Running in & Chasing leaks,

In the past several weeks I've been very busy doing upholstery work for several other Austin Healeys that have been coming in for full interior installs.
However I have managed to get some work done on my own project with each weekend...

Lately I've been running the engine and getting the timing adjusted, tuning the carburetors, and adjusting the valves as I break in the new tappets and push-rods..

Of course as things warm up and get seated, I've been chasing down some leaks...   The first of which I'm still trying to get perfectly sealed: The carburetor jets, I've now rebuilt 3 ttimes with new seals each time!
While they're not necessarily dripping, the bottom of one jet is still wet after each run.

The other big issue I had was the tachometer gear housing was leaking a lot of oil after each run.
I tried tightening down its bolts and one snapped off flush with the block.
So I had to get in there by removing the carbs, manifolds, exhaust and tappet side cover - which annoyingly has to assemble in conjunction with the Tach gear housing...

I carefully managed to drill out and re-tap the threads for the shallow bolt hole, making sure to seal off all the surrounding openings to the inner engine and used a vaccuum to eliminate the drill filings as I went along...
With new gaskets and fresh Permatex sealant, I fixed the leak and reassembled everything with some careful paint touch ups..

After letting it sit for a few days to fully cure, I started her up again and let her warm up to temperature.
I again re-adjusted the carbs & choke settings and got the idle to a smooth 700rpm...  and guess what - No more leaks!

Well, at least not from those areas... 
I still have the "to be expected" common drip coming from between the engine/gearbox -

These early 4 cyl engines have no rear main seal, instead they rely on a reverse scroll that funnels oil back into the engine, however, after the engine stops running and the oil is still thinner from being warm, a bit will always worms its way out past the scroll passage and inevitably creates a slow drip as the car sits - in fact I've never encountered a stock 100 that doesn't have this drip - I suppose we can call it part of their character?

In any case, I happy with how she's running and I've booked her to head back to Jetstream next week to have the body reassembled and painted.

Until next time -