Fresh Dutch Midas owner

[astonmartine]

Last Sunday, the process of restoring the Midas has started. There is a lot to do. Unfortunately, more than expected :s
All the wiring is a complete mess.
Engine is running well, but makes a nasty tractor-like sound when it's revved.
Lots of small bits are broken or completely worn.
Exhaust is leaking.
All tires are different, so it's best to replace them all.

I'm more and more starting to wonder how on earth this little car has ever brought us from Londen to the Netherlands without breaking down :p

So all in all, it needs complete overhauling. Good thing is that most bits are repairable, so hopefully no huge costs there. And at least when everything is freshly repaired, I can be assured that will be alright for the coming years.

[manifold]

it sounds like mine was when I got it.

Nothing a new set of plugs, leads and recon distributor didnt sort out.

Might be worth checking valve gaps too.

(Hopefully) that will do the trick.

[Hans Efde]

That's bad news Martine. To cut costs down you could think of buying a secondhand Metro, or one from the breakers yard. Will cost you 500 euro's max and then you'll have all the mechanical bits (and hopefully a better engine).
Cheers, Hans

[astonmartine]

Already visited a scrapyard and got some nice parts from some Metro's there

The engine runs fine and has plenty of power, so I'll probably leave it until it dies completely. I could enjoy it for another few years.
Quite strange though, because the previous owner spent quite some time and effort on the engine.

[Hans Efde]

Maybe it's something simple then like an ignition timing misadjustment. Easy to do some trouble shooting on these engines. If the compression is oke and if there are no issues with overheating, water and oil (leakage, consumption), plugs, valve gaps and timing is fine (maybe change the distributor to change the advance), then see if the exhaust gasket is not leaking. If all is oke, then hopefully no chunks of metal or metal film on the oil and in the oil filter. Because the final cause will be too much play on the crankshaft.
Cheers, Hans

[astonmartine]

Unfortunately, metal was found in the oil :s
Oilpressure is a bit better now after some adjustments, but this does mean that the engine won't survive very long.
I'll probably drive it until it really dies.

After that, time to keep my eyes open for a nice new engine.
Any suggestions, apart from the standard 1300?

[manifold]

Unfortunately, metal was found in the oil :s

thats pretty normal for the transverse A series. As it runs in the same oil as the gearbox.

Regular oil changes counter this though.

[astonmartine]

Of course. I never thought of that!
Well, the oil was very old, so that could have been the problem.

Doesn't fix the tractor-like sound above 3000revs though, but at least people will hear me coming :p

[manifold]

I would be checking on valve clearances (sticky valve)? ignition leads/plugs and inlet gasket. Often if inlet part of gasket is leaking (leaning out) it will cause misfires. Nip up nuts on studs or change gasket.

Another one. Make sure your needle is correct. Some daft person put wrong needle in mine before I got it. Changed needle to a near correct one. Did some subtle adjustments to the taper and it was perfect. Old needle was a mile out (too fat), causing misfire at higher revs.

People just plonk different carbs on and expect it to work without considering jetting, springs, needle, chokes etc. Thats a bad no no, unless your really lucky.

[astonmartine]

Thanks for the top tips. I'll check everything asap.