850 Project SEAT

[Volatileticker]

First step was to get the brakes working . Replaced the master cylinder and both rear flexi lines and bled the brakes .
Next was lights and electrics , went through most of the wiring tidying up and replacing any poor or cheap connectors.
Instrument cluster was removed to clean all the contact points and replace all the bulbs.
Tyres were changed from 145/80x13 to 155/70x13 . The old tyres were cracked and I wanted to get a slightly wider tyre on. For the time being as the wheels will eventually be changed.
Removed the abarth stickers .
While driving to get the tyres changed ( first drive on the road) I found out the clutch was slipping so could only achieve 40kph up a small hill so dearly undeliverable. Also found I have no flywheel cover . If anyone has one I would be very interested.
So….. out comes the engine and box.
After removing a lifetime of grease and farm from both , probably 2-3lbs of crud. I removed the gearbox to get a look at the clutch ,
Friction plates has started to break down and has worn so much the rivets have grooved the pressure plates. So a new three piece is needed.

 

[bugsymike]

Unless already fitted a light flywheel skim may be advisable if rivets have scored flywheel as well as old pressure, unless of course you were lucky.
Reason being it reduces clutch contact area until worn in to match grooves, a bit like brake discs.
Quite liked the Seat versions saloon and coupe, as an apprentice they were popular in early 70s around our way.

 

[Volatileticker]

Unless already fitted a light flywheel skim may be advisable if rivets have scored flywheel as well as old pressure, unless of course you were lucky.
Reason being it reduces clutch contact area until worn in to match grooves, a bit like brake discs.
Quite liked the Seat versions saloon and coupe, as an apprentice they were popular in early 70s around our way.

I have been fortunate that the flywheel is in great condition . The rivets were only worn through on the pressure plate side .

 

[Volatileticker]

Thermostat housing was in pretty rough shape. After a strip down and blast I set about machining some sleeves to replace the corroded pipes.
Then sealed them in and built up the main body. Some final filing and the result is one I am happy with.
Made some new gaskets ant fitted the housing with a new thermostat.

 

[Volatileticker]

Engine bay refresh in a special rubberised black, wrapped the wiring to tidy it all up.
Flushed, cleaned and painted the radiator which has no leaks.
Fitted the radiator.

 

[Volatileticker]

Cleaned the driveshafts and refitted them with the new boots (inner and outer) checked movement and bolted the gearbox onto the engine , along with the starter motor.

 

[Volatileticker]

And finally installed the engine and gearbox .
Pretty straight forward. I had them on a trolley which I wheeled into place and jacked up from underneath.
Fitted the rear valance with rear center mount first , then moved the jack to the rear of the gearbox end and bolted in the other two mounts .
Connected cables , wiring and plumbing , did a quick start test and put some coolant in.
Now it’s time to test

 

[bugsymike]

And finally installed the engine and gearbox .
Pretty straight forward. I had them on a trolley which I wheeled into place and jacked up from underneath.
Fitted the rear valance with rear center mount first , then moved the jack to the rear of the gearbox end and bolted in the other two mounts .
Connected cables , wiring and plumbing , did a quick start test and put some coolant in.
Now it’s time to test

All that effort should be now repaid with a fun little car to drive. I always liked then when several came in as an apprentice in early 70s.

 

[Volatileticker]

So the seat drove ok , no issues. Everything works as it should . Gears are great . Clutch was ok , gave it a slight adjustment (one turn) and locked it off again.
I think I’ll have a Quick Look at the timing and double check ignition , points and such to see if everything is as it should be.

 

[bugsymike]

So the seat drove ok , no issues. Everything works as it should . Gears are great . Clutch was ok , gave it a slight adjustment (one turn) and locked it off again.
I think I’ll have a Quick Look at the timing and double check ignition , points and such to see if everything is as it should be.

Timing will be adjustment after roadtest as it was built in the days of leaded fuel, not the rubbish we get today.

 

[Volatileticker]

A few artistic shots of the bean . Here been a while since my last post .
Had a few dramas with the fuel tank which will need replacing at some point. Flushed it through and fitted twin filters which seems to be doing the job of holding back the bits .
New tank which I may fit in the frunk is under design so will post some drawings soon.

 

[Volatileticker]

A few more shots and some AI dabbling , also found this shot of a competition car from the past .
Had a misfire develope into starting trouble .
After a bit of back and forth it was the new condenser .
Replaced it and she fired straight up , will get one of those competition condensers which everyone says are the nuts … or will look at an electronic ignition kit.

 

[Volatileticker]

Time to tackle me heater issue ( lack of ) . With no heater pipes from the radiator to the heater as they were leaking at the middle. I have retrofitted an electric element. 200w to start with , this could be upgraded. I had to make a new flap too. So this is all done and fitted twin filters. I used a heated window 10 minute timer switch as well just for safety etc and it works really well. I may add another larger element but for now this will be more than adequate.

 

[bugsymike]

A few more shots and some AI dabbling , also found this shot of a competition car from the past .
Had a misfire develope into starting trouble .
After a bit of back and forth it was the new condenser .
Replaced it and she fired straight up , will get one of those competition condensers which everyone says are the nuts … or will look at an electronic ignition kit.

Personally I prefer points and condensor, a lot easier to fix at the side of the road and much cheaper.
Condensors and point if good quality generally only fail if ignition left on whilst testing something else and they overheat if points closed. A little high melting point grease on the heel of the fibre that touches the distributor cam, apart from that new points a each 6000mile service worked for my customers in the past.
If electronic ignition fails which it can do, then it is a wait for a transporter home at great cost. Even if no new parts on hand I have got many cars going by simply cleaning the points, regapping them and if condensor faulty the trick was to move the radio suppressor/capacitor from the switch side SW of the coil to the CB/distributor side and it acts as a condensor to get you home, you may need to leave original condensor disconnected but at least you are mobile.
Always handy to keep a spare new set of points and condensor in car, coils less likely in my experience.
Never used an electric car heater, does dynamo cope?

 

[The Panda Nut]

.
Never used an electric car heater, does dynamo cope?

Money on no chance LOL

 

[bugsymike]

Money on no chance LOL

If stationary, is that a bit like leaving a valve radio on whilst doing a bit of "courting" from a long distant memory, killing the battery.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

If stationary, is that a bit like leaving a valve radio on whilst doing a bit of "courting" from a long distant memory, killing the battery.

and then finding the coil is burnt out because you had to have the ignition on to feed power to the radio and the points were closed!

 

[porta]

One thing to note on those electric heaters, make sure the plastic can take it…I fitted one to our Polaris diesel UTV (due to the factory fit system never bleeding the cooling system properly, as the pipes were like spaghetti junction going up down and all over the place)…I bought a decent 400w heater but the existing heater box, made by Polaris chocolate branch, went very soft very quickly

 

[The Panda Nut]

If stationary, is that a bit like leaving a valve radio on whilst doing a bit of "courting" from a long distant memory, killing the battery.

Any excuse would do....