Hey Dave Russell .. got motor?

[John Loftus]

Dave,

How's the new motor coming along? Any pictures or feedback yet (as in how it runs?)

Cheers,
John

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi John,
It runs very well. Put about 100 miles on it. The old redline was at 4,800 rpm, mainly due to crankshaft harmonic problems. I pretty well solved this by using a DWR billet crankshaft, pistons, & Carillo style rods. With the DWR parts plus cam & cylinder head & raising the compresion ratio from 7.5 to 9.7, it seems to have even more torque than original at 2,000 rpm & pulls very strongly to 6,000 rpm, as high as the tach goes. Milled the DWR head .050 which in conjunction with the new pistons gave 9.7 to 1. DW says it should run all day at 6,500 if I wish. The 12 pound flywheel is not really noticeable with this combination. No down side, but it does grab rpm a bit quicker.

Break in was uneventful. Got everything ready to go, it fired immediately, & ran for the prescribed 40 minutes at 2,500 rpm cam break in. It required Supplemental cooling for the first 20 minutes. Hose trickling in the radiator cap & draining out the bottom of the block. After 20 minutes, the temp started dropping so I discontinued the supplemental cooling. The rings pretty well seated during this cam break in.

The annoying vibrations at several different rpm's are now gone. I guess full balancing helped. Also put in a complete new wiring harness while the engine was out.

I have some pics, don't know what the posting limit is, but I will try.
Regards,
D

 

[John Loftus]

sweet .. you did a great job .. everything looks top notch .. and you must be pleased with the way it turned out (extra big grin at 6,000 + rpm, eh? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif )

Thanks for the report and pics.

Cheers,
John

 

[GB1]

Dave

That is gorgeous

Patrick

 

[Michael Oritt]

Dave--

The engine looks great--I may have to cancel the plans to drive to Conclave San Diego with you as I would be embarrassed to put my car next to yours.

I notice that you wrapped the header in the FG/asbestos tape--I initially did this and was told by lots of folks that this promotes corrosion on tubular exhausts so went to the stuff that you suggested to me a few years back. Have you received any such input?

 

[nevets]

Dave

Thanks for the automotive porn. Good looking stuff.

 

[Dave Russell]

Dave--
I notice that you wrapped the header in the FG/asbestos tape--I initially did this and was told by lots of folks that this promotes corrosion on tubular exhausts so went to the stuff that you suggested to me a few years back. Have you received any such input?

It's quite likely that I'm one of the folks that told you about the corrosion. I decided that heat reduction was more important than long header life. I can always replace the header in a couple of years if needed. It REALLY dropped the temp a lot. I can change my mind quickly sometimes.

I stripped the header to bare metal, applied high temp black, & cured it with an acetylene torch directed down the pipes. Then applied the two inch wrap wet so that it would conform tightly, & dried it with the torch. Then applied high temp black over the wrap & torch cured it. Attached is a pic before the final black over coat.
D

 

[Michael Oritt]

I can change my mind quickly sometimes.

---------------------------
I hate when that happens.

 

[Randy Forbes]

Wow, you really pulled out all the stops!

Looks great, nice job.

 

[Dave Richards]

Great Job, really looks nice Dave. That, my friend is a first class job!

 

[healeynut]

Nice! Does that flywheel take a diaphram clutch like the BJ8? That's one change I'd like to make to the BN1 if I could.

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Alan,
It could be setup for either clutch. I went with a new Borg & Beck original style, (actually AP) since I've had it sitting on the shelf for several years. Surprisingly, the pedal is much lighter than the seemingly similar old clutch. It doesn't slip either. I did "blueprint" it to get the throw off even all the way around & it required quite a bit of work to get it balanced.

I've read of some clearance issues between flywheel/clutch & bellhousing on BN1's, when changing parts around. I guess you are familiar with this?
D

 

[GregW]

Dave, my hat's off to you. Excellent workmanship. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bow.gif

 

[Johnny]

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thankyousign.gif for sharing Dave. Great job, super photo's. Sometimes I wish Donald were around to look at how far one can take his automobile's.

Do you plan on racing this car?

 

[bighly]

Dave,

Will you be giving away rides at Rendezvous or do I need to come to Boise?

 

[zblu]

Nice Dave Russell,
Just a query or three!
a) why the red paint to the internal walls?
b) did you sleeve the bores?
c) is the harmonic balancer as good as claimed?
Again, nice work

 

[Dave Russell]

Dave,

Will you be giving away rides at Rendezvous or do I need to come to Boise?

I won't be going to Rendezvous this year. My health is such that I can't tolerate heat very well. Last year's trip to Nelson nearly finished me off.

Tri Cities has even hotter weather at that time of the year. I'm not sure why folks pick the hottest time of the year for these outings but apparently the majority like it.
D

 

[Dave Russell]

a) why the red paint to the internal walls?
b) did you sleeve the bores?
c) is the harmonic balancer as good as claimed?

The "red paint" is Glyptal, actually an electrical insulating varnish. The engines were originally done this way at the factory. It is still done by many engine builders. Just keeping it original. The heat & oil resistant Glyptal is thought to seal the rough cast metal pores so that any fine metal particles cannot get out to contaminate the oil system, & to promote more rapid drain back of oil on the rough cast surfaces.

The bores are not sleeved. The original bores at 90,000 miles still had the original pistons & only a couple of thousandths wear. The new pistons required approximately a .030" over bore to fit the new pistons.

The ATI balancer is a friction type. It has an inner hub which is one piece with the outer shell , An inner weight ring with multiple rubber O rings between the weight ring & the shell. The rubber is not bonded & permits the weight ring to slightly rotate to seek the optimum balance point. The number of O rings & their durometer hardness are selected to optimize the balancer for a particular engine. The balancer appears to damp out harmful crankshaft harmonics which would otherwise shorten the life of the crank & main bearings. The engine is very smooth at all rpms.
ATI Dampers:
https://www.atiperformanceproducts.com/products/dampers/
D

 

[nevets]

"I won't be going to Rendezvous this year. My health is such that I can't tolerate heat very well. Last year's trip to Nelson nearly finished me off."

Dave

Please take care of your health. I believe at least half of all Austin Healey technical knowledge resides with you. Your postings on the website should be printed and bound. Thank you... and thank you Basil for providing the venue.

 

[Dave Richards]

Dave, did you say once that you were doing all the engine work yourself?