Sterling #S009

[Brett Proctor]

I'm curious on how this smog test is going to go.

The car is registered as a 1969 vehicle, but it has a 1998 engine.

Will they use smog specifications for a 1969 or 1998 vehicle.

I have a temporary permit for 30 days to drive the car around to get the necessary info to get it registered. Maybe I'll take it out tomorrow for a test drive

 

[Brett Proctor]

Took the car out today.

Like to say it was uneventful but it was anything but that.

First just getting it out of the driveway was a somewhat challenge. Front nose kissed the pavement as I was backing out.

Got back and had a leaking coolant coupler. Then the overheating light came on but the scan tool showed that temps were within tolerances. No signs of overheating while driving it.

Oil pressure light came on while driving it.

Throttle position sensor was not sending out any signal to the ecu so the car went into open loop. Had a spare. Put that on and its working.....for now

Years of running the engine in the garage and not one problem yet one trip around the block and this happens.

 

[ThreeTimeTom]

Took the car out today.

Like to say it was uneventful but it was anything but that.

First just getting it out of the driveway was a somewhat challenge. Front nose kissed the pavement as I was backing out.

Got back and had a leaking coolant coupler. Then the overheating light came on but the scan tool showed that temps were within tolerances. No signs of overheating while driving it.

Oil pressure light came on while driving it.

Throttle position sensor was not sending out any signal to the ecu so the car went into open loop. Had a spare. Put that on and its working.....for now

Years of running the engine in the garage and not one problem yet one trip around the block and this happens.

Brett, Welcome to Kit Car heaven.

 

[Brett Proctor]

For the oil pressure issue I'm going to pull the back of the car off so I have easy access to the engine and pull the oil pump to check it out. Also I'm going to pull the oil pan and check the oil pick-up to see if there are any leaks in it.

The fun hasn't ended.

 

[Brett Proctor]

Not going to take any chances.

Ordered new oil pump and a high-volume water pump (all oem, no aftermarket), along with all the seals, gaskets and o'rings that are needed.
Should be here next week

 

[Brett Proctor]

Think I found the oil pressure problem
This is a first for me

Oil pickup touches the bottom of the oil pan

not enough clearance for oil to get sucked up.
Did a search for how much clearance is required and the average censes is 1/4"-3/8" clearance is needed.

This is the pickup that came with the oil pan.
I heated the tube and made adjustments so it has the suggested clearance.

 

[ThreeTimeTom]

Think I found the oil pressure problem
This is a first for me

Oil pickup touches the bottom of the oil pan
View attachment 10485

View attachment 10486

not enough clearance for oil to get sucked up.
Did a search for how much clearance is required and the average censes is 1/4"-3/8" clearance is needed.

This is the pickup that came with the oil pan.
I heated the tube and made adjustments so it has the suggested clearance.

That is great work.

 

[farfegnubbin]

Oh wow! Good for you; shame on them.

 

[farfegnubbin]

Regarding scraping your nose, I was worried about that, not because your design is worse for scraping than the original but because the original is terribly prone to scraping and your design looks like it has about the same clearance.

I’ve often thought about putting a skid plate or maybe even a caster wheel at the corner of the nose of my cars. I thought about going with an airbag suspension in the front so I could adjust it higher for low-speed maneuvering. All that said, I haven’t tried either on a drivable car.