Sprint racer

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 4:41 pm

Life saving tool.......everyone should have one of these in the tool box....Stilson's

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 6:36 pm

Well to add some colour to the well used tool above, it proved invaluable at the weekend

All jobs done except the oil pressure guage.

Surprised at how little brake pad has been used so far - possibly because the overall set up is useless....

or I'm not standing on the pedal hard enough.

New catch tank looks enormous at 2 litre, but hey - rules are rules and the blue book is king (and a continous cash cow for motorsport companies, and cash drain for mugs like me...). I have a very nice 1 litre alloy tank, brand new that is for sale, will post a pic later.

On the plus side, the manifold blanking plug that made a bid for freedom at Brands clearly had second thoughts, I found it wedged in the crossmember and its now cleaned, polished and sat in the toolbox as a spare.

Back to the Stilsons ......why do people : (1) Over tighten nuts/bolts/studs to bonkers levels and (2) use (or cause in (1)) studs with a head that is starting to round off.

Changing the front engine mounting got off to a good start :

1. Decent spare mount found in the garage
2. Just alternator belt and fan to remove to get at the engine studs at the front
3. Above 4 studs came undone nice and easy
4. Next to the long studs up through the cross member.....doh! - bearing in mind these things are 13mm heads they are hardly meant to be holding the whole of the car together. One came undone with a bit of weight on it, the second was the offending 'semi' rounded head previously torque'd up by Dr David Banner when in and angry mood .... :mrgreenout
After trying the mole grips, bashing it with a cold chisel we started to get the grinder out and equally worrying about how we got the remaining thread out upwards into the engine bay - it was looking likely that the cross member was having to come off to do it.

Anyhow, the chief engineer decided to go to his tool stash and came back with the well used and probably 40 year old kit in the photo for one last go at it. You can imagine how pleased we were to hear the 'crack' that signalled that the stud had come loose and duly wound out from below. Such a basic looking tool that saved hours of work - its now in the top of my tool box !

Roll on Saturday, although it's going to be wet, and I dont like wet weather / circuits - the self preservation gene takes over.....

Post by **KevJTD** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 10:52 pm

stilsons are an awesome tool that so very often save the day, much MUCH more useable than mole grips. once they bite then they bite

well done on getting through your list of jobs, cracking weekends work

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 11:25 pm

Agree Kev, took a couple of goes to get the bite, but once gripped we stuck a bar on the end and I went for the old 'foot on bar' routine......safe to say the old stud is in the bin.

Luckily we also have a stash of studs of various lengths and thread.

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:20 pm

Talking about rolling roads on the other thread prompted me to dig this out from a rolling road session in the summer, and I thought I'd share it as I know we all like to see the facts and figures.

As Bryan reminds us quite rightly, rollers differ and its more a bench to set things up and track improvement.

The engine is a factory standard 1500 block/crank/rods/pistons, with reprofiled cams and some headwork (not sure of valve size but suspect the bigger ones). It has 40 webers and a hand made crossover manifold. you can see from the profile that the power only comes in at 5K, which I've found diffcult to get used to. However, for what it is, its a good engine and I cant fault it really.

BS25 · Post by **BS25** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 8:31 pm

Looks like a healthy one Tim! Very typical pair of curves for a cammy engine!

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:02 pm

Thanks Bryan. We wanted to try the Dellorto 45's on it but ran out of time on the rollers. They might be a bit too much for it, but equally may figure in some future plans.

mbakermarco · Post by **mbakermarco** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 11:21 am

Great to see a Sprint out in that series - i did a season (2005, Classic Thunder - more in my case a passing shower lol with my car....so needed an LSD) we came third in class at the end of the year I think. That year we won our class in the AROC Alfacomp - so a good year really.

