Laser 1600

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Peter-S
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Peter-S »

A bit like Paul I'm thinking valve clearance on the bad cylinder
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Cosmicbike
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Fiddle fiddle.
Why the water pump was leaking? Well only 2 bolts in it, one correct, the other 50mm too long so just sleeved with hose to keep some sort of pressure on. Why do people do this :?

Pulled the plugs. Bearing in mind they have done 7 miles since the rebuild, plus maybe 30 mins idling, they are heavily carbon fouled. :? Might explain the reason the car ran very well initially following the rebuild but then became an issue? Plugs cleaned, will try later one pump etc done, but quite possibly over-fuelling?

If I get nowehere after checking plugs etc then I'll check the valve clearances. Again, limited running since rebuilt so I'm less inclined to go for that.

At least the weather is nice for it.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Well, the plot thickens :lol:

New water pump fitted, new belts for alternator and power steering. Niceness.

With clean plugs, started and idled nicely, not misfiring until you go through the 1500-2000 rpm range. Went for a drive to get it warmed up, got a few rattles which keep the mind focussed! The poor response in the range above continued.

I figure it's rich, so thought I'd check the mixture screw, just to see where it is. Wound right in tight :banghead: It should be 1.5 - 2 turns out. Any attempts to bring it out led to tractor engine and stopping.

The paperwork I have with the car has some interesting notes.

Timing set to 33 degrees on rolling road @ 3500rpm :shock: 33 degrees!!

Primary idle jet changed from 45 to 55. (Standard 1600 & 2000 is a 45)

Otherwise the carb settings are, if this bit of paper is correct, the same as a 2000 pinto.

Next steps. Well I think a carb rebuild kit to start with, and change the primary idle back to a 45. The ignition side all seems to fizz and bang as it should, so it seems a logical next step, I hope...
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

And calm again. After yesterdays fun and games, I reasoned there was only a quick check on the carb this morning, then leave the car alone. I wanted to check the idle jets, after all, a piece of paper is meaningless.
Primary removed and found to be a 55, secondary a 45. Thinking head on, and I put the 45 in the primary, 55 in the secondary, just to see what happened. Car started, choke plates wedged open, much better idle, and very very little in the way of mis-firing. Idle mix still all the way in though, so I'm going to order a 40 and a 45 idle jet, along with a rebuild kit, I reckon it's due.
Weber 3236 DGAV.jpg
Only way I could read the markings was to take a photo on the phone and zoom in, maybe a visit to Specsavers is due :lol:
Carb ID.jpg
My younger brother rebuilds motorbikes, and IIRC has an ultrasonic cleaner, so I'll see if I can borrow that to get the carb sparkly.

One more thing. Anyone know what this little black thingy is? About the size of 2 postage stamps, the markings suggested a 22uF capacitor?
Ignition Block.jpg
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Paul G »

The little "thingy" by the coil is an aftermarket radio suppressor. The original was a black box that would have been bolted to the block under the fuel pump and the condenser LT wire attached to it.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Paul G wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2019 7:52 pm The little "thingy" by the coil is an aftermarket radio suppressor. The original was a black box that would have been bolted to the block under the fuel pump and the condenser LT wire attached to it.
Thanks. I'll tidy the connection up then, or maybe even remove it and see if I get any interference, I can always put it back.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Well works been in the way the last few days and nights, but yesterday my carb service kit arrived, so this afternoon I removed the Weber 32/36 and gave it a quick clean around the outsides.
Then, clean paper on the workbench and started the strip down. So far just the top half done, and already found a problem with the one part that isn't in the kit. The power valve diaphragm is kaput, so something else to order. A couple of screws are missing to boot, so I'll wait until I fully strip it and then order up the few missing bits.

Happy days
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

I never knew Webcon existed, and that they are only a few miles from me in Sunbury. A quick phone call and they have the power valve in stock, so after 64 miles on the bike this morning I took the somewhat newer oval badged machine for a spin.
Some £30 lighter I returned with the missing bit, and have rebuilt the carb this afternoon. Glad I laid stuff out and took photos..
Carb Bits 1.jpg
Carb Bits 2.jpg
All back together. 2 things have changed.

1. Now have .45 primary & secondary idle jets. Previous was a .55 on the primary.
2. The brass floats have been adjusted. They were at 32mm when vertical, which would have led to excess fuel in the chamber, so I have set them to the recommended 40mm with a 10mm drop.

Hopefully have time to bolt it all back on tomorrow and see what happens...
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by pbar »

Cosmicbike wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:53 pm
The brass floats have been adjusted. They were at 32mm when vertical, which would have led to excess fuel in the chamber, so I have set them to the recommended 40mm with a 10mm drop.
Assuming you have a 32/36 carb I think the brass float setting is 41 and 51.

