James, When running the engine, look for blue smoke (worn valve guides or piston rings), and significant white smoke (head gasket) - a small amount of white smoke just means it's a cold/damp day.
If it is true that the tappety sound is just mis-adjusted valves, then you can easily re-adjust the valves BEFORE he runs the engine for you - it's a 5 minute job. Then, if it is still noisy after the engine is hot, you know that it is more than just ill-adjusted valves... Try and look for significant amounts of oil pouring out of bits of the engine, particularly rocker cover gasket and sump gasket. Chances are that the engine will be dirty so small leaks won't be obvious, but you'll see if it is gushing out. Ask the seller if he has had any work done recently on the engine. Ask for receipts. Ask if he has the emissions print-out from the last MOT test. If he's not including the carbs, however, there's not much point in this. Watch the water pump for leaks - if it is leaking it is not too expensive to replace, but that will be one more thing for you to spend money on. See if he'll include the manifolds, at least, since that will save you having to do a manifold gasket job again! Try and check for free play in the crankshaft. Have someone press on the clutch (which will push the crank forwards), then release the clutch and push back on the crank pulley with a big lever. If it moves, the thrust bearings have gone and you will definitely want to replace them before the engine is fitted. Order some new engine mounts. Yours, and the sellers, are likely to be old and knackered, they are cheap, and it's easier to replace them now than later. Just a few pointers to think about - I'm sure other people will think of more advice for you! Richard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Notice: The information in this email is confidential and may be legally-privileged. If you have reason to believe you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful and you are requested to contact the sender urgently and dispose of this email -----------------------------------------------------------exp. /// [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list /// Send admin requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool /// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive /// Send list postings to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// Edit your replies! If they include this trailer, they will NOT be sent.
