Unclejake

WRT your ashtrays (etc.): I am a big fan of SEM Color Coat for spraying vinyl. It's a great product, but beware of over spray as it's very fine (I have only used it in a spray gun and never a can) https://www.cardetailsupplies.com/sem-color-coat/

Did you check the Motive Gear catalouge? They have a HUGE list of clutch packs, and they're pretty cheap... but they are a US based company so perhaps of no use to you EDIT: Sorry. I was mistaken. Their list isn't a big one at all.

Hi HKM400, Fuel/air mixture play a significant part in the Kent style engine's temperature, as does ignition timing I think you have a carb mixture problem that may be contributing to hot running. One of your carb throats is running leaner than the other, which will elevate the combustion chamber temps of those two cylinders... but it could be that the other two cylinders are actually running too cold and you do have a cooling system issue as well (I say this as it looks like two of the exhaust valves have been hotter than the other two) I ran Water Wetter in my 120E race motors, but TBH I don't know that it made much difference. It certainly didn't hurt. For a race vehicle (which can spend quite a lot of time at a standstill waiting for a flag, and then the rest of the time at near red-line) I like the Davies Craig electric waterpumps. They deliver a constant flow of coolant (regardless of engine RPM), where the mechanical pump will deliver too little flow whilst you wait for the red flag to be lifted, or too much flow (not giving the coolant time to rob the cast iron of heat) when you're screaming at red-line in third gear These are simple, reliable engines that respond well to experience. Most mechanics are unfamiliar with carburetors or distributors, so if you're seeking professional help you'll want to find someone old or who has experience with Formula Ford I ran my race motors up to 215F (about 101C), but I always tried to keep them below 200F. That level of heat didn't cause me any issues, but I did re-build every season (at least) Regards, UJ

^ Just Harry is correct. Welding a large, thin span (like a roof) needs a very careful, patient and skilled person.... but an aftermarket sunroof is yuck, so a delete is a great idea

Thanks gents. I've spoken with Brian on the phone and he seems like an awesome chap. I'll go see him next week if possible

Hopefully Howatt still widens steel rims. I just sent them a note and will update youse all when I get a reply

That's a new one on me (read: I can't see how you would get any idea of a leaking intake tract from the crankcase, but it could help confirm a PCV issue I guess)... but another diagnostic exercise would be a plug cut - i.e. go for a drive with a tool kit. Replicate the problem and immediately cut the ignition, put her in neutral and coast to the side of the road. Pull out all the sparkplugs and have a look at them for signs of wetness, fouling, overheating, lean running etc.

I didn't know they had gear cam drives. That's very cool. A vacuum leak around the intake manifold or a faulty positive crankcase pressure valve miiight give the symptoms you're seeing, but it'd be a hard thing to test for as it sounds like the engine has to get to a certain load to replicate the fault. I'd get it onto an oldschool diagnostic scope. I use to be able to read them but haven't touched one in decades so I won't pretend I know how now. I also know nothing about injection, but lots of others here do. It seems something at 4k rpm is either preventing the right fuel/air charge going in, being ignited (perhaps the dizzy isn't retarding when it needs to), or hot gas getting out... so an exhaust problem isn't completely impossible, but it does seem an unlikely source of the issue as there shouldn't be any moving parts downstream of your exhaust valves.

I'd be wary of a vacuum leak too, but one you don't see until vacuum is up to a certain range. If it's ignition you'll be able to see the problem on a scope (even under no load) as you'll see the spark trail off at 4k RPM Another culprit could be a cam chain tensioner... and perhaps it's even worth trying the engine under load with the gas cap off (to eliminate a fuel tank vacuum problem)

Fabulous work by you and your people Tim. It looks amazing.

The oil pumps are external on those motors Mof.... but good point. If it was the fuel pump that was removed then..... Ha! P.S: the oil pump works off a scroll driven by a helical segment of the camshaft. The factory fuel pump also runs off the cam, but is activated by a lever running on a cam lobe

As soon as I saw the thread title I thought: 'torn diaphragm', so well done for spotting that K Dot. These engines run like a dog when those diaphragms fail. The next most obvious culprit would be float setting or a bad float needle valve... but it sounds like you've got it under control. Good luck and hopefully she fires right up so you can spend hours trying to adjust the mixture correctly! If she doesn't run well a vacuum leak may give you the symptoms you are seeing, but this one sounds more like a wet fuel delivery problem (rather than an atomized fuel delivery problem) IIRC you should be able to take to top off the DGV carb (after the engine has run for a little bit, albeit roughly) and you should see fuel in the float bowl. If you don't you have either messed up the float setting or have an issue somewhere between the bowl and the fuel tank

Hey Snoopy old buddy. Good to see you here. I'm still sad you lost your hard-drive and all your Grateful Dead songs, but your immense classic vehicle knowledge will be invaluable to people like Lumby (and many others)

The terminology sure does get confusing, but a GT40R is a 'high performance' coil that is designed to work with an external ballast resistor. That means the coil gets all of the available voltage when the starter is being cranked, but once the starter stops being spun the voltage to the coil returns to whatever the external ballast resistor delivers the coil (I thought it was 6v but I've never looked it up so your 9v will probably be correct). I also thought (as SR2 wrote) that the GT40 had an internal ballast resistance, but I have no idea how that works. A high performance coil like a GT40n isn't any advantage to a normal engine, but it won't hurt much either. The worst case is that it'll feed 'too much' high current to the ignition system and wear out ignition system components (points, capacitor, spark plugs) a little faster than a 'standard' coil. I ran a GT40, a GT40T, and a couple of other coils on my Mk1 Cortina race car ... and never noticed a lick of difference TBH.

Absolutely. See above. You will not get far before your points arc, pit, and stop working. P.S: a coil will 'burn out' if the ignition is left on inadvertently when the points are closed for a period of time. Apart from that they were at least moderately reliable as they're no moving parts and they're basically an oil filled canister that has some wire in it. You can do quite a few ignition system diagnostics with a timing light, even if the engine isn't running