It is a busy November here. As well as trying to get the Standard Vanguard (further post to follow) up together before Christmas, we are currently altering the Wolseley workshop engine stand to allow us to briefly run the engine in the workshop. This is to strengthen the supports as well as give me access to fit the front pulley, something I had overlooked when I made the wooden stand! The engine will the be run very briefly to check oil pressure and operation but avoiding prolonged off load running to avoid glazing the bores.
The nature of this, largely one off work, is always very time consuming, even to the end. I 've been caught out with a clearance problem on the inlet manifold and some casting issues internally. Despite being test fitted I had not foreseen this problem as the oil return pipe was not fitted until now. Rather than strip totally, you can see that I have wrapped and sealed the whole thing in a bag and then carefully hacksawed, chiselled and filed the new corner shape. We also noted a casting flaw that would allow air leakage, but that is remedied with a sealing washer beneath a bolt.
Finally, the supercharger has been bolted on, carefully monitoring the free operation of the rotors in case the tightening of the unit causes any distortion. On this point, we have also noted distortion in the carburettor manifold flange (something I had previously missed). As I tightened this to the supercharger I could easily move a 0.005" feeler gauge in an area of the joint without any nip. It is important to be careful here as any form of twist can risk distorting the supercharger housing and upset the very precise internal clearances. We will have to carefully hand face this flange and refit.
As an extra check, I have measured the supercharger rotation torque on the bench with a spring balance and measured lever point, I can use this as a datum when looking for any case of distortion and clearance changes within the housing when fitting. This can also be carried between engine test runs.
With the unit in position we have carried out further rotation tests up to 3000rpm with a battery gun.
