Chapter 34 Week One 12/18/2016

Even with all the restoration books I have read, and with all the e-mail exchanges, no one prepared me for the fact that I would develop a phobia about touching the car now that it has finally arrived! I am afraid to touch the thing for fear of scratching it!

My plan is to begin with the brake and fuel lines, then move to some of the interior dynamat installation followed by the electrical wiring harness. Along the way I am sure there will be diversions to other bits and pieces. I will try to be disciplined about this process and avoid the temptation to just start attaching pieces to show progress. Although I am confidant that I will succumb to that diversion from time to time!

It seemed entirely appropriate that the very first components to be installed should be the two production identification number plates on the firewall. These were produced by Clarke Spares and Restorations. The original ID plates had to be shared with them before they would produce new plates.

Number plates

I.D. Number Plates

Then I began by chasing the threads on all fixed nuts throughout the car to eliminate primer and paint before securing fasteners. Just that little job took about 2 1/2 hours.

chasing threads

Then it was on to the hydraulic lines. Fuel line first, followed by the brake junction and the brake lines and the line to the clutch master cylinder. Having drilled all the mounting holes after the frame arrived from Martin, this job moved along very quickly.

Fuel line 1

Fuel line 2

brake pipe union

Brake line 2

Brake lines at union

Front brake lines

My first two diversions were the horn brackets and the air intake flange. These were installed next. Then came the firewall rubber grommets, and again this job was made easier because I had pre-fit and numbered these at an earlier stage.

air intake flange

Horn bracket

rubber firewall grommets

I moved on to beginning the process of controlling interior cabin heat and improving sound insulation. Fred Wescoe produced an excellent piece on interior insulation that proved very helpful. Making your Healey Cool Fred Wesco .

Our cars originally used a tar paper product and jute under the carpet for this purpose, but contemporary products provide much improved insulating qualities. On the advice of others I decided to use a product called Dynamat Exteme that has a very sticky adhesive rubber type surface on the underside and a foil surface on the top. After making patterns from butcher paper the individual pieces were easy enough to cut just using scissors. They were then carefully applied and rolled on with a wallpaper seam roller. Aluminum tape was used to seal all of the seams. All of this produces a nice looking appearance that will hopefully keep the heat down in the cockpit.

The installation of the first piece of the dynamat extreme went under the car, below the driver’s seat and above the muffler insulation panel. Then the stock insulation panel was secured using the six studs through the floor.

Dynamat Extreme 1

Muffler Insulation Panel

I then moved on to the interior of the firewall and to the driver’s side footwell. I used an awl to find the holes in the interior floor and to make holes through the dynamat material.

Dynamat Extreme 2

Dynamat Extreme 3

Next I fastened the insulation panels in the engine compartment.

Engine Insualtion panels

Battery Relocation to the Boot

Battery Relocation to the Boot

Installing the RetroAir air conditioning kit requires the relocation of the battery, and the most commonly used place is the shelf in the MK2 boot. The RetroAir kit provided a plastic battery box, battery cable and various connectors, but I chose to “upgrade” the kits components.

Battery Cable Lugs

First I decided to use battery lugs to take the battery cable through the boot floor rather than taking the cable directly through a rubber grommet in the floor. I used Waytek’s “Battery Feeder Stud” for this purpose. http://www.waytekwire.com/products/ One in black for the ground cable, part# 36663, and one in red for the power cable, part# 3662. I located these to the right of the battery mounting.

Waytek Battery Lugs

Waytek Battery Lugs

Battery Lugs Mounted - Under Carriage View

Battery Lugs Mounted – Under Carriage View

Battery Lug Rubber Covers

I found some rubber covers for the battery terminals and lugs that work quite well. They were sourced on-line from the Electrical Hub.

http://www.electricalhub.com/battery-terminals-and-lugs/insulator-battery-boots

Battery Terminals and Lugs Rubber Covers

Battery Terminals and Lugs Rubber Covers

Battery Hold Down Mount

While the plastic box provided in the RetroAir kit would certainly work, it took up considerable space as well as not being very attractive – even if it does go in the boot! I chose to use a Billet Specialties product http://www.billetspecialties.com, part# 248910, that in my opinion is both attractive and space saving. I mounted this as far to the right side of the car as possible. The tray mounts to the boot floor with four 1/4″ – 24 x 1″ hex head stainless bolts, flat and shake proof washers.

Markings to Locate Battery Tray

Markings to Locate Battery Tray

Billet Specilaties Battery Tray Mounted

Billet Specialties Battery Tray Mounted

I intend to make a carpet-covered plywood panel to hide the rear compartment of the boot. Similar to this one:

Boot Panel

Boot Panel

Battery Isolator Switch

And, I will install a Waytek battery Isolator Switch with a detachable key, part# 44075, in the upper right corner of the panel. It certainly won’t stop professional car thieves but it does provide one more deterrent to the criminal. The lower photo shows the Optima Red Top battery (borrowed from my Austin Healey for fitting purposes) and the approximate location of the isolator switch. A 20″ red power lead  part #35976 also from Waytek was used to provide the connection from the battery to the red lug. A 15″ black ground lead, part number 35965, was used to connect the battery to the black lug.

Waytek Battery Isolator Switch

Waytek Battery Isolator Switch

Battery Mounted with Isolator Switch

Battery Mounted with Isolator Switch

Battery Cable to the Engine Bay

I debated about running the battery cable along the RH frame rail or to route the cable through the interior to the engine bay. I ultimately decided to mount it on the frame rail. The brake line to the rear axle and the fuel line from the fuel filter in the engine bay to the fuel pump also run along the RH frame rail.

I used a combination of single and double stainless steel clamps to secure the battery cable, brake line and fuel line to the frame. http://tinyurl.com/kuzn3k8  The upper clip was used for the battery cable and the fuel and brake lines were housed in the lower clip.

Double Line Clamp

Double Line Clamp

I used #10-24 rivet nuts or nut serts set into the frame rail to attach the clamps. The rivets require a 19/64″ hole in the metal stock and conveniently the holes already in the frame for the original brake/fuel line spring clips were that size of at east very close to it. This meant that I did not have to drill any new holes. The rivet nuts are easy to install using an inexpensive little tool. The nuts are screwed on to the threaded rod and inserted into the frame hole. One holds the larger nut (7/8″) stationary while tightening the outside smaller (11/16″) nut. This pulls the nut firmly against the frame rail creating essentially a captive nut.

Rivet Nuts and Tool

Rivet Nuts and Tool

#10-24 Rivet nut installed in frame

#10-24 Rivet nut installed in frame

The following images show the installation of the cable and brake/fuel lines. The battery cables runs from the lugs below the boot floor. the black ground cable is securely bolted to the frame while the red cable runs to the engine bay.

Wiring From Battery Lugs

Wiring From Battery Lugs

I left some slack in the cables because I still need to install the rear suspension torque arm and panhard rod which may require moving the cables a bit.

Spaghetti?

Spaghetti?

Battery Cable Routing from Rear Lugs to Starter Solenoid

Battery Cable Routing from Rear Lugs to Starter Solenoid

I will cut the cable to the desired length, solder a terminal on the end and mount it on the rear-most solenoid terminal post after more engine bay items are mounted.

Battery Cable Routed from Boot to Starter solenoid

Battery Cable Routed from Boot to Starter solenoid

The image below shows the battery cable trimmed to the proper length, covered with Techflex F6 wire sheathing and mounted to the front-most post on the starter solenoid. The cable to the starter is mounted to the rear-most post on the starter solenoid. Total cable length was about 150 inches.

Starter Solenoid, Battery Cable, Starter Cable

Starter Solenoid, Battery Cable, Starter Cable

This image shows the final cable locations in the rear after the rear suspension components were installed:

Battery Cables from Boot Final Adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pulling the Engine for Minor Repairs

July 2006 Bugeye It is time to fix some of the problems we have lived with for a while and to make a few improvements. The oil leak we caused when we failed to seal the oil sump properly, the gear grinding in 2nd and 3rdin the gearbox, jet coating the headers among other things will improve the car for the future. These improvements require pulling the engine. We bought a cherry picker and an Oberg tilt lift rather than continuing to rent at $45 a pop. The following details the process to get ready to lift out the engine: Disconnected the battery positive lead from the terminal. Drained the engine oil, tried the gearbox, but couldn’t get the plug out so will return to that. Disconnected the ground strap and removed the two gearbox mounting bolts from the bottom of the car.

ground strap

Ground Strap

Gearbox Mount Bolts

Gearbox Mount Bolts

Disconnected the fuel line at the carbs and pulled out of the way, and disconnected the temperature sensor from the head.

Fuel Line

Fuel Line

Temperature Sensor

Temperature Sensor

Disconnected the oil pressure gauge line and the oil feed line from the engine block, and disconnected the cable from the starter solenoid to the starter.

Solenoid Connection

Solenoid Connection

Oil Temp Connection

Oil Temp Connection

Unsnapped the plastic connector for the white/black line to the distributor from the electronic ignition device, and disconnected the plastic terminal (3 wires) to the alternator.

Ignition Wiring

Ignition Wiring

Alternator Wiring

Alternator Wiring

Disconnected the high tension line from the distributor to the coil. Disconnected the short hot water hose from the hot water valve control on the head and then the longer line on the other side of the engine to the copper tube. It is easier to put the clamp on the hose/copper pipe when the copper pipe clips are loose from the manifold.

Water Valve

Water Valve

Heater Hose

Heater Hose

Disconnected the throttle cable at the carb linkage and pulled it out of the way, and then also disconnected the choke cable at the carb.

Throttle Cable

Throttle Cable

Choke Connection

Choke Connection

Disconnected the fitting at the slave cylinder (and got brake fluid everywhere).

Fuel Drain Line

Fuel Drain Line

 

Intake Manifold

Intake Manifold

 
 
 
 
 
Very Ugly Header

Very Ugly Header

Removed the manifold brass nuts from the head and lifted the intake manifold and carbs free of the engine. The carb drain lines tied together with plastic straps will need to be rerouted to the retainer clips upon installation again. The headers will not come out of the engine bay until the engine is pulled or the heater is removed. Need to set the headers in place prior to the engine install.

Exhaust Clamps

Exhaust Clamps

Exhaust Mount

Exhaust Mount

 
 
 
Exhaust Clamp

Exhaust Clamp

Removed four Phillips screws attaching the shift boot to the gearbox tunnel, the shifter knob, and removed two bolts on each side of the tunnel securing the gearbox bracket to the car. Use of the offset wrench made this an easier job.

Shifter Trim Ring

Shifter Trim Ring

Gearbox Rear Mount

Gearbox Rear Mount

 

Shifter Connection

Shifter Connection

Loosened the right hand motor mount from the car so that it will lift free with the engine, but will not completely disconnect until the engine lift has the pressure off of the mounts. Loosened the screws to the engine at the mount on the left side of the car. The left mount will stay in the car.

Removed the cardboard heater hose to have it out of the way from the engine when it is lifted.

Connected the Lift Chain to the Rocker Shaft mounting studs and lifted the engine from the car.