PatK

Hi All, my Vitesse is fitted with Strombergs 150 CDS, the front carb is 3224F and rear 3224R. Only the front carb has a fuel enrichment supply, the rear one is fed the same enrichment supply via a tube. On this carb fuel enrichment is supplied by a circular disc with calibrated holes, from small to large and this disc allows fuel to the intake side of both carbs, the fuel being drawn directly from the float chamber. When the choke cable is pulled, the disc rotates and supplies more fuel the further the choke is pulled out. To match the increasing amount of fuel supplied, the carb throttle has also to be opened to get the right fuel air ratio, and this is achieved by a cam attached to the disc spindle, which opens the throttle more as more fuel is supplied. The amount that the throttle is opened is governed by an adjustable bolt that contacts the fuel disc cam, and this is my problem as I can find no reference in any of my manuals on how to set up the clearance between the bolt and the cam ( the cam is attached to the choke cable as shown in the photo below as is the small bolt whose head is contacting the cam.) I would very much appreciate any help that you wise people can give me. Thanks Patrick

Thanks Ian, very helpful, as you say try one thing at a time. Air filters tomorrow and plugs next when they arrive. I will keep you posted.

Thanks Clive, engine oil is in the dashpots ( 20/50 ) and I regularly check these. Once I have tried running it without the air filters then hopefully I will be able to see if that is where the problem lies

Thanks Tony, I have one of the Club's glass filters which can be removed and cleaned. I did this recently as there was some small black sediment in it, but not much and it was not blocked, but I cleaned it just in case.

Thanks Ian. It has been there for a while, which was one of the reasons that I sent the Lucas distributor to the Distributor Doctor to rebuild, and that was the last thing that was changed.

Thanks Graham. I have a standard Vitesse air filter box fitted and inside it are the 2 filters, it is fed via two cold air ducts from beside the radiator. I will see if it still misfires with the filters removed and if it is worse then I will know that there is too much airflow, if pulling out the choke cures it then we are on the right track. i realise that with the filters removed the mixture will be a little weaker.

Thanks Dave, that is a most unusual fault, although I'm sure Pete has seen many more strange ones. Thanks Dave I will bear that in mind, if changing the spark plugs and removing the air filters does not cure it.

Thanks Ian and Pete, I will take the filters off tomorrow and give it a try, then if it is still like it I will go down the rubber slivers route, although I did replace my fuel hoses with Gates Barricade rubber ones, but they too may have been counterfeit. I guess the Club shop is one of the few places that you can trust

Thanks Ian, I have just done that and also ordered them from greensparkplug, as I am now unsure about ordering cheaper priced ones from e bay.

Thanks Pete, good advice as usual, I have just ordered a set of W78 plugs. What I forgot to mention in my post was that there is no misfire when revved up from idle, it only happens when the engine is under load and the accelerator is floored, and the throttle butterflies are fully opened above 3500 revs. Do you think that it could be restricted airflow in the airbag, which is fitted with e bay pancake air filters?

Thanks Paul. When the Distributor Doctor overhauled my distributor, which was fitted with the Luminition magnetronic, ignition, he checked all clearances and replaced the rotor arm with a new one and checked all the clearances. He remarked that some rotor arms ( cheap e bay ? ) sit too high and force the carbon brush in the centre of the distributor cap hard up into the cap also causing misfires, but I have checked mine and there is good clearance. The clearance between the rotor arm and the hall effect sensor is fine, so I don't think that is the problem.

Hi All, I hope that you can help with a problem that I have with my Vitesse. The engine pulls fine at lower revs but once the revs go beyond 3,500 there is a persistent misfire and failure to accelerate. This is particularly noticeable when hill climbing. After a 40 minute run, I have removed the plugs and they all appear to be fine, a light straw colour. The ignition timing is set by strobe at 13 degrees BTDC at idle with the dizzy vacuum pipe disconnected. The distributor is as new, the distributor doctor reconditioned it ( expensive ) this winter and printed out the correct ignition curves against revs and vacuum advance. The fuel flow appears fine, I cleaned the filters recently. The spark plugs are NGK BP6ES, gaps correct and the ignition is Luminition electronic with a Lucas Sports coil. I am at a loss to figure out the problem, should I change the spark plugs, they have been on the engine for a few years ? Any help would as usual be much appreciated. Many Thanks Pat

Thanks Paul, thats really clever and clear and a nice job. Thanks. Pat

Thanks Paul, nice job. I also like the cure for a sloppy accelerator cable which had bugged me for ages. Regards, Pat

Thanks Pete, that is a really neat installation, I will have a look on e bay to see if there are any similar manifolds. Regards Pat

Thanks Paul, what a clever fix, did the 5/8" bolt come as a hollow bolt or did you have to drill it out and then drill side holes for the banjoes? Many Thanks. Pat

Hi All, in the latest Courier, I saw a neat Brake Servo fitment into Peter Illingworth's Vitesse. It would appear that Peter had to drill the manifold to attach a vacuum line for the servo as the Vitesse does not have one. Would it be possible to fit a Triumph 2000 manifold that does have a servo take off point, or TR manifold etc? If so would it fit the Vitesse OK and be OK for Strombergs? Or will there be too much fettling and would it be quicker to drill the existing manifold like Peter has done? Many Thanks . Pat

Thanks Colin, I'm sure we are all waiting with bated breath to see the results and hear how it was done. Good luck and keep us all informed. Thanks. Pat

Thanks I will give that a try. Pat

Thanks Pete, so I'm looking for a white square with a question mark in the middle? I think that there was one on e bay last night. I will buy it if its still available! Thanks Pete. Pat

Words of wisdom, thanks Pete, but I reckon it would be far easier to jack it back out if its too far in! Good thought about the boot closure though. Thanks Pete. Pat

Thanks very much, yes its a later model with voltage stabiliser, so I will try 12v acrostic. Thanks. Pat

Thanks, yes I'm afraid that you are probably right, but with the great advice given here I will attempt to repair it if its broken. Thanks. Pat

Thanks Colin, I will give that a go. I was very impressed with your details of how you are attempting to cure the tub sag in your Herald convertible. I have exactly the same problem with my vitesse and I have just bought two 5"wide very heavy ratchet straps, and wii have a go in the New Year. Like yours it is the offside that is worse, but if mine keeps springing back like yours, then I will grind the paint off at the bottom and apply heat as the first measure. Thanks Colin. Pat

Thanks John, that is great advice, infact I do have a couple of multimeters, so should I check for resistance across the terminals, and if resistance is infinite, I guess that something is broken inside, but I also like your practical light bulb test and will also try that first. Your explanation of how it works is great, so if it is kaput I will take it apart, and the good news is that I do have a miniature soldering iron suitable for printed circuits, so that will do the job. Thanks again John. Pat