Clive
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Posts posted by Clive
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4 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:
Is this the correct version? 13.75 inches, straight, with one angled end? (Reversable?)
I have no idea! I can check with a friend who is about to go home, but he can report back after checking his car.
Cheers
Clive
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That reminds me of this
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17 minutes ago, Iain T said:
Amethyst is off the table. I spoke to Aldon and they don't have any but more important it doesn't run on any later Windows software. Also it doesn't work with Ignitor 2 adaptive dwell.
So if I do want to twiddle it's sorting the dizzy out with Distributor Doctor or Aldon or Megajolt. Megajolt being the most accurate and adjustable it seems by far the best option. Its very tight for space between the front pulley and electric fan so I'd have to be very sure as to installation before I jump.
Iain
There are several 6 cylinder cars with megajolt or EFI, so it can be done. Nick Jones would be helpful here.
I used megajolt on my old zetec spit, and it is fitted to the MK3 I have (although that engine is coming out complete).
It is easy enough to work with, although the EDIS for a 6 cylinder will be a tad tricky to find at a reasonable price.
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9 hours ago, Paul Amey said:
Right, so last night I was in the pub with some friends and the old chap said that in the seventies his mate bought a Vitesse and inverted the rear leaf spring . This was done apparently to prevent the rear wheels from going in to negative camber. Has anyone heard of this before and is it a good idea?
Yep, I think there was a magazine article at that time. But it is something like the 3rd or 4th leaf down, it flattens the spring a bit.
Better option is a courier spring (stronger and much flatter). Or as Johny says, get the spring reset by a proper spring company (they often refuse new springs as the steel is not the correct grade, but OE ones they should have no issues with)
The simple answer of course is to just use a lowering block....
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3 hours ago, dougbgt6 said:
My engine will be 50 years old next year, I doubt there's much on it that's optimum.
Thinking about it, who on here does have optimally tuned engines? JohnD, Clive, one or two others, maybe JohnH? I set my timing by ear, drive it, adjust it, repeat. Electronic ignition means I don't have to mess around with the points and spend more time driving. People put K&N air filters on because they're shiny and then spend hours trying to find why it's not running so well. My advice is spend less time installing bling or searching for optimum and spend more time driving and enjoying. Doug
Not sure my spitfire engine is optimally tuned, I keep tweaking it...
But you are spot on about not fiddling. IF anybody wants to modify their engine, they really need to know all the implications first. An the fact many things are just a royal PITA (eg swapping air filters, the case here). Believe it or not, I reckon keeping a Triumph engine standard, or using standard parts, is a good idea. (ie if you want a hotter cam, use the cam/head/distributer off the best engine in the range) so it is all factory stuff. Electronic ignition is good, and admittedly programmable is better IF done well.
It is just like adjustable shocks. A dreadful idea for the vast majority of people. Then again, teh cheap black shocks are not great (though seem better than what they used to be about 10 years ago)
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1 hour ago, DanMi said:
Why were they shot? did they acid dip the head before realising the tubes were aluminium. If they were not shot when they went in, you should not be paying for them to be replaced. There would be very little that would destroy those tubes except acid dipping, which should not be done if the component has aluminium parts
A hot Hydroxide wash will eat aluminium too. Probably quicker than acid. But again, they should have known.....
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5 minutes ago, johny said:
Going by their website I think the one Steve has, being non standard, is a current custom made item offered by Canley. As such it could be in good condition and so hopefully avoid the problems described🤞
I doubt it very much. No way would anybody make that type of prop. I think Canley props (made by Dave mac I think) all have sliding joints, The strap drive is universally hated.
I expect Steves prop is a shortened herald prop.
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2 hours ago, johny said:
Great, should do the job as has flexible coupling and looks right length. Not sure what its from though as dont think a standard prop was ever produced by Triumph like that...
Quite a number of heralds had them. Dreadful things if they go out of balance....
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8 minutes ago, DanMi said:
I really don't see the point in sun visors for a MK1-3. They were optional extras and the screen is so small anyway that they are not needed when the roof is on and completely pointless when it is off.
I have the same opinion on the later spitfires too.
I just have my CT sunstrip, and like Colin, a cap for keeping the sun out of my eyes.
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41 minutes ago, johny said:
Unfortunately theres no other standard prop thats going to work so the only alternative is a custom made job....
Bearing in mind the issues with flange sizes, balance and the worries of a worn sliding joint, a new one may not be a daft idea. Certainly compared to the cost of having new ujs, shortened and balanced.
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10 minutes ago, NonMember said:
I think that's correct for a 3-rail with overdrive in a Herald but it's not quite right for a single rail. You'll probably find the sliding spline has just enough range to accommodate it but it's not ideal.
