Winter wasn't a complete and utter loss of progress. I used the snippets of time to work on the engine to change a few things for good running. Off came the modified cam cover, TDC/CA sensor, modified cam nut and B30 pulley. Out came the K-cam and off came the flaky paint. In went a near new C-cam, on went a clean B20 cam cover, B20 pulley, NOS water pump and a fresh coat of red (ok, not the good Volvo red). By the end of July the engine was ready to go in.
One thing that should be noted about the Express van is that they are fitted with a good old 4.3:1 rear drive ratio, perfect for a M41. So, why not? Out came the shiny rebuilt M41. Here they are together, saying hello and goodbye to each other.
Truth be told, I had this gearbox rebuilt back in 2001 in Melbourne. The box is great and the J-type has been fitted with near new internals. Even back then it was nigh on impossible to find NOS J-type internals for these OD units. I'd always intended for this van to have the M41 so I've had the box wrapped in plastic in the shed(s) for all that time. The box is out of a deep red British import 1969 142 that was beyond salvaging.
As winter dragged on and slowly morphed into something that resembled spring (it felt like the date changed and remained damn cold to be honest) progress was pretty slow. A few teething issues were found, like I'd installed the incorrect NOS release bearing for the new pressure plate. After a bit of rummaging around in the parts buckets I managed to find the correct release bearing (the really tall one). Pulling the dust cap off I was pleasantly surprised to find the grease in pristine condition after all those years in storage. Winner! Reinstated in the bell housing the travel and position felt like it was a good match.
Towards the end of the hockey season I took a couple of weeks holidays and set to work. The engine was installed (thanks to the help of #1 daughter), static timing completed, electrics checked from end-to-end. New wires run for tacho, OD solenoid, OD column switch, fuel pump and carby choke/fuel shutoff valve. I decided to go with a 32/36 DGAV Weber carburettor instead of the original 1-3/4" Stromberg purely and simply because a: I had one and b: it is a sh!t load easier to tune for the B20/1 to get power and economy.
To go with the B20/1 I chose to use a radiator that I'd had upgraded years ago. Running this B20/1 with a D-cam in a 122 for about 10,000 km we ended up installing a B30 radiator for the additional cooling requirement. This radiator is a 4 core copper unit with the metal tanks. I thought that it would slip in nicely to where the upright radiator from the donor car used to sit. Nup! It turns out that the subframe nose section and radiator bridge is subtly different between the two radiator models. No worries, a bit of panel beating and it fits like a glove.
Almost there and I tried to fit the bottom radiator hose. FAIL! It turns out that the hose in my possession is for the upright radiator, so, $18.50 later and I had a NOS radiator hose. In my eagerness the hose went on and late on a Friday evening she fired up first time. Here she is waiting for a bottom radiator hose.
