Fresh Europa TC owner, first issues

[rjbaren]

You have a lovely car  there.  Sorry to be off topic, But I was in France a number of years ago and you guys have great roads especially with a Europa.  Where area are you in, in France?

[Impromptu]

The car is in the eastern part of France, with the Jura mountains and the Alps close by. The Europa is indeed fun to drive in the mountains, but I am still discovering its capabilities.

I read in the Miles Wilkens book that low compression of the Twin Cam engine could also be due to poor (I guess too tight) valve clearance. I am a bit reluctance to open the cam cover, since I see some sort of silicone protrude between the cover and a cork gasket so it might be difficult. What is the best approach to open the cam cover? Should one use a knife to cut through the gasket to be able to remove the cam cover?

[4129R]

Buy a new cork gasket before taking the cam cover off, then clean both head and cover with a knife to get rid of all cork, silicone the new gasket to the cover, then put the cover on the head when the silicone has dried.

I have never know an old cover coming off with the cork not being damaged, unless it has been fitted recently.

When re-shimming, use plain nuts to tighten down the cam pillars until all the clearances are correct. Then change the plain nuts for self locking nyloc nuts. 

The shims are available from QED in Quorn/Loughborough, UK.

[Clifton]

Braking is now rather heavy.

You can drill a new hole in the pedal arm to increase the pedal ratio some. The pedal assembly is easy to remove. Pic is mine with hole moved up. I don't remember how much I did. 

Here's a few links on pedal ratio too.

https://techtalk.mpbrakes.com/how-to-series/calculating-pedal-ratio
https://www.markwilliams.com/brakepedalcalculator.html

[BDA]

Buy a new cork gasket before taking the cam cover off, then clean both head and cover with a knife to get rid of all cork, silicone the new gasket to the cover, then put the cover on the head when the silicone has dried.

I have never know an old cover coming off with the cork not being damaged, unless it has been fitted recently.

When re-shimming, use plain nuts to tighten down the cam pillars until all the clearances are correct. Then change the plain nuts for self locking nyloc nuts. 

The shims are available from QED in Quorn/Loughborough, UK.

+1 about the gasket (I don't have a TC engine so I can't comment on the rest of 4129R's advice but I expect it's very sound). I would only add that after using silicone to "glue" the gasket to the cam cover, then smear some grease on the side of the gasket that will press against the head. This will make it MUCH less likely to get stuck and thus easier to take off the next time.

[jbcollier]

Always, always, always start with the valves.  An engine is nothing but a giant air pump.  Tight valves really affect the air flow and, thus, the carburation and performance.  Compression gauges are just indicators.  Readings vary from gauge to gauge.  The fact they are consistent is good, though.

After sorting the valves, check the ignition setting and advance.

Once all that is good, then you can set up the carbs.

[Impromptu]

Thank you all for your swift advice. So opening up the cam cover it will be. I’ll order a new gasket at the same time as the shims, while I already have the half moon plugs.

Has anyone used Hylomar Blue for the gasket sealing, or what silicone would you suggest (sorry for basic questions,  )?

Clifton thank you for the trick about the brake pedal. That seems very logical and do-able.

[BDA]

I have used Hylomar a few times and have been pleased. It doesn't harden so I wouldn't try to use it to stick your gasket to the cam cover. You could use it on the gasket where it's against your head but grease is a lot cheaper and works just as well. It has a strange consistency that makes me wonder if it will really seal but it always has. I don't use it a lot and tend toward silicone sealer probably out of habit. I would think Hylomar would be great for your half-moon plugs. I would not use silicone on fuel applications unless I was VERY careful because gasoline softens the silicone and it can get mixed into the gasoline clogging up hoses, filters, etc. A guy told me of a time where he couldn't get his race car to start. Everything seemed good but he wasn't getting any fuel to his carbs. He started taking things apart and found he had a rope of silicone sealant in his fuel lines! Apparently, over time and several applications of silicone, it softened and collected in his lines. I don't mean to disparage his knowledge or skill (he's probably forgotten more about cars than I'll ever know) but it doesn't seem like he was very careful with his silicone application!

[jbcollier]

Use only oil-proof sealers.  Use silicone sealers sparingly as excess has been know to break free and cause problems.  Allow your sealers to set at least 24 hours before starting.  Do not over-tighten the retaining nuts, especially with a cork gasket.

[GavinT]

Has anyone used Hylomar Blue for the gasket sealing, or what silicone would you suggest (sorry for basic questions?

I like the Hylomar Blue and don't use silicone any more - highly recommended.
It seems to hold together better as a single piece and doesn't go to jelly like silicone does sometimes. It's also fine with gearbox oil where silicone can be problematic.

Interesting link including the differences to silicone:

https://www.newmantools.com/chemicals/hylomar.htm

[BDA]

Very interesting link about Hylomar, GavinT! Thanks!