James
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Everything posted by James
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I had to experience some mountain passes with a Smart Forfour - totally and utterly ruined the trip
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So really they are practically the same as mine really - hmmm I will have to investigate further...
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The Mk2 shafts on my 2000 have made the wheels far too close to the bodywork - in fact too close as I had to bash. My wheels are only 5.5
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I've got new rubber and a 15" steering wheel. The tracking was done only a few weeks ago. I'll try increasing the pressure a little. (Which reminds me I want to buy myself a decent pressure gauge)
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Cheers Andy - what are top mounts like to do?
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Well I am guessing there must be a relationship between grip and steering weight so I guess narrower tyres are holding the road more? My Spit with 145 was much lighter than anything I've driven with 185s I'm running 28 psi
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Sorbs - might see about bearing top mounts as Jason says. His tyres are wider than mine. It felt like Tim's UJ is in similar condition to mine. For sure it makes a difference as I noticed it on the Spit once replaced. I have some new ball joints to go on - not sure about fitting them as I think its a bit of a job? Fuzzy - I only said it was heavier :)
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Now I know I put a quicker rack on mine, but... Having driven Tim's saloon it seemed to have much lighter steering - lighter than when mine had the old rack. Is there anything that can cause heavy steering on a big saloon? If it were a small chassis car I'd be out there with my grease gun oiling the trunnions...
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Make sure you take your time - you can get it as spot on as you want. Make sure you double check everything - the only real thing that gets in your way is the chain and the slop - everything else is perfectly "mechanical" Make sure you rotate the engine the right way... if you turn it backwards you will get slight errors (due to the chain) When you've done everything up check it again.
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Make sure you take your time - you can get it as spot on as you want. Make sure you double check everything - the only real thing that gets in your way is the chain and the slop - everything else is perfectly "mechanical" Make sure you rotate the engine the right way... if you turn it backwards you will get slight errors (due to the chain) When you've done everything up check it again.
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You need to use the dial gauge on the inlet (2nd from the front) - you need to get that fully open.
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You need to use the dial gauge on the inlet (2nd from the front) - you need to get that fully open.
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Ideally you need two dial gauges for that method? I only ever timed a cam in once - and I'm not sure if that method was applicable to my cam as it was a Fast Road 89 - which has unequal timings on inlet and exhaust.
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Ideally you need two dial gauges for that method? I only ever timed a cam in once - and I'm not sure if that method was applicable to my cam as it was a Fast Road 89 - which has unequal timings on inlet and exhaust.
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It's very simple assuming you don't have the gearbox attached. Attach a stiff piece of wire to something at the back of the engine - make a loop and bolt it to the block. Use a dial gauge on piston no.1 and find TDC. Bend the piece of wire to point at a flywheel tooth - try and get it to the centre of the tooth. You might want to rotate the crank backwards and forwards to make sure you get it correct. There are 116 teeth on a Spitfire flywheel (there were on mine anyway) - which works out to 3.1 degrees per tooth. If you work out the half teeth then that's 1.55 degrees. Now work out where your cam is meant to be timed - mine was 108 degrees - so that works out at just under 35 teeth. (34.8 to be more precise) Then just rotate the crank and count the teeth. Couldn't be simpler.
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It's very simple assuming you don't have the gearbox attached. Attach a stiff piece of wire to something at the back of the engine - make a loop and bolt it to the block. Use a dial gauge on piston no.1 and find TDC. Bend the piece of wire to point at a flywheel tooth - try and get it to the centre of the tooth. You might want to rotate the crank backwards and forwards to make sure you get it correct. There are 116 teeth on a Spitfire flywheel (there were on mine anyway) - which works out to 3.1 degrees per tooth. If you work out the half teeth then that's 1.55 degrees. Now work out where your cam is meant to be timed - mine was 108 degrees - so that works out at just under 35 teeth. (34.8 to be more precise) Then just rotate the crank and count the teeth. Couldn't be simpler.
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You can use the flywheel for timing marks - it's very accurate - far more than any piddling degree wheel.
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You can use the flywheel for timing marks - it's very accurate - far more than any piddling degree wheel.
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Yes that would be fine - but seriously - Burlen should have this data already... It would take you ages to type them all out!
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The need to be in some sort of computerised form - I'll let you input all the needles Jim!
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I concede to superior experience - I just never had a problem with my SUs running them over 15k or so... It still seems to be SUs are easier to tune with regards random needles and modifications. I was in talks with Burlen a couple of weeks back as they wanted me to make them a bespoke SU-needle-comparer-thingy - don't know if anything will happen from it - but perhaps I can suggest it to include Stromberg needles too...
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On both my 1500 and my Mk3 the SUs never went out of tune... if they go out of tune that quickly then there is something wrong with them... The reason they are the choice for sports cars is because of the needle selection and the number of people able to tune them properly... if people are building modded motors you're not going to go for a carb that isn't flexible enough to do what you want.
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There's only more documentation on them because they were used on more cars - and more needles means more choice when it comes to tuning them. They're fine if you have a totally stock car - but not so if you want to mod it. Also more people tune SUs so know what they're doing. SU's don't go out of tune any more than a Strombergs... and the spindles don't wear quickly - it's just most sets are knackered by now and need redoing. There are arguments for both...!
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Check your float levels etc - and adjust accordingly - that is what allows you to adjust fuel level in the bowls.
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Yes Daws - no more sitting in the back whilst I chauffeur you around!