Laser 1600

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Brooksy
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Brooksy »

Just in case these photos help with sorting the balance of sound/wiring of your ESRT 32PS, heater/fan and what it look slime with the dash/clocks etc out....
Dropping the steering column helps ensure that the black instrument applique is removed without the sharp metal retainers gouging the underside of the drivers side dash top ledge. When reinstating the heater control be careful that the rearmost section of it doesn't pinch any wiring that's routed close by.
I also took the opportunity to replace the heater radiator inlet/outlet gasket that sits on the bulkhead (engine side).

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Cosmicbike
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Brooksy wrote: Sun May 05, 2019 10:15 pm Just in case these photos help with sorting the balance of sound/wiring of your ESRT 32PS, heater/fan and what it look slime with the dash/clocks etc out....
Dropping the steering column helps ensure that the black instrument applique is removed without the sharp metal retainers gouging the underside of the drivers side dash top ledge. When reinstating the heater control be careful that the rearmost section of it doesn't pinch any wiring that's routed close by.
I also took the opportunity to replace the heater radiator inlet/outlet gasket that sits on the bulkhead (engine side).

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Cheers, a picture says a thousand words. Got all the bits ordered up last night so maybe tackle this next week....
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Yesterday was a break from the decorating, and since the weather was so nice I decided to have a look at some of the less than perfect bits of the bodywork (there are many...).
I didn't like the look of the rust at the bottom of the rear windscreen, though in fairness there was no evidence on the inside of the car, so I hoped it wouldn't be too bad..
Tailgate Rust.jpg
The seal was removed, and the effected bits of glass masked off with gaffer take before I went at it with wire brushes and poly abrasive wheels. Not too long after and the end result was not as bad as I thought it may be.
Tailgate Rust Removed.jpg
A couple of spots where there are holes of a couple of mm across, but nothing show stopping. In the long run this will get new metal let in, but for the time being my focus on patches like this is to stop them getting worse, so Hydrate 80 applied and will get a skim of filler before paint.

While I was there I removed the spoiler, only the 4 studs holding it on as the 3 screws/bolts have rusted through. Will drill out and fit rivnuts in due course
Spoiler Off.jpg
And the last job, after hunting for the elusive paint code sticker, clean up the very minor surface rust in the wheel well. Both the plugs came out easily and have been treated, likewise the wheel well cleaned down and treated.
Wheel Well.jpg
Not bad for a days work, bearing in mind I had to pause to go shopping and walk dogs. Not really what I planned to do which was check the diff, but there's always another day for that.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Jasonmarie »

I do hope my wife does not read this I take two days to check the oil on mine and yes I do use a clean rag ever time .
Very interesting about you removed the rubber so is the rear screen bonded ? Only ask as we discuss this the other week .
I think your have that finished nextweek .
:applaud: well done on the work sir .
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Cosmicbike
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Jasonmarie wrote: Wed May 08, 2019 6:07 pm Very interesting about you removed the rubber so is the rear screen bonded ? Only ask as we discuss this the other week .
I believe it is. The outer seal is a single piece, as opposed to a seal within a seal if that makes sense (as was the case with my old A plate Sierra). I haven't tried to remove the inner seal yet, but TBH I can see sealant round the edges from outside so I reckon it's bonded.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Bored with the bathroom, so dragged the old girl out.

Jacked the back end up and cleaned the diff, it's leaking somewhere so now it's nice and clean I should be able to spot it. Itching to get her properly cleaned up underneath but that means coming off the road and I don't want to do that yet.

Took the spoiler off again to sort out the 3 rear fixings. The outer pair I was able to drill and easy-out the remnants of bolt, the middle one just span around so drilled out. Broke the M4 mandrel putting the new one in so had to drill that out too :lol: Nevermind, new bits on order.

Found the water leak, as suspected it's the water pump but only when running, increase revs and the leak increases. New bits on the way already so hopefully something to do in a couple of days time.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Well last night I got bored, so with her backside still in the air, I removed the back wheels and drums, gave the drums a good wire brushing to get free of rust then a couple of coats of Hydrate 80. This morning and post lunch saw a couple of coats of black smooth Hammerite applied, looking much better now.

Since I was waiting for silicone to set this afternoon, I continued to strip the interior. Glovebox out, that's had something sticky in it so going to need a good clean. At last I have access to the heater matrix. Rather than lose coolant I clamped the hoses under the bonnet, disconnected from the heater then placed a bit of 15mm copper tube in place, so I can still run the car no problem. Some sore knees later and I had the matrix out. Now based on what I've read it gonna need a new motor. I suspect this may need a little more than that.....
Fan Heater Melted.jpg
That's catastrophically failed I reckon, don't think that's gonna buff out :lol:
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by D366Y »

Cosmicbike wrote: Thu May 16, 2019 3:01 pmThat's catastrophically failed I reckon, don't think that's gonna buff out :lol:
Very astute observation - only obvious to the trained eye... :lol:
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

