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Post by Nick RS on Jan 21, 2013 17:04:06 GMT
OK here goes. To introduce my car properly to this forum it's probably best described as an ordinary looking 18/85 MkII until you start to look a bit closer. I bought it as my introduction to Landcrabs and knew it had some modifications but I didn't really take note of how extensive they are. For a novice like me it makes following stuff in the car manuals a bit more difficult because mine isn't as described. The pictures will give you some idea but what follows is my best description of the main points. There may be more things that I have yet to discover. It looks as though rallying may have been under consideration by previous owners. Oil Cooler - This sits behind the Wolseley grille and takes its feed from just above the oil filter (itself updated to spin-off modern type) Water Pump - An electric one mounted underneath the radiator housing. I can hear it operating as soon as I turn the ignition and it continues to run for a minute or so after I have turned it off. The plumbing around the radiator is also different to normal. There is a control unit in the passenger footwell that flashes lights all the time but I've yet to take a close look. Electric Fan - Lives in the standard housing. I think it may have been done at the same time as the water pump. One may have made doing the other necessary. Fuel Flow Regulator - This may be standard, I don't know. Rear Bump Stop Kit - I think this was obtained via the Landcrab club Front telescopic dampers - done at the same time. You may just be able to see the shiny bolt behind the red live battery cable in the engine bay picture New Interior switch gear - When the sidelights are put on the switches light up in their entirety which I don't like so I am searching for originals to revert to standard. There are also some extra gauges and hazard lamps. You may also just be able to see a large fusebox in the driver's footwell. Adjustable steering column - topped off by a Mota-Lita steering wheel which is nice to look at but makes the steering heavier - oh yes, the PAS has gone and a manual rack is there instead. 175/70/R14 tyres - I took a look at the spare wheel but couldn't see any identifying marks on it to tell me it is a 4.5J (is that right?) but in any case the wider tyres won't be helping with the steering which is heavy and doesn't want to self centre very much. Also, Electronic ignition, reinforced steel braided brake hoses, a towbar There was a sumpguard, lamp grilles and Vanden Plas 1300 picnic trays all of which I have removed. I'll also get rid of the modern but retro looking stereo at some point. That said I really like my car and will leave much of it alone because it all works Nick Attachments:
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Post by Nick RS on Jan 21, 2013 17:07:51 GMT
Having difficulty adding more than one picture at a time. Here is another Attachments:
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Post by Nick RS on Jan 21, 2013 17:12:40 GMT
another Attachments:
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Post by Nick RS on Jan 21, 2013 17:13:59 GMT
last one for now Attachments:
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Post by dave1800 on Jan 22, 2013 2:07:17 GMT
Nick this is really fascinating, do you know the history?
Maybe the oil cooler and fittings are sourced from a MGB. Not really necessary unless you are going to be doing a lot of high speed motorway driving in the summer, just keep an eye on it to ensure there are no leaks from the pipes.
I've never seen an electric water pump on a B series engine. In theory they should allow faster warm up and more controlled flow to absorb the engine heat. Maybe the flashing lights you see are the controls for the pump. I believe they pulse on an off until the correct temperature is reached then run continuously at variable? speed. I would have thought the mechanical pump would be more reliable and less prone to sudden failure. I would make sure your temperature gauge is working properly to avoid overheating if this pump fails. The electric fan conversion would work well with the mechanical pump, only coming on occasionally when the temperature rose and so saving fuel and power loss.
Fuel flow regulation - ask Tommy about this!
Front telescopic dampers - a mod on wet Minis; supposed to improve the ride, handling and gentler on the suspension bags and used in conjunction with the stronger rear bump stop. Do you also have the rear anti roll bar as fitted to rally cars and early Mk1 vehicles to maintain the overall suspension / handling balance? The 70 profile tyres alone will make the steering quite a bit heavier and the small Mota-Lita steering wheel would be OK with the PAS but make it very heavy for parking with the manual rack.
The steering should self centre quite fiercely and being manual should have really good feel and feedback from the road. It may be worth checking the adjustable steering column mod to ensure it is not creating odd effects if there is some kind of UJ in line. Personally I MUCH prefer the manual steering. You should check that when it was converted that the upper suspension arms were also changed to manual (different castor) and matched with the correct tie rods too.
It looks great, I'm envious!
Regards
David
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Post by Keef on Jan 22, 2013 6:34:14 GMT
Looking good.
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Post by threelitre on Jan 22, 2013 8:59:53 GMT
Very interesting points, in particular the changes to the cooling system. I think we can safely assume that this is a car that was very well cared for....
Regards,
Alexander
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Post by Nick RS on Jan 22, 2013 20:55:10 GMT
David, thanks for your thoughts on the car which are very much appreciated. I'll take a closer look over the weekend and see if I can work out which upper arms it has, the Haynes manual has told me what to look for. My thoughts on the steering are replace the adjustable column and steering wheel with original items, change to the correct size tyres and get the geometry checked as one big job in the Spring. The other thing I want to check is the column clamp bolt which the handbook says should be looked at every three months. Am I right in thinking that this is accessed though the wheel arch?
As to the history of the car, it is a bit vague. I am the 11th owner, the previous two carried out the modifications. The person I bought the car from wanted a mechanically good car that he could drive as often as he wished without worrying too much about originality. It served him well over six years. The owner prior to that also made modifications but didn't keep any records or bills. I have no idea if it was ever rallied but the modifications certainly look like that was in mind - maybe they didn't have the heart to rip out the interior.
Over Christmas I did meet a man who has an 18/85 rally car and when I told him about mine he was interested but couldn't understand the need for an oil cooler either. He had taken his car across Europe many times and said the standard set up was perfectly satisfactory.
To change the subject slightly. I know I shouldn't really be excited by this now that we all live in a global village but I think it's great to make contact and share an interest with others across the world. Tommy, knowing you are in Norway will stop me complaining about the British winter weather; Alexander, I'll ask my friends at Jaguar to give you a wave if they see a BMC car on the Nurburgring
Nick
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Post by threelitre on Jan 23, 2013 9:30:17 GMT
Hi Nick, I'm not constantly pounding around the Nordschleife in the 3litre But I occasionally see strangely decorated Jaguars heading into town here in Aachen. My father found out the hard way that an oil cooler would have been a good thing on the 1800 S when his first S was nearly brand new - towards the end of a fast Autobahn trip the oil film broke and the engine needed the crank reground and new bearings. With modern oils this risk is probably banned and when keeping constant speeds under 90mph the problem never occured again. An oil pressure gauge would have avoided the problem in the first place too (if being watched). A single carb 1800 should be fine IMHO. Regards, Alexander
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Post by Nick RS on Feb 2, 2013 19:19:17 GMT
Took advantage of nice weather today to take the car out on a short run to get it warmed up so that I could change the oil. Since putting a little more pressure in the tyres the steering definitely feels a bit more responsive and at low speeds it seems just about OK. An original spec steering wheel and the correct tyres will probably get it to normal. Got a modern spin on filter on the car which didn't come out without a real fight. All the brackets and pipes for the oil cooler meant that there was no leverage room. Still it's done now for another year. I was also planning to check the steering column clamp bolt but none of my spanners or sockets would let me get a grip on it, so that will have to wait until I can find something suitable. Since I had the front wheel off I thought you may be interested in having a look at the telescopic damper installation on my car so here's a pic. Attachments:
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Post by Nick RS on Mar 3, 2013 21:28:30 GMT
Keeping the Faith
My Dad had very kindly made me a new rear parcel shelf to replace the rotten one I discovered a few weeks ago, and this weekend he brought it down from Yorkshire on a family visit. The least I could do in return was to offer to take him out in it for a run and let him have a little drive. It's good to get someone else's feedback and he thought the car was great, loved the way the B series pulled strongly from low revs, liked the seats and thought the steering and handling was spot on. The current drain has not yet reappeared and even the old battery had enough left so as not to need the boost starter pack. A great couple of days after a period of uncertainty. I suppose classic car ownership is like that.
If all goes well I'll take myself off to the Pride of Longbridge in mid April and meet some other Midland Landcrab owners. Looking forward to it. Nick
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Post by dave1800 on Mar 4, 2013 0:00:36 GMT
Thanks that's neat; any chance of a pic of the shock top mounting next time you have the wheel off - I'm curious? Edit: Sorry I see them in the engine bay photo; I'm not sure if I can see the brake pressure reducing valve on the battery side inner wing though? Regards David I thought you may be interested in having a look at the telescopic damper installation on my car so here's a pic.
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Post by Nick RS on Mar 4, 2013 21:19:12 GMT
David, Not 100% sure what I am looking for but I removed the screenwash container and sitting below it is the dusty device that you can make out beneath the foreground cables going to the battery +ve terminal. Is that it? Nick Attachments:
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Post by dave1800 on Mar 5, 2013 1:04:33 GMT
Hi Nick Yes that's the beast a reducing valve it's mounted in the inner wing at a particular angle. There's a ball bearing in there that runs uphill when you apply the brakes hard and cuts off additional pressure to the rear brakes Mk11 cars / reduces additional pressure Mk1 cars. It was an early form of anti-lock device. Mk111 cars have a "conventional" (cheaper) pressure reducing valve under the car at the rear with no ball nearing. Personally I prefer the Mk1/11 system. The mounting looks slightly different to what I recall, yours appears to have a backing plate, but without a car for reference at the moment I can't be sure if my memory is that good. Perhaps someone else can confirm? Regards David David, Not 100% sure what I am looking for but I removed the screenwash container and sitting below it is the dusty device that you can make out beneath the foreground cables going to the battery +ve terminal. Is that it? Nick
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Post by Penguin45 on Mar 5, 2013 1:11:39 GMT
Amazing what can be seen without an engine in the way. Same fitting as mine - you can see the bracket more clearly here. Chris.
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