To make up for last week, I've been extra busy! Glyn phoned me on Friday, to tell me that he had my exhaust system and dash moulding in stock. I set off to Quantum early on Saturday morning, arrived at 8.30am and met Glyn and new storeman Steve Goode. The new exhaust looked great - a massive improvement on the original system. After paying for it, I had a look at Quantum's latest Xtreme demonstrators and at a customer's new Pinto-engined car, to see how they've done the bits I haven't got to yet. I said a quick hello to Mark and Brenda, then headed back, eager to get on with the build.
As soon as I got home, I set about fitting the new exhaust. It was very straightforward - loosely bolt the header pipes to the engine, slide on the collector box and silencer, support the weight with a trolley jack, tighten everything up and drill 2 holes in the floor for the mounting bracket. I had to cut down the top threaded portion of the mounting bobbin, as it was way too long and I'll have to get a chromed, dome-headed nut, to finish it all off neatly. I'm really pleased with how it looks on the car - well worth the wait (and money!).
All the engine nuts, bolts, hose clips and connectors were then double-checked before I filled the engine with oil. The oil filter was removed and half-filled with oil, to help get the oil pressure up quickly. I poured 5 litres of anti-freeze into the expansion tank and topped it up with water. As the expansion tank is lower than the top of the radiator, I removed the top hose, to fill the radiator and top part of the engine cooling system. I then bolted on a new chrome air filter and poured 2 gallons of unleaded petrol into the fuel tank, together with the correct amount of Castrol Valvemaster Plus lead replacement and octane booster. Finally, I removed the spark plugs and turned the engine over with the starter motor, to get the oil pressure up before starting the engine. The pressure came up very quickly, so I refitted the plugs and HT leads and rather nervously turned the key…
The engine started instantly and I quickly adjusted the idle screw to make it run at 2000 rpm, which, apparently, is better for a new engine than just letting it idle. Before long, the thermostat opened - at an indicated 85 degrees and the radiator fan cut in at approx. 95 degrees. After about 20 minutes, I switched off and checked for any leaks or other problems. There was one small oil leak from the engine at the oil pressure sender unit. It was tight, so I removed it and used some PTFE tape to cure the leak.
I then fitted the wheels, restarted the engine and gently ran through the gears with the car still up on axle stands. I had calculated that at 2000 rpm in fourth gear, the car should be doing 37 MPH. The speedo read 38MPH, so I'm confident that the speedo will be accurate for the SVA test, as my new 195/50/15 tyres have the same circumference as the original 175/70/13s. After letting everything settle for a while, I rechecked the engine, gearbox and diff oil levels and looked for any leaks from the transmission and final drive. All was well, so I lowered the car to the ground, started the engine and carefully drove the car out into the sunshine. What a satisfying moment! The new exhaust has a lovely deep tone, with a nice rasp on the over-run. Together with the "slurping" sound from the air filter, it sounds pretty good for a humble Sierra engine!
Confident that all was well with the engine and cooling system, I reversed back into the garage and put the car back up onto axle stands. As there was plenty of clearance between the exhaust and the brake pipes, I quickly bled the brakes, using a Gunson Easy Bleed (marvellous invention!). This resulted in a surprisingly firm pedal, considering that the braking system was all new and not bedded in.
Next job was to fit the nosecone permanently. As I mentioned in week 8's write-up, fitting the nosecone with the damper holes intact is a right pain. It involves jacking up the front of the car, removing the shock absorbers and bolting the nosecone into place. The shock absorbers are then inserted through the holes and their inner mounting bolts fitted. As predicted, these bolts were very awkward to tighten, but, with patience, grazed knuckles and a few swear words, I managed it. The rubber CV joint gaiters are then pulled over the ends of the top suspension arm, the outer shock absorber bolts fitted and tightened, then the gaiters can be pulled back over the bolts and inserted into the nosecone holes. I hope I don't have to remove the nosecone again soon. If I do, I may be tempted to take a hacksaw to it!
With the exhaust and air filter fitted, I could now finish the bonnet. The cut-out for the exhaust was a simple rectangle, at the bottom edge of the bonnet. This was easily done with a deep-framed junior hacksaw, fitted with a radial blade and the edge of the hole was finished with some black, U-shaped rubber trim. The large, oval hole for the air filter was more of a challenge. First, I had to mark on the bonnet where the centre of the carb was. As the inside of the bonnet was quite dusty, I stuck a small cone of blue tack on top of the carb and carefully lowered the bonnet. The dust on the inside of the bonnet stuck to the top of the blue tack, leaving a nice clean, circular mark which I drilled through to act as a reference point for the hole dimensions. The oval hole was then marked out on top of the bonnet, with an extra 10mm all round to allow for engine rock. As usual, I made the hole by stitch-drilling, filing and sanding. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough rubber trim left for this hole, so I'll have to source some more - another call to the long-suffering Glyn I expect!