Image
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

pbar wrote: Tue Jun 18, 2019 6:12 am
Cosmicbike wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:53 pm
The brass floats have been adjusted. They were at 32mm when vertical, which would have led to excess fuel in the chamber, so I have set them to the recommended 40mm with a 10mm drop.
Assuming you have a 32/36 carb I think the brass float setting is 41 and 51.

Image
Brass floats they are, and I used that very site as a guide. There are also others suggesting 39/50 and 40/50, so I'm in the ballpark, I hope.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

With fingers crossed..
That made all the difference. The idle mixture is now 1 3/4 turns out, compared to fully screwed in before. Pickup is vastly improved wit no lumpy running at all and it revs very easily indeed. And zero smoke to boot.
Not road driven yet as it was raining, and she doesn't do rain :lol:

I did drop a screwdriver bit somewhere down the front, so what started as a bit hunt has turned into taking the grille, lights etc off and starting to get some of the rust attacked. Some pics will follow later as some questions have arisen. I have a bit of positive though, the headlamp bowl on the nearside is solid, the offside somewhat more holey...
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

What happens when you just take the grille off....
20190618_140855.jpg
I've removed the headlight securing rings ready for cleaning up and re-spraying satin black. I'd like to clean up the remaining backplates (the big bits with the adjusters on). Now I've freed off all the adjusters, but is it possible to remove the adjusting knobs? It would be preferable to split into component parts to paint.

Just doing little things, can't get too serious as I want to keep her on the road for the Brooklands do in September. She's going to look proper tatty :lol:
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by D366Y »

I recently sprayed my backplates - left the adjusters in place as I didn't want the faff of trying to make sure I got the angles right again - realistically it won't make much (if any) of a difference as no one will ever see it anyways and will save you a job later down the line making sure they are all at the right height and pointing in the right directions
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

D366Y wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:51 am I recently sprayed my backplates - left the adjusters in place as I didn't want the faff of trying to make sure I got the angles right again - realistically it won't make much (if any) of a difference as no one will ever see it anyways and will save you a job later down the line making sure they are all at the right height and pointing in the right directions
I've somewhat adjusted mine, lots in order to free them up. I did have the foresight to create a sketch and measure the positions first though...
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Re: Laser 1600 - oh dear oh dear

Post by Cosmicbike »

Well whilst the headlights were out I had a poke around. Not really a surprise to find a hole in the headlight bucket, O/S is worse than N/S. The leading edges of both front wings are pretty poor, and will be replaced once I take the car off the road. But I'd like to be a bit more presentable for Brooklands, so I have placed an order for paint and figured I'd clean them up, see what's what.

Before
OSF WIng.jpg
And coming soon, the in between bit....
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Bubbling paint normally means rust, or rust and filler. I found both. Dug most of it out, the remaining bits that were halfway solid and didn't fall away with some aggressive wire brushing were left in place and treated. It ain't pretty...
OSF Wing Pt 2.jpg
Now I found an old copy of Viz knocking about so I figured stuff that in and filler over it :lol: Just kidding. The front of the wing is as good as written off so I'm not spending a decent copy of Viz on it... I think it's going to get a part of a pattern wing in the long run, but for now it's had an ally mesh repair and a skim of filler to keep us ticking along. For some bizarre reason I've started the N/S one too...

On the plus side, a new second hand rear bumper turned up today courtesy of Martin at CapriGear. Something else to rub down and paint.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by D366Y »

Fair play for cracking on with it!

Have you considered just patching that wing instead of replacing it? Just looks like a small patch to justify a whole new wing which would be more a ball-ache (I imagine)

Cheers
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

D366Y wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:35 am Fair play for cracking on with it!

Have you considered just patching that wing instead of replacing it? Just looks like a small patch to justify a whole new wing which would be more a ball-ache (I imagine)

Cheers
Danny
That's the plan. Probably the first 6" or so as the lower section around the valance bolts looks to be held together with fireglass filler, but the back end seems ok. Same story on the drivers side.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

It's too hot for me. By the time I'd done some decking and cycling I wasn't in the mood for being on the driveway in the afternoon sun, so my thoughts turned to the pair of Recaro seats I picked up a few months back.
Defo not Capri seats, I have no idea what they are from, but they are very comfy. The chap I bought them from had a nice Mustang, though the seats were from his lads van. Been adapted to a VW, so plates welded on the sides which need to come off. Since the fabric is good I spent the afternoon stripping one of them and washing the fabric. Maybe tomorrow I'll grind off the plates and make good before a re-spray and rebuild. They are a very close fit to the standard Capri rails, within a couple of mm width wise, so should go in easy enough.
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Re: Laser 1600

Post by Cosmicbike »

Managed to dig the angle grinder out from the back of the garage this morning, so set to work on seat base number 1. As previous post, mounting brackets had been welded on to suit a VW, so they needed to come off.
Before
Seat Base 1.jpg
After
Seat Base 2.jpg
Given a clean and a few spots of filler to smooth over ready for primer. Looks like a day of painting at this rate.
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