• Welcome to the new SAOCA website. Already a member? Simply click Log In/Sign Up up and to the right and use your same username and password from the old site. If you've forgotten your password, please send an email to membership@sunbeamalpine.org for assistance.

    If you're new here, click Log In/Sign Up and enter your information. We'll approve your account as quickly as possible, typically in about 24 hours. If it takes longer, you were probably caught in our spam/scam filter.

    Enjoy.

Building a 1725

jumpinjan

Bronze Level Sponsor
Ian & I have seen this happen before. That pump is not for the Alpine and it scored the cam lobe, right? Its the lever. Its got a different curve on the lever for a different engine. If you still have your Alpine old pump, you can swap the levers in 15 minutes and it will run.
 

Alpine Bob

Donation Time
Jan,
Jim E. said that pump came off the 1725 that was in the Black RHD series 3 that Jim bought from Ian, why if it worked for that engine won't it work for this engine???
 

Jim E

Donation Time
Pretty much everything but the block is from my cracked block 1725 that ran very well.

Bob will send you some money here a little later today to help with the troubles.
 

Jeff Scoville

Donation Time
Hey Jim, I thought I was the only one who couldn't catch a break, and it always seems worst when your trying to do a nice for someone else.
What really sucks is the distance thing, I'm sure if youd ahd the car and done the install start to finish, the car would have been driving a month ago.
I'm sure it'll work out for both of you.
 

Alpine Bob

Donation Time
We swaped out the fuel pump for the one that was on my 1592 and it runs great. Now just the usual fine tuning, checking for the water leaks, oil leaks and etc... We're almost there. YEAAAAAAA !!!!:D
 

Tom H

Platinum Level Sponsor
Bob,

Thanks for the update. Great to hear it is running fine. Seems it had the normal amount of surprises along the way. Congrats to both you and Jim. Great job by both of you to overcome the stumbling blocks. Hope to get mine running by the end of Summer.

Tom H
 

Alpine Bob

Donation Time
:D Today, I drove the car for the first time. What a difference, more power, different sound, the handling was great after the front end work, ball joints, bushings, & etc... The transmission is nice and tight, and that overdrive is really slick :) I can hardly wait for the trip to Rome, GA for the All British Car Show at Berry College. Come on all you Sunbeamers let's show up the MG's. Healey's TR's, we did it at Chateau Elan'. ;)
 

64beam

Donation Time
Hi Bob,

Great to hear you have finally sorted out the bugs and is running well. Have a good time at the car show and smooth running. Can you post a final shot of the finished product for us?

Regards, Robin.
 

Alpine Bob

Donation Time
:D Well, here we go on the next chapter of the 1725+. We were driving along on one of the initial 100 mile shake down cruises, we came to a stop sign, I did the normal things,i.e. put the OD in the OFF position, good. we took off and got into 4th gear, flipprd the OD into the ON position and walla, NO OD. Well bummers, now what? Went back to the shop checked it all out and everything was working except the solenoid, it just quit working, so on the phone, no one had one except VB, but their order taker didn't even know they had Sunbeam parts, she acted like I wanted a part for a toaster..... "Let me talk to your supervisor" I said, she got on the line and I said to go to the Sunbeam cataalog, page 41, item 19, p/n 8-480, $69.95. OK, now I have that ordered, I asked what would the cost of shipping? Oh, that's $13.95, what about "overnight", oh, that's $53.00 on top of the regular shipping charge, WOW, I said, ship it regular. So I drove the 400 miles to and from the Rome, GA all British car show without over drive. The solenoid came in, it's now installed and working fine.
The next item was every so often it was hard to start, like the battery was running out of juice. We found that problem, the rear plug for the cam had come out and would wedge between the flywheel and the bellhousing cover plate, you all know what that took to fix, but at least NAPA had the right size plug in stock. We also re torqued the head bolts, re- adjusted the valves. Now maybe I can have a fun filled summer.
 

Alpine Bob

Donation Time
:mad: Well, here we go again. We were running so fine, on the way to the local Cruise In, when I put the turn indicator on to make my turn, and of course every was looking when this B I G ball of white steam came out of the tail pipes, how embarrassing. I got into the parking lot and called a flat bed to take me home.:( . I pulled the spark plugs out and sure enough, #2 had water on the plug. Ordered a head gasket from SS, and maybe she'll be up and running by sometime next week.
Also, I was given a series V, parts car (no engine), what am I going to do with that???:eek:
 

RootesRooter

Donation Time
I was going to suggest the possibility of brake fluid, not steam, (i.e. a sudden booster failure), but I see in an earlier post you don't have a booster on the car.

You don't usually see a head gasket fail with such sudden fanfare out the tailpipe during ordinary driving. Were there other symptoms beforehand? (i.e. fluctuating temps)

Had the head been re-torqued when you put it in the car? I suggest checking the current torque settings before dismantling. I'd make sure the head is really flat before just throwing on another gasket. Another good bet is that the head has too much corrosion around one or more water passages.
 

Alpine Bob

Donation Time
We pulled the head today and there was a gasket failure. checked the head for flatness and also the block surface, both were fine. There was a small break in the gasket, about 3/32 wide. Re torqued head bolts after about 500 miles, maybe that was too long to wait, should have done it sooner. But, that's a case of "shoulda, woulda, coulda" and that's water over the dam. Now I'll have to regroup and use that as a lesson learned. Thanks RootesRooter for the suggestions and help.
 

64beam

Donation Time
Hi Bob,

I can help but feel sorry for you with all the dramas you have had. I don't know if you call it the same thing in the U.S, but this is a typical case of Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong!). Lets all hope that this is the end of them for a long time. Keep away from black cats, ladders and mirrors (not that it matters now though) ;) .

Good luck,

Regards, Robin.
 

husky drvr

Platinum Level Sponsor
Personally, I re-torque the head after no more than a couple hours running time. What's the consensus out there?

I think WSM.124 gives good advice on the subject.

The following procedure should be followed after refitting the cylinder head and fitting a new cylinder head gasket.

1. Run engine until it is thoroughly warmed up.

2. Allow engine to cool down and when COLD retighten the cylinder head.

3. Thoroughly warm up the engine and reset the valve clearances.
 

Nickodell

Donation Time
Sometimes the damned things blow for no apparent reason. Mine went in Matilda 15 or more years ago, but the replacement has given no trouble. Someone, a year or so ago (Jose?) mentioned treating the mating surfaces in a way that roughens them, to provide extra grip for the gasket. I don't recall the details, or the procedure, but it made sense. Anyone remember what I'm referring to?
 
Top