Upgraded Engine Mounts

With the Southern Kit Car Club European road trip coming up it was time to give the car a check over and look for anything that might present reliability issues during the 1300+ miles.

One thing I've been keeping an eye on recently is the original Tiger engine mounts.  Other Avon owners have had issues with these failing and I suspected it was only a matter of time before mine gave me issues.  Upon closer inspection there did seem to be some metal fatigue setting in where the diagonal tubes meet horizontal plates.  I was not happy with this so decided now was the time to get on with fabricating a more robust replacement.

After jacking up the engine and resting it on some wooden joists I was able to remove the old engine mounts.  Straight away it was easy to see that in their natural rest position these had not been level with the top of the engine rubbers.  Instead they had been inclined and the tightening of the bolts had clamped them down onto the rubbers and had deformed the top of the rubbers over time.  This obviously meant that there was a constant force applied trying to tear the diagonal tubes from the horizontal plates, even before any twisting force is applied by an accelerating or decelerating engine.

With the original engine mounts fitted, the engine was not level.  So using the wood under the sump I raised the inlet side around 15mm to bring the bottom of the engine (sump) horizontal with the ground, when viewed from the front of the car.

Next I replicated the four flat plates.  This time out of 6mm steel instead of the previous 5mm.  For the diagonals I used 5mm thick 45mm box section.  This compares with the 1.5mm tube used previously.

Cutting these box sections to fit was a very difficult task.  Multiple compound angles and all work being undertaken with the engine in situ.  On the exhaust side I was having to work in between the small gaps between the exhaust headers - very difficult indeed.

In the end I got there.  Had them tack welded by Ashby Welding ready for a trial fit.  They fitted perfectly, with the horizontal plates resting on new rubbers, without any clamping and with absolutely no stress applied to the mounts or rubbers.  Back to the welders to have them fully welded up and here is the end result.  A very nice job done by the welder.

These have been painted up, fitted to the car and bungs inserted into the bolt holes to protect from water ingress.

Another long term to-do list job completed and hopefully another piece of reliability added to the car.

IVA Re-Test Modifications

IVA re-test booked for 22nd February.  Modifications to address the fail items have now completed.

1.  Exhaust clamp rotated around towards the sill of the car.  Also cut of the excess thread that was showing through the clamp.

2.  Minor wiring change behind the fog light switch so that the switch light only comes on with the fog light iteself.

3.  Brake lining wear inspection holes (13mm) drilled in brake back plates.  New bungs were inserted.  

There aren't too many options for where to drill.  Some of the flat areas are indented for the purpose of holding the shoes in position.  Had to use one of the few spare recesses.

It was quite fortunate that I spent a bit of time working under the rear of the car as I spotted a problem.  I had installed the rear dampers with the adjustment wheel facing up/outwards.  This was okay during the build with the chassis up on axle stands and the suspension hanging.  However, once the car was on the ground and with the suspension moving through its full travel this adjustment wheel was fouling slightly on the horizontal tube of the upper wishbone.  It was lucky I spotted this before any permanent damage was done.

The fix was quite straightforward.  Unbolt the damper top and bottom, spin through 180 degrees so that the adjustment wheel faces downwards/inwards and re-install the bolts.

IVA Test Result

Well not a bad day in the end.  A bit of a challenge getting through the snow and ice to the test station.  However, once there the test went much better than expected.  Only three fail items:

1. Radius issue on exhaust clamp - needs turning around so that bolt is towards the sill of the car.
2. Light on fog light switch coming on with side lights - needs to come on only when the fog lights are actually on.  Easy re-wiring job.
3. Not possible to assess the state of the rear brake shoes due to the inspection hole in the back plate being obstructed by the Tiger uprights.  Need to drill a new hole that is accessible and fit a rubber bung.  On each side of course.

Will get these things fixed in the next few days and book a re-test for a couple of weeks time.  This time I think I will drive it to the test centre.  As long as it is a bit warmer.

Even though the car was on a trailer quite a lot of salty road spray end up on the front of the car.  Even more got sprayed on as the car was driven round the test centre.  Its all washed off now and the car is back in a heated garage to dry off.

First of the tests was the speedo.  Good news no issues here, my calculations to programme the digital dash must have been roughly right.

Second test was emissions.  Like the MoT no issues here as long as the retard 'switch' on the ECU was activated.

Worse than the dentists?  The tester goes into the cabinent of IVA tortutre tools...

When doing the basic brake test the car's front and rear axle weights are measured.  With a full tank of fuel, but no driver this came out at a bit over 600Kg in total.  I was expecting a bit less than this.  Especially given that I have the alloy tank and rad, race battery, as well as no windscreen, heater, etc.  I'll get the car corner weighted at a later stage and double check the figures.

Outside the noise test was performed.  93 point something dB.  Well below the 99 dB limit.  Will also be okay for track use too.  This is with the standard Tiger exhaust set up.

The indirect vision test was a breeze with the big side mirrors.  Anything that couldn't been seen due to the headrests was easily seen in the side mirrors.

Before and during the test I was apprehensive, especially with the weather situation.  In the end though, it is like most people say, an enjoyable experience.  The tester was very fair and helpful.  Having driven around the test centre I definitely cannot wait to start driving on the road.

Oh, I nearly forgot.  When I return for the re-test I need to have the 'five point brake test' done.  The equipment was away being repaired on the day I was at the test centre.  It was supposed to arrive during the day, but didn't.

Exhaust Clamp Tested and Rad Fan Switch Changed

Ran the engine again, this time with the silencer clamped to the cat pipe.  No leaks, so that job is done.

The radiator fan switch supplied by Tiger activates at 84oC.  This is a bit low for the Zetec on fuel injection so I always thought that I'd have to change it over to the higher setting.  Anyway, when I looked at the higher setting it was about 147oC so obviously no use!  I bought a replacement switch (Intermotor 50102 - for Peugeot 205/Citroen BX C15).  The lower setting comes on at 93oC and goes off at 88oC.  The higher setting is 97oC/92oC.  I installed it on the radiator and checked it in operation.  It seems to work okay.

As I have no thermostat installed I need the fan to operate at the correct temperature.  While running the engine with the car stationary the Tiger ali radiator seems to be very efficient at cooling.  I'll have to see how it performs when the engine is working harder on the road.  I may have to watch out for over-cooling, especially in the colder months.