Life with ME125
by Mark Davies

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To view images of the chassis rebuild which was finished in 1999

The images above are from before i owned the car but may be of interest to visitors as the images show where rust can set it and the task of rebuilding the car.

After i purchased the car i found that there was always dirt in the fuel filter so in the early part of 2001 I decided to have the dirt in the fuel lines investigated properly and after much debate it became evident that the inside of the fuel tank was corroding badly. I had been told when I purchased the car that the fuel tank had been galvanized inside and out but the result of this exercise was such that the tank was corroding from the inside with the debris being pulled through into the filters. Once the tank was removed all became evident, it had been repaired in a number of places with anything from silicon sealant to the circular aluminum 'blanks' that come out of electrical wall gang boxes.

So a new stainless steel tank was commissioned and the fuel sender unit refurbished at the same time. These images show the tank during fitting.

At last, in August the car arrived back but it had been identified that the little electric fuel change over valve used to switch between the two wings of the tank was leaking air on one side and this was accounting for the fuel starvation that I had been experiencing. However, desperate to drive it for a week or so, I had it home. After less than an hour of pottering about the lanes of Suffolk I had broken the crown wheel and pinion and the car sounded more like a track laying vehicle than an AC! Hey ho another large bill I thought.

In October I had the car transported back to the garage to have the engine stripped out so that I could get it up to Dave Harris at Shirley's Garage in Meriden to have the gearbox rebuilt. To use Dave's words, this proved to be a relatively small job, but still required a new chain, crown wheel and pinion and some of his expert TLC. At last my permanent oil leak was solved.

On its return we agreed to re-plumb the fuel lines and fit low pressure electric fuel pumps and remove the mechanical pump and changeover valve, this required a new header tank to be fabricated and installed. We also decided to replace the old Ford rocker covers for something smarter and also install a new K&N air filter. I also had a new luminition ignition and distributor fitted and a 45 amp alternator as I had read that this resulted in much better electrical power when the fans kick in and the lights are all on. Finally, to try to improve the heat build up in the engine bay we constructed new heat shields over the exhaust manifolds.

The result was a big bill, but a smart looking engine bay, as you will see from the photos. There was no doubt that there was an improvement in performance and certainly the behavior of the engine especially when hot and in traffic, or so it seemed to a non engineer!

Disaster struck on April 20th, the first really warm weekend of the spring, in Suffolk anyway! I had taken our 4 year old daughter to a kids party at a local village hall, filled the tank up for the first time and returned to collect her. I had left the car standing for some 25 minutes, reversed it out of the parking slot to go home when I suddenly smelt petrol, heard a pop, the car stalled and the next moment there was the whoosh and heat of flames pouring out from under the ribbed engine cowl.

What happened next in the panic of the moment is not clear but I managed to get my daughter, Emily, out without her teddy, blanket, and party bag. Whether I switched off the pumps properly I know not, but we hadn't fitted a full ignition cut out as I had originally intended. Desperately conscious of the full tank and the car park full of smart cars, the numerous kids and the adjacent village hall, we cleared everybody away and called the fire brigade, then exhausted 2 fire extinguishers and watched the car start to burn. Needless to say Emily's only concern was for her teddy and party bag and her Heroic Dad (!) returned to retrieve both and his mobile phone and electronic organizer!

After about 10 minutes the fire engine arrived, after the rear window had imploded with the heat and the engine covers burned through. Unable to see where the seat of the fire was, the brigade kindly aimed their jets into the cabin and filled the interior with water. There is no such thing as a simple insurance claim I know!

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to view the car after the fire damage

In the cold light of day the damage could have been far worse. That said, it is bad enough. I have lost the engine cover and little ribbed cowl, the boot lid was badly damaged but not a total loss, the surfaces around the engine bay and the overhangs of the cabin pillars were in a pretty bad shape, the rear window and seals had gone, the seats badly scorched from the imploding glass and the headlining was smoke stained. The foot wells and carpets were saturated with water. The damage to the engine could have been far worse. It appears that the fire was concentrated around the filter and the return flow pipe to the fuel tank, certainly the filter element seems to have acted as a wick. The photos showed that the damage to the electrics and fuel lines is limited to a local area. It was still going to be a big job, especially so given the work performed thus far.

