Getting it back on the road.

[PJGD]

If the carbs and nether regions below such as the valve guides are like this, what about the rest of the fuel system from the fuel tank onwards?

When last on the road, it was probably running on National Benzole or Cleveland Discol, or a petrol made from coal tar! (just joking).

Philip

[Jack]

If the carbs and nether regions below such as the valve guides are like this, what about the rest of the fuel system from the fuel tank onwards?

When last on the road, it was probably running on National Benzole or Cleveland Discol, or a petrol made from coal tar! (just joking).

Philip

Agreed - I think the fuel tank needs to come off, check fuel filter and may need new fuel lines if this stuff is in them, it couldn't be removed unless we can find something that dissolves it but it seems to be resistant to almost everything I tested last night. Hopefully it has only formed where fuel has sat for long periods, so the tank may be an issue but the lines might be ok.

Jack.

[Nick Webster]

This idea may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I've found it very effective if done with care. One of the few readily available liquids that dissolves petrol gum is brake fluid (the conventional type). I always keep a couple of jars of the reasonably clean liquid left over from bleeding. I find it handy for cleaning carb bodies. In fact most bits associated with petrol. Depending on gum contamination it is not always instant, so sometimes should be left to soak in a plastic container for a few hours. Glass filter bowls are always badly affected by gum because that's where all the nasties tend to accumulate. I have cleaned through fuel pipes by putting a tube on the engine end, holding it higher than the tank and carefully running it back to the tank where it can be drained out. I also keep a fair bit of Methylated spirit to hand and following up with this thins the brake fluid assisting the draining. Brake fluid and meths are alcohols and hence do not mix with petrol, so making sure the residue is not lurking about in the bottom of the fuel tank is a good idea or it will attract water and increase risk of rusting. But perhaps no more risky than water condensation in a part filled tank. Incidentally the bonus with Meths is that if there is any water in the tank, it will mix which tends to make it easier to flush out. For the first few days of running the engine check the filter bowl more often for knock out because brake fluid will sink to the bottom, though the Javelin filter is small and shallow with not much residence time. Any fluid drops that get through the system will do no harm if combusted in the engine.

Finally of course do take great care not to get any brake fluid on paintwork. Especially that lovely green. But you knew that.

Nick Webster

[Forumadmin]

Marvellous service from JCS, even though their computer operator was missing on Monday, the parts arrived today for Nigel's engine.

I attacked the other head yesterday. The inlet valve on the cylinder that had bent the pushrod was well and truly stuck. So much so the valve guide came out with the valve. I have put another valve guide in. All valves are now sliding nicely.

IMGP2715 (1024x768).jpg

You can also see the replacement cover plate made from alu by Ben Hicks. This fits with his modified spark plug seals that are rubber grommets.

IMGP2716 (1024x768).jpg

The water ways were opened up with a series of drills progressing up to 1/4".

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So now some decoking and polishing of combustion chambers.

Just spoken to Craig Ainge who seems to be having trouble. His fan pulley came off on his Jup, chewing the shaft. So a water pump rebuild is on the cards. But also his Javelin gearbox is stuck in second, so I gave some advice on what to do. What is next to go wrong?!

[NigelHicks]

Here are some pictures from Sunday when Keith and Jack came over.
They worked like Trojans, and I cannot believe how much got done that afternoon!

Keith detaching the prop shaft:

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Engine out

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Spot the pushrod, as bent as a banana!

IMG_0441_30percent.jpg

[NigelHicks]

Dates for continuing the work at Great Linford that are possible for Nigel are:
Sat 10 Aug, Sun 11 Aug, Sun 18 Aug, Sat 24 Aug, Mon 26 Aug (but not all of them!)

Interesting comments earlier about the origin of the sticky gunk that was found around the valves.
The engine oil was Castrol GTX for the last many years, and the fuel was recently Unleaded and 4 star before that.
I wonder if any of these has a reputation of creating sticky gunk?

[Jack]

Nigel, I'll check with Keith on dates, out of those I can do 18th but none of the others, August seems to be a busy month.

I know Keith is not around on the 11th, but hopefully will confirm and we can come up with a plan, and we can see if any other members can come along for a few hours.

