:: Diary - October 2006 ::

:: Sunday, October 1, 2006 ::

I wake up in the morning and I'm sore in places that I didn't even know I had places. I'm getting too old for this lark.

Out to the shed and collect a big hammer, then along to the garage. The new socket grips much better but as I suspected, the 1/4 inch drive shears off. So I decide to finish detaching the pipes from the flange, hammer and chisel stylee. Takes about 1/2 an hour.

I still don't have a socket or spanner that will turn these two bolts. I need a bigger-drive socket that drives off the flats.

Then I clean half a ton of muck and grease off the engine and bits of chassis, with cleaner and paper towels, before I install the new water pump. I don't refill the coolant just yet though - there is still an opportunity to knacker the exhaust removal to the extent that cylinder head removal is required.

I have other stuff to do so that's all for today. This is all that's left of the nearside manifold.

:: Monday, October 2, 2006 ::

A trip to Machine Mart to buy a set of flat drive sockets - just the thing for bolts that have been slightly rounded off. I also invest in a set of bolt grips - like sockets with spiral cutting flutes inside, guaranteed (it says on the packet) to remove even the most rounded-off bolts. Worth a punt.

:: Saturday, October 7, 2006 ::

Right. Today I have to get the remains of the nearside manifold off the car. First I'll try the new flat drive sockets. No hang on - there's no 13mm socket in this set - there's two 14s though. Why why why why why why why does this always happen to me? I'll have to take the bloody things back.

So it's the bolt grips then. Bloody hell, they're good! Stick it on, the bolts comes out no bother. The hardest bit is getting the removed bolt out out of the grip - it's hanging on like a bulldog in a postman's leg. I need big pliers and a hammer to make it let go (works on bulldogs too - pliers on the bollocks to make it scream and let go, and a thump on the head with the hammer before it gets a hold of yours).

Anyway, the old manifold is now off! AND no bolts broken, no engine dismantling required. I wish I'd taken Noel's bet.

The new manifolds fit on no bother - getting the new bolts in is fiddly, takes a while but no problems.

Then, after an hour or so of hammering, levering and squeezing in G-clamps, I get the old exhaust joints to something approaching a round shape, and get the new downpipes on.

Then I find that, with the exhaust supported in place against the chassis with a jack, the nearside pipe is too far forward. It doesn't go on any further because the rear joint is only "belled" for a couple of inches. To make it fit I either need to cut 2 inches off the front of the existing exhaust pipe (which then puts the joint and the u-bolt under the sump and I'd prefer if it wasn't) OR cut 2 inches of the back of the new downpipe and then flare the pipe to make a new joint - I don't have the tools to do that.

More tricky than that, is that somehow, my catalyst replacement pipes are now about 3/4 inch too short. I don't know if the new manifold flange is higher or the downpipe flange is lower, but they are definitely further apart than on the old system.

So it seems that all the bits will fit, but with some modification - I need one downpipe shortened and a new joint flare put on, and both cat pipes lengthened. I might be able to get it done locally (although I have no idea where) so I email the man who sold me the exhaust bits to ask if he will be able to do this if I sent them down.

In the meantime, I can't get any further with refitting the exhaust, so I mix some new antifreeze and refill the cooling system (now that I know that I won't be removing the cylinder heads).

:: Sunday, October 8, 2006 ::

I email the exhaust supplier and tell him that the bits don't firt. He says "send them back with your old ones and we'll make them the same". Em no, I don't want them the same as the old ones - I need the old cat pipies lengthened so that they fit.

A quick question to the local TVR group and I have a recommendation for a local place that will do it. I think it's worth it so that I can explain exactly what I want.

I nip along and measure exactly what I need - a downpipe 45 mm shorter, and cat pipes 20 mm longer.

:: Friday, October 13, 2006 ::

I drop the cat pipes and the downpipe off at the recommended garage - a Japanese importer full of Scoobys and Evos and stainless exhaust systems. A bit Max Power but they'll do the job - at a cost of only a few quid.

:: Saturday, October 14, 2006 ::

I pick up the cat pipes and the downpipe - they are EXACTLY the size I asked for - longer by 20 mm and shorter by 45mm. So if they don't fit now, I have nobody to blame except me.

No time to fit them today though.

:: Sunday, October 15, 2006 ::

Along to the garage determined to get the car running today.

Refit the downpipe to the rear section - exactly the right length. The clamps now fit in front of the sump. So far so good.

Then refit the cat pipes, which is fiddly and time consuming but reasonably straightworward. Everything fits exactly as it should - well it seems to! Tighten up all the clamps, refit the alternator (which only just fits, confirming my suspicion that the new manifolds sit slightly higher than the old ones) and the air filter etc, refit the plug leads, reconnect the battary and varoom! It sounds absolutely fantastic!

