1985 Lap Rialto 2 (hopefully a more concise version of it) - this may take me time to update it.

Posts by others 29th July 2012

AzzY

Still got a couple of oven baked orange rocker covers that have all the paint left on them and still on the vehicles.


jessejazza

AMAM wrote:

it all melted lol

Oven bake... isn't the same as cooked! What sort of temp was it at Gas 10 [or equivalent].

30th July 2012

Putting the engine back together......

The rocker cover looks nice and bright in the engine bay




Hoses, carburetter, air filter and leads refitted:-

31st July 2012

Oil and coolant added. I haven't started the car yet, but I'll leave it overnight to make sure that the fluids do not mix before I try to start the car tomorrow.

I just hope that my Rialto 2 will work properly at last after the hard work I have put into it.

Posts by others on 31st July 2012

AMAM

good luck phill, hope its fine after all the work u put in

P.S sun glasses for working on engine from now on?

seriously tho, looking good


str8lolly

That engine will never run............................................... ....................Until that speck of dirt is removed.

Good luck and hope its fine now.

Post by Wrighty 1st August 2012

I think you will be fine, your a dab hand at this now.

1st August 2012

Core plug leak

Hi everyone,

I managed to start up my Rialto 2 this morning and the cylinder head core plug decided to drip coolant (the engine temperature measured on the cylinder head and block was approx. 50˚C). Hopefully, I will be able to stop that leak by hammering that new core plug a bit harder after the engine has cooled down (at least I hope that it will be just that and not the cylinder head).

The good news is that there's no longer any leaks between the cylinder block and the cylinder head and I have managed to get the engine to run fairly smooth-ish (a lot better than it was before) albeit with the choke half way out.

I also found out this morning that I'll have to replace either one of the exhaust down pipe nuts or one of the exhaust manifold's studs. I hope that it will be just the brass nut.

I just hope that I can get it back on the road again soon.

AMAM

glad it nothing major on start up, just little fettling to do

3rd August 2012

Another update...

I got a couple of genuine core plugs through the post today and then I found out why it had leaked. It turns out that there is a gouge on the bottom part of the core plug hole on the cylinder head.

I have put some RTV silicone on that gouge and have hammered in a genuine core plug and I'll leave it to cure overnight. Hopefully the core plug will not leak after I have refilled the cooling system and started the engine.

I really hope that I won't have to source another cylinder head due to a silly thing like that.

Posts by others on 3rd August 2012

Wrighty

Hope all goes well Phil, Im sure it will


AMAM

with any luck now phill should be fine, with some silicone on it and u saying the new core plug was tighter to fit in head then it should be water tight

3rd August 2012

I really hope so.

It took a lot more effort to install it to, initially with a ball-peen hammer and a mallet (my ally drift was just bouncing off) then using one of my ally drifts and a mallet. It took me a good few minutes to install it.

9th August 2012

Some more updates during the past few days....

I have now managed to get my Rialto 2's engine to run properly, but I'll try and summerise the past few days.

Initially I tried to run the engine with the yellow top distributor and the AEB needle, which the engine did not like at all. I managed to get the engine to idle smoothly but it was hunting like hell as soon as I tried to rev the engine beyond approx 2,500 RPM.




I then tried a red top distributor (still using the AEB needle) and it did run slightly better, but the horrendous hunting was still there.



I eventually managed to get it to run properly this morning after installing the AAT needle (basically making the distributor, distributor vacuum pump and carburetter needle red top spec) and after setting the ignition timing with my timing light and adjusting the fuel mixture correctly, I did manage to get it to run properly. I didn't have time to make a video of it this morning, but I may get round to that sometime tomorrow if I get the chance.


Starting to put the car back together (tonight)....

Rusty old gearlever retainer cup and C-clip:-




NOS gearlever retainer cup (smeared very slightly with CV grease to prevent it from rusting) and NOS C-clip:-




Correct number of screws fitted to the rear engine cover:-




Centre console refitted:-




I'll also be having a look at a better method to hold the heater cable in place to the bodywork. The factory method of using a pop-rivet doesn't really work as the heater cable's retaining bracket simply falls off.

Post by AMAM on 9th August 2012

glad u got it running right now phade, maybe some reliablity now, you'll have to tell us how it goes now its lower compression

10th August 2012

Some more progress (or not)...

I have found a better method of retaining the heater cable. I used a plastic no. 8 fixing like this one (this pic is what it looked like before I cut it down to size):-




I had to cut off a few mm from the plastic fixing and managed to install it into the bodywork where the pop rivet was. This is how it looks after I had installed it:-




I also decided to video the engine running with the red top distributor and AAT carburetter needle and I still think it's hunting a bit. I'll post the video as soon as it has uploaded on YouTube.

10th August 2012

Engine (red top head, yellow top block) running with red top distributor and AAT carbruetter needle.




I still think that it's hunting slightly and any comments are welcome. I had set the tappets to 0.006" (engine cold - tight grippy fit with a 6 thou feeler gauge and the 8 thou feeler gauge not fitting).

.........

I've just realised that I've forgotten something !! I should have put a drop of oil on the points pivot point and a couple of drops of oil on the felt pad. That may be the cause of the problem.

Posted by Wrighty on 10th August 2012

I hope everything's sorted for you now phil

Posts by others 10th August 2012

AMAM

with what you said on facebook i dont think u are far off now phill, try like u said oiling the pivot and if not do what u said and try points assist to see if it makes a difference


jessejazza

phade wrote:

I've just realised that I've forgotten something !! I should have put a drop of oil on the points pivot point and a couple of drops of oil on the felt pad. That may be the cause of the problem.

is one supposed to use oil? I've always put a bit of moly grease on via a snip of welding wire and i remove the felt pad as i think it takes off too much. Perhaps it's meant to be kept sodden with oil.

never thought about it before as other points i've used don't have the pad.


kevhallett

phade wrote:

Engine (red top head, yellow top block) running with red top distributor and AAT carbruetter needle.



