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S2 first drive! still some kinks...

F

finally

Donation Time
Well, just had the brake lines, cylinders, etc replaced, got the car back and drove it around the neighborhood for the first time! Pretty cool, that's all I gotta say!!! I love how people stare!

Well, it looks like I got a couple more kinks to work out though...
1. Ignition light stays on. I'm guessing potential causes to be alternator, or regulator (thoughts?)
2. Had them change the oil and now its knocking. Looked in the oil cap & couldn't see any oil moving around. Should I? (clueless on this). Wrong oil cap on there too.
3. Rear suspension is way too soft & bouncy - can wait a bit for this
4. Finally paint job & seats to make it beautiful!!!
5. Get kicked out of the house for spending too much time & money...
 
Mark B

Mark B

Donation Time
Outstanding! That #5 gets ya everytime. With regard to the ignition warning light, I have found those little silver regulators to be so fickle and tempermental. They are also delicate, and it took me about 3 to get the light to go off briefly. Couple of months later, on again. I have switched out alternators etc.. and now live with it. I cannot count how many times I have taken out the wiring diagram just to be sure I have the wires correct. (I suspect a ground issue) So I guess what I am saying is, as long as you are charging well, focus on the rest of the list and hopefully someone will have an insight to help all of us driving with well charging systems and a red glowing light on the dash. Thanks.

Mark B
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
As to item #3:

You should not be able to see oil moving. However, do check to make sure the clowns put oil in the crankcase and that it is up to the "full" mark. Oil cap makes no difference as long as it stays on and prevents oil from escaping. Don't continue to run it with the engine knocking as things will only get worse.

Do you know what grade of oil was in the engine and what was put in?

Bill
 
F

finally

Donation Time
Knocking probably isn't the best word... noisier I suppose is better terminology. 10w30 is what they put in.

No idea what was in there before, only started it a couple of times in the driveway after having it delivered to me. Who knows the noise thing may be my complete imagination and paranoia... :eek: don't even know what a normal alpine sounds like. suppose I need to go out to the gathering thats coming up...
 
H

howard

Donation Time
Beware of that ignition light staying on. It COULD be your generator isn't charging your battery fully and will eventually leave you stranded. (I know this from experience.) You may have to just break down and either buy a new generator, as I did, or convert to the alternator... which I've heard a lot of good things about.

Either way, don't waste your time and money getting the generator rebuilt. It's a hassle, sometimes they don't know what they're doing, and it can cost you triple what a new one runs!

('Course, that may not even BE the problem...)
 
Nickodell

Nickodell

Donation Time
Key question regarding #3 - what is your oil pressure?. In old cars this is as important to the health of the machine as your own blood pressure isto yours. If it's good - at least 40psi with the engine over 2,000rpm (the car's, not yours!) - there shouldn't be an oil-related mechanical problem. Having said that; it's a strange coincidence that the problem should arise after they changed the oil. Unless you have a very tight engine (few miles since major overhaul), 10W30 is probably too low in viscosity. By the way, did they change the oil filter too?

"Noisier" doesn't help. Can you be more specific? What kind of noise? What onomatopea would you use to describe it (rattle, scrape, screech, jingle, thump, bang, etc.)? At high or low revs? In gear or out? Clutch in or out? While driving, while stationary, or both? Accelerating or decelerating? Straight or cornering? Any particular gear? Are you now, or have you ever been a communist?

Ignore that last one.

Finally, beware of entrusting your Alpine to you local garage or gas station, even for an oil change. In almost every case they are staffed by people whose parents may not even have been born when it was made, and have no experience or comprehension of vintage cars. Most of them can't even drive a stick shift or understand what a manual choke is or how to use it. Many people on this forum can give you horror stories about the dumb twerps, with mechanical IQs less than room temperature, who have damaged, or come close to damaging their Alpines, or performed unsatisfactory service, or given it back saying that they "can't fix it," even though their sign says "Foreign Cars," telling you that it really just means Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans made since 1990. Find a good, reliable mechanic who works on vintage iron, especially English cars of the 50s and 60s. They charge more, but at least they know what they're doing. I've used the same guy for 26 years and wouldn't dream of entrusting Matilda (my SV) to anyone else, even for the annual state inspection. If Joe decides to increase his hourly rate 50% I won't complain.
 
F

finally

Donation Time
Point well taken on the mechanic, I may need to be introduced to yours since I'm kinda close. being only 35 probably counts me as one of those young punks too though huh???

Oil Pressure 60+ at idle, 75 when I rev it up. I'm probably just getting used to an engine that I've not really heard run before. Come to think of it, when I started it before I didn't have much of an exhaust and so it probably drowned out the noise... :eek: I'm not so worried about this tonight. Will keep a watch on it though.

One quick thought about the ignition light - I ahve the sneaky suspicion the guy I bought it from (temporary owner) did the + to - ground conversion part way. If he didn't do the repolariztion of the regulator would that cause the ignition light to come on and drain the battery??
 
Nickodell

Nickodell

Donation Time
We're located about 30 minutes from the DE state line. Just go north on Rt 202 from Wilmington. With that kind of oil pressure I'd stay with 10W30. Your engine must be recently (in mileage terms) rebuilt and have tight bearings.

There have been several threads and dozens of posts on the forum regarding polarity changes and the idiot light, so just track them down.
 
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