The Flash Video to the right is very dark, but it does have sound. Don't worry if you missed the first bit - the video will repeat. It shows the first startup of ROJ for about 10 years.
| Prior to starting we had some fun trying to prime the oil pump which is embedded within the engine. Removing a hose from the oil cooler and backfilling it with oil did the trick. Churning away on the starter motor with the spark plugs removed we eventually built up a steady 10psi of oil pressure. The original ignition system had failed (really horrible early Lucas electric system) so we replaced it with a slightly later Lucas Opus system. The fuel pump and tank on the car weren't usable so we rigged up a gravity feed tank made from an old radiator expansion tank held in place by the windscreen wiper. I'll add some photos if the installation later. It's quite amusing. |
With a little easystart and jump leads from a Renault 4 the engine quickly sprang into life. On around 6 cylinders. Two cylinders were backfiring and turned out to have low compression. We squirted some oil into the cylinders which resolved the problem - indicating piston issues (probably seized piston rings).
We won't know if the bores have been damaged until we remove the cylinder heads. The best result will be a bore hone and new piston rings. At worst the block will need to be re-lined.
While we didn't run the engine for long enough to fully warm up the oil pressure seemed to be holding 50psi at cold idle, and there were no squeaks or knocks from the engine, so the problems appear to be limited to the cylinders and pistons.
There is a little more about the history of the car on the blog.