1977 Stag restoration

[sujitroy]

was also fitted to Fed. Mk2 . there was also a deflector between engine and rad.

[Davo1805NZ]

Are you referring to the part below? It's missing from my car - like a few other things, previous owners must have decided to discard it. Other parts I have been able to find, but not this one - not surprising there's no availability with the main UK sources, but I have also had no luck in Australia. Perhaps USA?



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[Davo1805NZ]

Finally started working on getting things back together inside - have installed heater box and fascia; next will be re-attaching steering column and installing instrument panel etc. Before I do that I'm currently pre-wiring for the radio and anything else while access is still relatively good. Since taking this photo I installed one of those dual-cone speakers in the dashtop and while I've read about people having difficulty squeezing the speaker in, I didn't have a problem with that - only issue was with fixing via the existing mounting holes. I was only able to align with the two holes furthest from the screen, with the result that the speaker sits on a slope - seems firm enough though and doesn't stop the grille from sitting as it should.,

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[trunt]

My dual cone speaker was a pig to fit.. but it’s an A/C heater which may be different in that area..

[AJLC]

Same with mine. Only front two holes lined up. I put a piece of wood underneath to wedge it level.

[Davo1805NZ]

Pretty exciting putting my instrument panel back in, but excitement marred somewhat by the fact that the fore-and-aft adjustment on my steering column is well and truly jammed. I have given up trying to free the inner and outer tubes and have pulled the column from my donor car - I wasn't optimistic but surprisingly, given that the car had been standing for over 20 years, the tubes appear to telescope OK. I've certainly had my money's worth out of that donor car - petrol tank, heater box, console, and now steering column - plus a multitude of random bits and pieces that I found were missing, butchered or had been otherwise badly substituted on my car. I guess hiding in a barn for all that time saved it from being molested in the same way as my car was.

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A guy I know wants to buy this off me when I've finished with it - to restore.... hopefully there's enough left of it for him.

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[Davo1805NZ]

Well the donor car's steering column wasn't jammed, but the bushes between the inner and outer tubes were toast. The NZ Stag Owners' Club have these items in their local stockholding, so following a quick call to Ray Knowles who looks after parts, I received a couple of new bushes in the post a couple of days later. Got the column rebuilt with a quick lick of paint in the process, and installed it yesterday. Progressed further today by installing column nacelle and steering wheel - now pointing straight with rack centred and indicator cancelling clip in correct 3 o' clock position. Now starting to look like a car!


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[Davo1805NZ]

With, I should add, much good advice and support from Members on this Forum.

[Davo1805NZ]

Well it's been a big two or three weeks, with good progress having been made, though much of this in a one-step-forward, two-steps-back manner. Getting ready for first start-up, I figured it may be wise to have the brakes working before putting the car into motion, so with help of my brother (an even older f**t, who served his time as a mechanic in the late ‘60s, working on Rootes Group products), I set about bleeding the brakes. I had previously fitted a PDWA switch which I robbed off my donor car, as my car came to me with a bolt in place of this. I had assumed that the reason for the bolt was that the PDWA shuttle had gone off-centre and somebody couldn't be bothered rectifying this. Having bled the rear brakes and moving to the front left one, I found the real reason for the bolt when we observed brake fluid p***ing on to the garage floor. After much panic and liberal application of soapy water to wash the fluid off the inner wing, we installed some plastic sheet to provide protection from any further fluid loss, and removed the PDWA valve. The O rings inside the valve were totally shot and would have been allowing fluid through into the switch area - hence the bolt. Our NZ Stag Owners Club had a repair kit in their stock of spares and were able to courier it to me overnight, thus enabling me to rebuild the valve and get it back on the car without losing too much time. Take #2 of brake bleeding went without any issues arising, allowing us to move on.

