citybreeze

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've gone back to do a thorough search through the wiring and I cannot see any evidence of an external resistor being fitted by previous owners. I was quite surprised that new coils are not as expensive as I was expecting, so I think I'll just buy a new Lucas DLB 105 or possibly the Accuspark equivalent for about £25 or so. I'll probably swap out the condenser, rotor, points, and cap, just in case they've been damaged. I've got new spares lying around anyway. Cheers all!

Good evening everyone. I am looking for advice as to whether I've got the correct/incorrect coil fitted to my Spitfire or not, and what the remedy might be, or what to use if upgrading to electronic ignition. This is for a 1969 Spitfire mk3, FD 1300 engine, with a Delco type distributor and standard points setup. I have a Bosch 0221119030 model coil fitted. It says 12v on the label, but I think it might be a 'ballasted' coil so maybe not 12v (?) as the Label says "use only with external resistance 1.8 ohm or electronic ignition". I don't believe there is any external resistor fitted, nor the black/pink cable I've seen mentioned on other threads. Everything is taken apart at the moment while I'm painting the engine bay, so I can't wire anything up or test with a multimeter. So, I think I've possibmy been running a 'ballasted' coil without any external resistor; would this cause damage/running issues? I've had issues in the past with an uneven idle and lack of power above about 50mph, could there be a link? Can anyone recommend what coil I should have fitted? Would it be better to buy an external resistor to add to the existing coil, or to buy a new 'non-ballasted' coil? The current one looks (externally) to be in good condition. I'm considering putting in an AccuSpark electronic ignition module at some point. Would this alter which coil is needed/recommended? I wouldn't want to buy a new one now only to have to replace it again later when changing to electronic ignition, if at all possible. Thanks in advance, Matt

Hi all, The through bolt is there, as per the diagram above. I think it just caught the light on my photo making it nearly invisible. Here it is in situ.. As for torquing up the spring eye and other bolts on the ground, I had a quick try yesterday and I found it to be very difficult to get my torque wrench (and my arms) in the right place with the car on the ground. Anybody have any tips? I was considering jacking the car slightly, attaching the torque wrench and spanner with something to hold them on, then lowering the car and tightening everything. Though this would mean the suspension wouldn't be 'settled' when I was tightening.

Cheers Pete Got it all done this afternoon, the trickiest bit was lining everything up to put the new (longer) studs through. I've loaded the car up with plenty of weights in the boot and behind the seats, and left a big bag of sand on the drivers seat. Hopefully it'll settle a bit with that lot in it while I'm away over the weekend. I'll then retourque everything, and check it again after a few runs.

Apologies for resurrecting this old thread, but I've only just got around to fitting the rear spring now that the good weather is back. I bought the Canley swing spring conversion kit, and renewed all the front suspension parts before winter set in (I don't have a garage to work in). The spring itself looks pretty straightforward to fit, although I cant see any markings to say which is the front edge, any clues as to where I should be looking? I'm also fitting a half-inch spacer block. By the shape of it, it appears like it is supposed to sit directly on top of the diff, and under the spring, is this correct? I'm concerned that the locating stud on the underside of the bottom leaf will then only locate into the spacer block, and is not long enough to sit in its place on the diff. Is this a problem? Many thanks

I replaced the jets not so long ago and centralised them, though it's possible they've been knocked or damaged in some way since then I suppose. I will re-do it and see if this makes any difference. I think water in the fuel is less likely, the seals on the filler cap are good and I always (where possible) keep the car dry, so no water to leak in. In any case, the tank was getting a bit low, so I've put a fresh 10-litres of Shell V-Power in this evening, Ill see if that does anything. I do have a timing light, I'll get it out tomorrow and see if I can see anything there. Not that I have noticed. The exhaust smell seems to react to the carb settings as normal (petrol-y smell and black smoky for rich, sharp smell and light colour for lean) but changing these settings don't appear to make any difference to the idle/misfire.

