Project A72V

[varotone]

Distributor rebuild

I wanted to do some preemptive maintenance on the distributor even if it was working fine. Just to check and adjust the contacts gap, check the capacitor, and lubricate the shaft. I ended up removing the distributor and dissembling it.

 

These were the problems

1.contact gap was too small

2. Contact electrodes are pitted and covered in carbon

3. Screws holding the contacts had stripped heads. Doesn't tight enough.

4. Capacitor was good.

5. Vacuum advance canister had a damaged diaphragm. Doesn't work anymore. (Initially the vacuum line in the carb was also blocked. After the carb rebuild, I was aware of this problem. Temporary fixed by plugging the vacuum hose)

6. Mechanical advance mechanism was probably never lubricated enough. It was not freely moving.

7. Oil seal in the distributor shaft was leaking a little.

8. Shaft and bushes were in good order. Wear was within tolerance limits.

Here are pics when I took it apar

Following maintenance was done

1. Fully dissembling and thorough cleaning. The centrifugal advance was very tight. Had to clamp down to the bench and remove with vice grips. It is ment to spinn freely!

2. Replaced contacts and capacitor as preemptive maintenance.

3. Replaced the oil seal.

4. Shaft has a spiral grove that helps to draw engine oil up the shaft and lubricate when the engine is running. Thoroughly cleaned the grove.

5. Replacement vacuum advance canister was available. Fixed it and connected the vacuum hose from the carb.

6. Set the static timing when fixing the distributor

7. Adjusted the contacts gap. Spec is 0.45-0.55mm. I set to 0.50mm with a feeler gauge.

8. Checked the dynamic timing with my DIY timing light.

I can't verify that dynamic timing due to the lack of a RPM sensor. I'm sure that the centrifugal advance works because of the advancing timing when revving up. Applying suction to the vacuum line further advances the timing. So, the vacuum advance also works.

[Twin Turbo]

Lube the fly weight asszy.

Edited September 28, 2020 by Twin Turbo

[Azad Uzmaan]

HI All, 

Though I have been using Autolanka forums for references this is the first time I'm replying on a post. I am very glad that someone else like me is doing a project . As soon as I saw the post date I thought I should reply. @varotone  Nice to see such a post which is very informative to everyone.  I am also doing DIY in my Lancer Box and facing similar issues like you do and this post helps. I have few questions but am not sure if that should be started in a separate  topic? 
Im new so give ur suggestions/guidance. 
Keep updating us your Progress , Stay safe

This is my RIDE  

[Twin Turbo]

8 hours ago, Azad Uzmaan said:

HI All, 

Though I have been using Autolanka forums for references this is the first time I'm replying on a post. I am very glad that someone else like me is doing a project . As soon as I saw the post date I thought I should reply. @varotone  Nice to see such a post which is very informative to everyone.  I am also doing DIY in my Lancer Box and facing similar issues like you do and this post helps. I have few questions but am not sure if that should be started in a separate  topic? 
Im new so give ur suggestions/guidance. 
Keep updating us your Progress , Stay safe

This is my RIDE  

Nice toy,..

[iRage]

19 hours ago, Azad Uzmaan said:

I have few questions but am not sure if that should be started in a separate  topic? 

Hi Azad

 

Yes..please do start a separate thread. We would love to hear the story about your car and your experiences.

[tiv]

22 hours ago, Azad Uzmaan said:

HI All, 

Though I have been using Autolanka forums for references this is the first time I'm replying on a post. I am very glad that someone else like me is doing a project . As soon as I saw the post date I thought I should reply. @varotone  Nice to see such a post which is very informative to everyone.  I am also doing DIY in my Lancer Box and facing similar issues like you do and this post helps. I have few questions but am not sure if that should be started in a separate  topic? 
Im new so give ur suggestions/guidance. 
Keep updating us your Progress , Stay safe

This is my RIDE  

Please start a separate thread, much love to see these attainable classics being restored!

[kishan kamaljith]

There is a shop that repair carburetors near wijerama junction 

contact number in (0777789217)   

[varotone]

Time for a long overdue update on the project.

It's back on the road. Actually, it was on the road for a little more than an year now and clocked 25,000 km after the (partial) restoration.

Project had to be finished off quickly because I needed a beater car as soon as possible. So, I decided the cosmetic aspects can wait a while (hence the lack of photos of the car). Soon after the full tinkering and painting, rebuilt the engine, serviced the transmission and differential and it was on the road. Upholstery, seats, carpets can wait. I wanted a fully functional safe and fairly comfortable ride and I'm not disappointed at what I got.

 

I had to do some renovations/repairs on my house and this car was immensely helpful with hauling stuff around. If I count the number of cement bags, putty buckets, paint buckets, celling boards and other building material at different times, I might have recouped the cost of purchase already.

Just because I used it as a beater car, it doesn't mean I neglected caring for it. Engine oil got changed every 2500-3000km and oil filter with every other oil change. Undercarriage washed and oil sprayed monthly. Timing belt changed on time.

There are times the car broke down in the middle of nowhere. Once after travelling about 80km out of city to pickup some wood carvings without a hitch, the battery was flat. So I had to "thallu start" and drive back with load carvings occupying the cargo area and the rear seats. All I had to do the next day was to get the battery charged and tighten up the alternative belt.

