Help identifying coupe

[Peter McKercher]

That sounds very promising Colin. Did you use the gasket with or without a dressing on the Six.

[ColinB]

No dressing Peter. The block and head were both pretty flat and it all seems to have sealed very well without any dressing..

[ColinB]

Just took her round the village for about 3 miles and although she got nice and warm there was no sign of boiling over. So I'm optimistic about this issue which I think has been solved.

The ride is hard and quite noisy as the enclosed cabin keeps it all in, she seems to need choke for quite a while and the battery has stopped charging again. But on a smooth piece of road on the outskirts she bowled along at 40mph very happily. That is the maximum I want to go to while she is still running in but I'm sure 50mph is comfortably available. The brakes also seem pretty good so that is a real confidence booster.

[Peter McKercher]

Congratulations Colin. Mine takes about 10 minutes to fully warm up so that seems about right. In terms of cruising, 50-55mph seems to be the sweet spot and open roads are the best. Cruising around town is really no fun, especially with the pot hole filled roads our Mayor feels we should put up with.

[jeans_old_man]

That's good news, Colin. Sounds like you are nearly sorted. My copper head gaskets arrived today. Here thay are straight from the laser cutter:

They need annealing and a quick deburr. Please queue on the left if you want one .
Just waiting for the camshaft and rockers now.

[ColinB]

I checked the head nuts this morning and they were still at 30 lb ft, and a new regulator has solved the charging problem. I am awaiting one trafficator from a Morris Minor supplier plus flashing LED trafficator bulbs to make them safer. Otherwise I think she is done, so I buffed her up with Autoglym polish as a treat. She looks just the same on the outside as when she arrived on 5th June but has had about £3,000 of mechanical restoration over the past 3 months. I sold the Series One for £11,000 and ELA has cost me overall £11,200 so its pretty cash-neutral and I am very happy with the outcome. I just want some dry days to get her run in.

[telco.2]

She's polished up beautifully! We have yet to cut the paint back on ours, though we have done a bit of work on the green panels. The bonnet is the worst due mainly to louvres ...and it was very warm when I sprayed it; possibly too warm! I'm not used to having to cope with that sort of weather
I think we'll need a bit coarser compound that T-cut.
It will be a winter job...
Bill

[ColinB]

I think getting her on road is a triumph for you Bill. You can tart up the finish at your leisure!

Just as a point of interest I was reading a contemporary review of the Coupe today and this described the remote gear change as being the same as those on Singer"s racing cars. So I think the Le Mans style gear stick may be correct.

[ColinB]

Lovely short run today with my wife for the first time. ELA behaved perfectly so we are planning our first trip out for a pub lunch. The flashing Flashicator bulbs arrived today so that adds a level of visibility to both semaphores . The remaining issue is that the fuel gauge aways shows 'full' when the ignition is on so the sender is probably US. I see from a search that I need a 30 ohm sender. Can anyone point me to a source?

[mikeC]

A 'full' reading on the fuel gauge suggests a bad earth to the instrument.

[telco.2]

Agreed Mike! I bought new sender & matched gauge from Merlin Motor sport and they advise to use a separate earth - not to rely on tank as earth.
Mine works OK except that the gauge is calibrated for round or square tanks not oval as on the sports 9. It reads pretty accurately down to 1/4 full then zeros quickly after that! Answer is to fill up sooner rather than later...or too late!!!

[jeans_old_man]

Early GM gauges (pre '64) were 0-30 ohm, for example, Chrysler. There are plenty in America but getting them shipped will be pricey. You could try rewinding the sender rheostat with the wire sold for vape machines. You will need a steady hand and a lot of patience!

Alternatively, for less than £12 you can buy a universal gauge and sender. With a new chrome bezel and a photocopied dial it looks like this:

Look forward to seeing the pictures of you and the missus outside the pub!

Brian

[ColinB]

Thanks chaps - the earth is a good place to start so I'll try that tomorrow and keep you posted.

[ColinB]

I tried taking the earth from the battery direct to the top of the sender but it made no difference. As the sender is absolutely buried within structure on the coupe I will just live with it and gauge consumption from mileage. The 7 gallon tank should give me 200 mile range so if I fill up every 150 miles I will be fine.

[ColinB]

Filming day today for Bangers and Cash. ELA behaved perfectly with no sign of overheating so I am very pleased with the outcome. I have a lot of pre-winter jobs to do around the house and garden so I'll focus on those before I start back on the Light Six.