Aside from the ongoing queries re the pressure relief valve spring, Chris has had a good day working on the car today. I thought I'd update you on what he has been doing.
A bit of background first, if you take a look at 'the engine back in photo' above, you'll notice a fuel tap by the carburetor. This has been a pain for leaking. Plus the cockpit fuel tap is no longer reliable because the reed centre is worn and old. So we decided to obviate both with a new fuel tap on the end of the fuel filter bowl. Without any need for the cockpit fuel tap, we were able to address a concern I have had about the car from the beginning, and that is the fact that there is no inherent fail-safe feature in the starting procedure, because you cannot use your left foot to de-clutch. It being needed to push the starter button. Since the engine fires on half a turn, if I were ever to leave it in gear I'd be through the car in front in a jiffy!
I'll let Chris take up the story - photos attached.
"A couple of photos from today. The first shows the fuel tap as fitted to the filter bowl, Joe [Chris' go-to one-off maker of things; he made the pressure relief valve release tool too Chris told me] made the adapter this morning, I think it looks just fine and even the alignment of the tap was pretty much perfect. The solenoid & switch also came this morning. I found a rubber blanking grommet that fitted the hole of the removed switch, used a pair of nuts and bolts to make a couple of posts on the solenoid and then painted these and the bracket black. I drilled new mounting holes and the fit is really good, the posts on the bracket meant I could fit it without having to be inside and outside the car at the same time. I put the new switch in the dash and connected and tested the solenoid. With it located in the same place as the original [starter] switch it meant that I didn’t have to modify the battery and starter cables so I hooked these up and it all works perfectly. I am a bit pleased with how well this has worked out and it is going to make it a lot easier and more convenient to start. The photos show, in order, the fuel tap & filter bowl, the solenoid and the fan and starter switches [and the separate horn button we have had done too, because the four spoke wheel didn't have the room in it for a centre-push horn, but this arrangement works very well because you can reach it with a finger without having to take your whole hand off the wheel] in the dash. I actually replaced the fan switch, I found it was and On-Off-On type so I replaced with an Off-On type with Off in the up position to match the starter switch.
I will get back on with the oil pressure thingy tomorrow. Does your pal know if the pressure relief valve springs match? [anyone??] I can pull out the lower one out and use it for reference if they do."
I should add that Paul had fitted an electric 'pusher' fan in front of the radiator to improve cooling; the eagle eyed may have noticed there is no fan where it would normally be. We decided to keep this arrangement. So anyway, quite apart from the way in which the solenoid installation has gone in - almost as if it should have been thought of in the factory! - we can now disconnect the engine from the gearbox on start. Plus we can turn the engine over without the ignition on, which is a good thing to be able to do too.
Hooray, a good day!
