115/2943 work in progress

[Dion]

Let's start a "blog" of my blue Interceptor here as I am finally now spending some real time on it. No doubt I will have some questions and ask for advice.
I have the car in my ownership for many years but never really started working on it.

In 2001, after a search of about two years, I found the car advertised for 6K. This was in LOOT, a yellow advertising magazine when it still had more ads than anywhere else on line at the time. I had many emails with the owner, he told me of the work done and sent me pictures. I made an offer of £3500 on the car (unseen) which was accepted four months later. So I flew to Liverpool and then on to Manchester to have a look and drive, and made an appointment to pick it up three weeks later. A friend owns a Jeep J10 pick up which proved very useful in loading all the extra parts that came with it (many parts from a scrapped Mk1). We trailered the car to the ferry (Hull) which included a steep hill which the Jeep was barely able to make.

In Manchester

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nice combo..

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I used the car a couple of times on the GB plates and Dutch garage plates, but I knew this car needed serious attention before I was really going to use it. Although it had a valid MOT when I bought it there were some things not as they should be. I also was not sure if the nylon timing gear was ever changed and was reluctant to use the engine without checking. The list of things to be done: exhausts were hanging far too low - almost scraping the floor, the waterpump leaked a little, the choke did not work, not sure if both fans worked, the door windows were veeeery slow, the doors had the wrong window frames fitted (no opening quarter lights), rear window chrome trim needed adjustment, no outside mirrors, no fuel door lock, no antenna but a hole.

three years ago

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The previous owner had done some major work on the car: four new wings, new door panels, sills and a new front. The wings were lead-loaded, and a respray in more or less the original colour was done - the colour supposedly is a BMW colour although I have never checked that. The body work has been done to a fairly good standard. It will never win any awards as the panel gaps are a bit too wide, and the paintwork has very small blisters here and there.

all new

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lead loaded

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finished

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Brake calipers had been overhauled, new brake pipes fitted, king pins renewed and a stainless exhaust was fitted. On the other hand nothing was done in the engine compartment, and nothing on the engine or gearbox.
Bumper chrome and the the window chrome trims are not perfect. The interior is original and pretty good, there is a Jensen 8-track player and four belts with the Jensen buckles.
The previous owner was in need of money and never really properly finished the car- after the respray the car was hastily put together to get a new MOT, then advertised for sale.

So, after too many years, a house extension, a new garage build, starting a new company and then after a few years selling my share in it, much work on the other classics now the time has come to get the Interceptor legally on the road in the Netherlands.
In the last three weeks I have removed the radiator and partly dismantled the front part of the engine. Replaced crankshaft and camshaft gears and timing belt (it still had the dreaded nylon gears), opened up and cleaned the oil pickup gauze (full of nylon bits as expected), cleaned / repainted the sump, replaced the water pump and checked the thermostat, cleaned / repainted chassis tubes / floors / front crossmember / front arm dampers / LH inner front wing.
Am busy now cleaning / repainting the rocker covers, removing the hardura stuff around the battery / LH bulkhead, cleaning / repainting that area and refit new hardura. There is very little room between the exhaust manifold and the bulkhead but there was hardura fitted there as well (and the big round rubber (?) plugs are missing both sides).

Question 1 Applying new hardura here would mean it would almost touch the manifold. Would it be better to use something else here? Aluminium type of insulation?

Removing the RH rocker cover, I see this had two tags. Both consist of two bendable tabs. They were not used on my car for anything. Are they to guide cables but the location seems wrong for this, on the inside of the V.

RH tappet cover 1

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RH tappet cover 2

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Question 2 What are these tags for?

Speaking of cable guides, the spark plug wires have guides fitted on both rocker covers. Small rubbers are fitted to these to hold the individual wires but some are missing from my car.

Question 3 Are these available somewhere online?

The electrics of the car have not been touched and as a result leave much to be desired. I plan to install relays for the headlights and fans. The big metal relay / fuse "box" on the RH front inner wing is a mess at the moment. This is thin rusty metal and without a lid. Not sure if there would be a lid originally? Why was there a (open?) box - it seems much better to mount the relays etc directly to the inner wing and fit a removable lid?

a mess!

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[taximan]

Fuse/relay cover.







The end is bent up on mine to fit over the regulator for the alternator, and it is a spring/push fit to the fuse/relay side uprights.
Shaun.