Post by **KevJTD** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:15 pm

mbakermarco wrote:Great to see a Sprint out in that series - i did a season (2005, Classic Thunder - more in my case a passing shower lol with my car....so needed an LSD) we came third in class at the end of the year I think. That year we won our class in the AROC Alfacomp - so a good year really.

cadwell

nice car, nice circuit

88liam · Post by **88liam** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:07 am

Hi Marco,

Here,s a picture of the Nick Humpries engine you were running, rebuilt.

: Engine; 38.JPG (37.58 KiB) Viewed 11728 times

Liam

mbakermarco · Post by **mbakermarco** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 9:18 am

Hi there

I only just joined the forum, hence the late reply, but interested to read your story with the Sprint - echoed my own experiences - I ran a Black 1.5 Sprint in the production classic touring cars and classic thunder one year. The main thing I wanted to do and never did, was fit an LSD - I just really struggled to put the power down ! Good to see I'm not the only one that had issues to sort out on a regular basis !

I was emigrating to Australia in 2009, so sadly had to sell the car, which was a real shame, but have restarted my Alfa racing here down under, having just bought a race prepared 33 16v - just trying to arrange transport to get it home so I can have a really good look at what I've bought !

Your car looks really good - hope you left it White ! On that subject, there is a new product on the market here - a kind of liquid latex paint as it were, available in any colour that simply peels off when you get bored with the colour ! It's ok outside for 5 years plus and is very resilient apparently - dipyourcar.com i think - any colour, and cheaper than painting they say. If you make a mistake you can simply peel off the wrong bits !

I digress - apologies - I only wanted to say "nice car and well done " !

mbakermarco · Post by **mbakermarco** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:55 am

Hi Liam

It was great engine built by Nick Humphries as you know - for Mick Hyde's wife Ginny (they own Radical sportscars) How does it go now, who rebuilt it ? What spec ? It was 1588cc when i had it.

Cheers !

mbakermarco · Post by **mbakermarco** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 12:06 pm

88liam wrote:Hi Marco,

Here,s a picture of the Nick Humpries engine you were running, rebuilt.

38.JPG
Liam

Sorry replied not using the quote icon - its there anyway ! - what is the Black Sprint doing now ?

Cheers

mbakermarco · Post by **mbakermarco** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 12:08 pm

KevJTD wrote:
mbakermarco wrote:Great to see a Sprint out in that series - i did a season (2005, Classic Thunder - more in my case a passing shower lol with my car....so needed an LSD) we came third in class at the end of the year I think. That year we won our class in the AROC Alfacomp - so a good year really.

cadwell

nice car, nice circuit

Well spotted - yes, Cadwell is probably my favourite circuit in the UK

88liam · Post by **88liam** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 9:03 pm

Hi Marco.

mbakermarco wrote:Hi Liam

It was great engine built by Nick Humphries as you know - for Mick Hyde's wife Ginny (they own Radical sportscars) How does it go now, who rebuilt it ? What spec ? It was 1588cc when i had it.

Cheers !

Spoke to you about the sprint when you where selling,
i later purchased the car from the guy who purchased the car from yourself, he did a few track days, it then
hung around for a while, on closer inspection rot had got into the chassis rails, i bought a class A alfasud racer
with a 1.7 engine, not eligible for the majority of race series, i broke the sprint for parts, a local enginering
company rebuilt the engine, on inspection only 1 shell was worn and damaged, luckily the wear to the crank was
polished out, the inlet manifolds where matched and smoothed to the heads, the heads where also tidied up, the guys at SES
reckoned that the work was a little crude compared to modern day standards. a damaged AHM gearbox came with the car,
all the teeth had been torn of the crown wheel,, this was rebuilt by Cloverleaf transmissions.
they confirmed that the ratios were perfect for racing, at the same time a gripper lsd was installed.

Liam

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 10:18 pm

Mark - did you also race a metallic blue 33 in class F days?

Was the black sprint the ex Bianco class F car raced by someone called 'Kite'?

