340 upgrade

[Dan B]

You insist on making this engine porn.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Motor Porn you asked for, motor porn you shall receive. Let there be MOTOR PORN!









The attachment holes, timing holes, balance holes, v-grooves and paint are still to come but it's a pretty good look I think.

Enjoy!

Jim

[MGBV8]

Nice motor. Is it AC or DC?  

[BlownMGB-V8]

Now that's just getting toooo-- technical.

Jim

[Dan B]

AC/DC.

Dirty deeds.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Done dirt cheap.

[MGBV8]

Whole Lotta Rosie!

[BlownMGB-V8]

I've now gotten all the mounting holes finished, the v grooves cut, and the timing mark as well. I trimmed a little more off the center boss so that the dampener sits flush with the outer ring. The main pulley is an 8 rib and there is an inner one which is 4 ribs and will drive the alternator, provided I can mount it short enough. I still have to drill the timing holes and mill the slot for the missing tooth (36-1) and right now it's too cold to mess with it. So no photos today, but soon. Dale said he'd just as soon have it in it's unbalanced state so I will send it that way, along with the balancing jig and the old outer balance ring just as a double check. I'll try to finish it up as soon as it warms up a bit.

On a related note, I've ordered a pump for the intercooler. I've gone around and around on this design and all the while I keep spiraling in on it. As it now stands, the working fluid is to be a minimum volume of pentane, pumped at 140 gph through a closed system with an emergency pressure relief valve vented to the fuel tank EFI return line, the pump controlled by a manifold vacuum switch and by a system pressure switch (turns on if system pressure rises). It will have temp sensors at both the IC core and at the condenser and a system pressure gage. The condenser will be a standard A/C condenser, most likely identical to the one that will be used for cabin air.

A possible alternative was to use ammonia as the working fluid and a compressor but I doubt compressor volume would be adequate. However I'm still looking into that as a possibility. The volume of fluid required is about 1/4 of what is needed for pentane but it has to be pumped as a vapor rather than as a liquid due to the pressures involved, largely offsetting ammonia's higher thermal efficiency.

Nothing more yet on the intake as that work has been held up by the dampener and it's relationship to the blower drive pulley but that will be resumed soon. The alternator will need to be as short (front to back) as possible and I'll be looking into the possibility of newer candidates for that as soon as I can. The diameter isn't that much of an issue.

JB

[BlownMGB-V8]

More motor porn for you!



Above is the set-up I had to cobble together to mill the timing holes (and one slot) in the rim of the damper adapter. Precise, tedious work but a good result.



And here is the sensor mounted to the timing cover using the fuel pump location. The mount is still a bit clunky and I'll probably round the corners and such while the damper is away being balanced by Dale.



And here it is assembled. Everything matches up well other then the belt location for the alternator but I'm not done with that and have a couple of ideas yet, if nothing else just move it outboard of the head.

If you can see it, the slot (missing tooth) is at approximately 60* before the sensor. It is actually farther than that since the EDIS will trigger on the leading edge of the hole, but a minimum of 60* will allow the EDIS to advance correctly and the extra can be accounted for in the MegaSquirt timing set-up to put it dead on the money.

And for a (modest?) fee you could have one too!  ;-)

JB

[ex-tyke]

Really nice work, Jim!

[MGBV8]

"And for a (modest?) fee you could have one too! ;-) "

Modest fee?  You must really work cheap!

[BlownMGB-V8]

Sometimes Carl, sometimes. ;-)

JB

[kstevusa]

Jim, nice B&D LED work light.   They do well and can serve in an emergency as a reading light. (if we can read) .  You do some GOOD work!

[BlownMGB-V8]

Thanks Kelly. Steve D gave me that light. I guess he got tired of the sorry pieces I was trying to use. It really does work great and I use it more now than probably all the rest put together.

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I've been a bit busy of late:









As you can see I've got the box attached to the intake and the top plate mostly completed. Still have to add the sneeze valve at the rear and then it can be welded on.

JB

[mgb260]

Boy, You have been busy!

[Bill Young]

Jim, is there going to be any way to  change out the intercooler once the sneeze plate is welded on the rear?
Nice work for sure. if the slam panel on the Roadmaster looks anything near as good we've got a winner for sure. That is awsome fabrication on your intake.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Thanks guys. Bill, the slam panel is 18 ga stainless and looks really great. I had them make up a second one for my car while they were at it so once I mount my radiator I should be able to complete both panels the same and it should fit the Roadmaster just fine. I squared up the intake on the mill and knocked the high spots off the bottom, then turned it over and fly cut the top edges of the box sides so that everything has at least a chance of being square. Once I'm done with the welding I'll get it trued up by the local automotive machine shop and then use whatever gaskets are dictated by the amount of metal they have to remove to get it flat.

