BEX 402 Final Prep For Road

[GaryC]

Good news!  The engine is now running smoothly, quietly, cleanly, and with great oil pressure.  I could see new pistons thru the spark plug holes so all appears as presented by the seller.
   
   In going thru the rear brakes (disc fronts), the "General Instructions" indicate one return spring shorter than the other and one shoe/lining also shorter on the top.  In this car all the springs and the shoes are the same.  Since its a low milage car, the blue color swab is the same on all springs possibly indicating the are originals.
   
   Did the spring/shoe specs change???  Is this correct or fine as is??  Thanks, Gary

[aex125]

Gary,
   I have a copy of a Lucas Brake service bulletin dated Feb 1959 and it shows 2 different springs. Th end next to the wheel cylinder looks like 2 individual springs connected by a piece of wire (probably to clear the wheel cylinder), while the adjuster side has a spring that coiled over most of its length. For the shoes, it shows both as the same length, but the lining is not even and is biased towards one end. The bottom one has the lining biased towards the adjuster, and the top one is biased toward the wheel cylinder.
   Jay

[AC Ace Bristol]

quote:Originally posted by GaryC
   
Good news!  The engine is now running smoothly, quietly, cleanly, and with great oil pressure.  I could see new pistons thru the spark plug holes so all appears as presented by the seller.
   
   In going thru the rear brakes (disc fronts), the "General Instructions" indicate one return spring shorter than the other and one shoe/lining also shorter on the top.  In this car all the springs and the shoes are the same.  Since its a low milage car, the blue color swab is the same on all springs possibly indicating the are originals.
   
   Gary
   
   
   
   Did the spring/shoe specs change???  Is this correct or fine as is??  Thanks, Gary
   

   
   Log on with the new username & password as detailed on page 5 of November issue of ACtion. You will find two seperate documents relating to rear brakes, setting up, adjusting etc etc.
   
   Remember the ACOC change username & password every year.
   
   You should be able to down load all data for future reference.
   
   Note the Brake shoes are handed as on the front and the shoe with
   the shorter lining goes to the top.
   
   Regards your oil pressure,  Set to 60PSI or just over at 3000RPM when HOT.  Caution do not exceed 3000RPM for first 8 miles or so as when Cold the oil pressure could exceed 95 /100 PSI and you could blow rear oil seals,  Best part of 2 Imp Gallons of oil in engine and cooler takes a while to warm up,  especially in UK during the winter months.
   
   Keith
   
   Keith

[GaryC]

Great news..BEX402 has officially hit the road.  The brake and clutch systems were totally rebuilt and all the critical joints greased and fluids replenished/renewed.  With timing only roughly set by ear, carbs rebuilt and  taken off the gas can and hooked to the tank, it sounded great even with the old bullet mufflers.  I had a hard time putting it into first gear with the idle set too high so it was launched in 2nd and driven around the neighborhood after a decent warm up.  All syncros seemed to be fine and it shifted thru the gears quietly and pulled evenly with only a minor "spitting back" when lifting (carb #2 I think).  On 35 year old tires it steered and stopped straight.  Overall, it was a great day for the Ace (and me as well!).  I think a short road trip is in its near future.

[bex316]

Gary,
   
   That's all great news and very interesting. You didn't hesitate to make it hit the road again.
   Please keep us informed.
   I didn't see remarks about potential fitting problems anymore. Does it mean the seating position is adequate for you? That would be great news also [:)]
   
   Jerry

[aex125]

Gary, Received your phone message and great to hear you're on the road!! When should I bring 125 down for the race?[;)]
   Jay

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by aex125...When should I bring 125 down for the race?[;)] Jay

   Jay, make sure you take a passenger with a camcorder who can put it on Youtube for us all to enjoy!!!!
   Fantastic news Gary, what a great result.
   Apart from changing the tyres(how`s about a set of 16" wheels for use & keep those for 'show'?)and accurate tuning, how much work do you expect to do now? Hopefully, just cleaning the flies off the front every week!!!!![8D][8D]

[GaryC]

The only important remaining work is to make sure fuel tank debri, if any, doesn't get into the carbs.  I put an inline fuel filter in front of the fuel pump (which has the screen) to see what might be flowing.  The A arm bushings appear tight with only slight play in the steering bushing.  It wouldn't take grease so I bought a rebuild kit.  I need to replace the air filters if someone can recommend a suitable replacement.   I am a little concerned about how to break in the new rings/pistons properly...all suggestions appreciated.  The car handled well enough at slow speed but replacing the shocks anyway probably would be wise.  Everything I touched was just cleaned or wiped down and not resprayed to preserve its "as found" integrety.   In my short few stints in the car, my height and a tight fit may call for a short honeymoon.  If anyone knows of a later, long foot box model for trade or sale, please let me know.
   