On another time, the charging light came on while on the highway. Stopping in the middle of the highway was not an option. So I drove on. Then I noticed that the temperature gauge was rising. Still I went on and took the exit that I had planned. Stoped at the first battery shop just to see what had gone wrong. When I popped the hood the fan belt was shredded! I let switched off the car, removed the fan belt and drove the car to the nearest spare parts shop, bought a belt and drove it to the garage without the fan belt. Temperature was high, but the engine didn't boil! Came back home after replacing the belt. I had driven more than 100km in the highway without the fan and alternator spinning!

Once when I turned the key the key turned full 360° circle without cranking. I could turn the key all around with nothing happening. No ignition, no cranking. I bought some flexible wire from a nearby shop and supplied current to the ignition coil and starter motor directly from the battery. The car started and stayed on till I came home and removed the flexible wire! I had to replace the busted ignition switch the next day.

 

All in all, this has been a pretty reliable wild ride!

 

But lately I'm having an issue that makes this car unreliable. After some time it misfires/sputters like it's running out of petrol and stalls. I've tried two different garages. One said it's the distributor and fixed it. It reappears after driving about 40km. Then I went to the next guy who said it is the carb. Still the issue is there.

Any competent mechanics around Mount Lavinia/Attidiya area who will be able to fix this?

[kusumsiri]

1 hour ago, varotone said:

There are times the car broke down in the middle of nowhere. Once after travelling about 80km out of city to pickup some wood carvings without a hitch, the battery was flat. So I had to "thallu start" and drive back with load carvings occupying the cargo area and the rear seats. All I had to do the next day was to get the battery charged and tighten up the alternative belt.

On another time, the charging light came on while on the highway. Stopping in the middle of the highway was not an option. So I drove on. Then I noticed that the temperature gauge was rising. Still I went on and took the exit that I had planned. Stoped at the first battery shop just to see what had gone wrong. When I popped the hood the fan belt was shredded! I let switched off the car, removed the fan belt and drove the car to the nearest spare parts shop, bought a belt and drove it to the garage without the fan belt. Temperature was high, but the engine didn't boil! Came back home after replacing the belt. I had driven more than 100km in the highway without the fan and alternator spinning!

Once when I turned the key the key turned full 360° circle without cranking. I could turn the key all around with nothing happening. No ignition, no cranking. I bought some flexible wire from a nearby shop and supplied current to the ignition coil and starter motor directly from the battery. The car started and stayed on till I came home and removed the flexible wire! I had to replace the busted ignition switch the next day.

This is the strength of having DIY skills. Not everyone has it. I believe that is one reason why not everyone can use an old car.

[varotone]

There is a silencer leak in the car. It is from the gasket between the exhaust manifold and tail pipe. The gasket needs replacement.

I went to the silencer repair shops in Pamankada yesterday. They have run out of gasket material. I tried to remove the two bolts holding the gasket in between to remove the old one and get a new one made from the Panchikawattha. Looks like it's rusted in place and needs to be cut off.

Any recommend places to fix it?

 

Edit- Installed the gasket DIY!

 

Last weekend I managed to remove the exhaust manifold. The two bolts that hold the manifold to the tail pipe were badly rusted and didn't budge even with copious amounts of wd40. I had to cut off the bolt with an angle grinder and remove the two halves of the nut from the stud. Using an angle grinder in the engine compartment without damaging other parts was a tiring job. Two surprises awaited me when I removed the manifold.

1. There was a fine crack in the under side of the manifold. Even the two silencer repair shops missed it.

2. There was no gasket between the manifold and tailpipe.

I had to get the cast iron manifold welded. The crack was small, about 5cm long. But the welder said it should be welded well beyond the crack. So this is the result of the welding.

The weld looks hideous. This is the only shop I could find that did cast iron welding. I guess I didn't have a choice.  The studs were badly rusted.

this is the manifold with the new studs and the donut gasket.

 

I wanted to sand and paint the manifold with heat resistant paint. Once I bought such a heat resistant black spray can to paint a BBQ grill. This time I couldn't find one after shoppin, g for it for two days. So the rusty, shabby manifold went back in

Edited May 14, 2021 by varotone
Update

[varotone]

I had to take the exhaust manifold to the shop to get a fitting gasket. Bought japanese used studs and bolts from a recon parts shop. Sourcing parts was not difficult. 

Now there is a significant reduction in the noise levels and the engine sounds and feels smoother. The engine compartment looks uglier now, but sounds and feels better. Too bad I couldn't find a heat resistant spray paint can! 

[Sylvi]

varotone,

I went through carefully all your posts, I find you try to DIY almost all your car repairs. It is a very good way for your future about automobile maintenance. Try to keep up on DIY projects instead of going to repair shops and exhausting your purse.

Will try to find some paint to apply on your exhaust manifold temperature resistant.

Sylvester Wijesinghe.

Sylvi.

 

[varotone]

Resurrecting this thread with a long overdue photo 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by varotone
Wrong photo

[Twin Turbo]

Job well done,

[varotone]

Merry Christmas everyone!

I see many welding spots on the brake lines. Plus some other area are corroded. I would like to replace all the brake lines since the existing ones must have run out of their useful life.

I see many YouTube videos on refurbishing brake lines from new copper lines. But when I asked my mechanic, he said such work is not done in Sri Lanka. After seeing how neat and tidy the new brake lines look, I'm want to replace all of my brake lines.

Can anyone please tell me where to get such a job done? I want to replace all the solid brake lines with new tubes. (Not cutting, welding and bending reconditioned brake lines)