Series IIA Chassis up rebuild

[landylees]

I fitted the seat belts today. This involved me very carefully cutting off the mounting brackets as they didn't fit with the original Lightweight IIa fittings.

I filled the radiator with coolant to discover it leaks, but I carried on anyway. Put a couple of a gallons in one of the petrol tanks and tried to start it. Problem is I don't seem to be able to pull any fuel from the tanks. I poured some petrol directly into the carb and the engine momentarily spluttered into life so at least I know it would go if I could get petrol to it. I managed to pull some fuel from a jar using the fuel pump so that seems to be ok.

I suppose I need to check the tightness of the unions and see if I can draw fuel through tomorrow.

seat belt 1.jpg (1.06 MiB) Viewed 5875 times

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seat belt 3.jpg (700.05 KiB) Viewed 5875 times

[Loulou]

Hi,

Beautiful, very careful work, well done and good luck for the future.

Regards.

Looloo

[landylees]

I decided the fuel pump was at fault giving it didn't exert much suction. I had a Land Rover repair kit in stock so stripped down the pump to discover it wasn't an original part so the kit didn't fit. However, everything seemed to be in good order apart from the clamp that holds the glass bowl in place and you couldn't tighten the nut to clamp the bowl to the seal due to rust. I suspect it was sucking in air at the top of the glass bowl and fitting a new clamp seems to have fixed the problem on the bench at least - it now exerts more suction and sucks in fuel. Now I just need an hour or two to refit the pump - not particularly easy with everything in place in the engine bay.

[removeduser185]

I'm pleased you have run the problem to ground. These small niggles, while a complete pain, are, of course, very much part and parcel of the whole rebuild malarky. I've had lots, as you know! But they get fewer over time. You really have got a wonderful Lightweight there, you can be very proud of all that you have achieved. I must say, I should love to get all these wonderful club restorations in one place. I think it is time one of the classic Land Rover magazines did a feature on the Club and covered a good selection lf its vehicles. We also need to update the photo collection of the club's Land Rovers for our browsing delectation!

[landylees]

thanks Fred but unfortunately having refitted the fuel lift pump it still isn't working. I even put fuel in the other petrol tank in case there was an air leak in the other line.

So I have now narrowed it down to the fuel lift pump (I don't really know what good suction is) or the fuel change over tap which I had previously changed the gasket in.

Plan B has been activated, a new fuel lift pump and changeover tap gasket have been ordered from Blanchards. The changeover tap gasket is really the last resort given it looks impossible to remove the pipes now the engine has been fitted.

[landylees]

Having read this post https://forum.militarylightweight.co.uk ... f=7&t=7811 I am wondering whether the spindle in the fuel tap is tight enough and I might be drawing air in through the tap...test for tomorrow

[Loulou]

Hello Landylees,

Bearmach's new fuel pumps are from Turkey and correspond to the original supplier of Land-Rover.

After buying a genuine renovation kit, which did not match in its lower part with my LR pump model tinkered with by the BAOR army workshops, I put new things everywhere:
- Pump + Hoses + Collars + new seals to the plungers in the tank as well as the float support of the gauges, etc.

I also polished the olive of each metal fitting, both at the level of the tank plunger and at the level of the distribution valve between the tanks and also carefully cleaned with fine steel wool the two seal housing halves tap.
Also the internal de-oxidation of steel bent pipes with fine steel wool.
Passage of the pipes refined as well as possible and "dynamic" tightening of the fittings with an open pipe wrench.

If it can be helpful.
Good luck to you.

Looloo

[landylees]

Having removed and tightened the fuel tap, as well as stripping and checking the fuel pump to the best of my abilities I still couldn't get fuel through.

Given all the pipes and the tap were now sitting on the top of the engine, it was quick to test the new fuel pump from Blanchards - two manual primes of the lever and fuel came through.

2 hours later everything was properly back in place and ready to try again. Having messed with the timing for 30 mins I finally got it start. Major milestone reached!

Of course with every milestone more work is identified...
- the throttle pedal doesn't return
- the ignition light doesn't go out so I suspect the dynamo
- one of the tappets is noisy

Oh and if you get the timing really really wrong, it backfires and blows oil out of the air filter!

...but heh who cares, it runs!

[Sidders101]

Nice one Howard..a big milestone indeed..keep up the fantastic work.

[landylees]

Nice one Howard..a big milestone indeed..keep up the fantastic work.

thanks Sidders!