Spitfire I - IV with Overdrive 38" 0.97m Spitfire 1500 38" 0.97m so the implication that a single rail non od box is the exact same length as 3 rail non od.
Midget never had an OD box.
From experience a vitesse non OD prop is indeed an inch too long for a single rail OD box. As I needed the car for work the next day I spaced the engine/box forward an inch,
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I think a vitesse non od prop is the correct length. Complicated by the fact the gearbox uses the 3/8 bolts, and the original 4.11 diff 5/16 at a different PCD.
Or have you (wisely) changed the diff?
Changing a UJ on a prop will likely put it out of balance. Swapping a flange and UJ even worse. (and yest on a dolomite I cahnged all 3 UJs and no issues with balance, it seems the small chassis cars are very sensitve to prop balance)
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All the rev counters are teh same, 4 or 6 cylinder. So thay are not rare.
Generally if you twist the rev counter and teh needle moves freely, it is OK. Or at least not seized.
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17 hours ago, peterthegreat said:
hello everyone,
For the past ccouple of years I have been struggling with my Spit mk3 breaks pulling to the left. When doing reasonable speeds 30 mph or so there is not much 'pull' resulting in only a few inches to the left when the breaks are locked up. At higher speeds then the pull becomes quite a lot and just not correct to an extent it would be unhealthy to take on something like the M25
So here goes the list of things I have changed (not all for the break pulling!)
- Recon Chasis/top/bottom wishbones
- Stub axels/ trunion and ball joint
- EBC slotted disks and yellow stuff pads (they didnt have any green and said the yellow was even better, including normal day /lesure use)
- New recon calipers (14's) from TRGB
- New kuffner break pipes all round + new girling braded flexible hoses
- New seals etc in the master cylinder
And it still pulls.
So I have
- made sure the caliper pisons move in and out ok, seem to have similar resistance when I push them back with a couple of screwdrivers by hand - so they are not the normal stuck state
- tried moving the pads from near side to off side (its only done a few 100's of miles) - no change - assume its not the pads
- tried moving the whole front hub inc disk and pads to the other side- no change still pulls to the left - assume its not the disks or pads or items with the hub
- measured if the disk was in the centre of the calipers - result is 0.006" difference - seems negilbile
- Checked the 4 way pipe junction/spliter for dirt or something jamming one line - not the junction
- replaced the near side break pipe again, just for good luck (it seemed a bit long anyway)
- Checked the pipe from 4 way junction to off side - no kinks I can find
- got my friendly MOT man to put in on his rolling road and it shows the left about 10-20% stronger than the right
Only thing I haven't changed temporarily is the calipers, as I they are handed. So even if they were refurbs 2 years ago perhaps something has happened to them?
What do you think any other ideas before a fork out another £100?
thanks
Peter
Have you checked or swapped the flexible hoses?
Has this problem always been there or started after fitting all the new stuff?
Is this single line brakes or split?
Lastly, a local bought new drums for his vitesse. Obviously out of round, sent back and eventually sourced some NoS ones. So new brake drums are now a real issue.
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On teh herald/vitesse chassis I have welded around the diff, I have always drilled a 10mm hole at teh lowest point. This allows a good wax protection to be sprayed in, and any water to drain out.
On teh tub, I used to check the car after heavy rain, and if I found puddles, frill a 6mm hole at the deepest point.
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1 hour ago, steveo said:
Used Gunk years ago but the new stuff doesn't seem so good so now use Lidl washing up liquid & hot water give it a scrub with a paint brush leave for 5 minutes then pressure wash it off.
The real old oil & goo on the front of the Herald chassis was done with white sprit, after washing out paint brushes I save it and use it for cleaning bad grime, just got to put an old tray or something under it to stop it getting on the tarmac drive or in the drains.
Cheers, Steve.
Try washing powder, that is a much stronger detergent. Mix it into a paste and it will dissolve tarmac, and even fibreglass resin if it hasn't set.
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6 hours ago, Fergusminto said:
I have a Dolomite 1500TC engine in my 1972 Spitfire. Info on ignition timing is very “iffy” on the web so I need to ask the experts here what the ignition timing should be. It has been set at -14 for a few years but in cold weather, starting can be a nightmare. She seems happier at -10 but can anyone give me a definitive setting. Engine number is YC71778HE
Thanks, Bruce
There is no definitive answer, as the engine/distributer/fuel are all different to when the cars were built.
Start at 10 degrees, then keep adding more advance and driving until it pinks. Then back a smidge. That will be the "best" timing you can achieve without serious fiddling with teh advance curve etc.
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13 hours ago, Firefly said:
Were the tyres made in China ? 😛😀
If you are bored sometime, check out who ultimately owns virtually every tyre manufacturer in the world...... a few exceptions, or were when I looked a couple of years ago.
As Peter says, it is not where something is made, but all about the standards it is made to. China can make stuff as good as anybody, but also they can turn out stuff at any price point.
