yorkshire_spam

thebrookster wrote: Just occurs to me, having read your thread in the Spitfire section, you mention you have just rebuilt the starter motor. Is there any chance this has gone wrong, and is jamming somewhere?? I am trying to think "backwards" here, and eliminating each possibility in turn. It is easier to pull the the starter than rebuild an engine ;) I did the starter in the first place because of the slow cranking problem. Soooooo.... I'll pull it off again and check it over. As you say - much easier to do that than rebuild the engine. I know a guy at work who thinks he might have a spare engine/starter - so if he has I'll swap the starter and if that's no good I'll swap the engine and then look into the problem (if it is with the current engine)

thebrookster wrote: Earth - grab a jump lead, clean a bit of engine to clean metal, connect one end of lead there and the other to -ve terminal on battery. If cranking speed changes then you have a strong suspect. +ve wiring - if you feel brave, you can try a jump lead direct from +ve on battery to terminal on starter. This bypasses the key, so make sure car is out of gear!! Also, wear a pair of gloves, and for GOD's sake take care!!!!!!!! You are playing with a large amount of power there, and if you electrocute yourself it WILL hurt! Phil, Done both these things - slight increase in crank speed with a jump lead from 1 starter bolt to the negative. A jump lead from +ve to the starter terminal made no difference. BUT - even with both of these AND the booster on the battery it won't turn over at all now - just clicks when I "ping" the solenoid. If I jump lead +ve to the starter I get a big fat spark, and nothing else. Take your point about reverse being too low though. Tried turning it over without spark plugs, still nothing, tried turning the crank pulley by hand - can't turn it.

Starting to wonder about engine issues here - I can't get it to turn over at all now - just clicks rolled backwards down the drive with it in reverse - popped the clutch and just stopped rolling. :-(

michael_charlton wrote:What is your battery `cranking ` amps rate, this is more important You should be looking at around 620 Can you recommend a battery - all the 078 that would fit the battery box look like around the 500-550 CCA ?

michael_charlton wrote:What is your battery `cranking ` amps rate, this is more important You should be looking at around 620 Been wondering about that - starting to think that maybe having the booster on it when starting doesn't rule the battery out as a previously thought.

Thanks for the tips guys I'll go down the electrical route a bit further before I start to panic too much. Will check the earthing and see what I find - I checked resistance between the -ve battery terminal and the starter casing before I stripped the starter off and it seemed pretty low (iirc a couple of ohms, no more)

Spitfire 1500 1978 Seems to restart fine once warm - but really struggles to crank over when cold. I've tried it with the booster hooked up to the battery to see if it's simply that the battery is not holding charge - still no start I've bridged out the solenoid to see if the solenoid/contacts are to blame - still no improvement. I've re-built the starter motor - new bushes and brushes - it bench tests fine, but back on the car it's back to slow cranking and not starting. So although it could still be the starter motor, I'm beginning to wonder if it's something engine related. Wrong oil grade maybe? Or maybe something really nasty in the crank/piston department? What do you guys think?

H Roger, thanks for the link, but those are the same guys as Richard linked to above (via eBay) They didn't know about the rivets, but I guess I could ask them about suitable bolts. Cheers, Sam

They look spot on! I'll (gently) extract the old ones tonight and measure them and then get some ordered! Cheers, Sam

I guess I could use some small nut n bolts - I guess I was just getting to wrapped up in putting it back how it was.

Richard_B wrote:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LUCAS-M35J-INERTIA-STARTER-MOTOR-REPAIR-PARTS-BRUSH-BOX-BUSHES-SPRINGS-BRUSHES-/310393830542?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Commercial_Vehicles_ET&hash=item4844e9fc8e These guys might know. Emailed them, but they don't know because they don't have any and their supplier doesn't sell them any more!  :-/

nang wrote:1/2" BSP sounds hellava big. Is it tapered or parallel ? Tony. Good question! I'll have to clean the over spray out of the hole and have a proper look!

