fan settings and they come on a lot less and seem to stay on for a shorter period, which makes me think i'd just had it set too low previously. I also had tick-over set too low, that has also been adjusted.

So i'm just doing a big full charge of the battery and i'll give it another longer run out one night in the week when it's not raining.

Then i'm going to enjoy driving it for a bit before i start addressing the major flaws in the bodywork and then replace the centre console when winter comes.

Getting there slowly!

davecymru · #**147** 31st July 2013, 18:41

And here it is back together and out of the garage:

I know some of the lambo nerds out there will have spotted a few things i still need to address i.e. re-seat wing mirror gater, move side repeater poistion, line the front wheel arches, and most annoyingly - fix the chip in the front middle of the spoiler!

(don't worry, i'm my worst critic!)

But as well as those there is also now an interesting blue 'thing' you may have spotted!

Basically I had to improvise the routing of the piping when fitting the new Renault5 Turbo rads. And as i still didn't know if the new cooling system was going to work i took the approach of getting it in and working and then i can make it tidy later.
So seeing as i had to chop a bit of the grill away (for now), i thought that i could at least make it a feature rather than an obvious 'flaw'! So rather than using a normal pipe joiner and tap a bleed nozzle into the hose (which was still being moved and re-routed) i've used a blue anodised aluminium thermostat housing to join the pipes for the moment, which also doubles up as a bleed nozzle while i test things!

I know it'll annoy the purists, but this is a KIT CAR and i'm as proud of that as i am that it looks like a Countach so

for the moment at least anyway

L5000s · #**148** 3rd August 2013, 22:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by davecymru

I know it'll annoy the purists, but this is a KIT CAR and i'm as proud of that as i am that it looks like a Countach so

for the moment at least anyway

fair shout and well said Dave

moorezy · #**149** 4th August 2013, 08:35

Lambo look fantastic dave health to enjoy and youve done a real good job on her keep the work up

davecymru · #**150** 6th August 2013, 19:04

So i took it out for a good drive on Sunday and managed to notch up 20 miles

Including through some rain, which was an experience!

Obviously with the new cooling system in place I was mainly focusing on watching the temperature and as i haven't finished boxing around the rads yet i knew that the airflow on the move wouldn't be optimal.

That said the temp stayed at just over 1/2 and you could spot the fans cutting in occasionally, but only ever for 1 min or so and then it would go a good while before they came back on. So i'm more than happy that when i put the ducting in place it'll never use the fans on the move, which is ideal!

But.....

When i got home and parked up on the drive, it was ticking over for a few mins while i did some more checks and then the engine stopped.
<groundhog day>
I swore LOTS!

Electrics were fine this time and loads of electricity left.
Cooling was fine.
So it had to be fuel. and right enough i could hear the fuel pump ticking away but nothing was coming through

Then it started again, i started it up, reversed it into the garage and that's where it stayed until tonight.

<more to come later>

AcC8braman · #**151** 6th August 2013, 19:08

So what do you think it is, filter?

Good to here the maiden voyage with the rads went well.

Looking at you pics, you have done a cracking job even if it still needs a little fettle. It's your car and your influence, l like it and well done

davecymru · #**152** 6th August 2013, 19:26

Cheers matey,

I've just come in from the garage and after an inspection of the fuel system i noticed a few things.

1) It is set-up with a return feed to both fuel tanks, in-line from the feed to carb 2. odd and unnecessary as i'm running carbs but easily changed to be how i want it.

2) There is no breather on tank 2. This would explain why only tank 1 is filling and then the level drops quickly when running, as there is no breather on tank 2 for the fuel to self-level and then it levels out from the fuel return when the pump is running.
Again this can be easily fixed and i'll sort this out when i also sort out the carb feed.

3) The fuel from the tanks goes to the fuel pump first, then the filter, before going to the carbs. Easy to sort by swapping two pipes around so that the filter protects the pump as well as the carbs.

So i decided to take the pump and filter out and clean them before starting on the pipe-re-routing and i think I've found the cause of the fuelling issues.

This is what i found when i took the end off of the pump!

Basically _so_ much cr@p that it has deformed the little filter in the pump and was throwing everything out of kilter!

With the filter removed it was clear i'm not able to just give it a clean as it's been completely deformed by the goo!

And what was left inside just aint nice!

