Homegrown Garage Green One -75

[Homegrown]

Bought new toy to garage.
A Drester wash clam. Old high quality petroleum based parts washer. I think a normal sized 4-cylinder block can be washed automatically inside there is a manual brush that can be used as well.
Very handy according to previous owner. Asked how he clean the washer? He looked like a question mark. Never done it he said. So first ting at garage I dismantle an cleanup. Half bucket with old sediment, then I take last slush with wood dust.
Electric looks a bit scary, two 240V plugs going to the same pump engine. One directly the other through a timer. The scary stuff is if timer is activated there is 240V going out of plug not used. Needs to be sorted before use in my garage just luck no one get hurt.

 

[Homegrown]

Still taking it easy.
Bought same more machines and tools from garage that needs to be cleared.
Go there for buying bench grinder with sand belt option. Ending up buy a valve grinder Rotax, valve seat tools, a nice wise fore my welding table, SKF tools for treading, insex skrew drivers mm and inch total 14 pieces, and lots of other handtools.
Very happy with what I purchased. Everything is old high quality tools. Some old Hazet tools also find it’s way home.
Inspired from my findings I decided to bring home my welding bench that I have had stored at fathers farmhouse. Have been a book press earlier in life and some twenty years ago a made a welding table for our firm.
Now I have time to tidy it up to my garage standards. Cut away unnecessary beams (old purpose) leaving a tough table with a 20mm steel surface. One hour with wire wheels and grinding I gave it some linen oil.
Time to mount the wise. I could use one existing hole an drilled and tapped two for M12 bolts. My old wise is big and strong but jaws are not 100% straight. The new oldone my is after service very nice.
Test mount some other sheet metal tools at the bench as well.
Inspired from youtube I made sheet metal hammer from a carpentry hammer. Lightened and refaced.
Guide pin for seat valve grinder was bent so have to spend probably one hour or two straightening it in my lathe, from the tip in 20mm increments. Dial gauge and pushing controlled with the lathe. Now its spot on.
Keep doing light work some more days.

 

[Homegrown]

Almost standstill here.
We have had 2-5* C last week so all snow melted away.
Had problem with low compression values on the engine I put together. So car have been put away. Good wheather made me inspired, some snaps in the carb and she started directly. After getting warmed up she only going on three cylinders. On rpm engine sounds great but second cylinder miss on tickower. Having plenty of spark but no bang. Compression test showed 4 so something is wrong. Head gasket, valves or rings, all alternatives can be realistic.
Head gasket I think have nothing to do with this but can not be roled out before inspection. Valves can certainly be an option cos I made a lot of freehand machining on both valves and seat area. Same with the rings, all cylinders and pistons were sized. Pistonrings were severe stuck in the pistons. Can have missed some residues in the piston ring growes, hense broken a ring.
Have to open up and examine later this year. Otherwise engine sounds great.
Want it to be a daily driver 2023. Have to change front windscreen before last MOT (50-year old cars gets permanent MOT after passing). Screen I broken and a stone was on the hood so sadly someone throw a rock on her. Anyhow think all get sorted before summer.
Me and my friend Mats have a slow car competition, acceleration and top speed. 1975 R4 845cc vs 1972 VW T2 pickup 1600cc. Two year ago I was quickest, If all my tweaks work I get bigger win but now he start to build new engine (more cubic, cam and carb). See what happens, hopefully I'm still faster than him otherwise I guess I've to go the turbo route.

 

[Homegrown]

Hallo again.
Been standstill on my Renaults for a while but now my body is back in business since some months. Hopefully it will be some time for my Renaults when they complete for time with my other cars, wife, training, gardening and my house and garage’s. And i need to work also.
GreenOne drove it in to garage yesterday evening. Goal is to change front windshield and first check if low compression is related to the rings, gasket or valves.
To be able to diagnose the problem on cylinder 3 I build a simple cylinder pressurizer.
From a normal spark plug I remove porcelain and electode, welded on a pipe added some rubber hose and a pneumatic connector.
Unscrewed #3 spark plug and put in my new made tool, rotating engine until both valves were closed, put in gear and pulled hand brake.

Bad cylinder ring seal will result in air come through engine breather.
Bad gasket then air breathe between cylinders and/or crankcase.
Bad valve to seat seal will show by leaking through intake and/or exhaust.

And yes it leaks both in exhaust and intake so it’s time to remove the head and solve the issues.

 

[Homegrown]

No need to drag out on the surgery!
Check my box with Renault special tools needed for cylinder head removal. Find my slimmed down 14 mm 3/8 socket and my 14mm 1/4 ultra slim socket for the head bolts under the rockers. With these tool on hand I can just drain the coolant, remove the radiator with hoses, fuel line, trottel cable, fan, spark plug leads and cap, undo exhaust from manifold.
With my special sockets i can undo all head bolts I can lift the head complete with manifolds, rockers and push rods still attached. Put the head on the bench dismantle manifolds, loosen valv adjustment max and remove the push rods, remove valves.
Head gasket seems to be reused (looks almost new), block and head surface locks great. I had cheated when lapping the valves last time so I put some effort into it now. Feels like i got it good enough now after one hour elbow grease partly the valve to seat sealing line was still thin in two tiny areas.
Reasambly the head and cleaned up block mating surface and call it a day.

 

[Homegrown]

Everything prepared for put engine together.
Start screw back manifolds to the head, locate the head gasket in the right position, head goes on torque in three sequences 20,40 and 60Nm. Drop in the push rods, adjust valve clearance, alternator and cooling system, dissy cap and wires, reconnect exhaust pipe to manifold. Filling up the coolant, put in a batteri, connecting electric cables, fuel lines and linkages. Fill upp the float chamber with fuel and som in the carb throat.
Time to start, it starts quickly and runs immediately on all four cylinders. Let her go with high idle while I bleed out air out of the cooling system, when at operating temperature its time set idle, mixture and timing.
So far it seems great head should be re torqued after three hours cool down.
Time to work again.

 

[Homegrown]

Left to do before MOT is bleeding the brakes, check lights working properly,wiper system, change windscreen, reasambly the car and test drive.
Weather conditions arent on the nice side jet. The thermometer have hard to come up, its below zero degrees Celsius on the night and just one or two plus during the day. One of my objects/parts car have a decent windscreen so it will interchange with the broken on the Green One. Outdoor temp says its cozier to wait for warmer days or work on cars indoor.
Take out windscreen will be the task, dismantle the front rubber trim is a good start after that massage the rubber to loose the grip on glass and body, then apply pressure with the foot from the inside and pry the inner rubber lip around the upper part of the window frame using lots of screwdrivers and small putty spatulas, pressure, massage, pry, repeat, repeat, repeat window out YES.
Absolutely rust free and fabulous green metallic in areas under the rubber seal.
Some work for tomorrow to do same operation on the spare car.

 

[Homegrown]

Day off until Friday night so hopefully car will be ready or anyway almost.
Keep working on window change today. The screen that I take from the spare car have a tiny defect on the outer left corner. After cleaning it thoroughly in the shower I decided to put the screen in side out (so the defect will be right hand inside).
Coffee, patience and some 3mm rope and some more patience the wind screen came back in place the way I planned.
Got four long life batteries from work (UPS-backup for fire surveillance system) they aren't standard size so I had to modify the clamping and M6 terminal connections to standard poles (had som spares I harvested from my old odysse 680 batteries).
Also re torqued the head bolts to 60Nm, undo half turn and torque again to 60Nm ( most bolts will go 1/4 turn more at same torque).
Call it a day.