At a rough measurement I recon I need 506 (5/32" shank,3/8" length) but I'd rather know for sure before I drill the old ones out (in case I order the wrong size replacements) Anyone know for sure what size the brush box rivets are? I can't find the size in either the Spitfire workshop manual or the lucas manual for the m35j. Cheers, Sam

Gave it a rough measure (couldn't find calipers to get an accurate i/d) at "just" over 18mm, 19.05mm is ½ BSP so I guess that's it (unless it's british standard cycle size or something just to be awkward)

Any idea what size/thread the drain plug hole is on the bottom tank of a wide radiator. My existing narrow rad doesn't seem to have one - so I need to source one for when I fit the wider rad? I'm guessing BSP - but not sure what size? I thought I'd do the lazy thing and ask rather than measuring it ;-)

I know the proposed set up is not "the ultimate" in terms of bhp or torque, but I was looking for something with a reasonably priced donor vehicle, a modern engine with a good replacement parts supply. Plus I've worked on GM V6 engines in the past

Nick_Jones wrote:Wondered about that one myself...... in a saloon.  Sump's tricky! I think the 3L V6 is auto only except for a few police spec cars?  Suppose the 2.5 box could be fitted. In fact, for the aggro, I reckon the Lexus LS400 V8.  That's been done already in Oz.  Enough grunt and decent autobox fitted.  Conversion kits also exist to fit the W58 or R154 manual 5 speeds.  Might need some rear-end mods..... Nick 3L manuals are not common, but there are a few out there. For that torque I'd look for a 3/3.2 box, the R28 rather than the R24 (280Nm torque rating rather than 240Nm) re:sump - good point.... hmmm maybe a dry sump? Wonder if the 2.5 Vectra sump would fit - IIRC it's smaller/more compact Nice low mileage donor: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130785951875

Although I'm happily playing with the Spitfire at the moment I'm also doing a bit of a thought experiment in terms of getting a Stag  for restoration/conversion. Thinking about Engine+manual gearbox. X30XE GM engine with a GM R28 (basically lifted out of an Omega) X30XE 3.0 V6: 208 hp (155 kW) @ 6000 199 lb·ft (270 N·m) @ 3400 Triumph 3.0 V8 145 bhp (108 kW) @5500 rpm 170 lb·ft (230 N·m) @3500 rpm [table] [tr][td]R[/td][td]R28[/td][td]Stag[/td][/tr] [tr][td]1[/td][td]3.807:1[/td][td]2.995:1 [/td][/tr] [tr][td]2[/td][td]2.106:1[/td][td]2.100:1 [/td][/tr] [tr][td]3[/td][td]1.335:1[/td][td]1.386:1 [/td][/tr] [tr][td]4[/td][td]1.0:1[/td][td]1.000:1 [/td][/tr] [tr][td]5[/td][td]0.814:1[/td][/tr] [/table] Leaving aside the huge issues of physically fitting it and piping it up and wiring it and arranging a prop shaft and all the millions of other things.... Thoughts? My initial thought is that 1st looks a bit on the low side gearbox wise. Power looks a bit on the hot side and torque looks good.

http://www.bell-silencer.co.uk/exhausts.html ?

Would be interested in seeing the failure reasons for the Spitfires - since that's what we intend on using in 2014! Interesting stats though - Thanks!

My Spit is exhibiting similar symptoms - so this thread is getting saved to help me when I get around to trying to diagnosing it!!

Dicky_Blighter wrote:Been done for few years on agricultural and other heavy machinery - airport tugs are a good example, driver can spin round 180 degrees in his seat complete with controls when pushing or hooking up to plane then back again to pull and steering changes to suit direction he is facing. Would make reversing with a trailer a lot easier if you could do that in your car. Or when the missus is trying to park  ;D Old JCB 3CIII's are "fly by hydraulic" with no physical connection between steering and wheels - I believe that they changed the system to power assisted to meet UK legal requirements for road registered vehicles in later models (they legally had to have some physical connection between steering and wheels)

3517 wrote:The original tires that came on my new '73 from the factory were 155x13. That was a US car though. Repair operation manual for 1500 Spitfire also quotes 155SR13 (at 21 front and 26 rear psi)

So.... on the way to P+P at the Old Stone Trough last night, the tail lights, indicators and dash lights stopped working. Got back earlier, took the centre dash out..... dash lights working. Got out, looked round the back.... tail lights on! Grrrrr. Let's play a game of "hunt the lose connection"

What are "standard rims" ? I'm afraid my Spit has minilite-a-like alloys. I tend to check the manufacturer spec. when I look for stuff like this. I recently got some Nexen CP661 175x70x13 fitted (£42 quid each fitted and balanced) 175/70R13 82 T 1047 475 44 4.5 ~ 6.0 5.0 177 7.0 576 22.7 7.2 9/32 261 BSW 400 A B So according to the Nexen spec sheet these will fit - 4.5" to 6.0" rims, with 5.0" being the "recommended standard" As for tyre clearance/fitment etc I'm afraid I can't advise!