07-08-2020, 02:32 PM
Further investigation of the Pytchley engine showed that the centre stud is sound but I do remember having trouble with it in the distant past. My problem seems to be that I had fitted a low comp head which had been milled at an angle. This was not sitting comfortably on the block.
To cut a long story short, I decided to change the cylinder head. Looking in the spares department, my options were as follows:
Standard low comp head - several but all needing fettling before use
Standard late Ruby head - tried this before, engine suffered plug oiling.
Dante aluminium head - new unused - virtually no combustion chamber!
Aluminium Ricardo head - very tempted but it didn't want to slide easily over the head studs (The head is right, my head studs obviously are not!)
Bronze Ulster head - previously fitted on the RL - not too high a comp ratio, bearing in mind that the engine has a standard crank.
I opted for the bronze Ulster head, tightened it down and fired the engine up. Whereas before the engine sounded quite sedate it is now a snarling monster, despite having a civilised exhaust system with an Austin Metro silencer.
I need to do some work on the radiator drain tap before using the car. I am a bit worried that the exhaust note might attract undue attention!
To cut a long story short, I decided to change the cylinder head. Looking in the spares department, my options were as follows:
Standard low comp head - several but all needing fettling before use
Standard late Ruby head - tried this before, engine suffered plug oiling.
Dante aluminium head - new unused - virtually no combustion chamber!
Aluminium Ricardo head - very tempted but it didn't want to slide easily over the head studs (The head is right, my head studs obviously are not!)
Bronze Ulster head - previously fitted on the RL - not too high a comp ratio, bearing in mind that the engine has a standard crank.
I opted for the bronze Ulster head, tightened it down and fired the engine up. Whereas before the engine sounded quite sedate it is now a snarling monster, despite having a civilised exhaust system with an Austin Metro silencer.
I need to do some work on the radiator drain tap before using the car. I am a bit worried that the exhaust note might attract undue attention!