It's quite possible that the timing is off at the moment, I've moved it back and forth quite a bit to see if It has any effect on the poor running (none that I've noticed), i'll reset it back to the mark I made before I made any changes (about 8 degrees BTDC I think). I had issues with the fuel pump a while back (in a previous post) as I originally fitted the first with the lever the wrong side of the cam lobe. I've now got a new one fitted, and made very sure the lever is sat in the right place on the correct side of the lobe (between the cam and outer casing). I can see through the glass filter just after the pump that fuel supply is good. If anything, I was a bit worried that the fuel supply was too good as the filter was always full, showing there is good pressure going up to the carbs. The pump I have fitted is this one: Link as it was the only one available at the time. It's a bit larger than the one I took off, but is still listed as suitable for the Spitfire on the Moss website. I replaced and cleaned the needle valves and floats recently, and cleaned everything through, and the fuel hose is all new. Whenever I take the top off the float chambers, they are just over half full, about to the bottom of the floats, with no evidence of overflowing through the breather hole. So, I don't think they are being overwhelmed by excess pressure or flow from the slightly bigger pump. As for air getting in, this is something I thought I had put to bed. I've had high-idling problems before (A few previous posts), though nothing with misfires as serious as this, which was largely solved by replacing the manifold gasket with a Payen item, sealing wityh blue Hylomar, replacing the gaskets between the carbs, heat shield, and manifold, and sealing all those with Loctite 574. I've sprayed carb cleaner around all these joints when the car was running well, and it made no change. Trying it now, it still appears to make no change, but it's really hard to tell with the engine behaving how it is at the moment. When I replaced manifold a while back, I also replaced any seized studs I came across. Everything was refitted back up to the correct torque settings and seemed absolutely fine. The car ran smoothly after, and this problem has only developed fairly recently. Could it be anything other than air leak or fuel supply? Swapping the fuel pump won't be an issue if it's that, but I really don't fancy taking the manifolds off an doing that job again unless I absolutely have to. The videos are quite large file sizes, which Is why I put them as a link to them on Vimeo rather than post directly on here. I could upload them here if some are struggling to view them? Cheers Matt

The videos show what it was like with the engine warm, where it had settled down a bit, the variations are much wilder than that when cold. It rarely gets bad enough for the engine to actually stall (happened twice in a period of about 20-mins of idling) but it gets close to stalling often. It also hesitates when I try to rev the engine. I also had the occasional backfire, and sometimes blowback through the carbs when letting off the revs. I checked the throttle plates when I had the carbs off about a week ago, and all seemed fine. I've got another video, showing from the carbs side and what happens when I try to rev it, if that helps: Video 3

Hi everyone, I've got a really confusing idling issue that I just cannot find the solution to. It's on a Mk3 Spitfire (FD engine) 1300. The engine seems to have developed an irregular misfire and/or very rough idle (please see the two videos below, as they show it better than I can explain!) which I cannot seem to remedy, no matter what I do. The revs can vary wildly (sometimes as much as between 1500-3000rpm) running fast or nearly stalling, with no apparent pattern as to when it will/won't misfire. I have swapped in and out various components (list below) and re-set and adjusted the timing, mixture, and idle speed screw settings every which way I think I can with no results. There is good supply of fuel to the carbs, and the car has run well on this same tank of fuel before (so I don't think it's contaminated) and a good spark from each plug. If I had to describe it (and I am clutching at straws at this point), I would say it seems like the timing is maybe 'wandering', with the time of spark meaning the odd late/early/missed detonation. It's an AC Delco distributor. I don't have much knowledge about distributors, but could the centrifugal weights sticking cause this sort of issue? I haven't had chance to get my timing light out yet to see if there is anything noticeable there. Video 1 (Revs) Video 2 (Engine bay) I have swapped around and used various different combinations of the following components: - HT Leads (old set & new club supplied set) - Plugs (original Champion N9YCC & new Bosch WR7DC+) - Condenser (original & two new ones) - Points (original & club supplied set) - Distributor cap (original & club supplied) - Rotor arm (original & club supplied) - Coil (original & new Bosch) I have recently replaced the following: - Float chamber needle valves and floats. Also cleaned thoroughly, breather hole clear, valves moving freely, appears to be good fuel flow. - Air filters. I have reverted back to standard from the K&Ns I had fitted before, until I can get things running right. I have been running without air filters while trying to get the idle to settle. - Cable from coil to points (had no effect) - Cable from distributor base plate to outer casing (replacing the cloth covered original, had no effect) I have also done the following engine jobs, but before this problem arose (so hopefully won't be a part of it): - Replace manifold gasket and seal with blue Hylomar - Replace and seal around carb/manifold gaskets with Loctite 574 - Thoroughly clean and check carbs, needles, jets, etc. - Fuel pump - All fuel lines, mostly rigid copper line with Codan R9 flexible hoses in the necessary places. - In-line fuel filters (glass), one after tank, one after pump. Both appear full with good fuel flow. Any thoughts greatly appreciated... Matt

