Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 13:48:27 +0100 (WET DST)
From: Gary and Carol Henderson
Subject: RE: Trim
Hi Richard
Was yours the Imp which had been garaged 18 years? (Sorry, I don't have all the threads here, because some Impmail has been retrieved at my office PC.)
Anyway, to whoever it was...
Shout your recent acquisition a new timing chain. It might save you a head job! Reason: The timing chain will have 'stretched' due to corrosion at each and every link, from the nasties that dwell in used engine oil. (Any ohc engine has a rather long chain, so this is more of a problem than for a pushrod engine.)
My Mk 1 had had a similar career before I bought it - 13000 miles from new in 16 years; almost none in the final half-dozen of those years. It used to burn valves in a few thousand miles and never ran well, until having noted that the timing marks never lined up properly, I shouted it a new chain. After that I had a motorcar!
OK, if the timing marks DO line up correctly, then no action required, but this is unlikely.
The old chain will have no split link, so will need to be cut, but the replacements do have split link so can be fed around without removing the timing-case. (Do the UK replacements have a split link? Somebody please confirm.)
Good luck
GaryH