Ask Joe, though he does get upset if it's 'too easy'...

Plating.....


..... but for the horn bracket it's so obvious when it's not correct, draws the eye.

Yeah, with the clamshell hood, way too many parts are exposed (and needs to be shiny).

But, you don’t approve of plating?

I've always found it expensive and sometimes hit and miss for quality when you're trying to recycle rust to gold.

What a business opportunity

I had the parts sand blasted prior to plating. So they were perfectly clean. However, some of them were very rusted, so there is some pitting where the worst rust was. The pitted areas did not come out as shiny, but should still be adequately protected.

Where do I start?!?

On a serious note, expect lots of questions as assembly is about to commence.

Looks great, enjoy 😉

Cheers Jamie

Oh no! A corner is broken off the valve cover, and was glued on by a previous owner.

Does anyone have one to spare?

That's bad luck

Common occurence though due to incorrectly sequenced/over-tightening.

Incidentally, so that you don't get offers of the wrong model, it's useful to put your appropriate avatar under your name

Click on your forum name at top rhs, Edit Profile, scroll down, select avatar

Then post in Parts Wanted

All right, I did some forum housekeeping

What’s this mysterious part on my thermostat?

Looks to be a random sensor that fits the thread which has been cut down

As above, it was a coolant sensor fitted to block that port and mainly found on original thermostats fitted at the Pinifarina factory.

So I can replace it with the plug that came with the new t-stat?

Well, another setback. Not a big deal, but still annoying:

I was gonna install the oil drain plug, only to discover that the threads were literally falling apart. Maybe it had some insert already, I didn’t notice anything when I took it out.

What’s the best way forward? Helicoil or the next size bigger?

I need repair thread too. I think helicoil (V coil etc...) Is best solution because Coupé already have big thread and it is much stronger than aluminium. I'm going to do it next week, remove oil pan drill 18,5mm hole, make thread M20x1,5 and insert coil. And then apply new seal on pan and bolt it back.

All right, on to the next issue.

After replacing the cam belt, tightening the belt, rotating the engine over several times, re-checked the tension multiple times, I checked the timing again. It turns out that both cams are ever so slightly late. It makes sense really; the whole assembly settling in and the process of getting the tension right, has to affect timing.

How do I rectify this?

Ideally I would prefer to set the engine at perfect tdc, lock the cam gears, loosen the camshaft from the gear, and turn the camshaft forward until perfectly timed. Ideally I’d have the flywheel locked, too, and a place to put a spanner on the camshaft. Maybe I can use vice grips or fabricate a tool that fits over the end of the camshaft.

The other option would be to set the cams correctly, and turn the engine backwards. I’m not sure how well that’s gonna work. The belt pulling the wrong direction may mess up timing. I guess I could turn the engine beck too much, and then advance it to tdc, but there’s not that much wiggle room at the exhaust cam.

Maybe I should just leave it as it is. The timing is off by approximately the smallest amount I’m able to rotate the crankshaft.

Are you using a TDC gauge and cam locks Mags?

It's important to have tension on the belt from the crank to the exhaust pulley, when that 18mm is loose you can turn the pulley slightly on the keyway which will take up the slack, I think this is the reason why it's timing up incorrectly.

Call me if it's easier: +44 1684 593187.

yeah, using a dial indicator on the #1 piston and cam locks.

So it has to be that first step getting the belt tight over the idler and exhaust pulley,

Om my first attempt I got the timing a bit late, after getting some great advice from Joe Countrycruising a was able to time it better. Now it’s just a fraction early (see photo) . I’ll settle for this, since it’s better to be early than late ( as the belt settles in, it’ll make the cams time later.)

I suspect I’m more anal about the details than most.

Fantastic. My kind of rebuild.

What sort of plating did you get? Looks like a couple of different types. Zinc, Nickel / chrome Passivation.. .?

Honestly, I don't know. The nuts and bolts I sent off to a company that put them in a drum, that can do all at once. The larger bits I had yellow chrome plated at a different company, and they were hung individually. They came out way more yellow. The nuts and bolts are very original looking.

Well, I checked, and it is zink plating.

Nice. Looks great..

Folks - a gentle reminder that comments should go into the discussion thread please...

Another small set back: when installing the sump drain plug, the threads literally started falling apart. I suspect there was an old Timesert in there.

I'm considering (drilling) tapping it to M20, any better suggestions?

well, now I'm stuck on this ridiculous problem. I can't seem to drop the sump without disassembling basically the whole car.

And I got an M20x1.5mm sump plug kit, but for the life of me I'm not able to get the threading tap going - catching - so to speak.

So no I'm stuck with the sump half way off, and a big useless hole where the drain plug used to go. And possibly shavings - swarf - left in the sump.

Please give me some encouragement