[John Montgomery]

Just a few pence worth:

Water-cooled engines don’t run hotter due to modern fuels, so no need to adjust valve clearances. Ignition timing maybe, but not valves.

For engines of this era the common compression figures were 130-150 PSI but the actual figure is less relevant that the difference between them – more than 10% split indicates a mechanical problem. If the valves are set correctly then it can only be rings or bore.

The gauze in the ‘dalek’ is (as Paul says) an oil mist separator. There shouldn’t be flames anywhere near here.

‘Stop leak’ is a short term fix and can do more harm than good. It’s for people selling cars. It’s like putting egg into a leaky cooling system.

Oil mist coming from the breather is entirely normal and disconnecting the breather will affect the fuel mixture. The problem is that at high engine loads / high revs the engine breathing becomes excessive and eventually you will end up with oil in the carburettor. Sellers ‘back in the day’ used to disconnect breather pipes and run them to a catch tank so they could sell vehicles to the unwary. In your car’s case it seems more the case that it’s wear and tear.

I’d suggest you follow Peter’s advice and get the engine rebuilt, anything else is moving deckchairs on the Titanic. When you get the engine rebuilt, change the timing chain and tensioner as a matter of course.

You can investigate the starter dog issue and various oil leaks at the same time.

[John Montgomery]

That’s oddly specific, almost like there’s a story behind it 🤔
I’ll see you there on the Saturday Paul (unless I forget the pressure switch, in which case I will be hiding from you 😁).

[John Montgomery]

If you’re following the cement mixer method, make sure the nuts and bolts you use are small enough to get into the seams. Also, it’s a really good idea to do a leak test afterwards in case of pinholes, might save you some petrol. PS if you have neighbours, give them some warning so they can put their earplugs in 😁

[John Montgomery]

It’s under the SKF number – https://ebay.us/m/G0MSdQ

[John Montgomery]

If anyone does need a 115 bearing, at the time of writing there is a German supplier on eBay (nos_usparts) who has three of them, there’s also a French user called Stéphane on classic-parts-finder.com who has a few. Both are asking around €120 inc postage to the UK.
As for arm colour, the arms and drums on my car are green but I have a spare set which are black. In other words, take your pick!

[John Montgomery]

Oops – the front end is off a later car so the changeover could be later. Brain!

[John Montgomery]

I took the ‘slipper’ off the LH side of the spare front end tonight, it’s in a similar state to your RH side in your blog so should repair OK. The good thing is that I’ll be able to repair it on the bench so that should make it easier. Interestingly, the ‘epaulettes’ on my car are the more complicated type you bought – perhaps they changed over in the 1969/70 model year?

[John Montgomery]

If you do decide to sell it then I’d definitely be interested but no problem either way. I will be able to repair the one on my spare front end, it’s not too bad.

[John Montgomery]

The switch is out now Paul, should clean up OK:

[John Montgomery]

Thanks Paul, I just had a look on their website, there’s a lot more on there now than the last time I looked, I see they do front wings now. Will you be selling your panel at some point? It’s the LH side that’s worst on my car and it’s always better to have OEM parts…

[John Montgomery]

Thanks Paul, it’s frustrating – I have enough energy to still work but nothing else, my life has effectively stopped. I’m used to powering through things and fixing problems but that doesn’t work for this. There’s a lot of research ongoing so hopefully someone will find an answer. I know there are a lot of people worse off than me with it (my daughter can’t leave the house without a wheelchair) but some days it’s hard to keep going.
Yes, we’ve tried everything and no, it wasn’t caused by the vaccine.
It’s at this point I feel the need to apologise. Over the last five years I’ve had a lot to deal with and I’m very sure I’ve come across badly in my posts on here. For that, I apologise to anyone who I’ve upset/annoyed.
Anyway, as this is a car forum and not a support group, I’ll get back on topic 😁
Thanks Paul, I’ll keep an eye out for a copy of manual 471. Taking the old front end to pieces should give me a good idea of how it all fits together.
I think the brazing is there to stiffen that particular area, to stop noise due to body flex perhaps?
Paul – is the panel you bought the flat one that the A-post attaches to? If so, do you still have it..?

[John Montgomery]

Yes, there’s extensive corrosion on one side of the dashboard support structure and scuttle. It was caused by a hole in the roof above where the car was stored. The dashboard support is sandwiched between the scuttle and main bulkhead so the scuttle has to come off anyway. Both A-posts need replacing too so it’ll all be done at the same time. The plan will be to have the shell stabilised on multiple jacks then brace the roof rails on both sides and the centre at the front so that the alignment will be maintained. It’s going to be a long time away though, my health (Long Covid for the past four years) means I won’t have capacity to progress the restoration until I retire (4-5 years). In the meantime I’ll recover the parts I need from the spare front end and gradually restore as many parts as I can, off the car, when capacity permits. I’ve got 95% of the parts I need – I just need the time and energy. It’s why I’d rather find good spares than completely refurbish everything, which is why I was so pleased to get the rear light brackets.

[John Montgomery]

Thanks Paul, I will do but in practice most eBay sellers lose interest once their sale item has gone so I don’t hold out much hope.

[John Montgomery]

Thanks Both, I wonder what the reason was. It’ll certainly make removing the upper structure more interesting…

[John Montgomery]

Also meant to say – removing the breather hose can also cause crankcase pressure to increase, which may exaggerate leaks. Right, someone else’s turn now 😁

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