Mike,
Michael Hargreave Mawson wrote: > > Bloody hell! Please take a digital video camera and record this for > posterity. I'd love to see someone get an engine and gearbox out that > fast, without simply cutting the car from around it with an > oxy-acetylene torch! Well, I was quite amazed at this statement. I think perhaps an hour would be quick... If he can take it out that quick, maybe I'll take take my Spit, and whilst I count the cash for him, he can put it in my car. > > Start the engine (but don't rev it), and listen for crankshaft rumble. > If this continues for more than a few seconds, then walk away. > > Spitfire engines tend to be a bit tappety anyway, but there are limits. > See what it sounds like. > > Obviously (it is a Spitfire, after all), check for oil leaks. You'll > be very lucky to find an engine without any at all, but watch out for > major oil slicks, particularly around the sump gasket, head gasket and > rocker cover gasket. Incredibly, the current motor doesnt leak, never left an oil patch anywhere. > > > Ideally, run it under load (i.e. drive the car), and see how it > performs. The car doesnt have a clutch in it at the moment, so that might be a little difficult. At least I think thats what he said. > If you are just hoisting the whole engine out and dropping it into your > engine bay, then all I would suggest you do is change air and oil > filters, and plugs. Beware Shipwright's Disease! *Don't* start > thinking, "Oh, well, while it's out, I'll just..." You'll end up > stripping and rebuilding the whole thing. This is not the idea. The > idea is to get your car back on the road again quickly. Hmm, I could fall in to this trap easily, if it weren't for the fact I want my car back ASAP. Well, air filters are K&Ns and I "re-charged" them 6 months, new plugs - again only 6 months old out of the new engine. Only thing that concerns me that I have to change is the distributor - its electronic - but this is just something you can unscrew and swap, right? > > If you have appropriate lifting gear, I understand that it is much > easier to swap the whole engine and gearbox together. I'll rent one or hopefully borrow one off my uncle. > > See note about Shipwright's Disease above. Yes, this would be a good > idea - but so would getting your engine reconditioned by TRGB. Assuming > that the engine runs OK, and there are no worrying symptoms of major > problems, just dump it in and drive your car. If the engine dies on > you at some point in the future, it may have lasted long enough that you > can then afford a recon! My plan is to recon the current engine, if its repairable. And then swap them over - either when the new one dies or when I get the recon finished. The I can sell the old (new) one.... > > Treat this as a temporary solution to your problem. At GBP150, you can > almost treat this as a consumable item, to be replaced again when new > problems show up. This is my attitude to the fifty-quid gearbox I put > into Carly. I've had a year out of it already, and if it died > tomorrow, I'd still reckon that it didn't owe me anything. I see it like this too - it will buy me time whilst I recon the current engine, if it dies in a year - the cost will still be cheaper than a recon from Rimmer/TRGB etc etc James /// [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.