I haven't ruled out the fuel pump or restriction of fuel flow by the filters just yet, waiting for parts to arrive to swap in. I have the H6 needles already, so may go up to BN if the problem remains. I assumed the AUD257 carbs were standard as they were what was fitted when I bought the car. Which carbs should be on there? The exhaust on there does look to be stainless steel, but original pattern. So maybe it is one of the ones with less baffling. If I get chance at the weekend, I may put the standard airbox back on and see what happens.

I have the AUD257 carbs fitted to an otherwise standard FD 1300 engine, standard exhaust. The SU website has the red springs (6oz?) listed as standard equipment, which is why went one up to the 8oz Yellow springs. The original equipment needle is listed as BO type, and I believe the H6 was listed as one up from this, reccommended for use with free flow filters and uprated exhaust. Maybe the H6 needles are still not rich enough? Is the ABM needle richer towards the top end (position 3) than the H6? Is it worth getting 2 or 3 pairs of progressively richer needles, and using trial and error to get the best match? Or does anybody have a needle they'd reccommended based on their personal experience, as listings from different sources seem to reccommended different setups.

There is still a little bit of 'go' before the power splutters away, until I'm going about 60mph, then any further pressing of the accelerator doesn't do a lot. I'll try pulling the choke out next time I take it for a drive to see what happens. I'll maybe set the carbs to be a little too rich as idle too, to see if that evens things out further up the range. As for the needles and springs, I have fitted the stronger 8oz Yellow springs and 'H6' needle as Moss recommends for use with upgraded filters. One thought I had though: I have fitted higher flow air filters, but still have the standard diameter exhaust system fitted. Will this cause a problem with too much back pressure? Maybe the exhaust can't be cleared through the narrow pipe in time and is affecting the combustion of the next cycle at higher revs? Or am I overestimating just how much air can be pulled through a set of pancake filters? The exhaust on there is fairly new, So I hadn't planned on upgrading until I'd had a little more use out of it! I've also ordered a new pair of float needle valves. The current ones seem fine to my (uneducated) eye, but can't hurt to swap in some new ones to see if that makes any difference.

I have a couple of in-line plastic fuel filters, one in the boot just after the tank, one just after the pump. They were cheap eBay items, and I do remember thinking the internal diameter looked a little bit smaller than it should, even before I clamped them in place. I'll whip those out and replace with a short section of copper line to see if that improves things. If so, I'll get filters with metal spouts. I've checked the float needles, and flow seems good. I have a pair of K&N pancake filters fitted. I have fitted the richer H6 needle and yellow springs to suit. I recently replaced both jets, but the problem existed the same before I did that. As for pressure, I have a vacuum gauge somewhere which might do fuel pressure. I'll dig it out later and have a look. I know it's hard to do visually, but it doesn't look like it's kicking fuel out with much force (viewing at entry to fuel filter) when I rev it, but it revs well. Obviously I can't see what's going on when it's under load though! So to start with, I'll swap out the filters and replace with (another) new pump to see if anything changes.