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2 hours ago, mark powell said:
Zodiac had a Raymond Mays conversion with triple SU's and 6 branch manifold. And yes, Galaxie convertible. Canadian import, I believe. Should have been a 360 cu in, but someone had fitted 302 cu in. Shared the same PCD wheel stud measurement as the Zodiac, so sometimes swapped the wheels over!
Did you like teh Galaxy?
I ask as I drove one in teh states a few years ago. A friend had one from new (69 or 70 I think) and loved it. But I rated it as possibly the worst car I had driven, zero steering feel, handled like a boat adrift on the sea and probably mighty quick. The bit I did like was the bench setas, there were 6 of us in it no problem at all.
The other dreadful vehicle which I rate as bad was a series 1 landrover, but that was down to its total lack of comfort. I understand they are useful, but at a cost!
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Some things I need:
A late spit swingspring with the mounting boxPair of spitfire radius arms for short driveshafts (mk 1-early mkIV)
mk3 or IV airboxPossibly a pair of herald/spit driveshafts complete.
mk3 spitfire rear bumper irons
Please send me a message if you can help.
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1 minute ago, johny said:
Yes ok I get it as the airflow restriction at partial opening is the carb butterfly not the filter but when fully open its down to filter/porting/valves👍Those power curves are a bit confusing then as dont they show an increase at all revs?
It is extremely rare t find a set of proper comparison power/torque curves.
They do a before, chuck filters/manifolds etc on, tune it to perfection then show the difference. Really you want to see is the car fully tuned in std form, then add things one at a time, but tuning to match. Then you could see where the improvements happen. Of course, that is expensive top do and may not help sell as much tat.
There were proper articles years ago by John Thomason. He tuned a spit in std spec, put a sports exhaust on and retuned, then added a manifold and tuned again, showing where the benefits were. He did the same for a single HS4 vs a pair on a spitfire (tiny difference in power). Years ago I took part in a magazine article for one of teh magazines. My "thrown together" 2.5 engine made 2bhp less but a little more torque than a jigsaw 2.5 "bells and whistles" engine with triple strombergs. All a tad embarassing for the owner who had spent a fortune with jigsaw.
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2 minutes ago, johny said:
If a different (richer) needle is needed to match the increased airflow then there must be more power being produced as doesnt more fuel + air = bigger bang?
I would have thought the power curve would proportionally increase over standard across the complete rev range...
The same power and mixture can be achieved with the std filter. At 3000rpm on the open road a spitfire may be making 30bhp. The filter will make no difference at all. The throttle will be a little more open with a paper filter, but the power and economy will be identical (as long as the needle profiles are spot on). The same applies right up until the paper filter reaches its limit. The paper filter just needs a little more pedal.
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16 minutes ago, johny said:
Wait a minute though, surely a K&N cant do both? Change fuelling across the rev range but only change airflow at max revs...
No, it allows more airflow across the entire range, but the paper filter can match that right up until the paper filter is maxxed out, at which point the K+N has the advantage. But because the K+N does allow more airflow across teh range, it needs a different needle.
So the only time the K+N has the advantage is at very high rpm and going for max power. Which precisely 3% of triumph drivers actually try.
(I made the 3% up, but it probably isn't far off accurate)
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If you consider what a free flow filter does for a moment, most people will realise they are a waste.
Teh only place they will add to a cars performance is at maximum airflow, above what the paper filters will flow. So we are talking 6000rpm? With teh added complication that the fuelling is altered right the way across the rev range, which is not great for the vast majority of people.
And the bigger downside is you are loosing the cold air intake....
So yes, I run a K+N cone filter on my injected car. But I also have an AFR gauge, so it is tuned appropriately, and automatically tweaks the fuelling as I drive. Setting a carb car up on a rolling road is rather harder, and requires somebody with lots of experience.
Thinking about it, who on here does have optimally tuned engines? JohnD, Clive, one or two others, maybe JohnH? I set my timing by ear, drive it, adjust it, repeat. Electronic ignition means I don't have to mess around with the points and spend more time driving. People put K&N air filters on because they're shiny and then spend hours trying to find why it's not running so well. My advice is spend less time installing bling or searching for optimum and spend more time driving and enjoying. 
My diff is bleeding!
in Drivetrain & Rear Axle
Posted
And it is a handy place to store the wheels.
I recently had my Dolomite up on tall stands, just over 2ft. And yes, I had 2 stacks of wheels/tyres, one towards each end. People forget that axle stands are vulnerable to lateral movements, and I quite like staying alive with all limbs intact. Likewise, doing som ebreaks on tegh wifes 22 year old MX5, a wheel under each sill, and an axle stand. Plus teh trolly jack was just touching the diff case. I try to mitigate risks...