Got the clutch working again without drama, and found zero fuel in the tank
(a good thing, as getting rid of skunky old fuel isn't as convenient as in the
old days when I could pour it into my tow car with big American V-8 that would
burn just about anything without complaint),
Put 20 litres (we're Metric, you know) into the beast and then sat there with
ignition on, hanging over the carbs with the knock-off hammer in hand to stem
any inclination to puke fuel due to a stuck float. Again, no problems.
Cranked the engine over with new battery veeerrrryyy slowly (must have been
pretty dry on those cylinder walls after a few years sitting, and had it not
been dead dry where it was stored - and even then - it would have been a good
idea to lube the cylinder walls, if only with a WD40 fog to get things moving.
Also really bad form to pull the surfaces off the rings that had bonded to the
wall surface - you never get a good seal after that!
It fired up fairly quickly after it speeded up with the cranking, BUT there
was now a knocking going on. Loud and metallic. I knew what it was right away,
having been there before - some git at the place it was stored must have put a
jack under it to squidge it closer together with the other cars stored there
and as most of the underside of the front half of an MGC is engine, they
jacked on the oil pan and pushed it up enough to be fouled by the crank as it
went
by. That may have contributed to the initial reluctance to spin as well. I
think I may have said 'Darn'. Or something rather similar. Several times,
possibly. But at least without the vehemence used when it was crashing through
the
fence after the trailer cable broke. Progress of a sort.
As I don't really have time to re and re the pan, and in any case have no
spare pan to cover the crankcase and keep out the dust while this one is being
banged out and perhaps welded if perforated, I shall have to farm it out to the
same local guys that I was going to use to get it through our emissions test.
Rats.
Still, nice to hear it run again, even if accompanied by a non-factory
approved percussion section. The exhaust note on this car is unique - we built
headers for it and run dual all the way back, and when it gets up around 3000
rpm
(it didn't on this occasion, just a quick run to see that all, including oil
pressure was well), it does rap something awful. In fact if you fire it up in a
parking garage it sets off car alarms in anything nearby. Good thing SWMBO is
the one usually driving it - and she rarely gets above 3000. I do my bit, and
rarely get below 3000 .....
Bill S.
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