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mrsprite

mrsprite

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Finally.........my Bugeye is driveable again! I still need to do some tweaking and reattach the hood/bonnet, but I drove it around the block tonight and nothing broke. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

The only issue I am having is the clutch engagement......it is literally right off the floor. Possibly a leak somewhere or maybe it is time to upgrade the hydraulics. The good news is it does engage and disengage (no grinding or funny noises), so at least I won't be destroying a clutch in the process.

Oh yeah.....I decided to get one of those replacement steering racks from VB (made in Argentina). I was sort of apprehensive, but at $200 you can't beat it. I got it today and all I can say is wow! My old rack really was pretty sloppy afterall. Well worth the $$ and I'm glad I decided not to try fixing my old rack (that would have cost me MUCH more money).

I have about a week until the big British car show here in Denver.....hopefully I can get her cleaned up enough to be presentable (it certainly is not a show car, but is pretty dirty from a 4 month hibernation).
 
Sometimes just being there is "1st Place". I had the same goal for my car.
 
Good deal, make sure that clutch is blead well again. then if still a prob and no leaks use a longer rod between the cylinder and the fork. Try a 1/4 inch longer for starters.
 
Nice work, and good to hear those repro steering racks are decent quality.
 
Sounds like great progress is being made.
 
That's got to feel great getting it back on the road!
Good for you! I hope you get it to the show on time /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
Congrats!!!!!! Isn't it great to have it on the road. At our all Brit in KC the "diamond in the rough" is very popular for those who have gotten their car there, but are working on it. This yr. a young man had a very good running mini that I was afraid might break in half for all the rust when he ran it in the fun run. Personally, I really don't want to have a show car, just one that I can drive and enjoy. So mine isn't and never will be perfect.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. I drove it up and down the block a few times.....I even got it into 2nd gear! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif I can't wait to start driving it for real.

A few issues have cropped up though. One is the steering. The new rack is nice and tight, but the steering wheel doesn't want to "self-correct" or center after a turn. I have to manually turn the wheel the other way or I'll just keep going in circles. It may have to do with the alignment.....who knows? I will wait until I get it aligned and see how it behaves before I panic too much.

Also with the steering is the horn. I have the horn button off and the little pushrod thingy removed, but when I turn the wheel the horn goes off. It feels like something is rubbing inside the column. Any ideas? I have since unplugged the horn, so it doesn't work at all right now.

The clutch still engages off the floor, but I did find that the slave was a bit leaky. I have the engine and trans from an '82 Datsun 210 and the stock Datsun slave was modified at the hydraulic line fitting, which is where I believe my troubles lie. Eventually I will replace the slave and master.....that should fix that problem.

The most disturbing issue is my oil pressure. The oil pump on the Datsun 210 is external. Basically, the part that the oil filter screws onto is the oil pump. It is driven by a gear that fits inside the engine. Since the frame rail interfered with using a stock filter, a filter relocation kit was used. It screws onto the stock oil filter/oil pump housing and utilizes some AN fittings that connect the new filter to the engine (new filter is HUGE and attaches to the front bumper bracket).

Anyway, I initially thought that the lack of oil pressure to the gauge was due to the capillary tube being misaligned or cracked. I removed it and then fired up the engine......no oil squirted out of the hole! I then removed the valve cover and can't seem to find any evidence of oil reaching the top end. I just might have been driving around with no oil pressure! Gulp!

Before I plunk down a bunch of money on a new oil pump, is there any other way to test it out? Just how much oil should I see under the valve cover? With the valve cover off and the engine running shouldn't oil be pouring all over the place?

Help!
 
Congrats on getting the car going, I know the feeling.

On the horn, I was having the same issue with it constantly going off and received the answer in a post i made:

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/342891#Post342891


Essentially, you need to create a hard plastic washer to put between the steering wheel and the "hub" that mounts to the dashboard. The steering wheel is making contact with the brass ring on the hub causing the horn to go off.

Someone suggested a washer made from a plastic milk jug. Will try this myself this weekend, but it sounds like the right fix for my issue.
 
Thanks.....I'll give that a try.

Now for the oil pressure problem. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a bad gauge connection or something simple. I really had no oil pressure! I wound up removing the oil filter then started the car.....nothing. No oil gushed everywhere.....not a drop. Great. I have to pull the oil pump, which is a royal PITA due to that filter relocation kit and the proximity to the frame. I finally managed to get it out by loosening the drivers side motor mount nut and completely removing the passenger one. This gave me just enough clearance to pop the thing out.

It was about 90% seized. I could still move it by hand, but barely. It was pretty stiff. There was also some scoring on the gear. Uh oh. Please tell me I didn't strip a gear. @$#! Of course I did! And with my luck it couldn't have been the oil pumps gear that sheared off. No.....it had to be the gear inside the block. It looks like I will have to remove the engine once again and fix this mess. I only hope I didn't do any permanent damage to the engine.

I am truly disgusted.
 
Do not start engine untill you have oil movement just turning it over.

I know nothing about the pumps you are talking about.
 
Since we have the same motor you have prompted me to go take a look at mine. I'm just going to pop off the oil cap on top of the valve cover and look in with a flashlight while it's running. BTW what do you have in your car for an oil gauge?
 
Hey Rick.....thanks for looking. I am still interested in the amount of oil flow at the head. That said, it was definitely the oil pump that failed. It's just bad timing for it to give up the ghost when it did. Everything worked fine when I pulled the engine for teh clutch job. If I knew the oil pump was on the way out I would have replaced it when I had the engine out.

I am using the stock Spridget gauge set-up.

There is an '81 210 at a local junkyard. I plan on heading there tomorrow to pull off the oil pump and feel inside the block. I can't seem to find any resemblence of a gear inside mine, but I'm not sure what I am supposed to feel in there. Worst case scenario is I buy the engine and disassemle it to trouble shoot mine (and to scavenge parts off of it).

With any luck I won't have to pull my engine out again, but I am fairly certain that I will.
 
Well I looked inside mine and found some oil there under the oil filler cap. I don't know how much I should see in there but there was some. (better than none)
 
Thanks Rick. I just got a 100% diagnosis or prognosis or some other nosis......She's dead Jim!

It didn't dawn on me how the oil pump pumped......it is run off of the camshaft and every single tooth on that gear is gone. Long story short, I need a new camshaft and oil pump.

I am debating a total performance rebuild now. I already have the GX head, so maybe I'll build the bottom end. I am also debating snagging that junkyard A15 and throwing it in my Bugeye while I do the rebuild of mine. Of course, I could just buy a cam and a pump and just fix mine.

Decisions.
 
You might have bearing issues now that it has run without pressure for awhile. Also just replacing the cam doesn't do anything for the lifters.
I would definately grab the junkyard engine. It's certainly much cheaper than rebuilding yours.
Pumps don't usually just sieze. It might have gotten a bit of hard dirt in it.
Maybe even use your GX head on the new engine.
 
This could get difficult. The engine at the junkyard was, well, junk so I didn't get it. I was thinking about grabing the camshaft, but it would have taken more time than I was willing to invest. No problem....I'll just buy a new cam. Of course....nobody carries camshafts for the Datsun 210. This just gets better and better.

Does anyone know where I can find a camshaft!?

I have decided to pull out my engine and completely rebuild it. That means no more driving this year, well at least this summer/early fall. I just need to figure out where to get parts!
 
Don't know if that cam will work right in his A15.
This sounds like a good question for the folks over on the datsun1200 bbs. Have you asked there yet?
 
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