Classic thunder would be a bit over powering for a 1600 engine , looks like I will be doing the pre 83 series next year. I suspect you were pushed into thunder due to it being over bored? There is an invitation class in pre 83 now so more amenable to cars that don't quite meet the regs.

The AROC won't be trying to put on any separate races next year, but have proposed to the CTCRC that we tag on the back of their races, so either way I will be in pre 83 in the up to 1600 class via aroc or direct with the CTCRC

My current motor is a totally standard 1500 block and internals , with ported heads and reprofiled cams so not high power but it goes well for what it is.

My 2015 race licence turned up this week, first race is Silverstone last weekend of March. Planning will start after Xmas so looking forward to getting out again.

mbakermarco · Post by **mbakermarco** » Tue Dec 09, 2014 9:26 pm

Veesix75 wrote:Mark - did you also race a metallic blue 33 in class F days?

Was the black sprint the ex Bianco class F car raced by someone called 'Kite'?

Classic thunder would be a bit over powering for a 1600 engine , looks like I will be doing the pre 83 series next year. I suspect you were pushed into thunder due to it being over bored? There is an invitation class in pre 83 now so more amenable to cars that don't quite meet the regs.

The AROC won't be trying to put on any separate races next year, but have proposed to the CTCRC that we tag on the back of their races, so either way I will be in pre 83 in the up to 1600 class via aroc or direct with the CTCRC

My current motor is a totally standard 1500 block and internals , with ported heads and reprofiled cams so not high power but it goes well for what it is.

My 2015 race licence turned up this week, first race is Silverstone last weekend of March. Planning will start after Xmas so looking forward to getting out again.

Yes mate the metallic blue 33 was my 16v that Chris Snowdon built for me - was a very good car until it got written off at Brands Hatch (savaged by two cars at once at Paddock bend, who in unison pushed me into the barrier !) We junked the shell after taking all the good bits out, which we then installed into the Sprint, which was an ebay road car. I then swapped the 16v engine with my very good friend Nigel Baker (no relation) and installed the ex Ginny Hyde 1588cc engine, which was always a brilliant engine (built by Nick Humphries, so I'm surprised a modern engine builder said what he said) - simpler times maybe !

So no, the Black Sprint was not the Bianco car, twas was a self built car in my garage in Sussex - With loads of help - principally from my good friend Colin. Harry and Gary, the Bianco guys were always very helpful to me too.

We were in thunder because I wanted to do two races - I also did the classic touring cars too, as that had an up to 1600 class.

Loved that car - the only motorsport regret I have was not shipping the car to Aus !

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:49 am

Well, probably overdue getting the Sprint out of hibernation for a checkover in prep for Silverstone, so a damp Saturday morning was spent checking things over.

Fitted some rear drums with threaded studs, checked all suspension, front brakes, fire extinguisher and all fluids and all looked good.

It's cosy in there.....

Had some new rubber fitted....

And then came to fire up the engine, primed the pump, consistently needs 7 pumps to prime the carbs, and it popped into life and ran lovely......

Until a bit of burning oil on the exhaust led to a close look at the oil filter, and a hair line 'weep' of oil identified in the alloy casting ...

Currently thinking about what to do on this one.....I've posted a question in Tech Help

Favourite pic from last year.....just to cheer me up

Roch 1490 · Post by **Roch 1490** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 11:28 pm

Hi Tim, sorry to hear about your oil leak,rare for cracks through the alloy houslng in that area,is it def a crack & not from higher up round oil switch housing that is running down or a dodgy oil filter.If it is housing then really its engine out time as gearbox,flywheel,sump,oil pump fuel pump will have to come off!!Do you have a spare housing.
Let me know.
Ian.

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:10 pm

Thanks Ian

The weep is minimal in terms of volume, a small amount of oil always looks worse than it is. However it is the risk of it getting worse.

Having looked and thought about it further, it doesn't look like a crack, more like a fault in the casting process, like a tiny pin hole, but that might just be my imagination.