[Christian]

According to Richard Calver's book, the covered relay boxes were fitted from around serial number 3200 onwards. Mine had a covered box fitted when I purchased it, but the whole electric was 'overhauled' amateurish. So not original I think...
As it looks your box hasn't got the screw for the wing-nut to mount the cover. So I think, there was never a cover fitted.

[taximan]

There is a hole for a pin and wingnut, Rejen supplied this as correct but holes never lined up so always suspected not correct, saying that I would rather have a cover than not. Kermit had one and his car preceded mine, good enough for a multi concours winning car good enough for me.
Shaun.

[Dion]

Thanks for the replies. The relay box with or without cover is not mentioned in the parts book.
Although I do not like the construction of the box much (too flimsy) I think it will be better with a lid. Thanks Shaun for providing the dimensions, this will help me making one!

[garyc]

Hello Dion
My HT Leads go through the larger tags on the rocker covers with a rubber grommet holding them in place.
Not sure what the other tags are for though.
Gary

[taximan]

Just gives you a general idea, make it to fit what you have, the regulator if fitted will dictate the length.
Shaun.

[Dion]

The regulator is there but I have to investigate why the alternator is not charging. Could be the alternator or the regulator. Not sure I will keep this setup (alt + regulator) if one is faulty and too expensive to repair. That is, substantial more expensive to repair/overhaul than to buy a newer bigger output alternator (with internal regulator).
So a faulty charging system is on the to do list, as is to find out why the tacho does not work. I have bought a new orange-box contact less MOPAR ignition distributor a few years ago in a sale. Need to find out if I can get the old tacho working with this.

But this is all a bit too fast, first priorities are finishing off the LH bulkhead hardura, the rocker covers, repainting the original fans and refit the radiator, and refit the water pump / housing.

Regarding the water pump assembly - I had a VERY hard time unscrewing the tube-type temp sensor. Managed to get it unscrewed without damage and tested the sensor in a pan boiling water. The temp gauge did rise but not enough I think, and also did not go back to cold. It remains a bit off from the left, same position it always has been. Would this mean the temperature gauge itself is faulty?

[Dion]

Just a thought. Maybe the mysterious tabs on the RH rockers covers are there to guide the tube for the water temperature sensor? Did Chryslers with this engine had this routed this way?

[bkbridges]

Dion,
Chrysler used electronic senders for their electronic gages, but the wiring did fit into the tab. It was covered by a bit of woven cloth tubing for abrasion protection. My FF uses a similar sender for the temp and they are a big PIA to deal with. Still seems to work properly thankfully! I don't have the original valve covers on the FF (seems POs always tried to update their INT Is with later doo dads)...but they are pretty vanilla BB mopar covers pre 1967 design, looking at the extra set Ive got.
BKB

[Chris_R]

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There are probably very few, if any, original pictures of an original engine bay but this is one. This is the engine bay of the Topic Interceptor. Chassis 2820.
It clearly shows no cover for the relay box.

The correct regulator for your Mk1 is the MOPAR 2098300. It is mounted literally just forward of the relay box.

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[taximan]

If using electronic ignition the regulator needs to be electronic too, spikes from the original on/off one will fry the orange box prematurely.
Shaun.

[Dion]

Trial fitting the alternator (to be replaced by the reconditioned Mitsubishi version I just bought), I see that it fits to only the front triangular bracket. The long bolt on which the alt hangs, is exact in line with a unused threaded hole in the cylinder head. That cannot be a coincidence. Should this be used? It would make the alternator fitment much more rigid. It would then not only be supported by the triangular bracket but also at the other end by the cylinder head. My car has a non-original bolt anyway, too short to reach the cylinder head and not enough thread to leave out the spacer nut as seen on the picture.

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[Christian]

You're right. This is the setup I know:

[Dion]

Soms progress. Removed the old relay box and made a new one in slightly stronger metal, with an aluminum lid. It will have one wing nut on top and covers the complete box, including the fuses. I removed the alternator regulator as well, not needed with the new alternator. Will put it in the "original fitments" box together with the old alternator and distributor.
Welded up a long bolt which screws into the cylinder head and through the triangular bracket for fitment of the alternator.
Removed both under bonnet lamps, they are in a wrong position being a bit too far forward.

Also removed both bonnet stays, with the strong spring inside. They were fitted when I bought the car but one of the first things I did was to unbolt them from the bonnet. I do not like the force they put on the bonnet. Seems to me they could deform the bonnet, I have seen Interceptor bonnets with a slight bulge on the side.
Not sure what to do with them. They look a bit shabby. Is dismantling an option? Can the spring setting be altered?
What are the opinions about these stays? Use them or not?