   Jay, since I know what's in your Ace, the race would only be fair if you called leaving your house to give me a headstart.  On the other hand, as an old vintage racer maybe.......

[aex125]

Gary,
   At 6'2" I also found it to be a tight fit and really do not think I could get serious about driving the Ace in anger on a track, but have found brisk drives around the area are very enjoyable. If I remember correctly you have a couple of inches on me which might be more of a problem, but there may be a couple of potential solutions. On 125 I massaged the rear inner wheel well on the driver's side to allow the seat to go back a couple more inches which gave me just enough room to be comfortable. Not sure if you really want to modify an original car but maybe worth considering. Another mod I am still considering is to remove the seat rails on the driver's seat and make a couple of brackets that mount the the seat directly to the cross rails. This would lower the seat about 3/4" and allow more flexibilty in positioning the seat in an optimum position for your particular size including moving it back some. I also have considered buying a Shelby R-Model bucket seat (available from some Mustang vendors) which is thinner and would allow for placing it back against the bulkhead without modifying anything else.  This could allow one to be be more comfortable for those spirited drives and let you to enjoy the car. For shows you could put the original back in to retain the original patina. I have a picture of the R-model seat in a Cobra somewhere in my collection if you would like to see what it looks like.
   Jay
   PS I can always remove a plug wire or 2 if you think that would make for a race that would be more equal.

[Aceca289]

Gary,
   I think Jay has some viable solutions to your seating situation. The seat rails have been removed and the seats have been fabricated to mount to the floor in my Aceca (to make room for an overdrive unit and associated transmission tunnel work). This does allow for mounting the seat further back. Don't know the situation in the Ace, but sounds like it might give you that added leg room.
   Hope all works out for you to better enjoy your new car!
   
   John

[GaryC]

Thanks  John and Jay.  I have looked at all the solutions including trying out a 15" Moto Lita wheel.  There are tall people with long torsos and short legs and tall people with just heads and all legs.  I'm closer to the later.
   
   I think it can be done..I am just reluctant to make any changes (holes, cushions, wheel wells, etc).  I will play with it over the upcoming holidays.
   
   Any suggestions on air cleaners, break-in, and best gearbox oil??
   
   Thanks guys!

[aex125]

Gary,
   Keith Lessiter asked me to post the following pic of how the owner of AE75 dealt with legroom issues. Not sure if you want to take this route, but the surgery looks to be very well done.
   Jay
   
   

[aex125]

Gary,
   Another picture from Keith I forgot to post with the other one. This shows the long footbox on a LHD Ace Bristol.
   Jay
   

[pls01]

Gary C
   I just rebuilt the Bristol 100D719 in my Ace.  Discussions with local engine builders and the Bristol manual produced two condiderations in break-in, the cam and the rings.
   
   The cam/tappets have high contact stresses especially when running stiffer valve springs.  Some of the racing V8's run valve open loads of 600 lbs!!  Fortunately, the Bristol is not anywhere near this but the cam is only splash/mist lubricated.  When building an engine, use the special cam lube from Comp Cams or equivalent.  When starting a fresh engine, take it to 2000 rpm without load and hold it there for 1/2 hour.  This gets all the oil splashed and misted while the tappets are bedding in.
   
   For the rings, I followed the Bristol manual and kept engine speed under 3000 rpm for 1000 miles.  This is a very tough thing with a nice road, an Ace and a fresh Bristol engine.  I used a ring lubricant from Summit Racing.  In previous engines I just used motor oil at assembly.  My rings seem to seat-in completely around 600 miles.  The fumes from the breather went away.
   
   For transmission oil, the manual says straight 30 weight.  I've also been told to use only non-detergent oils in the transmission.  NAPA sells a non-detergent 30 wt.  Don't know why non-detergents are prefered, but I do know transmissions are much easier on lubricants than engines.
   Peter S.

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by aex125...how the owner of AE75 dealt with legroom issues...the surgery looks to be very well done.
   

   I think I`d have been tempted to continue the cut-back across the full width of the back, so that it would only have been obvious to the really keen eye, but as you say, it`s quite tidy.
   I don`t know whether this might increase legroom,
   the Ken Miles` replica seat: