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Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:47 pm
by junior
This is the car I have been assisting with by making comments and drinking tea.
The paintwork is superb and very well prepared so should last exceedingly well. The aim is for it to be original and perfect and I think they will succeed.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 5:42 pm
by junior
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:01 pm
by Gary Orchard
Looks nice
Rare as well being a S2 Ti
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:19 pm
by alfadave
Looks immaculate!
I'd be scared to own and drive it!
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 9:49 pm
by junior
Yes it looks very good and is being very carefully put together.
I cheekily left a blasted steel Gitane cycle frame with the same painter in case he had a bit of pint left over from a job.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:33 pm
by junior
This car between the clocks has a warning light with what looks like a brake pedal on it. Is it for low brake fluid ?
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2021 8:29 pm
by junior
Coming on well. The radio gave up, but I am so impressed with how well they are doing I gave them one as it just seemed like a good home for it.
Will post better pictures when the headlights arrive and its finished. So with brexit that will be about 2025
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2021 10:22 pm
by KevJTD
Just had the Import duty/VAT bill from the seat material I've ordered from Finland. £161 fees on top of the £600 the material already cost me!
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:59 pm
by junior
Yep , that hurts, I have a top notch alloy framed cycle that developed a crack. Fortunately it has a life time guarantee, unfortunate its Dutch (Koga) and so free frame cost me 150 notes in duty
.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:53 am
by justsuds
Good to another getting back on the road, - the paint work looks really good, - who did it James ?
Cheers, John.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:11 pm
by junior
A chap called gary who lived in Ludlow and did it years ago and then restarted at Eric Weavers prompting. I have seen 3 Ford escorts he has done now and the standard is impressive. That's why my Gitane cycle got sneaked in !
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 6:58 pm
by junior
Any ideas anyone on the little red light between the clocks with the brake pedal on it ?
Goes out when the side lights are switched on.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 9:12 pm
by KevJTD
Low fluid light I reckon...
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 11:48 am
by alfadave
Simply disconnect the wiring to the float in the master cylinder.
The light won't bother you any more!
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:35 pm
by junior
And its done......They have made a superb job of it.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:38 pm
by junior
And next to it I have a car and a couple of bits that need to go in it.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 1:02 pm
by Kegsti66
What a lovely collection you have there James.
Very smart.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:38 pm
by rsfruitbat
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:48 pm
by alfadave
I had an S reg Montecarlo spider a bit back.
Originally had servo on front only (!!) which previous owner had removed.
So the un assisted brakes were poor. All round assistance needed I think.
Small twin choke carb from X1/9 , strangled the performance. Twin carbs probably a good upgrade.
I rebushed the gearchange but was still porridge. New levers now available.
Great looks , but I sold it quickly to finance something better!
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 5:43 pm
by junior
Kegsti66 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 1:02 pm
What a lovely collection you have there James.
Very smart.
The Sud is not mine, in fact the owner does not like me park mine near his !
Thanks all the same.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 5:45 pm
by junior
alfadave wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:48 pm
I had an S reg Montecarlo spider a bit back.
Originally had servo on front only (!!) which previous owner had removed.
So the un assisted brakes were poor. All round assistance needed I think.
Small twin choke carb from X1/9 , strangled the performance. Twin carbs probably a good upgrade.
I rebushed the gearchange but was still porridge. New levers now available.
Great looks , but I sold it quickly to finance something better!
At the moment the plan is just to get it running and on the road, Then we can think about what to do next.
Its only low milage and many bits have been cleaned up so its a delight to work on, but already making futureplans.
I love the look though, its such a sharp car.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 6:47 pm
by KevJTD
IIRC the servos' were deleted after a few years of production to prevent the issue of front brakes locking...
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 7:50 pm
by alfadave
Sorry to sound so rude, but I just didn't like the way the car drove.
A guy in Newbury called Darren Cooksey seems to be the Montecarlo expert.
I never met him, but he always gave good advice by email.
And try to avoid looking at prices on the Monte Hospital website......some are rather eye popping!
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 8:22 pm
by alfadave
.........try Eurosport in Diss for spares.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 3:24 pm
by junior
alfadave wrote: ↑Sat Jan 01, 2022 8:22 pm
.........try Eurosport in Diss for spares.
Good tip, thank you and just bought a couple of oil filters.
No oil pressure from the engine as we spin it on the floor so a bit worried.
As for the handling I am lucky that Eric Weaver is helping me again and his son at Weaver Motorsport may get asked to set it up. He can do rally cars very well, so my Monte should be easy.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 6:36 pm
by rsfruitbat
To be honest I have never driven a Montecarlo. I just love the looks.
I know of Eric and Neil fromrallying. I know Eric from when he used to rally a Darria n and he used to help a mutual friend out who rallied a Sud. Neil is really quick especially in front wheel drive.
Rsfruitbat
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:08 pm
by junior
Hi. Yes the looks is what its all about for me. It such a sharp looking car. I keep working on bits then turning around and just smiling as it looks so great.
Eric has been great for the last week and a half and his patience has been considerable as i mess up and things are not done up or we are missing bits. Today he had a good cuss as we found the water pump was wrong just as we were about to fit the engine.
We had just renewed the one that was on there with out checking if it was correct.
Seen footage of Neil on this years RAC and yes he is bloomin fast. Having been out with Eric (once!) there is no chance of me going out with Neil. Would be terrifying.
They still have the Darrien, but both are too busy to finish it off at the moment. If your ever over his way you should call in as he has a great selection of cars in at the moment.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:10 pm
by junior
Oil pump off and no oil in the pump at all. It rattled ! Why would you do that on a rebuild ?
Filled it up and its working . Phew. Just hope the mains and shells are fine.
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:56 am
by Spacenut
I heard about the Montecarlo brake issue as well, but I am sure it was due to lack of development in the road car. Taking a FWD engine and transmission and putting it in the back of a car is a great idea, but if you are limited to FWD parts bin for brakes the result will always be a compromise. And with parent company Fiat smarting about the success of the Stratos I am sure they were happy to see the Montecarlo fail.
Plenty of success in Group 5 though, and the 037 in Group B (albeit with in-line engines and ZF transaxles).
If you can fit a brake bias bar into the pedal box with smaller bore master cylinders you can minimise the braking effort. Remember that unassisted brakes are every bit as effective as assisted ones, you just have to shove harder! Otherwise you will need to fit remote twin servos to operate both circuits simultaneously.
Traditional brake bias has always been on the front wheels, which is where the engine normally resides and which also sees the greatest weight transfer under braking. With mid-engined cars the mass of the engine is in the back, so even with weight transfer there is far less mass on the front axle, so the wheels can lock up much more readily. It seems odd, but sometimes putting more bias to the rear can help stabilise a mid-engine car under braking.
After the shenanigans replacing my steering column bush I know that I put too much bias on the front of the Green Machine because it locked up way too early on the rollers at the MoT. My friend Graham suggested a second-hand Tapley meter (a G-force meter used as a back-up to brake rollers at MoT stations) might be worthwhile as a way of finding the optimum brake bias. I have seen several on ebay which have the correct 1970s look
Lauren
Re: Another one coming back from dormancy
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:57 pm
by junior
Spacenut wrote: ↑Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:56 am
I heard about the Montecarlo brake issue as well, but I am sure it was due to lack of development in the road car. Taking a FWD engine and transmission and putting it in the back of a car is a great idea, but if you are limited to FWD parts bin for brakes the result will always be a compromise. And with parent company Fiat smarting about the success of the Stratos I am sure they were happy to see the Montecarlo fail.
Plenty of success in Group 5 though, and the 037 in Group B (albeit with in-line engines and ZF transaxles).
If you can fit a brake bias bar into the pedal box with smaller bore master cylinders you can minimise the braking effort. Remember that unassisted brakes are every bit as effective as assisted ones, you just have to shove harder! Otherwise you will need to fit remote twin servos to operate both circuits simultaneously.
Traditional brake bias has always been on the front wheels, which is where the engine normally resides and which also sees the greatest weight transfer under braking. With mid-engined cars the mass of the engine is in the back, so even with weight transfer there is far less mass on the front axle, so the wheels can lock up much more readily. It seems odd, but sometimes putting more bias to the rear can help stabilise a mid-engine car under braking.
After the shenanigans replacing my steering column bush I know that I put too much bias on the front of the Green Machine because it locked up way too early on the rollers at the MoT. My friend Graham suggested a second-hand Tapley meter (a G-force meter used as a back-up to brake rollers at MoT stations) might be worthwhile as a way of finding the optimum brake bias. I have seen several on ebay which have the correct 1970s look
Lauren
Yes that all makes sense and we think it has a brake bias vale on the front bulkhead so we will see if its working when its running. Hopefully the engine goes in on thursday as we should have the last few parts by then.
