Toyota 4AGE into Eleven will go (one way or another)

[Splat]

Bugger! Buggerbuggerbuggerbugger! On the plus side, at least you've tasted the potential and know that the pain will be worth the effort. Keep attacking!

[erictharg]

Exactly so! As is trendy at present, it's a case of "Keep calm and carry on...".

[erictharg]

So, used set of late 42mm big end con rods sourced to go with my spare crank. Spare stock head also with machinist for valves and seats to be re-cut. Guides seem fine. Will use the Supertech springs and caps if possible. Trying to source a set of oversize stock spec pistons as used in the later Mk1 MR2's. Not may around because " they never go wrong". Aaagh! Also added some baffling to the sump to limit surge. Can't make next race at Brands, so targeting Rockingham (home circuit) first weekend in July.
Meanwhile working on the brakes. Seems the Spitfire discs foul the MGB calipers slightly so getting 1,5mm taken off the mounting face. Then, of course, the bigger discs foul the track rod ends. Solution is either to move the discs / caliper outboard with different caliper mounts (defeats the aim of using MGB calipers though) or move the bolt-on steering arms inboard a little. Opted for the latter to making up 5mm spacers for the four mounting bolts. Will very slightly mess up the ackerman angle for the steering but suspect I'll never notice. And I need to remember to re-set the tracking! Then I can mock it all up again and determine height of the adapters to mount the discs to the hubs.
Also have a 205GTI rad on its way. Will let you know how that goes...

[biggles]

There is a bloke on locostbuilders for sale forum selling a complete 4age for £100 plus a few other bits, all seems cheap and he is in Bicester. Don't know if any use, just thought I would mention it....

[Westfield 129]

Don't the big brake kits have a relocation block for the steering arm to move it inboard and forward?

This will have an effect on both the bump steer and the ackerman, but the bump steer will be the most problematic. If the end result of moving the steering arms (perhaps a lack of precision on turn in, or darting around on bumps) bothers you, a session with the bump steer gauge and a plan for moving the steering rack may be necessary. Also, the tie rod ends will likely have to be cut and threaded (again) to set the toe.

Adjusting the toe alone can help to return some of the turn in precision if the problem is just the change in ackerman.

Don't forget to have the new connecting rods resized with the new rod bolts installed.

[erictharg]

Thanks for the heads up on the possible spare engine. I'll check its spec / condition.
Got my new Wiseco pistons yesterday from Hurley racing - they'd had them on the shelf for a customer who never came back, so got them at cost (£400) but nice items. Forged, hi comp and so shiny!
Re. the rods Jan. I'm using stock Toyota items from a stripped engine. More than up to the 7500rpm I'm using. They're with my machinist to check size and balance.
Appreciate the moving of the steering arms is not ideal, but only 5mm spacers so hopefully no noticeable affect. I've still got enough thread on the track rods to reset the tracking.

[Westfield 129]

I don't bother with checking the sizing as I always intend to change the rod bolts. When rod bolts are replaced, the rods need to be resized (this needs to be done with the new bolts), so I just order up the proceedure as part of the rod prep and balancing.

This is really important, and none of my machinists would skip this process in an engine rebuild when the rod bolts are replaced (which is every rebuild)

I specify ARP fasteners for the rods, mains, cylinder head.

[erictharg]

OK. So, third build completed (Don't say it - third time lucky). All clearances plastigaged, ring gaps checked etc and all to spec. No cotton rags used - only paper towels. All parts plastic bagged when not being used / assembled. The bearings this time are King race spec with a tin and moly coating and cost about double what the regular spec did but relatively little in the overall scheme of things. Massive FRAM HP1 filter (same as Porsche 911). Got it back in the car a couple of days ago and first run out today. Did maybe 12 miles of increasing acceleration then overrun (usual drill). Oil pressure holding fine, coolant around 70 deg C. No leaks. Struggling to get all the air out of the new brakes but bled them after the run and improved again. Still have the left track rod end occasionally catching the edge of the disc. The LH steering arm must have taken a wallop sometime and slightly bent it, so will introduce it to my press tomorrow and get it back to matching the RH item!
Plan to do another 15 to 20 miles tomorrow of same routine, then change oil and filter with fresh 20-50 basic mineral oil. Then 100 plus miles of road use being driven as hard as practical (and safe...) before Anglesey. Then one more oil change to race spec oil. Might go back to VR1 20-50 rather than the fully synthetic. Found myself putting off this first road test fearing the worst. Of course, it should be fine...
The brakes were initially poor (even allowing for the air in them) but started to bed in and got better. Have gone for EBC Yellow pads (£50 a set) and my trusty Mintex1155's are over £100 a set for the MGB calipers. Time will tell. Anyone fancy giving their Eleven a run out to Anglesey 16/17 July?

[Westfield 129]

I don't understand the change in oil.

Funny, but I run the Valvoline 20/50 Racing on any of my cars that use mineral oil. That includes my W11 and my 21 year old daily driver Mercedes C280. Even after 150,000 miles, it shows no oil consumption.

I break in all my engines on the Valvoline Racing 20/50, using a break in additive (more ZDDP) when the engine has a flat tappet cam.

Bearings don't "break in", as the clearances are set and will be maintained throughout the life of the engine, unless there is a problem such as oil starvatin or debris, or a clearance problem.

The bit that really breaks in is the pistons, and the rings, which lap in the cylinder walls.

Liberal use of the throttle, with a release to creat some manifold vacuum to draw cool air and oil into the bores to wash down the cylinder walls will help seat the rings, and allow the pistons to change shape and accommodate the bores.

Using a lighter oil may accelerate this. I often used a 0W20 dinosaur oil to break in the Mondeo V6 Turbo engines that we used on the Noble M400s, waiting until the oil consumption stabilized prior to changing to fully synthetic Mobil 1.

I am pretty sure that yoru previous problems were due to problems with the original engine build(s) and not the oil.

Use lots of throttle for short bursts, followed by throttle release for the first 500 miles. Check your oil consumption, and you should find that the engine has broken in nicely. Do a leak down test to be sure. Use a magnetic drain plug to pick up any trace metals left over from the machining.

You can break in the engine on the Valvoline, and continue to run it on the road, for the life of the engine.

[erictharg]

Jan - the reason I use synthetic oil once the rings and bores are bedded in is twofold. Firstly a synthetic oil does flow better at startup and so results in less bypass at the filter whilst the oil is cold. Secondly, cost. I can get Total Quartz 10-50 synthetic racing oil for less money (£30 for 5 litres) than a premium mineral race oil (vs VR1 mineral at £35), and I can safely run it in the engine longer before changing. I have nothing against mineral oils, but it just makes more sense to use the synthetic as long as it is available at such a low cost. This particular oil is priced competitively in the UK as it is used in Formula Renault racing which Total sponsor.