115/3484 Restoration

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NigelK
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115/3484 Restoration

Post by NigelK »

Dear All

The restoration of 115/3484 is gathering momentum. The work is being done by Chris Marsh Classics near Chippenham (that's Marsh as in Marcos) with strategic guidance from Paul Lewis, former owner of the car and all-round top bloke. The bodywork was done by Colin Holley a few years back, so efforts to date have focused on gathering the required parts, and sending various components off to third party suppliers for restoration.
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One minor hiccup has been the temporary "loss" by the couriers of the refurbished axle - this was delivered in error to a building site, and only recovered by chance when a builder noticed the Simply Performance packing tape on the pallet and phoned them up to check what it was. Fortunately it wasn't damaged, only a light dusting of sand...
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CMC are currently completing the stripping of the original underseal before the body goes into their spray booth. The block has been dipped in Deox-C, shed an amazing amount of crud and casting sand, will shortly be sent off for machining, it looks in good shape so hopefully only a 30 thou overbore will be required so the new pistons will fit.
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More updates to come!

Best wishes,
Nigel
Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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NigelK
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by NigelK »

Just heard from LEDA Suspension that my Selectarides are now restored and fully functional (both hydraulics and electrics). Excellent service from Roger and the LEDA team, who provided an extraordinary level of technical detail during the refurb process and answered all my questions.

Before...
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After...
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Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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NigelK
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by NigelK »

Pre- and post-refurb dyno testing results for the Selectarides below. One of the dampers was not functioning at all (the blue line in the top graph), as the adjuster had come adrift, while the other was not functioning properly because of debris in the piston valve. Post refurb both dampers are working properly and, critically, showing pretty much the same damping force characteristics at all four settings.
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Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by NigelK »

906 heads back from Hauser Racing today. Hardened exhaust seats fitted, plus 2.14” Manley Race Flo intake valves and Comp Cams valve springs. Heads ported and polished, and refaced to achieve 86cc combustion chamber volume for a 9.79:1 static CR.

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Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by Chris_R »

Some nice work there.
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NigelK
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

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The block came back from South Cerney Engineering yesterday, rebored to 30 thou over. They spotted some dimpling on the deck surface so 6 thou was skimmed off, necessitating a minor rethink of the head gasket selection in order to maintain static CR below 9.8:1.

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Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

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Engine assembly is nearly complete, paint is going on, hopefully off to Knight Racing Services shortly for break-in and dyno runs.
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We also got the rebuilt A727 and torque converter back today, many thanks to Steve Payne for sorting that. I've gone with some mild upgrades - a reconditioned '71-'78 valve body with the better PTK, Transgo TF-2 shift kit set up for street usage, Red Alto friction plates, Kolene steel plates, TCS Performance 16 element bolt-in sprag, and a Mopar Performance sump pan with a drain plug. I also had the original valve body refurbished, so if the shifts are too harsh with the new setup I can always swap the original back in fairly easily.
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Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by Mark1Stu »

It's coming along Nigel. Early days, but I'm sure it's going to be a very special MK1 when finished.
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NigelK
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

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Just got the dyno test results from Knight Racing Services. Pretty pleased with 453 lbs/ft at 3000rpm staying above 425 lbs/ft up to 4300rpm, should be good for driveability. Looking at the power curve and taking into account the cam's operating range is 1800-6000rpm, there is probably more power to come beyond the recorded peak of 378.5bhp at 4900rpm. Pete was not inclined to do further testing, as the main seal was leaking badly. Does anyone have any experience with the high performance main seal retainer kits sold by Mancini Racing and Hughes Engines?
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Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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Grant
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by Grant »

Wicked torque figure there Nigel :wink: ..What cam did you use in it please Nigel?
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

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Grant wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:28 pm Wicked torque figure there Nigel :wink: ..What cam did you use in it please Nigel?
Very interesting. I see some adjustable pushrods in there. Are you using solid lifters?
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Richard Calver
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

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>Does anyone have any experience with the high performance main seal retainer kits sold by Mancini Racing and Hughes Engines?

If they are "high performance", I guess they are for modern lip seals. The engines of this vintage used rope seals. They will take lip seals if remachined to accept them but a lip seal in a rope seal engine will leak easily. Those retainers are probably intended for a 440. I had an E-series 383, same as you, and found this to be the case.
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NigelK
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

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Grant wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:28 pm Wicked torque figure there Nigel :wink: ..What cam did you use in it please Nigel?
Hi Grant, I used this one https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-energy- ... 3-440.html as recommended by Comp Cams when I told them what sort of engine I wanted. There’s no video from the dyno session (too much burning oil smoke in the room from the main seal leak onto the exhaust :shock: ) so I’ll have to wait until the engine is in the car to hear how lopey the idle is). Best wishes, Nigel
Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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NigelK
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by NigelK »

johnw wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:09 am
Grant wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:28 pm Wicked torque figure there Nigel :wink: ..What cam did you use in it please Nigel?
Very interesting. I see some adjustable pushrods in there. Are you using solid lifters?
Hi John, no I used these hydraulic flat tappets https://www.compcams.com/high-energy-hy ... 3-440.html I chose the adjustable pushrods because I knew the block would need to be decked and the heads milled to up the static CR, and wanted to be able to adjust the pushrod length to ensure the correct preload on the hydraulic tappets (note I retained the stock stamped rocker arms so no adjustment there). The other option would have been to cut down the existing pushrods, which is still on the table if the adjustables don’t work out. Best wishes, Nigel
Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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Re: 115/3484 Restoration

Post by NigelK »

Richard Calver wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:51 am >Does anyone have any experience with the high performance main seal retainer kits sold by Mancini Racing and Hughes Engines?

If they are "high performance", I guess they are for modern lip seals. The engines of this vintage used rope seals. They will take lip seals if remachined to accept them but a lip seal in a rope seal engine will leak easily. Those retainers are probably intended for a 440. I had an E-series 383, same as you, and found this to be the case.
Hi Richard, yes these are modern lip seals see here http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/prod ... rtid=27110 and here http://www.manciniracing.com/biremaserews.html

It seems there are many opinions out there on the best way to achieve a good seal. Some people think the seal groove in the block is not always machined equidistant around the centre line of the crank - this is fine with a rope seal which expands to fill the gap but not with a lip seal, which ends up being over compressed on one side of the crank and under compressed on the other. This issue can be partly remedied by drilling wider the holes in the factory seal retainer and adjusting the position of the retainer to centre the seal around the crank. But this won’t work with the new retainers, as these are wider and can’t move as much within the slot in the block. I’ll wait to get my engine back and then we can inspect the seal and decide whether to install a rope seal, or go for one of the modern lip seal setups. Best wishes, Nigel
Nigel Kieser
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
Interceptor 115/3484
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