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Hi Hugo
Sounds like great progress. Just make sure a have a proper honeycomb core not the one made out of strips. See the YouTube video linked to my Facebook post.
Also check you have a thermostat. This is essential for the engine to run cool.
Cheers Colin
Thanks – where would I look for a thermostat?! I haven’t come cross one yet! It has an electric fan fitted, so I suspect all was not well with the cooling (aside from all the aluminium bits reverting to their powdered state!).
Engine, clutch etc all back together & hopefully going back in the car tomorrow. Then we’ll see what’s what! I just noticed, jut before I put the head back on, that the front bore has a couple of lumps out of it, & gouges running down the bore from them. They are fore & aft, so probably gudgeon pin related, and historic (I hope!). I’m surprised I hadn’t noticed them before, but the bores are all good otherwise. Bit of a gap on no.3 rings, as it leaves a 1/16″ to 1/8″ streak of oil down the bore when you turn the engine over. I ran the engine for a few minutes prior to dismantling, & there were no nasty noises, just timing chain rattle (not surprising, as the chains were very slack) and valve clatter. I’m going to ignore the gouges for now & see what happens. Ever the optimist 😉
Thanks – where would I look for a thermostat?! I haven’t come cross one yet! It has an electric fan fitted, so I suspect all was not well with the cooling (aside from all the aluminium bits reverting to their powdered state!).
Engine, clutch etc all back together & hopefully going back in the car tomorrow. Then we’ll see what’s what! I just noticed, jut before I put the head back on, that the front bore has a couple of lumps out of it, & gouges running down the bore from them. They are fore & aft, so probably gudgeon pin related, and historic (I hope!). I’m surprised I hadn’t noticed them before, but the bores are all good otherwise. Bit of a gap on no.3 rings, as it leaves a 1/16″ to 1/8″ streak of oil down the bore when you turn the engine over. I ran the engine for a few minutes prior to dismantling, & there were no nasty noises, just timing chain rattle (not surprising, as the chains were very slack) and valve clatter. I’m going to ignore the gouges for now & see what happens. Ever the optimist 😉
So you are right about why John dropped the steering column and you would understand why he had to do so if you had tried to get into his workshop – to say it was jam packed would be an understatement. Even the garden was starting to fill up with modern cars.
John had the privilege of attending our local pub meets with Phil (Mark mentions above) who believed one should just maintain one’s 2L and not restore it unless circumstances took over. I was behind John travelling back after the funeral and that is when the clutch started slipping (probably reason for worn linings you mention). It was on a steep T junction in the village of Porton near Salisbury; we had to pull into the bus stop afterwards to let the clutch cool down before continuing. Lesson repeat – do not try and slip the clutch like a modern car, on or off please!
Glad to hear some of your comments regarding clutch etc, John would appreciate that.
Timing chain can be easily adjusted by removing the reverse P timing cover.
The price you were quoted for your radiator is not far off what I paid for one when Jess Dilley first started out so fair play to CPA. The problem we have in is the hex tubes that make up the honeycomb are no longer produced in the UK, they have to be imported from Germany (or used to). There is a Serck machine nesting in a garden in Reading but the lady wont sell it (her other half used to work for Serck). Most early cars run without thermostats hence you see the rad half blanked off with card in the winter.HI Hugo,
Just to explain thermostats a little more. The 2 Litre radiator consists of two parts. The centre core does the cooling and the sides work as a by-pass. So the thermostat is a change-over valve. When cold the water runs down the sides and when hot, down the core – or rather that’s the idea. As Dick says, many cars work without a thermostat because the coolant quite happily goes down both.
However if the core is blocked – perhaps with limescale – the radiator gets hot but the core is not doing much cooling, in which case the car will run warm. Perhaps that is why someone fitted an electric fan, which is not really needed.
The 2 Litre radiator generally works so well that I also blank off my lower half. I have a heater and the women folk like warm legs when I run with the top down.
Cheers M34
To reply to Dick Jones – thank you for the information about John Cherrett the previous owner. His four daughters were all at the auction, one of whom was sort of egging me on to bid much more than I ever intended, and I succumbed! All four girls have sort of ‘adopted’ me so that’s an unexpected spin-off!
John’s car would certainly feel at home here – I can barely get in my garage for Lagonda bits and other car stuff. The Lagonda itself is almost wedged up against the gate to my drive. There will be more room when I get the engine back in, but I’ve been delayed by a flurry of work which has taken me away from the Lagonda for a few days.
Drilling out those side-plate bolts is not something I would have wanted to attempt with the engine in situ. Little prospect of getting them all concentric I reckon.
The clutch linings were worn to the point where they needed replacing, but not completely shot. They would have held for a good while with stronger springs. Surprisingly, the springs were exactly the same length as their new replacements. One thing that did cross my mind – are modern clutch linings thinner than vintage linings? They look it. If they are, the clutch will effectively be weaker. We’ll see how she drives anyway.To reply to Dick Jones – thank you for the information about John Cherrett the previous owner. His four daughters were all at the auction, one of whom was sort of egging me on to bid much more than I ever intended, and I succumbed! All four girls have sort of ‘adopted’ me so that’s an unexpected spin-off!
John’s car would certainly feel at home here – I can barely get in my garage for Lagonda bits and other car stuff. The Lagonda itself is almost wedged up against the gate to my drive. There will be more room when I get the engine back in, but I’ve been delayed by a flurry of work which has taken me away from the Lagonda for a few days.
Drilling out those side-plate bolts is not something I would have wanted to attempt with the engine in situ. Little prospect of getting them all concentric I reckon.
The clutch linings were worn to the point where they needed replacing, but not completely shot. They would have held for a good while with stronger springs. Surprisingly, the springs were exactly the same length as their new replacements. One thing that did cross my mind – are modern clutch linings thinner than vintage linings? They look it. If they are, the clutch will effectively be weaker. We’ll see how she drives anyway.Thank you Colin – a typical example of Lagonda ingenuity. My favourite example is that lop-sided dog-bone that holds the spare wheel on. Such a clever & simple method of ensuring it never becomes detached!
But I still have no idea where the thermostat lives, or even how it is supposed to do what it does!
Thank you Colin – a typical example of Lagonda ingenuity. My favourite example is that lop-sided dog-bone that holds the spare wheel on. Such a clever & simple method of ensuring it never becomes detached!
But I still have no idea where the thermostat lives, or even how it is supposed to do what it does!
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