drofgum
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Everything posted by drofgum
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Alex wrote:Ok time to look stupid again....my car has had enjoying rattle.I thought it was pinking but could this have been cam rattle? Itdidnt do it under load more at mid throttle..... Alex, Too many unknowns to give a definite answer. The one thing that seems to be excluded is excessive valve clearance. Big ends, gudgeon pins, slack timing chain, mechanical fuel pump cam wear all are possibilities, or you may have been right in thinking it was pinking. Pinking is usually worst under load at low engine speeds. All the best, Paul
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Alex wrote:Ok I've pulled my head off with suspected valve seat recession as I keep having to adjust the valves....about every 300 miles. What am I looking for to confirm? One exhaust valve is very white and one a little bit(1&2)the others are black. This seems to indicate a lean mixture from the front carburetter. I can push number one down easily and pull the valve about with one hand. This indicates a weak valve spring and a worn valve guide. I've also found that one of the followers is very pitted and more than one other has little indents in the edges so not fully circular.....is this normal? None of this is normal. The pitted flollower has probably gone through the hard facing and will have to be renewed in all liklihood the camshaft has also been damaged and should be renewed. What else can/should I be checking? oh and cant spend loads of money so should I just whack on the replacement head and plead ignorant? If you already have the replacement head; I think you would be well advised to look to the camshaft and followers. All the best, Paul Thanks Alex
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Andy, Is it getting unmetered air or is it losing it? ;D Richen or lean off? It seems to me that when I had to seal these I removed the brass tubes and after using rubber plugs that eventually fell out I tapped the holes and screwed in socket headed set screws with thread sealer. All the best, Paul
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Bill, That dipstick arrangement is distinctive. It is the mark of a California spec Spitfire engine of the very late 1970s. I believe the catalytic converter interfered with the usual location of the dipstick so Leyland resorted to adapting it to the sump drain using a banjo fitting. There was a thread on this subject this spring on the Triumph Experience Forum site in North America. A member needed to replace the banjo bolt as the one on his engine had been rounded to the point of uselessness. Cheers, Paul
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npanne, The return springs directly on the carb also avoid a pull in one direction on the throttle shaft. Such a pull can lead to oval wear of both the shaft and the carb body. Where possible a cap over the blind end of the throttle shaft will keep that end from drawing in dirt which can act as abrasive powder on the bushing area of the carburetter body. Of course the caps also cut off the air leakage at that end of the shaft. All the best, Paul
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Bob, I think you will find the wing capping won't bend well. It will wrinkle rather than bend smoothly. Polycarbonate is relatively easy to put a smooth, radiused edge on anyway. All the best, Paul
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junkuser wrote:What a neat, complete, precise description Paul! Thank you. I do try. Sometimes I succeed ;D. Cheers, Paul
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John, A Spitfire has a pin that the release arm pivots on inserted into the off side of the bellhousing. The hole for it is nearly obscured by the bulkhead and gearbox tunnel. The pin is intended to be gripped by a wavy spring steel bit called the tolerance ring which fits in the release arm. When the tolerance ring goes slack it no longer holds the pin which then drops out the lower hole in the bellhousing. The result is the release lever moves about some at the end opposite the slave cylinder rather than pushing the release bearing. All the best, Paul
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John, Certainly inspect all externally accessible parts of the clutch operating system before removing the tunnel or gearbox. When checking the master cylinder do not overlook the condition of the eyes where the pedal attaches to the pushrod. Wear in those can lead to a lot of free play between the pedal and the piston in the master cyl. Colin's advise about the pivot pin for the release lever should also be heeded as it is a common failure and sometimes can be easily fixed( other times it means gearbox out :() Good luck, Paul
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Chambers, I wouldn't recommend using the smaller reservoir master cylinder for the brakes. The volume of fluid it holds is too small for the brake system. That is why the early cars had a brake master that had a taller reservoir than the currently offered all metal clutch master cylinders. All the best, Paul
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timraven, The best lubricant for the starter drive screw thread is graphite. It won't accumulate dust as a wet lube will. Cheers, Paul
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michael_charlton wrote: .After all its only a warning to say you are stopping and not stood Il Capo, Too many inattentive drivers out there. They will run into the back of a line of cars with all those brake lamps lit. What would they do with no lamps warning them? Paul
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This may well work, but when the starter must be changed again will you remember? It is also a bodge and that is something to avoid when there is a better approach. We already have enough bodges to fix. Cheers, Paul
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Hi, For the earlier Spitfires with the chrome rimmed Jaeger gauges, the TR4 oil pressure gauge is a perfect match. Cheers, Paul
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Simon, In addition to the strip at the front there is also a thicker bar across the back that hooks on the two chrome fittings at the back of the cockpit. At each end of the windscreen capping there is a popper. Between the main door seal and the thinner window seal on the windscreen posts there is a small hook; a wire loop is riveted to the hood flap to get hooked here. On each side of the cockpit behind the doors there are three poppers to fit. Inside the hood there is a fabric tube to wrap around the front hood bow; it gets three poppers and sockets to close it there. This is not a difficult job. It is much easier than fitting the hood to any other Spitfire. Perhaps the most important thing to a good job is to be certain that the hood is centered on the car before fitting any of the poppers. A tool to fit the poppers and the sockets is a must, but some serviceable ones are inexpensive. Care taken to do a good job pays off in years of having a nicely fitted hood. Cheers, Paul
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Bob, It is unusual to have only one gap that is not right. In the case of your car, the best you are going to be able to do is to make the gap at the back of the door equal to the gap at the front by loosening the hinge to bulkhead bolts and shifting the door forward. The risk is that you will have either no more adjustment available, or you will put the door out of adjustment vertically in doing the horizontal adjustment. Good luck, Paul
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Bob, Are all other gaps good? Cheers, Paul
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Paul, I found( http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/wires&codes.htm ). Which lists the common numbers used on newer European wiring parts. That page also refers to other pages with more information on these numbers. Cheers, Paul
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Nick, That does look nice! I can't wait to see the whole car. Cheers, Paul
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Scott, The worst thing about mixing the brakes that way is there will probably be a greater tendency to lock the rear wheels on hard braking. You won't be the first to have done this though. Perhaps the best way to re-balance things, if you find you need to, would be to find a more effective front friction material. Cheers, Paul
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Scott, Yes, GT6 rear brakes are 8" drum instead of the 7" of the Spitfire. the important thing about that is that it gives more area to dissipate the heat. You should check the front brakes also as the Gt6 front brakes are also bigger and the front brakes are far more important. Cheers, Paul
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Scott, 203mm is very close to 8". Is there a chance your car has GT6 rear brakes? Good luck, Paul
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Bill, Don't the Spitfire and Gt6 blower motors have field windings? If they do then reversing polarity won't reverse the blower: both the field and the armature will be reversed, so, the motor will still run the same direction. Permanent magnet motors do reverse when you change polarity because the field from the magnet stays as it was, but the armature is reversed. Cheers, Paul
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Scott, I have managed to read the brake drum in the Haynes manual: maximum diameter is 7.005". I looked through all of my manuals yesterday evening for a wear limit, but I never thought to try to read the drum in any of the pictures. Thanks to Lancepar for that! Cheers, Paul