D366Y wrote: Thu May 16, 2019 3:18 pm
Cosmicbike wrote: Thu May 16, 2019 3:01 pmThat's catastrophically failed I reckon, don't think that's gonna buff out :lol:
Very astute observation - only obvious to the trained eye... :lol:
Indeed. I've been an engineer for over 25 years so I reckon that helped :lol:

I've pinged a message to Martin @ CapriGear in the hope he has a complete unit knocking about. Whilst not essential, it would be nice to have it working
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D366Y
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by D366Y »

Cosmicbike wrote: Thu May 16, 2019 3:22 pm I've pinged a message to Martin @ CapriGear in the hope he has a complete unit knocking about. Whilst not essential, it would be nice to have it working
Is always nice when they do - I have three capris, two of them never worked, the third one I have only just got and was over the moon that the heater worked :lol:
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Fordoholic Nick »

Jasonmarie wrote: Wed May 08, 2019 6:07 pmVery interesting about you removed the rubber so is the rear screen bonded ? Only ask as we discuss this the other week .
You beat me too it Jason....was gonna ask just the same :lol:
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Jasonmarie »

will tell you more about rubbers next Saturday :lol:
I am waiting for young Andrews Report on what’s the right colour of a Fords badge :ford: :ford: :ford:
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Right. This place is bad for me. Martin has come back very quickly and can build me a whole new box complete, tested and ready to go. Which is fantastic.

But.... I had a search here, and found something by Ghia15 who was in a similar place, and fitted something along the lines of this

http://www.mcgillmotorsport.com/7-unive ... sible-976/

In this thread

viewtopic.php?t=44608

So maybe that's an option. There is no rush, and whilst Martin hasn't quoted I have no doubt it's gonna be more than £18 :lol: Perhaps some time with the Dremel then make a decision.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Ebay is a wonderful place. I've opted for a slightly different approach on the fan. Since it's completely kapput I can afford to play, so I've ordered one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-7-Inch-12- ... 1438.l2649

I spent some time drawing up a 2 speed circuit, firing up the electronics grey cells from my HND 25 years ago and started hunting for parts. But then a thought from my RC cars and planes days. Why not a variable speed drive, rather than just 2 speed? Cue more circuits, followed by parts hunting, then the realisation that nowadays it's cheaper to get an off the shelf option. So I ordered this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC9-60V-12V- ... 1438.l2649

Chosen as it has a remote potentiometer. My cunning plan is to replace the somewhat useless dash lights dimmer with this. A small amount of new wiring and aside from the 2 speed switch not actually doing anything, as good as an invisible mod/upgrade. I hope....
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Jasonmarie »

That’s a very good idea :cool:
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Why are things so hard? The fan arrived today, that'll be the 7" fan. That's actually 7.5" and will in no way fit :x No point returning either since I'll end up with tuppence by the time post is paid.
Happy days, maybe I'll just plump for a SPAL fan, at least I know what I'm getting
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Not_Anumber »

Use the variable controller with the recon fan box that Martin would build perhaps ?
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Not_Anumber wrote: Wed May 22, 2019 3:06 pm Use the variable controller with the recon fan box that Martin would build perhaps ?
That's an option, but I put my engineering head on. Straight off a night shift is not the time to try to make things work, so after some kip I have made it work.
Pics will follow, but essentially removed the new fan shroud, used that to repair the damaged original fan box. Made a support ring for the new fan and glued into the housing. Trimmed the fan blades to fit before running out of daylight. Looks workable, will refurb the rest of the box whilst I've got it out.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Success and failures...

Pleased to report the rebuilt fan heater arrangement is back in the car. Only after fitting did I realise no pictures, ho hum. I'm using a 20A PWM controller for the fan as it's rated at 80W, so I wanted lots of headroom for part speed running. Sticking it on an ammeter gave a whooping 2.2A at full speed, so I guess that little bit trimmed off each blade made quite a difference. Blows out the vents quite nicely.
The success of low current means I can use the existing wiring, so that selecting either low or high speed on the original controls will turn the fan on, and the speed can then be controlled via the twiddly knob, which is likely to replace the dash lights dimmer. Either that or squirrel it away under the dash somewhere.

Failure. No idea why. My poor pinto is running dog rough, firing on only 3 cylinders as discovered by trying to set the timing and get no pickup in No.1 cylinder below around 2000rpm. Very annoying. Plugs, leads, dizzy cap, rotor, condenser are all new. Of course it stinks running with only 3 so SWMBO is not impressed, suppose it will need to wait until a weekday. Don't get it, I rebuilt the head and it was running much better.

New water pump and stuff to go on, so I'll probably play with that tomorrow.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Paul G »

Have you tried substituting a known good plug and / or lead to no 1 cyl to see if that improves things?

Even new ones these days can be duffy.

Ater this it may pay to do compression test and take off rocker cover to check valve clearance hasn't tightened up.
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