Week 20 - The Build

I suppose a project like this was always going to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride. One day its seems all but finished and the next day an unrecognised problem arises that needs to be solved. Everyday is a school day if you don't really know how anything works!

And so it was this past week. The ambition was to connect enough to the engine to get it started. All that went well. Fuel, electronics, 12v supply and earth - even attached the clutch and servo vacuum hoses.

Turn the ignition on and operate the starter. Great - give it a while for the fuel to get through. OK, give it a bit longer. OK, a bit of brake cleaner sprayed into the intake. Fires up! Horray. But without the brake cleaner it wont start at all, not even a splutter. 

 So, I know it ran fine before I changed the cam belt, but could it be an electrical problem or a dodgy connection somewhere? I checked all the plugs and sockets and connections and they seemed fine although I remade a couple of connections to be sure. Still no joy. Checked the fuel supply. The fuel pump is suprisingly powerful as it shot a jet a fuel 15' in the air. The cam timing is looking favourite now and a bit of Google Engineering reveals thet when cylinder 1 is at TDC then the cam lobes should point away from each other. Took the cam cover off and they plainly dont.

Thought I'd see what the OBD thought and it came up with this;

Almost every error in the book came up, but top of the list was a cam position error so that pretty much confirms the cam timing is out.

It's going to be a massive fiddle doing the repair in the hull so the engine, now known as yoyo, is coming out again.

And out it is waiting for next weeks adventure.