I was on the list a while back from a different e-mail address. I have
recently become the caretaker of a series 3, #9203996 LRX.
Briefly, its history:
probably flood damaged in an Ohio river flood, late '60s; taken to pieces and
sold,
non-running, to a succession of owners. Purchased in '70 or '71 by its
current owner, my girlfriend's father. He put it back together by the
mid-to-late '70s,
used it for occasional family outings and to haul tools around a construction
site.
Really. Let his son drive it in high school, eventually killing the engine.
Replaced it with a 1725 (#B39500717 LRX) for my girlfriend's 16th birthday
present. A few years later, something (gear tooth?) fell into the ring and
pinion, pushing them apart rather forcefully and breaking open the axle case.
The car then sat for 10 years.
The owner started it every year or so, trying to keep everything from
freezing. It
didn't work. One of the valves (intake valve #4) got gummed up with shellac,
stuck,
and bent a pushrod.
Here's where I come in. I found the stuck valve, bent pushrod, etc. 2 weeks
ago.
Pull the head, ground the valves, clean everything. Rebuild the carbs. Put
in new points, condenser, cap, rotor, coil, wires, and plugs. Put the head
back on with new gaskets all around. Now, pretty much, just need to put a
good fuel line to the carbs (the old jerry-rigged one leaked a lot, which
makes me nervous as hell) and set the timing.
I'll ask for advice on the fuel line, on stupid gas tricks, and just about
anything I ought to be warned about on Alpines -- I know next to nothing
about them. Are there any good books available?
Also, curious as to this car's exact parentage. Who owned Sunbeam at the
time?
Where was it built? What does "non-standard equipment" mean?
Oh, and here's a few important questions. Is it possible to hook a
mechanical tach to a 1725 block? It's currently unattached. Also, the spare
(junkyard) axle -- according to the current owner -- has a slightly different
handbrake mechanism than the one in the car. What does this mean in terms of
a swap? I was planning on using the brakes off the broken axle, as they seem
remarkably good after all these years, and are most importantly full of
fluid, not rusted solid.
Also, I'll eventually need advice on what a wiring harness for this car is
supposed to look like -- currently, it's a few bits of recognizable brit
wiring and a whole lot of 14ga green hardware-store wire.
Enough rambling for now -- I'll end as I should have started, by saying
Hello, and thanking list members for their websites, their wisdom, and their
help.
Matt
'70 MGB Daily driver for 5 years
64 Jag (worse shape than the Alpine -- still in boxes!)
64 Alpine
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