Nearly There

First job of the day was to fit 3 oil gallery plugs to the engine which was another forgotten job from the past. The first was easy, it was up by the distributor "hole"

the second and third were in a nasty position that meant I had to remove the alternator - the position of one is shown by the long bold screwed into the block, the view is taken from under the car looking up - the third one is just above this bolt.

those done I replaced the alternator and power steering pump, which I also filled with power steering fluid. I then replaced the exhaust manifold that I had removed last week.

Next job was to shorten the battery retention bar as it was fouling on the radiator, and I couldn't move it over to centralise its mountings unless I took a little metal off the bar

that done I fitted the water pump and the lower radiator hoses

so now the air intake could go in place and be secured with the top radiator mounts

having done this I fitted the inlet manifold and torqued down the heads

then onto the thermostat, although my new stat had the correct rear "top hat" to block the bypass when open, it did not have the proper poppet bleed valve, so I drilled a 3mm hole in it to ensure no air gets trapped

 

the bypass can just be seen through the thermostat housing. If an incorrect thermostat is fitted you cannot cool the engine correctly, as the bypass is never shut and most of the hot water just goes round in circles!

The remaining heater hoses and rail were fitted in this picture too

Now a nice bit, fit the carbs - I've been looking forward to this moment for ages

The standard throttle cable is a bit short too, as you can see it stretched across the servo, so Its off to a bike shop for a longer cable tomorrow.

I still have to do the tappet shims, but I couldn't resist putting the elbows and airfilter box in place to see what it looks like

So I am still awaiting my new speedo cable, I need to do the tappets, choke cable and new accelerator cable, fit the fuel filler breather pipes, plus fill with oil and insert the distributor AFTER using its drive to get oil pressure up with an electric drill. So I might just get it running before Stoneleigh. I need a day off this week, as Saturday is planned to fit the seats and get it to the show.

I am considering using 4Life coolant, as it never needs replacing and won't boil until 190 degrees! - this means that I can run a "normal" coolant pressure of 7lbs or so, which gives the hoses and water pump seal an easier life than the Stag's customary 20lbs. Its expensive, but has other benefits too

9 hours work today bringing the total to 901