66 Faux Tiger

[Faux tgr 66]

Got the car out of the garage today and went Alpining. Mid 60's today and a clear sky. Had a good drive. Went about 50 miles seeing motorcycles and vintage cars all along the way. Didn't really want to stop, but had other things that had to be done. Car ran well. Still having an issue with the starter, though, it just clicks sometimes when trying to start. Then it starts working fine. Had it out to be looked at 3 times. The starter repair shop said it works great on the bench and can't find anything wrong with it. He suggested it may be too close to the header and getting overheated. Wrapped the header last time I had it out. Maybe I just need to wrap some more insulation around the header collector.

 

[Cactusmasher]

You can also buy a heat shield/wrap for your starter. Had same problem with a small block Chevy in a hot rod. The heat shield did the trick and the starter did not give any further problems. It was for a Corvette but I don't think that matters one way or the other.

 

[Bill Blue]

I had this problem with a Ford 460 in a van. It would behave exactly like you describe. Hot or cold made no difference. Remove it from the engine and it would work correctly 100% of the time. The only difference being I would ground it with a jumper cable instead of engine ground.

Could the problem be a bad ground? Strange thing, when it made contact, it had plenty of Moxie. I solved my problem by selling the van.

Bill

 

[coupe]

there are a few things that will make a starter click like that, poor ground, solinoid contacts dirty from arcing....mostly older units, corroded terminals on the battery resulting in a lower battery state of charge. I assume you have a divorced solinoid, if so try a new one and see if that does it, one of the easy things to try. I had a problem with heat on a 57 olds. with a 394 and it would show it's head on a hot start if I didn't wait a minimum of 15 min. for cooling after that period it always worked fine, a tin shield did wonders for it. Galv. tin cause I was 18 and broke at the time. Mine didn't click it would roll over very slowly and drain the battery fast.
COUPE

 

[weaselkeeper]

The last GM product I owned had hot start problems, almost always after having driven it and then stopping and let it sit for a bit. Heat builds while it sits. I could usually get it going again by jumping the contacts on the starter itself with a long screwdriver (from under the vehicle). Not a long term solution, but it did tell me the starter was good once it got all the electrons it needed. The problem was solved when I took the GM solenoid out of the system and installed a ford solenoid on the inner fender. This required an easy wiring job and a trip to the parts store to have some cables built to the right length. While they were building cables, I replaced the engine to chassis ground at the same time. About 2 hours of work, cause I'm slow. Never had the problem again.

 

[miket]

To test for a bad ground is easy. Run a battery cable from the engine block to the battery ground post. I had a similar problem years ago. The risistance cause by a poor ground killed the battery in minutes. Mike

 

[racerguy99]

Hi Faux tiger
Here is my steering linkage

abit crowded and fun doing spark plugs

With all those U-joints, and the resulting clearance stacking, how much "play" do you feel?

 

[Chuck Ingram]

With all those U-joints, and the resulting clearance stacking, how much "play" do you feel?

There is virtually no play. I have an off set holder for the shaft from the steering wheel,shaft. There is a pillow bearing on the lower shaft. That then is as recommended. On the 62 which is almost exactly the same I had more room and I'm using a two off set holder for the main shaft as it is a bit longer. The pillow bearing is used as well.

I use the Borgeson compotements which are in my opinion are top notch

 

[Faux tgr 66]

I appreciate all the input. I did have a new solenoid put on last time it was in the shop. As usual when you work on it it works great for a few days and then Click, click, click. I should have thought about the ground being a problem. Both my first 2 Alpines had grounding problems. Where would I find one of the shields? On my steering linkage I don't have any play. I can wiggle the steering wheel while it's on the dollies, or on the ground, and the tires respond immediately. Gonna look into the grounding problem tomorrow. Weather is gonna be nice so I'm feeling an Alpining afternoon coming on.

 

[racerguy99]

Where would I find one of the shields?

They are available everywhere. I'm not sure which one fits the 215 though. There are several choices at Jegs. Here's two:
http://www.jegs.com/p/Moroso/Moroso-Starter-Heat-Shield/745330/10002/-1

 

[Faux tgr 66]

Thanks for the info. Will look to see how much clearance there is between the header and the starter. Haven't had time to do much to the car. Weather isn't helping much. I work out of town alot and when I get home I don't have much desire to crawl under the car. When Spring gets here I will feel more like doing my punch list for the car. Still contemplating what to do about the wheels. Also have to come up with a bumper for the front. The original won't fit any longer. The back bumper is in poor shape too. Looked at some on eBay but don't wanna spend $800 for a pair when I only need one.

