The Snail

This ^^^^^^^

I've got a Davies Craig fitted but still have a thermostat. You can fit a speed controller but the option I've gone for is to drill a few small holes in the thermostat to allow a small flow during warm up. Unfortunately you can't get away without fitting one.
 
Interesting, thanks colin, it would also create a faff of getting the heater return right. I‘ve parked that part of the idea for now. I’ve been busy taking even more things apart and painting the engine bay. Leaky water pump

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I’m also a bit surprised by the level of corrosion on the alloy parts. am I using the wrong kind of antifreez?
 
Should be the blue stuff.
I put a 'T' piece in the bottom hose (lekky pump inlet) for the heater return
 
I’m also a bit surprised by the level of corrosion on the alloy parts. am I using the wrong kind of antifreeze?
Probably the right kind of antifreeze, but not changing it often enough. If it's blue stuff, the antifreeze properties last for ever, but the anti corrosion properties only last 2 years. If it's the new fangled long life stuff, it leaches the lead out of the solder in old fashioned radiators and heater matrixes. Lots of interesting chemistry going on with all those different metals and knackered antifreeze.
 
So I bought some stainless wire for my mig welder and welded the threaded boss on - I was quite surprised, came out neater than my normal welding!

i‘ve also discovered I’ve got a leaking waterpump which is a bit of an arse. Given all the other jobs I want to get done this winter I’ve taken the engine cowling off and the radiator out.

question for you wise chaps out there - if I were to fit an Electric water pump with fancy controller I’m guessing I wouldnt actually need the thermostat, housing, etc I could just make up two plates, one on the head, one on the engine? This would clear some space for the leccy water pump. I’d fit a shorter belt between the crank and alternator.
Avx10, 785 fan belt if you are just running alternator off the crank
 
Thanks Nick, I’ve literally just finished two cans of cider and measuring the fan belt with sting, ordered a 700mm one, hmm. Looks like I might have gone too small. Will let you know mid week...

also had a go at the waterpump. Firstly quite gently with a pin punch, then a bigger hammer, then some heat, then a grinder, then a lot of heat... very hard to get apart.

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Now just need to get a 30mm core plug to finish this off
 

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I’ve got so many fan belts lying around all 1cm difference from trying to get the right one. Very little adjustment on my engine between being able to get it on and to get it tight
 
Thanks Nick, that’s exactly the photo I needed to see.

hopefully some things will start turning up in the post tomorrow, I can then start ‘phase 2’
 
Thought you had, but got distracted looking at that radiator drain tap, need to make myself up at one of those, would make changing the coolant less messy.

i‘m still distracted tidying up the wiring at the moment. My logic goes that whilst I’m going to be at home for a bit and that there isn’t a rolling road nearby that will touch the bike carbs what I should do is have another go myself. To do this I think a wideband sensor might be better and if I can log load from the throttle position sensor and rpm at the same time all the better. A bit of analysis via excel should see me making some slightly more objective tweaks to the carbs. However to do this I need some more wires in the engine bay and that is a faff, so i thought I’d move all the engine bay panels an future proof by putting a few more spare wires in whilst I was at it. I then noticed the leaky water pump so it made sense to take the rad out, and whilst that was out paint the engine bay, and fit an electric water pump, and if I’m going to do that I might as well get the full benefit and fit the fancy controller, more wires, and if I’ve git all the out and need a good rpm feed, well I could fit a trigger wheel to the crank pulley. That future proofs a future mappable ignition conversion.

so that’s the rough plan. But I do keep getting distracted. Might move the stereo too - I can’t reach it with my seatbelt on.

core plug

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distraction

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this is my spare alpine pulley which I based my measurements on, which now appears to be different to the one on the van, fortunately still looks like it will fit okay. Went for 108mm internal diameter. Would be interested to know if anyone else has fitted a crank sensor of where they put it. At the moment I’m thinking the alternator side. Also not sure if I really should be using screened wire, not that I’ve got any in my new improve loom. Might suck it and see.
 
Hmm. Craig David just isnt the right shape. My oil cooler pipes aren’t helping either but the main clash is the gear linkage. Moving the rad forward by more than about 1cm would also start to hit the oil cooler. Hmm. Decided to stop tonight. Why can’t it be fitted to the top hose? plenty of room there for a neat job.
 
I've seen one mounted higher up, about inner wing level, but still plumbed into the bottom hose, seemed to work OK but the suction needs to be permanently flooded so the lower down the better.
I think it was on Katy owned by Scott (eclipse77)
 
So feels like there are two obvious options. Fit it to to top hose, aiming to keep the body of the pump as low as possible, looking on the FAQs on the Davies Craig website it says this is fine, just avoid it running dry at all costs. Or fit it in front of the radiator, this seems to be what lotus elan drivers do.

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I’m going to drink some beer and think about it some more
 
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