What have you done with your Series 3?

[Chisler]

Just pop riveted the back door card I made for the new rear door.
Nice and cool evening to be working on it
Just a bit of touch up black paint to do then finished.

[Chisler]

Before fitting I drilled a few holes through the top of the bottom box section and sprayed waxoyl inside.
The original door was totally rotten all along the bottom box section.
So hopefully this will help it last for many years to come.

[Chisler]

Now completed all 4 wheels hub bearings and seals replacement and free wheel hub servicing .
Just ordered from Blanchard’s set of front brake shoes and springs .
Thanks Neil the parts bible came in perfect for part number ordering.

[Carlos Fandango]

Fitted a pair of stainless steel washer jets courtesy of Emberton, Great job if your a glutton for punishment

[o4dn]

During my (long) journey to SPH, I noticed the engine temp to be rising quite high on long uphill stretches.

My S3 is equipped with the viscous-coupling fan (a factory option at the time), but I've never had much faith in this setup (in 2023, the viscous coupling failed and the fan smashed into the radiator while I was on my way to Le Mans Classic). Furthermore, new spares for the specific water pump required are impossible to source these days...…

So last saturday, I replaced the water pump and the fan with the standard fixed 4 blades metal fan. Had one of those brown moment when refilling the coolant and it was leaking from everywhere! Fortunately, it turned out I had simply forgotten to tighten the hose clamps.

[o4dn]

After replacing the water pump and the fan last weekend, I found that the temperature would still read a bit high to my taste...

The I realized the fuel gauge was also unreliable and would report a fuel tank full even when half empty!

So I checked the voltage at the temperature sensor on the head and found over 12V whereas I was expecting 10V, indicating a faulty voltage stabilizer.

I replaced it today, and I'm happy to report that both gauges are now working as expected, no more high temperature readings!

So, long story short, I had actually two problems, one was that the fan wasn't cooling enough (so the engine would never cool off) and the other was the voltage stabilizer causing the readings to be off.

[Neil Bymouth]

Is your replacement voltage stabiliser the old fashioned bi metallic strip tupe or an electronic one?

[o4dn]

I assume this is an electronic one inside.

Considering an LM7810 is worth a few pennies, it's probably a lot cheaper and easier to produce than the old fashion bimetallic device.

[o4dn]

I am even considering fixing the old one using an LM7810, just for the fun...

https://www.britishv8.org/Articles/MGB- ... ilizer.htm

[o4dn]

There's a very easy way to tell whether the voltage stabilizer is using a bimetallic strip or an electronic device...

With the bimetallic strip, voltage oscillates constantly, whereas an electronic device produces a stable, steady 10V voltage.

And to check, the easiest way is to unplug the temperature sensor at the head and measure the voltage coming from the wire using a digital voltmeter.

With that, I can confirm the voltage stabilizer I've used as a replacement is electronically powered.