That back panel will have to bolt in and I've not quite decided exactly how I'm going to do that part yet, as the coolant lines come out sideways. But by the time I get the rest of the parts made back there I should have it figured out. Lots of times I make this stuff up as I go along.

JB

[kstevusa]

Jim, obviously JBR is not included in your work sessions!  GD must also wait for his time.
  Have a great day!

[BlownMGB-V8]

Thanks Kelly. As for the JBR, I did my drinking when I was younger and these days that's just for special occasions and not much of it then. Seems I've darned near worn out my alcohol regulator and I've got to handle it delicately if I expect it to last me. So I'm a little more careful than I once was.

Well, I've been busy. No pictures this time since there's not much more to look at than last go-around but the key difference is that all the welding is done except for the thermostat housing, which I scrapped on the first attempt. Don't know where I went wrong, it just didn't come out like I expected. So I'll have to make that piece over and weld that on and then move on to the last of the machine work. I ordered a plate for the rear cover and when that's done it'll have an integrated hook-up for the lines and the core, which will be attached and then slid into the housing and bolted shut. I still need to decide how I'm going to keep the core from bouncing up and down but I have several options there, it's just a matter of choosing wisely.

Then, I've decided to make a large 45* cutter to mill the port flanges on the Bridgeport so I ordered some 4" round stock. It will be a type of fly-cutter with a single long edge tool bit. Not the easiest tool to make but I've done this before so I'm not too concerned, though it would be handy to have the surface grinder up and running for this job.

Yeah, that's the Blackwood way. Learned from early childhood back on the farm. In order to get what we want first we invariably have to make or fix something, or both. I'm pretty used to it.

JB

[BlownMGB-V8]

Haven't posted anything on here for awhile, enough time to make a little visible progress so I decided an update was in order. Here are a couple shots of the intake system pretty much as it stands. The rear cover is made but needs some sort of retainer to clamp the tubes in and the external fittings. I also have to fit an IAC valve and filter, attach the fuel rail, locate fittings for the temp probes and a few other details like milling the head flanges. But it's progress.





JB

[BlownMGB-V8]

On the path to the 340 install I found I needed a short alternator. Nobody makes one, so I took on the job, and now having just finished up with it I thought it only proper to pass along what I learned. Having disassembled 3 alternators to compare component parts, (a Denso, a Delcotron, and a late Ford unit) I found numerous differences and determined that the shortest design would use the rotor and stator of the Delcotron, the brush holder of the Denso, the rear bearing design of the Ford, and a few more wrinkles thrown in for good measure, as well as an entirely new back cover, which was made by welding up pieces and machining where needed. The finished unit can be found in this thread:

http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?6,16164

All possible extra length was removed. The rotor and stator were shifted forwards and one slip ring was cut away from the rotor, placing the 2nd brush in the end of the shaft where it grounds to a copper plate retained by the stainless end cover. Replacing the needle bearing cup with a sealed ball bearing also reduced the length, but perhaps the greatest gain was in relocating the regulator/rectifier package to the firewall. The stator produces 3 phase alternating current, just like you would use in an industrial shop and has a 3 wire output which goes directly to a rectifier package. I haven't decided exactly what components to use there yet, but I plan an upgrade from those used in the Delcotron as they were not reliable enough to suit me. The regulator and harness connector used in the Denso is compact and of a convenient size and configuration so I will probably use that, meaning that my existing connector in the car will simply plug right in. Some wires will have to be re-routed and 3 moderately heavy and 1 light wires run from the alternator to the control package, but there are a number of additional potential benefits with this layout. A small electronics pancake fan can be placed under the control package and switched on based on heat. With removal of these parts it is likely that the external fan on the alternator can be minimized or possibly even eliminated altogether, allowing the unit to be shortened even more, by probably a quarter inch or more.





JB

[BlownMGB-V8]

Today is a significant milestone, as I did final assembly of the intake, intercooler and blower to the block.





I have material en-route to make the water pump pulley so that is probably next and then perhaps I can look at the A/C pump. There are a lot of details yet but getting past this one was a biggie.

JB

[pcmenten]

Jebus! That's a work of art. Nice work. The custom alternator looks right at home there.

[ex-tyke]

Jim, your workmanship is truly impressive - here's hoping that we get to see the results in Indy.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Thanks guys. I'm expecting to have it at Indy though it might not be running by then. I still have some major work to do such as building the throttle body/Enderlie scoop/air filter housing and completing the transmission adapter and that is aside from the control electronics and changes to the plumbing and bodywork so I'll be doing well to get it on the road by summer's end. But, since I've not been able to bring it for about 3 years now it'll be there, running or not, as long as I have the driveline installed.

JB