Giving an old S3 army girl a new lease of life

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Couldn't leave the old girl alone and had a spare hour this morning so got the other wing off.



Now I can see what lays beneath........







Ok now the big question for all you experienced chaps. Whare do you suggest I start on the engine. It needs a major clean but I am very likely to forget which bits go where if I take it all to bits. Can I do a bit at a time? :confused:
 
In order:

1. Shoot the radiator. Just do it. :)
2. The captured bolts: If you do lose them or they are rotten an easy solution (and better than the originals for longevity) is to take a strip of metal, drill it to the right pattern, and solder bolts into the holes. As these things are not at all easy to get my side fo the pond i've made these myself for years and never had one fail out - especially as all the solder is really there for is to keep the bolt from turning - the load is in tension so relies on nothing but the bolt anyway.
3. As far as the the mudshields and such go those are easily obtainable new - or do what I've done and fit ones made from heavy ruber matting, with spacers to allow water/crap out from that area rather thn letting it build up.Mine were made from truck mud flaps - you could use conveyor belting or anything like that suits your fancy. This way they'll never ruust out, and won;t trap crap up top to rust out your foootwells.

ajr
 
Just stripped out the heater matrix and the blower.

Look what I found!



I know she's an old army girl but this really proves a little of her heritage.

The rest of my morning consisted of:

Taking off the funny blower thing,





Then the heater thing,



Should it have copper pipes??



Revealing the back of the passenger footwell which has been fixed up with a bit of a bodge..



Now it's raining too hard, I'm off inside for a brew.
 
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Wahey, nice one!

If you can get a pressure washer on the engine and some degreasant it should get a lot of the muck off. You could always mask up the moving parts and carb and spray it in situ. Tidying up the wiring and renewing all the little pipes etc will make a big difference and a neat tidy engine bay is good for reliability too. Your fan looks bigger than mine too.

What are you referring to as a bodge, if its those 2 plates rivetted on, that's normal. They are placed over the clutch and brake holes for a LHD vehicle.

It looks really solid actually, and a 5 bearing engine by the looks of it too. What does it run like?
 
Rattlegun said:
Wahey, nice one!

If you can get a pressure washer on the engine and some degreasant it should get a lot of the muck off. You could always mask up the moving parts and carb and spray it in situ. Tidying up the wiring and renewing all the little pipes etc will make a big difference and a neat tidy engine bay is good for reliability too. Your fan looks bigger than mine too.

What are you referring to as a bodge, if its those 2 plates rivetted on, that's normal. They are placed over the clutch and brake holes for a LHD vehicle.

It looks really solid actually, and a 5 bearing engine by the looks of it too. What does it run like?
Click to expand...

The bodge job is below the plates; lots of filler covered with black paint.....

Does size really matter (with fans)?

And now the really ignorant question.............. 5 bearing engine, what does it mean?

And I haven't had it running yet........................
 
After 1980 they modified the crankshaft design to have 5 large bearings instead of 3, supposedly very smooth, not that I've heard mine run either!!!!
 
Looking good so far! Too late now, but a junior hacksaw will cut a jubilee clip, and save destroying the rubber hose.
When I had my engine out, years ago, I stuck soundproofing on the inner wings and bulkhead while they were accessible. Made it a whole lot quieter (but that was a diesel).
Good luck with the weather.
 
Looked up the engine number on http://www.glencoyne.co.uk/info.htm but they didn't have my number?

364xxxxxx Series III petrol 2286cc 7:1 CR 5-bearing
365XXXXX this one is mine???????
366xxxxxx Series III diesel 2286cc 5-bearing

So I'm assuming mine falls somewhere between these so will be a 5 bearing...............

This is deep space territory for me now :alien:
 
RobertP said:
o, I stuck soundproofing on the inner wings and bulkhead while they were accessible. Made it a whole lot quieter (but that was a diesel).
Good luck with the weather.
Click to expand...

Good thinking, I think I'll look into that when the time is right. :)

Best of luck to the OP, You have mentioned a number of things I have wondered - engine cleaning, the stringy bit on top of the front panel.... Glad I'm not the only one :eek:
 
Didn't get much done today: had to work!

However, did get one of those twisty wire things for my grinder (never had one before) and had to have a go on the bit of chassis which I can get to. Wow, I've thrown my old wire brush away, this thing is amazing!!!! :cool:



I know that it will brown off again unless I paint it quick but give an old man a little pleasure......:D
 
Great job! will be following this :)
Rewarding stuff, suprising how addictive working on ya landy can get, and well worth the efforts :)
 
Heheh that's how I started on mine, I can see you having the whole thing to bits very soon! Imagine the whole chassis cleaned up like that ....

Looks like you caught the dumb iron corrosion just in time too.
 
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