If you look at the casing from the front of the car, there is a purposely cast 'flat' section about 1cm by 1.5cm and it is coming from the centre of that. The flat section is about 2 to 3cm below where the oil sensor screws in. The rest of the casting around the filter is rounded and rougher cast, the flat part is smooth.

Don't have a spare casing ready at this point, I have a knackered 1500 that has been under a tarpaulin for 25 years, plus a couple of good 1700 8v motors in storage if they the same.

Going to have a think and decide on next step....I'm still planning to be at Silverstone by whatever method I need to take.

Post by **KevJTD** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:47 pm

i once sealed up a gearbox hole with some 2 pack araldite, a short term solution i know but may be enough to get you through the weekend...
is it in an accesible place for someone to weld it in situ? far easier, and cheaper in the long run, than stripping the engine out..

Roch 1490 · Post by **Roch 1490** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:24 pm

Hi Tim,I can't remember what its called but I repaired a hole in Mel Healey's 33 gearbox a few years ago after qualifying quite a big hole with liquid metal it was grey & you mixed a hardener into it,then it smelt then you got about 1 min to apply it worked well.I used the last bit to seal a crack in one of our twin spark race car sumps that was 3 years ago so it works! probably on ebay etc

if its that little flat section you mention that should seal nicely.
I have had a response from Richard Murtha which I'll put on tomoz.

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:37 pm

Weld in situ might be possible with the carb off.

We have been thinking of cutting a small plate the same size as the flat section and making a chemical metal 'sandwich' between the two.

The chief engineer is mulling it over.

Post by **KevJTD** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:49 pm

Roch 1490 wrote:Hi Tim,I can't remember what its called but I repaired a hole in Mel Healey's 33 gearbox a few years ago after qualifying quite a big hole with liquid metal it was grey & you mixed a hardener into it,then it smelt then you got about 1 min to apply it worked well.I used the last bit to seal a crack in one of our twin spark race car sumps that was 3 years ago so it works! probably on ebay etc if its that little flat section you mention that should seal nicely.
I have had a response from Richard Murtha which I'll put on tomoz.

ah, that reminds me of another stuff i've used to good success.
was it this stuff you used?
i used it on the mrs fiesta alloy sump when it got a crack in it after grounding on a kerb, meant it to be a temporary fix whilst i found another sump.....but that must be a year or more ago now....forgot about it!!
still leak free so i too can confirm it works

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QUICKSTEEL-Qu ... 20c24b85c5

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 11:00 pm

Thanks again chaps......chemical metal sarny is looking likely as a quick fix.

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 10:50 pm

Well, the chemical metal looks to have worked.

Ran the engine to normal temp and it didn't leak - remainder of the tube is in the toolbox just in case.

After giving it a good clean with some solvent, it was clearly a crack caused by someone over tightening the sender unit. Why do people do that !

Post by **PETROLHEAD** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 2:28 pm

Just because they have a big nut on the boss, thst requires a large spanner, folk think they have to swing on it!

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Sat Jun 20, 2015 5:51 pm

Well, after a few teething troubles, we have a rebuilt engine in and I'm racing with the HSCC at Cadwell Park on sat / sun 27th and 28th of June .

I've entered the invitation class of the 70's road sport series, fingers crossed.

The Sunday timetable is packed out with about 12 races, classic F3, classic FF , historic touring cars and I think some old formula junior so an interesting meeting.

Marlow Sud · Post by **Marlow Sud** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 12:08 am

Good luck Tim. Let us know how you get on and what cars you end up dicing with.
What is the spec of your new engine?

All the best,
Simon

Veesix75 · Post by **Veesix75** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 12:32 am

It's still a 1500cc, pretty much same spec as before, big valves, race cams and no power under 4500 rpm which I will need to get used to again. It's got 40mm carbs, couldn't get it to run on the 45's so they will have to wait for now.

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