Jon Stewart

Oh well, it's good to know what's wrong with it. It had been bugging me since it happened! I'll obviously be changing to external system now. I note the SBD wheel mentions for use with small alternator. Do they work with a standard one or will i need a new alternator? It's also been suggested that the internal wheel isn't usually used with a steel crank. Is it possible to tell if it is steel from the photos? I was always led to believe it was and couldn't tell if one had hit me in the face

I managed to pull two further sizeable pieces of metal out Roger, it's dry sumped but i'm struggling to work out what else that size could have been thrashed around It looks like something has broken off here and has ended up wedged here Edited by - Jon Stewart on 8 Sep 2009 23:27:43 Edited by - Jon Stewart on 8 Sep 2009 23:29:46

I finally managed to get the sump off and it doesn't look good. ☹️ I took some photos here of the bits of metal in the sump and a lump welded to the crank. Can someone please explain to a numpty what has failed and how it happened? Thanks Jon

Thank you all for your replies and kind offers of help It's a reminder of how great a club this is Paul, Yes it's an XE with steel crank and rods. Mark, I may well take you up on your generous offer - anything to help keep the bill down *eek*Is there anything straightforward i can do to confirm it needs to come out, such as drop the sump or whip the oil tank out? There's still part of me hoping it isn't an engine failure *rolleyes*I wouldn't want to waste anyones time unnecessarily. I'll drop you an email later. Thanks again all Jon

Captain, I am in Herts but am able to trailer to get the right service. I was going along Farm Straight when i heard a knock and the engine immediatley died. There were no warning lights and pressures and temperatures all appeared normal. I coasted onto a service road and it wouldn't then turn over. The LoT mechanic checked the electrical system and it was OK but couldn't turn the engine over by hand. The plugs were pulled and there was nothing unusual. He came to the conclusion that the engine had seized Jon

I seem to have seized my engine at Silverstone this morning. ☹️ Can anyone recommend a vx engine builder and someone who can remove the engine for me? Thanks Jon Edited by - Jon Stewart on 8 Sep 2009 19:38:16

Luke site here

here is a photo of the H&S silencer (and system). I have a used 4-1 competition manifold and collector if you are interested. You're welcome to view as i guess you're not too far from me Jon

I recently had my carb VX up at Northampton Motorsport for a check over after having a new exhaust system fitted. It made reasonable power up to 7,000 rpm, which then dipped, recovered slightly and then mis-fired at 8,300 rpm(graph here Troy seemed to think it was ECU/ignition related. It's running an old style Weber Alpha ignition ECU (unmappable), Marelli ignition amplifier and distributor. I spoke to Webcon and they were suggesting inadequate spark energy which could possibly be solved by going with a wasted spark configuration. I haven't yet done anything with it and was wondering if i would be wasting my efforts by changing dis caps, rotor arms, leads, etc or do i need to bite the bullet and go with a mappable ECU, wasted spark etc? Edited by - Jon Stewart on 4 Jun 2009 12:49:29 Edited by - Jon Stewart on 4 Jun 2009 12:50:37

I had a radtec fail last month after 18 months and a few thousand miles Replaced it with a standard aluminium Ford type as the Radtec also over-cooled and needed the bottom third taping up.

Yes they are I have tried another set and the difference is still there.

I noticed the other day that my rear n/s wheel sticks out a bit further than the o/s. I'm a bit of a technical numpty and was wondering if this is was due to mis-alignment of the De Dion/A-frame and what should i be checking. A new De Dion tube was fitted last year.... Thanks Jon

i doubt it - he sold it last year. It's now in NW London.

There's some discussion here on exhausts. I've just had a full system fitted by Hayward and Scott to DaveK's dims. Cost was about £1k and it's very nicely made 🥰 It's not yet been on the rollers but it feels like a different beast already Jon

I have a system here that will be available Saturday. I believe it's a race system 🤔 Let me know if he's interested or want's any info. Jon

Rich, you should have a blatmail, Jon

Ruff, I'm interested in the SRE bodies if Tim doesn't want them. Do you have any more detail of what's in the kit? Thanks Jon

Minispares do them here

Ian, May i ask where tou got the swirl pot in the end? Thanks Jon

Hi Anthony, I think i know who you mean I have been given a good quotation for a full sytem from H&S - 50% less than an SBD system

So it would be more beneficial to keep my system here and bin the carbs 😳

What would be the best exhaust system 🤔 I've been looking at the H&S through the bonnet type and wondered what the opinions were on these (apart from looks ) Jon

Andy, I had troubles with a few interuptor "competition" type pumps on my VX. It was OK on the few trackdays i've done here but at the Nurburgring they couldn't cope with the demands of long uphill runs and would overheat and pack up. I wasn't convinced that with a regulator, any of the facet pumps could cope at the reduced pressures. Most of the installs i had seen in historic race cars piggy-back fuel pumps, but that was more complicated than what i was looking for. In the end i went for a Carter pump (4070 from memory) which is low pressure and high flow and i have had no troubles in 3 years. It is quite heavy and loud but i can put up with that. Jon Edited by - Jon Stewart on 4 Jun 2008 09:19:18

It hasn't been blowing any coolant out since the changes but has been remaining pressurised after cooling down . I was concerned that it was still drawing air in or am i worrying unduly 🤔 Thanks Jon

I have now made a few modifications but the system is still pressurising although i'm no longer been sprayed with coolant. I bought a block tester kit which isn't showing head gasket failure. There was a small leak from the thermostat bleed screw and after a few attempts was eventually sealed using PTFE tape (i don't know if this is right or not 😳) The header tank has been replaced and is now the highest point in the system on the scuttle. I had the radiator tested and it failed miserably. This has now been replaced and after a bit of leakage from the fan switch now seems to be sealed. At this point i was getting quite hopeful but after some more testing at the weekend the system is still pressurising. 🙆🏻 The rad hoses were hard after turning off which i thought might have shown up any leaks in the system but i couldn't find anything. Air escaped from the expansion tank when i released the cap and i bled some from the top of the rad but it's still pressurising. I ran the car up to temperature with the cap off last night to do another hydrocarbons test and as the stat was opening coolant came out of the tank and the level then dropped right down which suggested to me more air in the system although the test was again negative. I have a few qeneral questions if anyone could be so kind What is the correct procedure for bleeding the sytem now the header tank is at the high point? (I haven't used the thermostat bleed screw since i had so much trouble trying to seal it before). When using the block tester kit last night i revved the engine quite hard but not for long. How sensitive are these kits as the previous HG failure was i believe detected at idle? Do i need to seal the rad bleed screws or anything else for that matter? Is there anything obvious i'm not doing correctly? Thanks again, Jon