dmulally’s 1965 Hillman Imp

[dmulally]

I think the leak is coming from the cam cover (I think) so I re-torqued that to factory specs. Christ there is nothing more scary than tightening already loose nuts on an engine with the strength of a bowl of porridge. 

 

[dmulally]

Took it for a good 30 min run for Sat night takeaway. Sadly the oil leak onto the exhaust is still prevalent. Might have to give the engine a full scrub and test drive before whacking it up on the hoist. 

[dmulally]

So Silverdale rads never got back to me so I have taken a bit of a leap of faith and gone for a Torana heater core for an auxiliary radiator. It has the same outlet pipe dimensions so that's a good start. I'll have to have a play with the housing and adjust it to fit in. 

[dmulally]

Was down half a litre of radiator fluid today. Brown undies time checking the oil and oil filler cap for any signs of water but thankfully none. 

[dmulally]

I contacted the previous owner and he mentioned to check the rear fuel pump nut. Sure enough it was loose as a goose so I tightened it up and will sort out a cork gasket and some rtv to fix that up. Hopefully that will get me by. 

The fast reply of where to look and the sealant tells a story. 

[dmulally]

I also fitted the Torana heater core and it looks like a good fit. I had to relocate the horn as well as do a bit of massaging with the grinder and hammer for it to fit. 

I don't have hose clamps so what I might do is wire up the temp gauge for the sat night chippy run and see where it sits then hook up the aux radiator and have a look see. 

[dmulally]

Hmmmm... After fixing that loose nut on the fuel pump the fuel pump no longer works. It came with a spare one so I'll go through the dance of swapping that over and fixing the oil leak at the same time. If that doesn't work I'll convert to electric. 

I'll do anything to avoid actually checking I have fuel in the tank I guess. 

[dmulally]

Naturally the spare pump was missing bits so I made one pump from two. It all runs now. 

In the meantime a deal is being struck for a new engine which should make it a little more fun when this one finally dies.

[dmulally]

I was too lazy to wire in the temp gauge first and with a warm weekend coming up I wanted to keep things cool. 

So I plumbed in the aux cooler and moved the plate low and to the right to not block the cooler and direct air in. Should be good for another 1.3 horsepower. 

[dmulally]

Hmmmm so I took it out for some takeaway. The hoses heading forward used to be joined together and were too hot to touch where it snaked past your leg (oooh errr Vicar!)

Now the one going into the aux rad is warm to hot but not scalding like before. 

The one going back to the engine is cold. Even the outlet pipe is cold to the touch. 

So either it is cooling better than I ever imagined or there is a blockage in the core or something. 

I have parked it on a ramp to work any air bubbles back to the radiator overnight. 

[dmulally]

So woke up this morning and it indeed needed an overnight burp. It took around half a litre to top up and good to go.

What a difference it makes. It can now easily sit on 60mph without stinking of burning oil and smoking on cool down. Fixing the oil leak helped too. I'm genuinely shocked at what a difference it makes. 

Random pic of it with it's bigger brother outside the new shed I need to build for it.

[dmulally]

I know I'm parked but how the turn tables! 

[dmulally]