I still think that it's hunting slightly and any comments are welcome. I had set the tappets to 0.006" (engine cold - tight grippy fit with a 6 thou feeler gauge and the 8 thou feeler gauge not fitting).

Try the 8 thou, tappetts will be slightly noisy (not a lot) and you will have full compression.

11th August 2012

jessejazza wrote:

is one supposed to use oil? I've always put a bit of moly grease on via a snip of welding wire and i remove the felt pad as i think it takes off too much. Perhaps it's meant to be kept sodden with oil.

never thought about it before as other points i've used don't have the pad.

I thought that the oil from the felt pad would slowly drip down to lubricate the centrifugal weights and slider plate below the felt pad. I also forgot to very lightly smear the distributor shaft with Vasoline (the Reliant manuals mention petroleum jelly) to prevent wear on the points' rubbing block.

It mentions this in the Reliant Rialto SE/Robin, Reliant Rialto 2 and Reliant Robin Owners Manuals. The VW booklets (for aircooled VW vehicles - the same applies to points based VAG watercooled vehicles) I have got also mention this.

In other words, I think the lack of oil on the slider plate, centrifugal weights and points pivot point may be causing them to stick very slightly.

Posts by others on 11th August 2012

jessejazza

phade wrote:

I thought that the oil from the felt pad would slowly drip down to lubricate the centrifugal weights and slider plate below the felt pad. I also forgot to very lightly smear the distributor shaft with Vasoline (the Reliant manuals mention petroleum jelly) to prevent wear on the points' rubbing block.

It mentions this in the Reliant Rialto SE/Robin, Reliant Rialto 2 and Reliant Robin Owners Manuals. The VW booklets (for aircooled VW vehicles - the same applies to points based VAG watercooled vehicles) I have got also mention this.

In other words, I think the lack of oil on the slider plate, centrifugal weights and points pivot point may be causing them to stick very slightly.

Thanks i've learnt something new! i need to give a dist'r a bit more TLC.

I just spray oil down onto the weights every now and again.


pop-rivet

kevhallett wrote:

Try the 8 thou, tappetts will be slightly noisy (not a lot) and you will have full compression.

Ditto like to hear them working, better slightly more gap than slightly less


kevhallett

With regard dizzy lubrication, I like to pack the dizzy underneath the contact plate with grease. The excess runs out the holes in the bottom of the dizzy after running the engine, an easy clean up, but well worth it to keep the dizzy well lubricated, especially, if using a new dizzy with steel bearings rather than the traditional bronze.

Posts by others on 12th August 2012

str8lolly

kevhallett wrote:

With regard dizzy lubrication, I like to pack the dizzy underneath the contact plate with grease. The excess runs out the holes in the bottom of the dizzy after running the engine, an easy clean up, but well worth it to keep the dizzy well lubricated, especially, if using a new dizzy with steel bearings rather than the traditional bronze.

Remind me everyone not to buy one of Kevs Reliants please.


AMAM

str8lolly wrote:

Remind me everyone not to buy one of Kevs Reliants please.

only if u remind me

12th August 2012

I have lubricated the distributor by the book and decided not to ruin it with grease.

Post by kevhallet 12th August 2012

str8lolly wrote:

Remind me everyone not to buy one of Kevs Reliants please.

Why not? They do a lot of work for me.

12th August 2012

Grease is thick and sticky and distributors do not like is their internal workings being completely gummed up with grease - a prefect way to wreck a distributor.

I think I'll stick to the book method as that method won't seize up the distributor's internal workings.

14th August 2012 (I know the YouTube video is the same as the last one, but I can't remember which video was which and I do know this is the correct one for this post)

Update on my Rialto 2's engine running

Here's a YouTube video of my Rialto 2's engine running (very nearly) properly with hardly any hunting at all. It is currently on a conventional ignition setup with used points and condenser (the points appear to be hardly worn at all). I also had to richen the fuel mixture by about a flat and a half to make it run properly throughout the rev range:-




I may be able to get it running even better after I have re-instated the Velleman ignition amplifier.

Posts by others 14th August 2012

kevhallett

That vacuum Guage reading looks pretty healthy, shows the head and valves etc are alright.


jessejazza (15th August 2012)

kevhallett wrote:

That vacuum Guage reading looks pretty healthy, shows the head and valves etc are alright.

Well if that was mine... i'd be worried because the engine has been revved from idle up to sounds like 1500+ and the needle's barely moved. But it's an economy gauge and so i don't know if it's expected to operate like a vacuum gauge. With the revving up the needle should have moved across the entire gauge - steady at idle but then with a quick throttle blip swung wildly and then settled down.

15th August 2012

The engine was very slowly revved up and down when the car was stationary (engine under no load, car in neutral). I would expect the vacuum gauge to be fairly steady under those conditions.

Having said that, I would expect the vacuum gauge to sharply dip when the car is accelerating and/or the engine is under load (eg. car going uphill).

The main thing I was trying to do was to get rid of the hunting when the engine was being slowly revved up (I'm guessing up to about 4,000 RPM by listening to it as I know that 1,700 RPM is approx middle C on a piano, ledger line between the bass clef and treble clef staffs).

I may get round to re-instating the Velleman ignition amplifier and refitting the O/S engine cover this morning if I manage to get time to do it.