11/24/09

I dropped off the A-15 at Automotive Machine last night. I debated whether or not to have the rotating assembly balanced but Steve, in a monumental case of “knowing his customer,” sold me on it. “Those engines make all their power in the 5,000 to 7,500 rpm range,” he pointed out. “It’s the best money you’ll ever spend.” Now before you get all uppity and point out that the reason I'm building this engine is that the "Screamin' Demon" was undrivable, I am not building it to RUN in that rpm range, I'm building it to SURVIVE when it does “occasionally” delve into that rpm range. Here is what I think I asked for. New bearings, new pistons, bore block for new pistons, balance rotating assembly, shave 0.005” off block deck, port head to match intake/exhaust gasket, radius between #2 & #3 exhaust ports, weld shut water jacket to intake manifold ports, shave 0.010” off head deck, install double valve springs & retainers, and... um, I think that’s all. I did forgo having the EGR ports welded shut and I doubt I'll have all those coatings applied. Though I really want the coatings. Well, we’ll see what the machine work is going to cost and then decide. I have a bid in on a set of 0.5 mm oversize A-14/15 pistons on e-Bay right now. I'm not sure if the $51.00 (my current bid plus shipping) to $60.00 (my max bid plus shipping) range is better than Automotive Machine can do, but I never said I was a wise investor or a smart shopper. I'll try to remember to tell Steve about those when I drop off the flywheel bolts this afternoon. I should know whether or not I've won the auction by then. Well, I guess if I don't win I won't need to tell him about them, will I? Anyhoo, that’s the plan as it sits right now. Oop! I just got the call from Bomber Command! I gotta go! Whew! That was a close call. I was afeared I might have to take a “walk of shame” out to the car with a jacket tied around my waist, if you know what I mean. Fortunately, I did not. So anyway, where was I? Oh, I guess I was pretty much done with that part of the report. In Nadine news, according to the tracking e-mails I got from various vendors, the inner tubes and part of the wiring harness should be arriving today. Since I won't have parts to do anything with Shichi this weekend, I guess we can get the tires mounted so Nadine can become a roller again. I'm really excited about it having Datsun bolt pattern hubs. I think a set of Rota RB wheels will look really good on there. No, they won't have the panache of wires, but at 1/3 the cost, screw panache! They will look right enough since they are styled after Panasport wheels of that car’s era. The other day I got to thinking, “Man, how cool would that TR be with a Datsun L-series engine?” An L-18 made almost as much horsepower as the stock Triumph donk, albeit way less torque probably. Weight wise, once the swap were made the car probably wouldn't weigh much more than a stock 510 did. It stands to reason it would be a fairly sprightly performer. Of course Triumph purists would cry foul, just like I do with rotary powered 1200s or Small Block Chevy powered Z-cars. No, the only way I'll even consider it is if the stock engine is just too seized up to be repaired. OK, if it is going to be too expensive to repair it, because we all know the parts to fix it are out there. Besides, it would totally tank the value of the car. Yeah, I guess I'll just plan to stick with Triumph power. OK, I know I'm jumping around from topic to topic, but I just re-read the bit about tracking numbers and it reminded me of this. While we were disassembling Shichi, I asked John, already knowing his answer, if he thought I should ditch the retractable seat belts for a set of harnesses. His answer, of course, was, “Of course.” So, I began “searching” for a set I liked. OK, so I only went to e-Bay. My thinking was thus, mix and match a set of red and blue harnesses so that each seat had a mirror image of the other, one red and blue while the other was blue and red, see? My second choice was matching red or blue harnesses on both seats. Then I started thinking about other colors. I had to have purple! I began looking for purple harnesses. Unfortunately, none of the inexpensive brands came in purple. Then I found a set of yellow ones. Meh, close enough. I bought them. They are on their way to me now as well. I think I'm going to recycle the Birkin belts into Lil' Wiggly since the belts in that car piss me off every time I drive it. There’s something I can do on Friday at the shop! I could, I suppose, also install that electric fuel pump I bought for that car. Yeah, that’ll give me something to do while I'm off. Well, I guess I'm just about talked out for the day. Toodles.