No 42 is back in my garage. I collected her today and she was driven back home in style (race car transporter!!). All panels fit superbly, the Terry Springs look ace and do a great job, and the doors are now fully functioning.
She's still running rich, and I need to re-attach the mirrors before dodging the showers and getting her up the road for a soon-to-be-booked MOT.
Then... well, it's time to turn some fuel into fun!!
Sadly, thwarted by an electrical problem before MOT (if they could have squeezed me in before the rain comes at 4PM today!!). Indicators on one side now don't work (though hazards do), so I suspect the flasher unit has decided to die. I think it'll be a scuttle off job as IIRC the units are installed there, and I need the car out of the garage to do that (so I can actually get to the fasteners and remove the fuel filler surround etc). Skies are darkening here, so it's going to be then end of next week before I even get to look at it, as I'm away on Mon. I may decide to extent the flasher unit wiring and place them in an accessible place for the future.
We used one Terry on either side of the bonned, Jan, but also a cam-lok fastener in the centre. With the glassed fillets installed, it sits perfectly and I don't think it'll wobble around when I eventually get to drive it).
You can replace the bolts for the scuttle with Dzus slide lock fasteners. Very inexpensive (Less than $5 US for the pair, including the shims), and easy to install. This makes loosening up the scuttle for removal very quick, having only two Dzus buttons, and the slide clips.
I have done this to my car, and have pictures of the installation at my Yahoo site westixiownersbuildersdrivers as well as the Yahoo Westfield_eleven site under "The Last XI".
With the standard WF cap (rather than a Monza style) I still have to remove the mounting. The slide fasteners are a good mod, though.
All the RH indicators are out, but flash OK with the hazard switch. My meter shows the pulsing volts on the good side and a steady 7V on the non-functioning side. As it's wet, I've stopped for today. I suspect the flasher unit has gone South, but we'll see when I ge the scuttle off and deploy the meter.
Passed the MOT today and will get her taxed tomorrow. Trouble with ignition, though. I have a Lumenition system fitted and when the car is under load, the ignition breaks down (rev counter to zero) and then when it picks up, there is a backfire and flame. When it's working the pick up is nice. We had the car on the dyno for a couple of runs (55BHP), but had to give up with this problem. I have looked at most of the connections and will get the meter out tomorrow to see if I can find any faults. I have a couple of fault finding pages printed out to assist.
A bit of a PITA, but I am getting there! Almost tempted to just convert the bloody thing back to points and a condenser!!!
The original Midget rev counter does not like electronic ignition. Later one's out of MGB's can work OK. Or find a nice aftermarket alternative. I use an Elliot 100mm that works fine. You will need to relocate the ignition light though!
If the Lumenition is pretty fresh it's likely not their ignition system. They tend to pack up after some time and heat / vibration (if at all). Trust you have a fairly fresh coil fitted?
The Lumenition system (box, ballast, coil and chopper) is all the same age, I believe (5 years old). The control box is mounted on the engine compartment side wall in the front pontoon forward of the fuel tank. The control box exterior is lightly corroded, but appears OK. I'll try the diagnostics tomorrow morning after the rain has gone through. A points, cap, condenser set is £11 delivered so may just get one to put in the back with a small toolkit - just to be on the safe side.
The MOT tester was very complimentary about the build quality No 42 enjoys. She looks great from the underside, but he did suggest a small ally shim under the gearbox mount to just provide a little extra relief from the chassis rail.
When I spoke to Lumenition about my ignition problems they admitted they did have occasional problems with the optical unit that fits in the distributor, but the unit in the cast aluminium housing was pretty much bullet proof. I sent mine back for test to see if they confirmed any problem. Be interesting to see what they come back with. Personally, I favour the design and quality of the Optronic over the hall effect systems out there but time will tell.
