Chesil Speedster - my planned winter overhaul of '98 build

Can’t say for sure on the header but that silencer with the exhaust tip is definitely the work of Turbo Thomas.

Black German square weave would fit nice too. The black car, the black carpets, and the red interior bits would look quite nice too.

Sorry, only flicked through your thread. Just a thought but  if you need it to be a bit quieter. Then call (rich) at Turbo Thomas as get him to price it up to re pack the exhaust. Depending on how old it is. Perhaps all the lagging has blown out.

Thanks @RichardMaxwell - I think the exhaust is 20+ years old - the engine was built in '97 so I'm guessing the exhaust was built at the same time. It's only got 6500 miles on the clock which ties in to the MOT history on the gov.uk site

So it's unlikely to have blown out, although being that old something may have happened. I'll give Rich a call at some point to discuss repacking.

Or the previous owner just liked it loud...

Your post made me think, though.  My engine was first built in 1997, too, then seized after 15 minutes of the first start-up (assembler screw up).  I pulled it apart, fixed the seized bearing and re-assembled.  It's been running fine ever since, except for a broken stock rocker arm shaft that should have been stronger in the first place.  You have to be careful (both in the US and Europe) where you get your parts from and the integrity of the supplier.  

Oh I agree, @Gordon Nichols, the PO was obviously in the artillery..

For now, I need to prioritise tasks and first off it’s more important to get the car running well than running quietly.

I got the plywood today for the new floorboards so I’ll cut those out tomorrow - my consulting work is quiet at the moment so in a way I’m quite pleased because it gives me more time on the car! Not a profitable way to run a business but half the point in going part time is precisely so I don’t bust a gut and enjoy life more, especially with the Long Haired General (aka wifey). So what if I can no longer afford the big 5star holidays. We’re not going anywhere in lockdown anyway, and every other day becomes a holiday when you’re not working to make ends meet then recovering on days off to make it through another week.

So, jobs for the next week are floorboards cut out, drilled (for seat bolts) and varnished. Seats put back in (I might need to realign the seat mounting holes in the chassis - the driver seat is skewed slightly). Finish wiring the third brake light into the brake light circuit. Finish cleaning up the exhaust system. Replace CV axles. Check valve clearances.  If I get half of  that done in a week I’ll be pleased. After that it’s removing the carbs, cleaning them and resetting everything to base settings. :-)

And don't forget that during these Covid quarantining times, you have to allow a few extra minutes in the morning to plan your day:

What's for breakfast?

Should we watch "Good Morning Britain", "Lorraine" or "Sky News"?  (I know...Not much of a choice, there).

What the hell are those nutty Yanks doing today?  (I'm sure we're entertaining the World right now).

and that most important one: "Which end of the couch do you want?"

Just so you feel like you're fitting in, I spent the better part of the afternoon, here, pulling out an old wiring harness for my heater and getting ready to build a new harness in place with some existing wires, then sheath it end-to-end in some sort of cabling cover.  God, how I hate doing harnesses in place, not to mention that this one goes from the nose cavity inside the Frunk, back along the underside of the frunk (passenger side), into the cockpit behind the dash far right and then across to the radio in the middle.   It will take three separate sheathing operations and gets anchored at six cable clamps along the way (plus two more behind the dash).  

Lying on my back under the dash at a damp, 2.5C degrees is not my favorite Covid-related pastime.........

@Gordon Nichols we do have BBC as well - news-wise they're fairly impartial - whch of course means they're vilified by both left and right equally! The present government is doing it's best to defund/close the BBC because they want a version of Fox News, but at the moment it's hanging in there, much like the NHS. The licence fee is £150 a year, which I think is a uniquely British thing - if you have a TV you have to have a TV licence which funds the BBC. Of course a lot of people complain but for that we get 3 BBC TV channels, the iPlayer, 6 radio channels with great music and the best comedy and, of course, Test Match Special (for us cricket fans). I think it's good value but some people don't like the enforced nature of the licensing. We have 5 main terrestrial channels now - Channel 4 came along in 1982 (the year I was at college and watched the Navy Task Force sail from Portsmouth harbour to the Falklands) and that's all we had for years before Sky arrived in '89. Ok, history lesson over (but I do find cultural history fascinating).

I feel for you doing in-car wiring - it's often the least comfortable job and also, for me at least, the most fraught because I'm always on the edge of my knowledge - when something goes wrong I'm invariably out of my depth trying to troubleshoot. I need to wire in a dual tone horn but that means a relay and I know I'll take an age to ensure I get it right! But better slow and right than fast and wrong.

