GregT

I'd go back to the doors. Lot of volume in those and enough bits of linkage flapping about to make the noise. Ours had loose shit in the bottoms of both doors.

To measure is to know. Got a vernier big enough ?

Straight mineral will help rebed the rings.

Your coolant bleeding probs reminded me of a story told to me by an old guy who'd gone to the UK in the late 50's and worked at Coopers among others. The early F1 Coopers had to be craned up to a 45degree angle - nose high - in order to bleed the coolant system. He reckoned a couple of Kiwis sorted that out.

Your oil consumption could well be valve stem seals. Known to get hard with age. It is possible to change them in place.

Those were always short of ground clearance. Rumor had the Wellington M/C bikes using stiffer springs. Learn to hang off a bit. It'll help.

Cam walk ? Easy to check endfloat. There's a family of bike engines known for it and that's what they sound like.

I went through a ZZR1100 Kawsaki motor for a guy putting it in a Mitsi Mirage. No idea if it's finished or not. But the engine had a chequered history incl two deceased former owners. One speedway sidecar pilot one roadrace sidecar pilot. The latter killed while actually riding with this engine. Both friends and customers of mine. Good engines just seem to go around regardless.

You'd never know it looking at the Pog's one - but the stock X1/9 Fiat has a ducted fan in the engine bay to cool the stock carb.

A wealthy couple here run a pair of Abarth X1/9 replicas in Classic racing. Dennis and Debbie Chapman. They do well and the group around them in Christchurch who also own X1/9's have benefited from the parts liberated when the conversions were done. Pic for your info. Not sure but they may now have three of them.

A Tee at the carb entry. I've set up a lot of bike carbs on TQ's or sidecars with a tee at the carb entry - and a Hilborn bypass in the return line set to give approx 1.5lb pressure. Bike carbs can only take about 1.5lb but your Weber will take the full 4lb output of the Facet. But you're using the return line to circulate cool fuel, not to set the pressure. So both lines remain completely open.

In my experience most Facets don't have a pressure limit switch. Ie keep pumping at all times. With this type of pump you're best to have a return line to avoid over-pressuring the carb. There are a number of OE bike pumps which do have a cut-out once a set pressure is reached. The FZR Yamahas and CBR600/1000 Hondas are examples. They are quite capable of the volumes needed for a car engine.

You're talking to the wrong guy. I set up most of the carburettored TQ's and minisprints at Ruapuna for some years. I'd get sent a set of carbs from the coast which would be a block of white corrosion which was typical of the lazy owners who simply would not do maintenance. There were performance benefits using carbs over injection. But for most the ability of the injection to keep going without maintenance was the telling factor. Lazy bastards.

Now I've seen two applications where injection would be preferred. Van with a tight engine compartment - and any speedway car with a lazy owner which runs on Methanol. Carbs get dirty and won't run right on watered methanol. But injection vaporises bad methanol just fine. Sorry/sidetrack I run a Hiace with the 2L injected engine. No probs.

Saw a late Hyabusa on trademe a week or so ago. Rare but they do come up.

You're using the tank capacity as a heat sink.

Keep an eye open for 2L Lancia engines. You know what they go like. You've seen the Chapman's ones.

Mate's 1600 crossflow used a 28/32 Weber. To all intents a Cortina GT engine. The accelerator pumps on the downdraft twin chokes seem vulnerable to heat. Possibly the lighter alloy used vs cheaper OE carbs heats up faster. From having a Thames myself - a long, long time ago - And from memory, a duct into the cover above floor level wouldn't be easy. Have you got a roof vent ? Straight up and out might work.

Mate put a 1600 crossflow into a Thames and - you guessed it - got vapor lock. He never really got on top of it but there were less options available in fans etc back then. I remember him leaving the engine cover up when he came to visit.

Use revs rather than loading it up in the higher gears. More chance of bedding the rings like that. Years back I put rings in a 323 Mazda. Reconditioners warned me they had particularly hard iron bores. Did the length of the Summit road from Gebbies Pass to Evans pass and by the time I dropped in to Sumner it had stopped smoking. Revs and a light load.

Near as i can tell from the parts fische, it's 4 main bearings so three shared crankpins with piston pairs going left to right together. This should not inherently pressurise the cases. Unlike a BMW flat twin which has them coming in together and out together which does pressurise the cases. So breather size shouldn't be a problem. Which leaves bedding the rings. You gave it a hone and reused the rings from memory. Which given the right oil should not be a problem. In my experience these low pressure rings won't bed on anything but straight mineral. Also I suspect the cut sump may be allowing the crank to splash oil into the bores as the oil level will be higher than before/closer to the crank. Great work so far. Only minor stuff to sort now.

Small correction. If you use Malvern Hills Rd you come out at Coalgate. Lived in the area for 20+ years and when I read the route I thought you'd be going past a mates place. You won't - which is a pity. Looks like a fun trip.

Agree. They should remain a light colour. Black will just get lost against the blue car.

Might be worth a call to any radiator repair places locally. Maybe someone doing restoration work too.

The traditional - and illegal - way of disposal is to put it on a trailer and go out into the country to a gravel road. Stop, puncture the drum and drive slowly for long enough to drain the container. Legally, I think some city refuse centers can take hazardous liquid waste. For a price. Otherwise sell it. Then it's someone else's problem.