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Sparky_Spit

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Posts posted by Sparky_Spit

  3. Fuel pump fibre spacer - purpose?

    in Engine

    Posted

    55 minutes ago, Mjit said:

    ...and the 'needs spacer' type will fit and work without the spacer.  For a few hundred miles.  Before the pump arm fractures, at night, on the A41, and falls in to the sump.

    😢

    That's okay then... I live nowhere near the A41....😉

    Yes, I can see how that happens. After trial fitting a pump to an FM block this morning, with the sump off and a camshaft fitted,  the difference in lever action and the amount of throw is significant.

    Thanks for all the replies everyone

  4. Fuel pump fibre spacer - purpose?

    in Engine

    Posted

    What is the purpose of the 1/4" thick fibre fuel pump spacer used on later FM 1500 engines?  Is it for preventing heat transfer from the block to the pump body, or to space out the later type pump as the lever would have too great a stroke and be at risk of diaphragm damage?

    I ask as I have 2 pumps (an original AC type which I've re-furbed and a good quality generic replacement one) and 2 engines (a 1296 FD and a 1500 FM) which have been swapped around a couple of times over a period of a year or so, and I want to make sure I'm not doing any damage to either pump or cam lobe by not using the spacer. Both engine's cam lobes look okay, but I just want to check what is correct and why. Thanks in advance.

    Actually, thinking about it, is there any difference in the distance from the camshaft's centre axis and the outer face of the fuel pump mounting flange on the outside of the block with respect to FD and FM engines? 

  6. Spitfire heater blower

    in Electrical System

  7. Spitfire heater blower

    in Electrical System

    Posted

    Hi - I'm the Mike that Colin Scrapman was referring to above, who fitted the SmartCar heater blower motor to a MK3 Spitfire.  I used a PWM from China (very cheap) and used a potentiometer that also had an on/off switch incorporated into it, 1960's transistor radio style.  This meant that I only needed one hole in the dashboard to switch the blower on and adjust its speed and air output. I can't remember now how much current the motor actually drew at full chat, but it would have been about 4 or 5amps or so. The PWM I used, with its heatsink and its switch is easily up to the job and does not overheat.  The output of the blower at full blast is too much to bear in a Spitfire cabin, so its useful having an infinitely adjustable speed control.  I'll try and trawl though my eBay purchases and post up the actual unit I used.

  9. Inlet Manifold Heater Pipe Leak Repair

    in Cooling System

    Posted

    If you do use a stainless steel replacement pipe, make sure it comes with the appropriate connectors, as it is very difficult to make rubber heater hose stay put on the shiny smooth surface of the pipe.  I found that the pressure in the system was enough to slowly push the hose off the stainless pipe regardless of how tight the hose clips were done up.  Ideally, the ends need to be knurled to provide enough grip, but this is not easy (or even possible?)with stainless steel.

  10. 1500 engine fire ring recesses - how deep?

    in Engine

    Posted

    Sorry to hear that Nick, but glad it got home under its own steam... possibly quite literally?

    I've got a bit of a hang-up about head gaskets, I've had 3 go in the last 5 years or so (one on the FD and two on the FM, including the one which ate into the jigging void close to the fire ring and which I subsequently plugged) and I've even changed torque wrenches as a result in case it is out of calibration.  So I'm being ultra careful with this rebuild.

    Checking today, using your info Danny, the +40 Hepolite pistons are nicely made and fit perfectly up into the gasket's fire rings with the chamfer being just the right size to miss them with about 10thou to spare.  Feeler gauges, straight-edge, digital vernier and tiny slivers of Blu-tack worked well.

    When the crank goes in for regrind I'll get the machine shop to also check the head and block faces properly with a professional straight-edge and consider the smallest of skims if needed.

  11. 1500 engine fire ring recesses - how deep?

    in Engine

    Posted

    That's interesting Danny; something I'd never considered before. This engine now has +40 Hepolites and they protrude 10 thou up into the fire rings, but without any obvious contact. There is a very slight 45deg chamfer on the piston tops and no witness marks on the pistons nor gasket,  but I will check properly with it all dry assembled. If I've any doubt I'll pop them in the lathe and increase the chamfer a bit and re-check.  Thanks for the info.

  12. 1500 engine fire ring recesses - how deep?

    in Engine

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

    You’re not still fighting this engine are you Mike?

    Nick

    Hi Nick - yes, I've run out of excuses.  The original FD engine that I quickly put in prior to the 10CR is still doing fine, but I really want to get the 1500 sorted and back in the car. Hopefully the crank will be reground in a couple of weeks, assuming no local lockdown restrictions are imposed, and I'm starting to clean up the rest of the engine and it's components.  Fingers crossed...

  14. 1500 engine fire ring recesses - how deep?

    in Engine

    Posted

    Nigel - thanks for that, it confirms that my memory is not correct and it must be 30thou, and I'm happy now.

    Pete - I'm pretty sure the block has not been decked and I only wanted to check the depth as I wrongly thought it should be 40thou.  The gasket that came off (Payen) was fine and, out of interest only, its fire rings measured 66thou.

  19. Help with removing profile picture

    in Forum Help and Suggestions

    Posted

    Sorry yes, Signature. I've tried that Colin and it does not work for me. The picture is deleted when you do what you say above but re-appears once you look at the forum again. If I look again at the Signature settings the delete option is not there. It re-appears if you leave the site and then come back again, but it still goes through the same process again. And again and again.

    Pete - I can delete each post okay, but any new post still has the large signature picture, even though I chose a small version.

  21. modded gt6

    in My Triumph Restoration Project

    Posted

    If you are looking at getting a small Denso one as pictured a few posts above, then try agricultural dealers/suppliers when they have a sale on.  Mine is a 60A unit for a Kubota mini-digger and cost me about £20 in a local tractor dealer's spring sale. It was a few years ago now but would still be considerably cheaper than the usual sources.

  23. 1975 Spitfire 1500 Restoration

    in My Triumph Restoration Project

    Posted

    Yes, into the tail pipe of a Phoenix single pipe box.  I held it in place by drilling a 5mm hole in the underside of the tail pipe and the insert and used a stainless socket headed bolt/nut with a shakeproof washer.  

    I've also got a similar one in the exhaust of an Enfield Bullet 500 which has a straight-through Gold Star "silencer".  I needed to do something after nearly causing a horse rider to be dismounted, even though I was about 100yds away and crawling along. The insert came from Hitchcocks Motorcycles and takes the harshness and volume off the bark of a big single without losing performance.

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