Today I managed to get the floorboards cut out and a first coat of marine varnish applied. I'll do a second coat tomorrow and hopefully Sunday I can fit them. I've put a little bit of sound dampening on the VW floorpan to deaden resonating noise - not a lot because it's borderline useful on a ragtop. I also gave the exhaust a going over with wet&dry to tidy it up a bit. I was considering polishing it but gave up on that idea - not practical for ongoing maintenance.

So, a Sunday evening weekend roundup..

Exhaust is looking much better than before.

First off, a big thanks to @Gordon Nichols for a key pointer on valve clearances. I started adjusting the valves (for the first time) and cylinders 1 and 2 were very tight compared to the 0.006" standard and for some reason I thought 'This isn't right - let's check on here'. So I checked and remembered my engine spec invoice with chromoly pushrods. After that, with the help of a small magnet, it was all straightforward, thank goodness - a 'loose zero'.

The cork gaskets are a bit past it - should I replace with cork or go silicone?

Also, good news on the floorboards. All varnished and fitted:

and I've refitted the carpet.

The seat height works correctly (as per Chesil factory build) with the combo of plywood floorboard and low seat runners compared to no floorboards, as proven here:

Finally, I got the CV axles out today, with thanks from a little helper:

I’m not familiar with “silicone” valve cover gaskets but they sound like the “C Channel” gaskets that CB Performance sells with good success.

I’ve used both the cork version and the composite versions with good luck on a pair of CB Perf. Cast aluminum Bolt-on valve covers.  I load up a meat marinating syringe with grease and shoot a 1/8” bead of grease along both sides of the gasket, ( cut the end off of the marinator needle for a single bead port), smear it out on the gasket and install.  Watch out for gasket “pucker” when installing.  That causes a big leak.  

I never use RTV on valve cover gaskets.  RTV makes it extremely difficult to remove and clean up the cover at the next valve check and when I use the grease they don’t leak and they remove more or less easily.  

Also, you have bolt-on valve covers.  Please check the torque on the threaded stand-offs for the bolts - the stand-offs hold the rocker arms in place and you don’t want them to loosen up.  Same torque as the regular rocker shaft nuts.  

For the cover bolt seals, I cut o-rings about 1/4” thick from a length of 5/16” ID rubber fuel hose, slip them onto the bolt and run the bolt in.  I don’t torque them, just run them in til they hit the rubber, then another turn or two, whatever feels good.

At first glance, I thought I saw a hamster ... cute dog.

Nice progress.

Silicone valve cover gaskets do exist, or at least did at one time.

I've been told by a couple of people with vast experience that the rubber gaskets are problematic. I have cast CB covers with the bales and NAPA sells a 6 pack of cork gaskets for $8.99. I can live with that  I, too, smear them with grease before install, although I do it the old fashioned way.  If nothing else, it keeps them in place while you put them on.  

I don't know of the rubber gaskets would work better or worse on bolt-on covers

Thanks for all the tips on rocker cover gaskets, guys. @Gordon Nichols - although there may be rocker cover stand-offs for bolts, the actual rocker covers are 'standard' clip-fit (with vent hole).

The silicone gaskets are £22 compared to the cork gaskets at £2. I'll go for the cork and grease combo..

@IaM-Ray she's a rescue Jack Russell with some Cairn/Westie mixed in to give those pointy ears and long hair. :-)

Another quick update on CV joints/axle replacement. The side of the car where most of the oil/grease was sprayed around the gearbox, I spotted there was no cap on the centre of the drive flange and it looked 'reet mucky' as a friend from Leeds would say. I'll have to clean it up and investigate further later today but a quick google shows I probably need to replace this, the circlip and a seal as well?

Good side (right)

Bad side (left):

Back in the 80’s, when I used to daily drive an aircooled VW, I would use spray adhesive to glue the cork gasket to the valve cover. I would then smear a little grease on the exposed side and install.  Spray adhesive, when used properly, sticks great, the gaskets don’t get sucked in and can pop the covers off and on a few times before the cork needs to be changed. YMMV.

Exactly Rick. I have the aftermarket cast fake "Porsche" valve covers. I use contact cement on both the gasket and valve cover, wait 10 minutes and stick them on.

Then I smear a very light coat of grease on the gasket. I usually get about 3 years and 3 valve adjustments before needing to replace.

I picked up 10-12 when the rubber-impregnated cork were available. They seem to compress a little less. My valve covers are bolt-on, no bails.

we used permatex,dont know if they still make it..doesnt not come off skin:}

Permatex is rugged stuff.  They used to sell a line of "Permatex Aircraft Dope and Gasket Seal".  It came in a cute little bottle with a brush attached to the cap.   I used it once and managed to get a little on one hand.  It gave me what looked like a liver spot that took years for that stuff to wear off!  

I guess Perma, was the operative word.