December 2000
The engine's going back to his daddy, the man who put it together the last time. It's getting a thorough looking over, clean and fixing anything that's found. It should be in reasonable enough condition already, but you never know - it might end up having a little more work done on the head, while it's off and being cleaned up.... ;-)
Erm, I took it along after writing that comment. Having had it looked over, it sounds better than I thought. Everything that could practically be done to the head already has been, ports, chambers etc, except fitting Gp1 valves (which is expensive and not *especially* productive). The bottom end looks fairly sound, but is being stripped, cleaned and rebuilt with new rings, bearings, oil seals and gaskets for reliability. It's a 30 thou overbore (roughly 2030cc) which could be taken much further but there's little point (leave that for later....?). One of the biggest surprises was that the unidentified cam which was fitted was actually a full race Gp1 cam, which is *rather* severe. Since it's there I may as well run with it, but it might have to come off later depending on just how well it runs around town/whether it's possible to meet noise and emissions regs. If that does happen, it may well return post-SVA. In current spec, my engine builsder estimates it'll produce something in the region of 180bhp or more. Urgh. That makes power/weight something like 266bhp/tonne, which is almost that of a Caterham Superlight, or around 2½ times that of my 325i.... This is going to be seriously quick.
Right, further update - I've been round to see it again (dropping off the uprated con rod bolts). The head's not the one that was actually built for the engine, so it's not absolutely perfect. It's been opened up, if anything, too much and not enough care taken, so it's probably only 90% as good as it should have been. Never mind, it's a decent start anyhow. The full spec of the new engine is:
The sump's currently undecided, don't know whether to fit a Tiger cut'n'shut winged sump which is fine for road use, the RS2000 ally one which is supposedly better (used by rally teams) or something else - no doubt there are plenty of places that tune Pintos that will sell shortened, baffled sumps. My general concern is for the longevity of the engine, having seen how oil pressure can quickly tail off on long sweeping bends. I'm still looking for the answer....
The tub's fully fitted along one side. The top side's perfect, but the bottom could have gone on better, but I had a problem with the number of hands available. I drilled all holes at once, but I couldn't get both the front and rear ends of the tub to stay fitted on the chassis at once, due to a warp in the rear end. As a result, the holes didn't line up *quite* right and I ended up having to remake a number of holes towards the rear. The tub didn't fit perfectly around the back, but it's not too much of an issue because it's hidden by the rear arch. I think if I were doing it again I'd hold both ends on, drill and rivet once at each end then once fixed drill and rivet along the rest of the length. Ah well, you live and learn. I won't make that mistake on the next kit.....
Yes, I'm getting back into it now, after all that time off. Hopefully I won't have any more forced absences from building. I'm hoping to get the engine in over the Xmas/New Year holidays, but that depends on progress in the meantime. There's plenty to keep me going, and plenty of bits yet to buy (like a gearbox, alternator, starter motor, distributor, ignition whatsits, rad fan, instruments, wheels, and loads of little details....)
Fixed the tub on along the other side now, made a much better job of it. The method: hold it down along its length, then drill, squidge some sealant in and rivet at the rear, then at each kink in the chassis until you reach the front. That holds it all in place while you go back along and rivet inbetween. So obvious, but not obvious enough for thicko me.
The weekend will hopefully see me getting a gearbox, alternator, starter motor, dizzy/coil/amp etc, and maybe making a start on getting those rear wings fitted (temporarily, 'cos I don't want to damage them, but it's easier to drill & fit them while the car's in the air...)
Well, I've got the gearbox, starter and alternator. Standard Ford Type 9/N gearbox from a Granada, an alternator from a Sierra (recent replacement - looks like it's seen very few miles) and starter from a 1600 Capri. 70 quid for the lot was alright, could've been better. Wasn't really in the mood to argue, and it was getting dark (and I was still hungover from the company xmas do on Friday....) There weren't any suitable dizzy's around, which was a little surprising. I'm looking for the electronic setup from the earlier Sierras, the one before they started putting silly black boxes in. Another job for another weekend....
Been a week of sorting out little bits. While looking over the gearbox (externally) I first noticed that the speedo drive had been removed before I got it. Bum. Then I noticed it was different to the normal cable drive fitting. So, after a lot of investigation, I found out that the Granada had an electronic speedo, which was driven by a transducer which bolts on where the old cable drive used to be. RESULT!!! As I want an electronic speedo, I've been vaguely puzzling over how to fit the speed sender and what kind to use, so this has sorted it for me using standard Ford parts. Just need to get the missing bits.
I've also fitted the passenger side rear wing and trim - it's looking *nice*.
Turkey, mice pies, sherry, port, wine, beer etc have taken their toll on garage time, but I've actually got quite a lot done! I've cleaned up the starter motor and alternator, which look to be fine, and got hold of the speedo drive gear and sender, and some new oil seals etc for it. If anyone's in need of good value cleaned and shelved Ford parts I can't recommend Ford Spares Tendring highly enough. They're near Clacton in Essex, handy for my parents' house, but will happily do mail order. My whole family's used them a lot for a variety of old Fords and they've almost always got what you need in stock. Their phone number's 01255 830244.
The only problem I have with the sender now is that I can't find a wiring diagram which includes the
sender. It's got 3 wires, of which I know the brown is earth, and the other two are +12v and the speedo
pulse signal - but which is which....? Haynes have decided not to publish the complete wiring diagrams for
the Granada "due to space limitations" which to my mind is downright out of order. Has anyone else noticed
how poor the new style Haynes manuals are compared with the old ones? Anyway, if anyone out there can
help with which way round they are or has an old Granada manual, let me know....
I've also fitted the other rear wing which makes the car look much more car-like... Both wings have since been taken off so I don't damage them while working on other things, and also so I can actually walk from one end of the garage to the other.
Seeing how awful these wheels look is makes you wonder people put up with them on the car they came
off. Ugh!!!
I've got a Quaife limited-slip diff on the way, which means taking the rear axle out to fit it. Should be a pretty easy job, having taken the axle out of the car and pulled the halfshafts out. Unbolt the main unit inside the diff (4 bolts), bolt the crownwheel onto the new LSD unit, swap the compressible spacers and bearings onto it (or more likely buy new bearings and spacers) and bolt it all back together. Just a shame I didn't decide to do it before fitting the axle and filling it with oil. Ah well, shouldn't be too bad to get it out... (famous last words!)
While I'm on a spending spree, I've also got a complete set of dials (speedo, tacho, fuel level, oil temperature and pressure and water temperature) on the way from Greengauges. They let you customise the dials the way you want them, then ship them next day - except of course over Xmas.... :-( I'll show you them when they arrive.
A day later and my plans for getting the engine and box in have gone out the window. While cleaning up the gearbox today, I discovered the plate over the end of the tailhousing wasn't as it should be. I took the gear selector out and punched the end "plate" out from the inside. What should have been a nice flat plate pressed into the casting was in fact a large lump of set green putty wrapped around a couple of sheets of sandpaper. Stripping all the putty out, I found that the last couple of inches of the gearbox tail housing had been completely shattered, and someone had made do with this putty. *NICE* So, as you can imagine, the box's only use is scrap metal. The scrap yard have been fine about it, and they're going to get me another one - he was on his own today (Sat 30th Dec) and it's the last day before the New Year shutdown, so it won't be until Tuesday or Wednesday next week, when I'm back to work. Strangely enough, he'd had another box back from a Sierra last week with exactly the same damage. I can't see how it could happen, since it's not in a stressed part of the box at all - even a front or rear end shunt couldn't do this?
On the positive side, I did get the new bearings for the LSD.... :-)