I removed the new pump, and the rocker lever is snapped off (see picture) and is probably sitting somewhere in the base of the block (hopefully well out of the way). That'll explain why there was no pumping, I must have fitted it wrong and broken it. I put the original pump (recently overhauled) back on, using the directions above, and everything is working. I still have the original problem however, which is a lack of top end acceleration and power under load. It accelerates well in 1st and 2nd up to about 30/40mph. Trying to pull from 30-50 or accelerate above 60 results in some hesitation, or a slight misfire/backfire type lurch and pop, and little to no increase in speed. The engine runs beautifully and revs well on the driveway and is set to the right mixture according to my colourtune. While the pump is working, i can never see much more than a fast trickle coming through at that the in-line filter immediately after the pump. So I'm concerned that not enough fuel getting through might still be the problem. Recently replaced all fuel lines, cleaned the tank, and replaced with fresh v-power. I'm fairly sure the fuel isn't stale, as I got it at a service station Shell off the A1. I reckon they sell quite a bit of it. I recently re-replaced the manifold gasket and sealed with blue Hylomar, and sealed the carb/manifold joint with loctite 574. No evidence of any leaks at either when spraying around those areas. Recently cleaned and regapped all the plugs (only a month old anyway), have a new Bosch coil, new vacuum advance unit and hose, checked all points, rotor arm, etc. Refitted my old condenser too, didn't make a noticeable difference. Can't find any problems on the ignition side. Other than a weak fuel pump, could there be any other reasons for this lack of power?

It's a 1300 'FD' engine. No spacer block with either pump as far as I can see. Is the gap between the cam and the inside of the block quite narrow? As in, should it be a bit difficult to push into place? I'll have another go tomorrow, and I'll try to hold the rocker arm in as close to the inside of the block as possible this time. Thanks for all the help.

Hi again. New day new problem, I'm having a problem with fuel pumps this time, in that they are refusing to pump any fuel when the engine is running. Both work fine on the external primer lever. The first pump was working ok, until I took it off to renew the fuel lines, and I decided to clean and overhaul the pump. Back on the car, it worked fine when pumped manually, but was not doing it's job with the engine running. I assumed I'd cocked up the overhaul somehow, so bought a new one. Same deal with new pump. I can pump fuel using the manual lever, but it won't run off engine power. Both have the same shape rocker arm to run off the cam. My initial thought was that I'd fitted the pumps incorrectly so the rocker arm was not engaging, but after some fiddling it looks like there is only one way they fit. Hook it under and bolt it in place. I don't know how I check whether or not the rocker is engaging with the cam, any tips?

I have ordered a replacement control box from Canleys, for less than I paid for the one from Rimmers. A little annoyed that it's failed after only a month, during which time the car has been used only about 5 times for short journeys. I'll speak to them about sending it back. The wires going into connector B on the right, with the piggyback connector, are how it was connected when I bought the car. The wire with red insulation tape over it is brown underneath that, though I can't remember what it's connected to. I will investigate this evening to see what it does.

Having read that article and looked at those tests, I think you are right, it's the control box (or at least the settings). I have the RB340 cb, or part number GEU6605. I think it is the 'cut in' operating too soon, and the battery is then discharging through the dynamo which I assume is causing the heat/smoking. I hadn't noticed this happening before as the battery I had on there was flat (has been since before I replaced the control box) until I charged it over the weekend. So now that there is some charge in there to discharge through the dynamo, the fault/incorrect setting has revealed itself! I will investigate tomorrow to confirm. Once again, many thanks for your help. Would have taken me forever to figure out.

Thanks Richard, To be honest, I did not know there was any adjustment needed with the control box. I just bought a new one from Rimmers, bolted it straight on, and connected it up in the same way as the old one. I did clean the connectors up with a wire brush, but that's it. I'll consult the WSM and see if any adjustments are required. I believe all the wiring is original. I can't see any breaks, but it's possible one has occurred causing a short somewhere within the loom. I might try rewiring the connections from the control box to see if that solves things if it turns out not to be the new control box itself.

