Talk Morgan Forums Talk Morgan Members Section Special Information 1961 +4 fuel pipe

Looking for advice again folks. I can find no information online regarding the correct route for the pipe from petrol tank to engine mounted (TR3) pump. There was no pipe on the vehicle when it came into my possession. I can only see three possible routes, 1/ through the interior of the vehicle and drill a hole in the scuttle, I see this as a no-go for safety reasons. 2/ run down the outside of the chassis member then up over top in front of the scuttle. This means drilling holes in bodypanels and negotiating sharp edges of the chassis which I don't much care for. 3/ run down the outside of the chassis member and underneath the chassis just in front of the scuttle and up into the engine bay. My misgivings with this option includes the pipe getting squashed by any hard object which I may accidentally run over.

p.s. yesterday I drove the car for the first time (various bits lashed on with wire) down a private roadway where I live. BRILLIANT! Engine sweet as a nut, gearbox fine and rear axle fine. Only slight issue which needs investigating when Doris allows is an unhealthy sound from the transmission tunnel when changing gear.

I would like to attatch a picture but I have yet to acquire that skill.

Nev.

Nev

The original fuel line dating from the 60s was a copper pipe that ran inside the body , on the passengers side of the car , through the bulkhead and connected to the mechanical fuel pump on the left rear of the engine.

Agreed that by today's risk averse culture, it does leave something to be desired, but now you could use flameproof aeroquip-type piping which would overcome some of these concerns.

However your option 3 does make sense (to me anyway) as long as the pipe is
Protected from the heat of the exhaust (should be OK on the nearside)
All holes are well grommeted where is passes through barriers
Tucked up underneath the upper horizontal section of the chassis.

The noise from the transmission tunnel is usually the propshaft hitting the metal cover due to either some sideways flexing of the cover, or the cover having insufficient clearance.

Good luck , let us know how you find a solution.

The modern Morgans have the fuel pipe and return on the outside of the chassis and passing into the engine bay through a "one inch" hole just forward of the bulkhead.
The pipes are extremely close to the exhaust. Less than an inch and in places much closer, which is why I add heat resistant weave to the pipes. In summer it gets hot under there, especially in traffic.
At least the return to the tank will cool things down a bit.

On the side without the exhaust - no problem.

Andy,

I did have a short length of steel pipe come with the car which is shaped to come from the tank, under the brake pipe and alongside the rear leaf spring before feeding through chassis and terminating at that point. I have therefore connected a length of rubber fuel pipe and brought it forward to the engine bay. Maybe U.S.spec fuel pipe run was different to U.K?

When I say noise from the transmission tunnel, it is actually from the cast iron bell housing section so it could be clutch, carbon thrust plate or sliding tube. I have ordered a borescope which I hope to utilise on this issue.

Dave,

I have considered drilling a hole through the chassis in the bulkhead area but I am not keen on that idea. The reason being is that I am aware that on the TR range of +4's the chassis has been known to crack where it meets the crossmember at that point. My chassis is perfectly sound and I don't want to do anything which might weaken it.

Thanks to both of you for your advice.

Nev.

Nev,

The bell housing is a magnesium alloy known as elektron, which is very light , but prone to wear issues . The aluminium clutch sleeve , which carries the angular carbon release bearing has a bolt on the underside which is driven by brackets and linkages to the clutch pedal. This bolt is prone to wear the slot in the direction of rotation of the engine, in which case clutch operation can become tricky and noisy. Without more symptoms it is a mite difficult to diagnose whether this is the route of the problem.

Did you check the sleeve and carbon ring for wear before assembly? What did the slot look like? Was it worn on one side? Are the holes in the linkages elongated? Are the bolts in the linkages showing signs of wear? All of these are all too common problems, especially on TR +4s which are now 50+ years old.

If this slot is badly worn , the standard remedy is to over-bore the bell housing and sleeve it back to standard. There is a bodge with a piece of metal and self tapping screws to cover the worst area of the slot which may work for a while, but the former is by far a preferable solution.

The other thing that is well worth doing (especially while everything is out of the car is to well and truly lubricate this sleeve via the grease nipple on top of the bell housing (make sure it is clear , old grease subjected to heat has been known to clog these up).

Another thing to check (and you will need the engine and bell housing out of the car for this I am afraid), is that the rear face of the bell housing (where it mates with the Moss Box is absolutely square to the rear face of the block. Even when a tiny amount out , it can affect the operation of the clutch, but it is relatively easily corrected with a few strategically placed shims (which need marking to ensure they always go back in the same place on assembly)

Andy,

Thanks for the info, the car came to me partially rebuilt and it wasn't until a couple of days ago that I actually got the engine running to test things out. I have not therefore had a look inside the clutch housing so I plan on greasing the sliding tube assy again and driving it up and down the roadway a few times to check things out properly.

Nev.