1959 4cv Restoration in North Carolina USA

jaahn said:
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It would be silly IMHO to reduce the compression as the knock rating of the fuel is so much better that the old days, however you measure it. Just break the sharp edges as Harris said. You can always easily adjust the timing to see how it sounds and goes. Not much sound proofing to hide the pinging :oops:
Jaahn
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I agree, hence my enquiry.

I agree with breaking the sharp edges too and I think there is some (small) scope for unshrouding the valves too if the bore diameter allows. The picture above shows the contour coming very close to the valve so more accurate measuring is needed but if it is at all possible I think you would get back about 1/4 of the intake valve circumference based on the same picture.
 
I have been having fun finally getting the engine back together and have neglected posting progress. Here are some engine pictures:
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I rounded off the sharp edges on the head a tiny bit. While the alternator looks like a tight fit, I think it will work. The head gasket and manifold gasket were not in place when the alternator picture was taken - the gaskets raise the head and push out the manifold slightly. The valves have been adjusted and the timing set.

I finished my crankcase vent baffles also. I duplicated the assembly used in later Dauphines. It uses a baffle and some sort of gauze (I used a stainless steel scrubbing pad) to remove the oil from the fumes. The inside plate is sloped and has holes for the oil to leak out. the entrance is made such that oil splashing from the rockers cannot directly enter the baffle assembly.

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I do like that you have gone to the trouble of trying to match the original engine colour and painted the head, that is correct. So many leave the head in bare aluminium and it is wrong and grates with me. The care and attention to cleaning and assembly is also impressive. Love the breather. Nice work.
 
Thank you for the compliments! I have fond memories of original color engines. I would prefer to have an alternator that looks like a generator, but non enough to pay for one. I painted the alternator to match the engine, so hopefully it will not be too obvious. Today I tested (and subsequently tweaked) the rebuilt fuel pump. I don't want to leave anything to chance when I first try starting the engine. I have been considering whether to polish or paint the copper fuel lines. I think I will paint, since that would be closer to the original appearance. Tomorrow I will buy a battery and some green antifreeze. A group 26 12v battery will fit the original battery box and has the terminals on the side facing the engine.
 
I turned a smallish alternator into a generator look a like by adding some correct size metal tube on the end of the alternator and fitting the end off a generator and adding wires from the alternator to the generator end. I then covered the join with some bog. One would have to look very closely to see it was originally an alternator. Same with the fuel pump I put a pipe straight through and epoxyed it in and put electric pump hidden behind the fire wall. I have a 12 volt solid state regulator fitted into the original regulator box. I had to do the fuel pump mod because I am making a replica of a R1063. The fuel pump was larger than standard. The carb on the car I am copying was a twin barrel 40 mm down draft and and was a class winner in a 1955 international rally. Compared to today events a real test. No closed roads, 4 days and 4 nights with no service or sleep time allocated. The regulations actually recommend taking drugs to stay awake during the rally.
 
I thought about doing the same with the fuel pump. I was able to get a new diaphragm at a good price, so I rebuilt the original. The solid state pumps are great, I used one on my last MGA project. My alternator has an internal regulator. I removed internal components from my original regulator and used it as a terminal block to preserve some of the original appearance. Your car sounds interesting and exciting.
 
Sunroof said:
I turned a smallish alternator into a generator look a like by adding some correct size metal tube on the end of the alternator and fitting the end off a generator and adding wires from the alternator to the generator end. I then covered the join with some bog. One would have to look very closely to see it was originally an alternator. Same with the fuel pump I put a pipe straight through and epoxyed it in and put electric pump hidden behind the fire wall. I have a 12 volt solid state regulator fitted into the original regulator box. I had to do the fuel pump mod because I am making a replica of a R1063. The fuel pump was larger than standard. The carb on the car I am copying was a twin barrel 40 mm down draft and and was a class winner in a 1955 international rally. Compared to today events a real test. No closed roads, 4 days and 4 nights with no service or sleep time allocated. The regulations actually recommend taking drugs to stay awake during the rally.
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I should have remembered to look at your alternator disguise when we were in Boonah two years ago!! Regarding rallies, more than most events, I'm in awe of the 1950s Liege-Rome-Liege, done without rest breaks. Jean-Pol's R1063 competed. My judgement, ages ago, was that Europe was awash with ex-forces benzedrine tablets from WW2.... My parents had a couple of cellophane packs of them, in a tobacco tin of their momentos which has sady gone missing. Caffeine wouldn't have done the trick, that's for sure.
 