You can see in the left hand photo, the bit that's been spliced into the (darker colour) cat replacement pipe to add the 20mm.

Em... except for that exhaust blow from the offside rear cylinder. The bleeding gasket isn't on right... I have to remove the alternator again, disconnect the cat pipe, and loosen all the manifold bolts, and take out the one that missed the gasket. An hour later it's all back together again, and running perfectly.

There is a very slight blow from the rear downpipe joint, but that's easily fixed, I need some exhaust foil tape to wrap round the joint.

I also notice that the bleed screw in the top of the radiator is weeping slightly - I had to bleed that rad when I refilled the system. I tighten it up but don't want to over-tighten it and strip it, seeing as it's made of brass. I think it's fixed but it's hard to tell until the water that has already leaked out, evaporates off.

Mobile again!

Then I decide to fit the new bonnet gas strut I bought (Jaguar XJS strut bought on Ebay). Remove the top bolt from the bonnet and the nut drops off the back - the bracket is fixed to a double skinned section and the nut was bonded to the back until they changed the bonnet and obviously detached it. Thanks guys. I don't want to drive the car in case the nut rolls back in the skinned section and I can't get it out, then it ends up rattling like buggery everywhere I go.

Immobile again.

I need to think of a more permanent fix.

:: Saturday, October 21, 2006 ::

First job is to seal the downpipe joints. Remove the clamps, clean up the pipes, push some putty into the joints, and then wrap each joint with foil and refit the clamps. A quick try confirms that the pipes are sealed. I check all the other joints with the "burn your hand" test (you are supposed to hold your hand near the exhaust but because the engine bay is so cramped, you inevitably end up touching it). Anyway, I can't find any leaks, but the echo and resonance in the garage makes it almost impossible to hear.

A quick run up and down the access road confirms that I can't hear any blowing. What I can hear is the engine note sounding absolutely fantastic - better than it has for a couple of years (yes that's how long I've been putting this job off).

Chuffed. (Me, not the exhaust!)

Back to the bonnet gas strut. In a flash of inspiration at 4:00am on Wednesday (while lying awake clenching my bum shut as a result of eating something that didn't agree with me), I realised how I needed to fix the strut so that it was easily detachable to open the bonnet wider for repairs etc. Time to put engineering theory into practice.

First, remove the old bracket by drilling out the 8 rivets holding it to the bonnet.

A wee blob of grease on my fingers and I am able to stick them in the hole, stick them to the nut and retrieve it. So far so goddam brilliant.

Then the real Brunel engineering brilliance. Instead of putting a bolt through into a nut stuck (somewhat precariously) on the back, use a longer bolt pushed through from the back, with a washer and locknut on the front fixed with loctite to hold it in place. Pop-rivet that back into place on the bonnet and straighten the bolt so that the strut meets the bottom bracket at the right angle. Then use some washers, spring washers and a nyloc nut to fix the strut on to the bolt, refit the bottom bolt and it works (of course it does, it's not that bleeding brilliant, but I wish I'd thought about it ages ago).

Then before I put the car back I sweep the floor (it still has hay etc in the corners as a result of its previous tenants, a couple of horses) and tidy up a bit.

I forgot all about the leaky radiator bleed screw so I check it. It's leaking again.

Immobile again! (Not really, it's not that bad, and only when the engine gets really hot, but I'll have to fix it.)

:: Sunday, October 29, 2006 ::

TVR Club meeting in Glasgow today. The weather is nice (well it's not really, but at least it's not raining, for the first weekend in ages) so I decide to have a run - pretty brave seeing as the car has only done about 300 yards since I put the exhaust and cooling system all back together.

First, the radiator bleed screw. Remove the whole fitting, wrap some ptfe tape round it and refit. It seems to be sealing ok now. Refill the system (only slight loss since the last time).

Then I fit the gas strut properly, with a couple of washers on the bottom nut.

Wash the car down, wipe the wheels and it's looking not too bad at all.

It gets me to the meeting in Glasgow, and it gets me home again. It's driving really well, but there is an occasional slight misfire. I wonder if I have accidentally knocked and cracked a spark plug with all that exhaust hammering? It still sounds absolutely fantastic though.

When I get home, I can't find my mobile phone. I know I took it with me. I know I had it at the hotel because I remember changing pockets. I don't have it now. I phone the hotel and tell them it's down the side of a sofa - and so it is! Now all I need to do is find a way of collecting it from the middle of bloody nowhere.

:: Monday, October 30, 2006 ::

A quick drive (across Glasgow in the rush hour) to the middle of bloody nowhere to collect my mobile phone.