On turning on the ignition, the fuel pump burst into life, ticking, and ticking.... and ticking.... and it soon became clear that it wasn't pumping any fuel. Long story short - it turned out that the tank pickup was blocked. The tank came from the donor car as the original one had been rudely patched underneath at some time. Although we had inspected the inside of the donor tank with a camera, and determined it to be good, we never thought to check the pickup. There ensued a short delay while this matter was dealt with before moving on. With the crank set by hand to 12deg BTDC, and the rotor pointing to cylinder #2, the engine started pretty much straight away and we moved the distributor, which had been left loose, to the position where the engine sounded sweetest. Joy was short-lived as after only a few minutes of running we found petrol spraying from a crack in the fuel pump body at the outward connection. Progress was halted again while I first attempted (unsuccessfully) to repair it with epoxy, then sourced a replacement from a local manufacturer of SU-type alternative pumps to whom I was referred by the NZ SOC. This arrived quickly and was easily installed, resolving the leak problem.

Before resuming running the motor I attempted to set the static ignition timing but found that the previously established "sweet" running position for the dizzy happened to be at the clockwise extremity of the available adjustment, and I found that I was unable to set the timing at any more than a few degrees BTDC. On consulting with some Members on the Forum, it became clear that the engine had been assembled without correctly aligning the jackshaft sprocket, resulting in the need to pull the distributor and re-install it clockwise by one tooth of its drive gear. Doing this necessitated moving all of the HT leads one position clockwise on the dizzy cap, but allowed static timing to be done at 12deg BTDC with the dizzy sitting in the middle of the adjustment range. Once set correctly, on turning the key the engine started immediately and we proceeded to set the timing with a strobe. Although sounding good, the idle speed was too high, even though the screws were backed off. This appeared to be a problem with one of the throttle plastic elbow joints, upon investigation of which it broke in half. So now will be a further pause imposed while I source parts - the whole linkage doesn't look too flash, so I'll probably replace the lot - rods, elbows and all.

Onwards and upwards... thanks to the invaluable advice gained on the Forum, and also the help of my brother, whose additional 5 years of wisdom, coupled with old-school mechanic's know-how, enables him to see the way through when I'm feeling stumped.

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[Davo1805NZ]

Now that she can move under her own steam I pulled her out of the garage yesterday and gave her a wash - got rid of 6 months' worth of dust and greasy paw prints, Looks a lot better, though when I drove back in, discovered I have fuel overflow from the left-hand carb, which I'm hoping turns out to be the crap in the needle valve issue, which I have seen discussed on the Forum. And earlier I had discovered a small oil leak - seems to be from oil pump or transfer housing. Both issues to be investigated - one-step-forward, two-steps-back... again

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[Davo1805NZ]

New gaskets on the float bowls appear to have fixed my fuel leak problem - I guess maybe more pressure from the new fuel pump instigated it(?) Was held up for a couple of weeks, waiting for gaskets to come from UK, so meanwhile put the power steering pump back on. Also suffered yet another knife attack - this time, out of the blue, appendicitis..... Gaskets arriving coincided with me feeling fit enough to go back down to the garage and do that job. Re-fitted the carbs and checked for any leaks before turning the key and starting straight away. Put some fluid in the PAS reservoir and bled the system, so that's all working now. Celebrated by putting my re-upholstered driver's seat in - mostly just for fun to see the two colours together, but also in readiness for when I take it for a cheeky blat around the block.... maybe

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[trunt]

Coming on..
At least you have the windscreen in for your cheeky blast, I remember spitting flies one time, I couldn’t keep mouth closed for the big grin!

I’m beginning to think that so many have had to slip a tooth on that dizzy that’s it’s normal..

[Davo1805NZ]

Thanks Terry - we're currently in lockdown here so probably would be a good time for a sneaky venture out on to the road as there's little traffic about. However, if I were unlucky enough to encounter a cop it would be difficult explaining what I was doing when I should be staying home

Just been putting the door handles on, having previously rebuilt them with the SOCTFL bowls. They look good and, surprisingly, I appear to have ended up with both door locks, ignition and fuel cap all working off the same key - though just quietly I suspect that a decent screwdriver would open the passenger side

Dave