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The sup regs said some thing like "it is advised to take chemical means to stay awake for the rally or at least very strong coffee."
 
The engine is back in the car! I am slowly and carefully hooking everything up. Both the engine and transmission now have oil. I am going to hook up the parking brake and put coolant in the radiator before trying to start the engine. I want to be able to drive it as soon as the engine is running.

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Stan W said:
The engine is back in the car! I am slowly and carefully hooking everything up. Both the engine and transmission now have oil. I am going to hook up the parking brake and put coolant in the radiator before trying to start the engine. I want to be able to drive it as soon as the engine is running.

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Looking very good Stan. I'm very impressed by the paint quality in the invisible rear part of the engine bay too! Exactly what carburettor is that please, out of interest? You posted exactly as I sat down to check for the next instalment!!
 
The carburetor is a Solex 28IBT from a Dauphine. The current engine configuration is that of a 32hp Dauphine with the following differences: autobleu header style manifold, head shaved with combustion chambers of 25cc. Not quite sure what power that gives, but a lot more than the 28hp the car started with. The engine probably is original to the car, but now has 58mm pistons and cylinders. By 1959, the block, crank and head were the same as the Dauphine. The cylinders and carburetor were smaller for the 4cv.
 
Stan W said:
The carburetor is a Solex 28IBT from a Dauphine. The current engine configuration is that of a 32hp Dauphine with the following differences: autobleu header style manifold, head shaved with combustion chambers of 25cc. Not quite sure what power that gives, but a lot more than the 28hp the car started with. The engine probably is original to the car, but now has 58mm pistons and cylinders. By 1959, the block, crank and head were the same as the Dauphine. The cylinders and carburetor were smaller for the 4cv.
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That's right, I remember now.
 
Doing pre-startup checks now. Tested fuel pump on car - no joy. Replaced a clamp and had good flow. The fuel pump connections seem to be a bit smaller than the fuel pipes and need to be clamped really well. Hooked up a spark plug and put on top of the valve cover to check for spark - all good. I cranked the engine without spark plugs to try to get the oil pressure light to go out. This worked well and now the oil pump function has been tested. I installed the new hand brake cable and adjusted for proper operation. The austin mini rear shocks are now installed in the front of the 4cv. I realized that I don't have anything to hold the battery in, so a hold down strap will do for now. I cut out a new floor mat for the front of the car. Making the padding to go below the floor mat took more time than the mat. More tomorrow...

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Stan W said:
Doing pre-startup checks now. Tested fuel pump on car - no joy. Replaced a clamp and had good flow. The fuel pump connections seem to be a bit smaller than the fuel pipes and need to be clamped really well. Hooked up a spark plug and put on top of the valve cover to check for spark - all good. I cranked the engine without spark plugs to try to get the oil pressure light to go out. This worked well and now the oil pump function has been tested. I installed the new hand brake cable and adjusted for proper operation. The austin mini rear shocks are now installed in the front of the 4cv. I realized that I don't have anything to hold the battery in, so a hold down strap will do for now. I cut out a new floor mat for the front of the car. Making the padding to go below the floor mat took more time than the mat. More tomorrow...

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Great. I love systematic approaches.
 
Here are pictures of the new floor mat. Anyone know if this forum allows mp4 videos? I don't think I have anything to covert mp4 videos to mpeg. You can find out what happened when I tried to start it once I figure out how to upload the video. I resized it to avoid the file size limit, but it didn't like the mp4 format.

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MP4 is a container to wrap an audio and video stream, which can come in a variety of codecs, so MP4 isn't a media format by itself.

The ultimate conversion tool for video is ffmpeg which has been ported from Linux to Windows and Mac, and uses a terminal interface. Commands can be complex and sometimes obscure so let Google show you. Some of the most compacted files won't play on a default Windows.

A GUI program which is also capable (and French) is Handbrake .https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php which you will probably find easier to use. Again, watch for the very compact video streams if everyone is to watch. There are how-tos online.
 
When I try to attach a video file, I do not see any supported file types for videos, just pictures. I have handbrake, but I am not sure what I need to do to post a video here.
 
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