Thank goodness I had gone to the trouble of getting a guaranteed insurance value on the car.

The insurance company agreed an initial estimate. We then went ACOC store in Cambridgeshire to find what moulds existed. While there we made an inventory for the ACOC of what moulds were there including the various spare panels.

On the subject of the moulds, the main body shell moulds are there as are a number of smaller panels including the ribbed engine cowl, but there was no evidence of a mould for the engine cover or boot lid. Luckily there was what looked like a spare engine panel that appeared to have been used as a blank before and we used this to create a new 2 piece mould that hopefully the ACOC can keep for future use. We also found a couple of spare boot lids and there were numerous door panels and other bulkheads as well.

We stripped out the engine again and begun to work on the body which was sure to be a long job. This time I have fitted a full electric cut out fitted and am toying with a fire extinguisher system as well at a later date, hopefully this may placate my lovely wife somewhat! It looked like another year without driving the car and more ammunition for Helen to use as evidence of a non performing investment! But hey, that was the best kids party of the year because.. 'Emily's Daddy's noisy car caught fire and the firemen came to the party and we went in the fire engine'. Scant consolation, but out of the mouths of babes and suckling's!

On a serious note I would be interested to exchange notes with anybody else who has had a fire or a near miss or who has views on K&N filters, the impact of fitting them to the Ford Essex engine, ignition systems and fuel pumps and the 'spit back' effect, which I understand was sometimes a problem with this engine. Also I have suggested that I will coordinate the fabrication of new panels if necessary as 2 off or more may benefit from an economy of scale in terms of pricing, so please let me know.

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to see images taken in the body shop

The process that got the car back on the road seemed to take an eternity and required the services of the Eric Poole and Son, the body shop that originally re-sprayed the car in 2000; a fiberglass fabricator who was prepared to make up the engine cover mould from the blank we found in Alan Covey’s barn and then mould the cover; an auto-electrican to replace the engine harness and fit a full ignition cut-out; Speedy Cables for all the cables and an upholsterer to re-cover the seats and replace the damaged trim and carpets.

I must thank the efforts and commitment of all the various people involved, not least the Insurers, Equity Red Star and BG-S who responded immediately and made that part of the process pain free, even down to replacing the radio cassette, which could not be revived once the car was returned to me. In fact our biggest problem was sourcing the upgraded Weber Carb that has been used as a standard upgrade by others to replace the melted original.

To give me some comfort that the car was set up properly this time I had her tested and expertly tuned on a rolling road in Colchester. This exercise achieved two things, firstly it identified that the engine is fitted with a non standard cam which is either a fast road going version or a racing cam; secondly it pushed the power output up from 105 bhp at the fly to 154 with some space for more if I want it. I have to say, I cringed as the car was wound up through the gears to max revs, the words of warning to take 60 seconds to 60 mph, at least, and no stress on the box for the first 1000 miles from…. At Meriden as I drove off with the reconditioned gearbox 18 months ago, were not far away! Apart from a burst water pipe there were no adverse reactions to the experience.

Now the car has been at home for a while, much as expected, the gremlins have continued to pop out of the fibreglass! I broke a wheel stud in replacing all the old wheel nuts, which were in a pretty poor state! Brian Eacott came to the rescue within 48 hours, but before I had rolled the car off the drive the seals in the master cylinder went and Mr Eacott was again called upon. Now, as I write, we seem unable to get any pressure back into the brake system, so it may have to have a new master cylinder as well, which I am informed is more difficult to source.

The inventory of the moulds has been sent back to the ACOC whose help was essential. A list of these mould is available to members of the ACOC

The rebuild of ME125 is now complete and the car was returned to me almost a year after the fire incident and i hope you have enjoyed reading this page a lot more that i have in completing paying for the work

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The car as is today (I hope)