Hi. I seem to have developed a potentially dangerous problem with my dynamo that I can't explain. I've had some problems with starting and running recently, which I initially thought was fuel delivery related, but this afternoon I noticed an odd (not fuel) smell in the engine bay. The dynamo was hot and smoking lightly, so I immediately stopped the engine. It continued to make a bit of a crackling sound and produce smoke (had the fire extinguisher on standby at this point) before I realised I'd left the ignition on. I turned that off, and disconnected battery. After it cooled, I removed the dynamo and replaced it with an old one I had on hand. I only got as far as turning the ignition on before a little bit of smoke started coming out. Again, I disconnected the battery and left it to cool. To me, it seems like the battery might be somehow overloading the alternator in some way? Dynamo is connected the only way it can, with large spade connector (brown/yellow) to large 'D' connector, and smaller one (brown/green) to smaller 'F' connection. In terms of changes I have made recently which could have affected things, I've done the following; - Replaced coil with Bosch one about a week ago. Wired connected as per old one. -Replaced control box (after testing this and dynamo using method described in WSM) about a month ago. Wired up as per old control box (see pictures) The only other thing I've done is charge the battery (off the vehicle) which was showing 3/4 charge when I put it back on. It's very odd as I've had the car running fine and well with the wiring in this configuration (which i believe is correct) for a while, and this seems like a new fault. I haven't made any significant changes to the wiring or anything like that. Does anybody have any ideas? It's on a negative earth mk3 Spitfire 1300.

I managed to find what I think is the same tubing on an Italian website, and ran it through a translator.... Chemical use could include fuel I suppose?

I've been following this thread with interest, as I've been slowly replacing the tired hoses in my engine bay with some new stuff I bought on Amazon, and seeing those terrible pictures in The Courier. Finally got around to checking it today, it's marked 'rated unleaded R6' but this marking has come off in places where it has come into contact with fuel. So that's now gone in the bin. I decided to check the rest of my fuel lines back to the tank, and it's all this clear/yellow stuff pictured below. only markings I can find are 'RAGNO CR PER ALIMENTI'. Does this look like an approved type of fuel hose to anyone? Or should I be annoyed with whichever previous owner fitted it? I've ordered a few metres of the proper Codan stuff mentioned earlier to replace the lot. This time with an inline filter before the pump, as that was absolutely crammed with crap. I might put in one of those taps in the boot too, as an anti-theft device.

Success! I think! As a few of my parts orders arrived today, I did a few jobs this afternoon; Replaced the jets, fitted new gaskets to top of float chambers, fitted new vacuum hose, slackened off and readjusted all choke and throttle spindle connections. After that, the car wouldn't start, so I reset the carbs to factory settings and voila! It now runs reasonably smoothly at about 900rpm, with the idle screws engaged about a turn in. I think it still needs a bit more adjustment to the mixture to be its best, but at least it's within the realms of normal running it last. I'm going to take it out for a run later and see if the lack of top end power issue has been fixed too, now that the vacuum advance isn't sticking. Not sure exactly which of the changes fixed the problem, but I'm very happy that it's done! Many thanks to everyone for all your advice and suggestions.

I've tried fast idle screws in and out, choke cable connected and disconnected, doesn't seem to make a difference to base idle, unless I pull the choke out of course. The pedal not returning fully was not something I had considered, I'll check that tonight. I put new throttle return springs on yesterday as these looked tired, but hasn't made a difference though. I think I'll dismantle, clean and re-fit all the linkages to make sure there isn't something stuck too.

I have put some small washers in and bent the condenser bracket back, so now everything moves freely. It would have taken me forever to figure that out! I have played with the timing, and it seems to run smoothest at just before TDC, I'm guessing very roughly that its about 4-degrees BTDC. While it's smooth, I still have the issue of the idle being too fast despite idle screws being all the way out. So I haven't taken it out on the road yet to see if the lack of top end power has been resolved. I have sprayed carb cleaner around the manifold gasket and carb/heat-shield/manifold area and cannot identify any air leaks. My next job will be to check the throttle plates are closing correctly, then it'll be back to trying to trying to set the carbs up, again! Other than an air leak, is there much else which could cause the fast idle?