So that's what happens to a fuel pump if you fit it before a filter and don't clean the system through thoroughly after not using the car for 10 years!

But with a load of goo in there i was hoping that the filter would be clean.
silly me.... It just caught the finer particles!

And boy did it catch them, the filter itself is well gone

So i'm now going to have to buy a new pump and filter, but i'm also going to buy a cheap, clear, in-line fuel filter to use for a few trips just to make sure that i have now de-gunked the system fully!

I think i may also whip the carbs off and check the floats and jets while it's all apart.

2 steps forward, 1 step back....

<sigh>

garyh · #**153** 6th August 2013, 19:34

Yuk... any idea why they are in such a mess? would the fuel tanks have been from a donor vehicle, not new.

AcC8braman · #**154** 6th August 2013, 19:36

Glad you posted this as I'm sure at some point I might it a furling issue, I know mine is a Chevy but the principals are the same.

As my tanks are now 18 years old and never been on the road, I'm sure some crud will be in there

AcC8braman · #**155** 6th August 2013, 19:37

Deffo not donor, these will be bespoke tanks for the countach

Paul L · #**156** 7th August 2013, 19:50

Dave - Fair play to you mate, you are working your way through this car very methodically.

I know it must be very frustrating, but at least you know that more and more parts will now be working as they should.

Personally I wouldn't lose sleep over what the purists think, you have a great looking car that you have already made some nice mods to.

Good luck with the fuel system, Paul.

davecymru · #**157** 31st August 2013, 18:33

New fuel pump fitted, this time with a cheap plastic filter just before it "for now" and the piping to the carbs re-routed so that fuel goes into them rather than just round in a circle!

I've also boxed in around the rads and taken it for a quick 15 mile run and the engine runs smoother than it ever has and the temperature was rock solid on just-over-half. Happy days!

So I was going to take it to the Thornfalcon gathering tomorrow, but some other minor niggles with the clutch juddering, a rubbing from the rear drivers side wheel and odd things happening with brake pedal pressure mean that I'm going to scratch that as I don't want to show myself up

So with the cooling sorted and the fueling sorted, its onto the brakes and then the clutch.

I'll take the back end apart and see what the rubbing is/was and then take it from there.
Ho hummm.... So unless its sorted for Exeter, no shows this year. Which is good in a way as I am very self conscious about the condition of the bodywork, so I'm going to keep it to local trips until I get the brakes and clutch sorted and then possibly attack the piant during the winter.

davecymru · #**158** 16th September 2013, 11:55

I've finally found a local company who were able to colour match my paintwork and it turns out that my car is painted...... Triumph Motorcycle Red!

I pick up the exact matched spray cans later in the week and hopefully i can touch up the more obvious scratches and chips well enough for now so that i'm not quite so self conscious when i go out-n-about

AcC8braman · #**159** 17th September 2013, 07:40

Nice one Dave.

Im fettling with mine at the moment, fitted new alternator and sorting out temp sensor for fans

davecymru · #**160** 10th October 2013, 11:33

It's been nearly a month without update and this is mainly due to a new addition to the family!

So i am proud to introduce you all to Cassie........

the camper van!

SWMBO had been hinting and hinting for a few years that she'd like one, and when i spotted this one in a state where it's mechanically sound but in need of some TLC i snapped it up!

But back to _my_ car

The paint i got mixed up was spot on! and while I've not had the time to do proper paint corrections, just getting some colour on the scratches/knocks/chips has made it look a whole lot better!

I've also had the master cylinder off and ordered a repair kit, but had all sorts of issues trying to replace seals! It turned out to be a Morris Marina master cylinder which apparently was commonly used on older kits? and getting a replacement isn't the easiest thing in the world!

So I did a bit of digging and a lot of reading of Morris forums (bless em!) and i found that a Series III Land Rover master cylinder is a direct fit for my Servo. But as it's a very slightly bigger bore it will mean that i've got greater stopping power earlier on, which will be good as the Granada brakes I've got fitted are bigger than OEM Marina ones anyway!

So that's turned up today and hopefully i can have it fitted this weekend and possibly, maybe just possibly, i'll be at Exeter! Or failing that i plan to at least get to the Bristol Classic Car car restoration show at the Bath & West show ground the weekend after! Where hopefully i can also pick up some bits for the VW!