One other possibility - was there any kind of additive used with the unleaded? There seem to be loads of products on the market, and having not seen anything like it before from parts used with old petrol or oil left on them I can only assume that it is either an additive in modern fuel that we've not come across, something that the fuel has dissolved elsewhere in the system and carried to the heads and carbs, or something that might have been added to it that we should definitely rule out for use in the future!

Jack.

[Forumadmin]

18th is the only one that fits.

[NigelHicks]

Bad news on the carburettor front - Carburetter Exchange of Leighton Buzzard are saying that it will take 6-8 weeks to restore the carbs. I thought it was 3-4 weeks but that was the time before they could make a start.

Does anyone have any ideas or recommendations about other carb restorers ?
What about Carburettor Hospital of Ashington, Rochford, Essex ?
I found them on the internet at http://www.carburettorspecialists.com/products.htm

[Jack]

Nigel, perhaps worth checking with JCS if they have a carb exchange arrangement - I am sure that in the big box of carbs we have two carbs that could be exchanged, and might get you sorted quicker than anything else. I can ask them when I see them on Saturday, I'm sure we can take a couple of spares if they say yes.

Of course then you can leave your original carbs with the local guys, even if it takes them a couple of months. Always worth being friends with good local companies on that kind of stuff, a long lead time is usually a good sign with these things.

Jack.

[robert lintott]

I found the Carburettor Hospital very helpful on the phone and with supplying a replacement fuel pump for my Javelin . Worth enquiring whether they can exchange carbs Bob

[NigelHicks]

Time for an update:
1. Sunday 18th August is reserved for a day of work on the Javelin at 4 Wellhayes. Looking forward to it, refreshments will be available. Fingers crossed for good weather. Big thanks to Keith and Jack for renovating the heads already!

2. I have handed the carbs in to Carburrettor Exchange in Leighton Buzzard. David Osborn was very helpful and interested. He pointed out that only one of the carbs is original (I think he said it was a model 1160) and the other comes from an Austin A40 (model 1134?) and has some different features such as a linkage between the choke and the throttle (to crack the throttle open when the choke is used) and a vacuum pipe. It will take 6-8 weeks, and in fact I will be away on holiday at the 6 week mark but back home again at the 8 week mark.

IMG_0446.JPG

3. Thank you for the positive comments about the colour. My sister Anne Hill reminds me that the car was resprayed in the 1960s with Ford Aquatic Jade. A little darker than the original metallic green which is still visible in the engine compartment and the boot!

[Jack]

Good news on the lead time from Carb Exchange. As a backup plan I took two carbs to JCS today - they do apparently have a carb rebuilder on the books, but it may be sensible to have a couple of spares done given the lead time involved, if you ever had an issue in future it could mean losing 2 months of the summer, and they may be able to get them back to us more quickly so we can make further progress. 8 weeks only puts us at late September, so worst case we should be refitting by the end of September!

Peter Tribble is also coming along on the 18th, so the merry band of fixers is expanding, and I spoke to a few members at the Employees Reunion who might come along to future sessions either in MK or in the Kings Langley workshop.

Nigel, might be worth getting the paperwork in order just in case we get thing sorted more quickly than expected. There are no MOTs now as we are pre-1960, but if the car is insured you should be able to get a tax disc. That means once mobile it can be driven on the road, even if only to give it a try out with its new heads and carbs fitted. We just have to cross our fingers that the evil gunk is not through the rest of the engine, fuel tank and lines, but we may as well be prepared if we do get lucky, after all the engine turns over and oil seems to be clean so there is hope.

Jack.

[NigelHicks]

Good call on the insurance and tax disc.
Right now the insurance is only Laid Up, and the car is SORN.
I will get it sorted ASAP.
Nigel

[NigelHicks]

Now, the question of what engine oil is best.
Most of the oil in the engine ended up on my drive
So now I need to buy some more, but what type and what brand?

I tried a search in JowettTalk, but got this unhelpful response "The following words in your search query were ignored because they are too common words: oil engine."

What is the latest thinking among the experts?
I would normally go for Castrol Classic XL 20W-50 , but maybe there is a better lubricant for our 1950's engines?
Details at http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectiong ... Id=7027099

Nigel