 

[Asm109]

front and rear bumpers are the same. Just so you know.

 

[Greggers]

Posting a few photos on behalf of Faux tgr 66. First in class at the Gas Monkey Bar & Grill car show. Way to go, Faux.

 

[Faux tgr 66]

Sorry for being away for awhile. Had some surgery on my neck so no work could be done on the car or anywhere else. Have 14 weeks of light duty just now wrapping up. Wasn't able to crawl under the car or lift my arms over my head. Feel great now. Praise the Lord for that!
We put the car in the Gas Monkey Bar & Grill car show yesterday. Along with my wife's Gold Wing trike. It was lots of fun. Only 3 British cars. The other 2 were a '64 MGB and a '62 Land Rover. Several estimates said a 100+ cars were there. We both won our classes. We really appreciated the votes from the others. Met a man that has owned a Tiger for the past 35 years. The last 10 years on blocks. He has 2 other project cars he's working on and then the Tiger. He said it was all original and just needs minor work to get it on the road. Urged him to join SAOCA to share his car with all of us.
At the end it was a parade of classic cars getting out of the Monkey and many trying to out "burn out" the guy before. Not me, things tend to break. Like my clutch cable at the last show we were at earlier last year before we had it painted. I thought the burn out winner was a rat rod that was truly awesome. Sounded like a rail car dragster. Smoked the tires for a whole block. It was a great day weather wise near 80 with a light breeze. Greggers said it was in the 40's at the show he entered his car in in South Carolina. Thanks to him for posting my pictures from the show.

 

[Greggers]

And a pic of getting ready for the Gas Monkey show.

 

[Greggers]

Hi. Just posting a photo of the Faux Tiger's radiator vent. An update related to its installation will be forthcoming.

 

[Faux tgr 66]

Thanks to Greggers for posting the picture. Finally had time to work on the vent for the upper radiator hose. Spent a total of 3 hours at 3 different auto parts stores digging through their hose rack looking for a hose with the right bends. Was able to piece together 2 different hoses to get it right. One problem was getting the right height so it would be lower than the hood and still be at the top of the hose. Put the antifreeze back in and was able to get the air out(I Hope). Getting ready to test drive the car and I think when I get back and let it cool I can get more air out. Putting the car in another show this Saturday. Didn't do the last one because of threatening rain. Car hasn't been rained on in almost 4 years. Gonna put it in the Pate swap meet car corral next week. To be in it it has to have a sale price so we're putting 35K on it. I'm sure everyone will laugh at that, but we do it cause we can park right up front and have in and out priveledges with special parking for truck and trailer. You just have to drive it in to the corral. Then if some fellow comes along and just has to have it for that price he might be driving it home. Think that is highly unlikely, but you never know. Don't want to nor are we planning to sell the car, but that much would be nice since retirement is a year away.

 

[Faux tgr 66]

Just got back from a 30 mile test/fun drive. Went through town and country. Wound her up to about 5K rpm's through the gears for the fun of it. Laid down some small patches of rubber. Temps got to 160F on the highway and 190F in medium stop and go traffic. Purred like a kitten with tiger blood. Now onto putting a Ford solenoid on the starter so it will crank consistently. Now if the temps stay down when it's 90+ outside then I'll start thinking I may have it right. Did add another quart of antifreeze after she cooled down. Also no leaks. Yay!!

 

[Greggers]

Looking good at the Sonic.

 

[Faux tgr 66]

Just finished mounting and wiring the Ford starter solenoid on the right fender well. Was able to reroute the cable from the terminal block mounted on the firewall to the new solenoid and from there to the starter with a 32" cable from O'Reillys auto parts. Still have to wire from the switch. Didn't have the right terminals and I didn't feel like going back to town so I'll complete the wiring after work tomorrow. Then take it for a test drive. Will update the results as soon as I can. Thanks to everyone for your interest and invaluable advice. Special thanks to Greggers for posting my pictures.