Update 01/08/05.
All steel centre console finished with tachometer, chrome clocks, vintage radio for the standard micra speaker (in the passenger footwell, LW & MW only!) and more modern Sony CD player. Replaced the quarter panels in the back for 1/2" MDF for my Pioneer 6x9's and covered with origional panels for that nostalgic look. Tidied up the arches where the fat wheels were catching and donned the petrol tank to the brim with Sainsbury's UL petrol and Leaded suppliment from HalFrauds.
Treated the Jaguar differential to a new home-made gasket and oil.
Changed the engine oil and filter.fwn
Changed the gearbox fluid (which takes ages trying to squeeze the stuff through a tiny pipe! Gives you wrists like pop-eye).
Made sure all the wheel-wheel measurements and tracking was ok.
BUT.....
MOT went terribly:-
Spent ages setting it up, tuning the twin carb with timing light and dizzy dwell angle 'till the engine roared. Whizzed it off to the MOT man, had great fun testing the turn of speed, left the keys and went back. 10 minutes later they asked :" Come over, we can't get it started again". They had driven it in fine and had it getting warm for the emissions test (which is a joke for a 1977 3.1L running Leaded petrol). But it just stopped. Got there, tried the usual trick of pouring a bit of petrol straight down the carb, but to no avail. Had to end it there.
The guy was willing to test it though and had already pointed out a few minor concerns...
The hand brake had too much travel.
The battery didn't have a tray and was loose.
The steering was too heavy.
:suspect
roblem seems to be predominantly choke phasing, causing the engine to flood at high revvs (like the prolonged period during emissions testing at 2-3000rpm, especially when the engine is cold). So I stripped the carb and found a 20-odd year old diaphragm for the choke vacuum pull down with several small perferations from the abuse the garage mechanic gave it. !"£$!^"%£! grr
So now I need to get hold of a Weber DGAS 38 carb gasket kit, not as easy as it sounds without waiting a week.
I'm also getting a reconditioned steering rack (manual) to replace the leaky power steering one which is allbiet useful. Will be testing it again soon though!
I've been so close to giving up and selling her! She's taking over my life! But I can't (or can I for a reasonable amount hehe, everything has a price as they say).:glance: