Iain T

Could it be a throttle issue? Something not returning or stuck? I remember when I first bought my car the tickover was high and I tried to reduce it at the carb but discovered the cable wasn't snagging! The first of many many problems............. Iain

I believe a 20W50 behaves as a 20 grade when cold, for easy starting, then 50 (thicker) when hot. It's going to be trial and error but at least it gives the car a blast! On another note I changed the oil, the Heritage(?) one from the club bought at Duxford, and noticed the pressure is higher. From cold pressure is 90psi! I now seem to have developed an old car dribble of nice clean oil in the catch tray🥺. More bloomin' digging around to find where its coming from....... Iain

Heavier oil is a quick and simple solution but the engine/carbs must be up to temp to fully trial. Various oil viscosity/temperature is a nightmare. I'll report back. Iain

My thoughts exactly, easy to change and the sun's out a nice day for a drive!

They do indeed. Been for an Italian tune and holding at a constant 4500rpm the afr reads 14-14.5 so actually OK? It seems as though it goes lean on acceleration at higher revs therefore spring or heavier dashpot oil change?

I think I need to check if the air piston is rising to the top before I get to high revs. Difficult to do in my carpark so I'll take it some place I won't annoy the neighbours. If it is then it could be solved by spring or clamp weight. If it isn't rising too early then its needle twiddlin or change. The 6A needle tapers more from the 8th position on down to 0.050" for 11 to 13 positions. BP and Shell will be happy!

Another variant into the pot, where's that bottle of rum! Wouldn't that then make the low rev too rich? I will try the 7B needles to see if the slightly more end taper has the desired effect at constant higher revs. On WOT it's fine until the revs build up. Trying to alter the taper on a needle and matching a pair is an art form I don't really want to try.

Pete, I have the standard springs fitted. I do have the lighter springs but then that would make it even weaker. The third spring rate for a CD Stom is 3 times the force of mine (120g vs over 300g) and seems way too strong. But what do I know.....not a lot! Perhaps they would work? Clamp rings? What are they?

One for the technical gurus. I took the car out for the first time in a few weeks and it ran fine but still (according to the afr gauge) running weak at over 3500 on acceleration. Tickover is ok at 700rpm and around 13.5 afr. I have 6S needles which have much more taper than the standard 6AC to cope with the better air flow of my head etc. I do have a pair of 7B and 6J needles but they are narrower in the first half and would make the mixture richer. Not something I need. A lot more head scratching, tea and alcohol, not necessarily in that order required. Is it worthwhile tapering the 6S needle. If so where? The last 3rd? Lengthening the spring to increase the force pushing the air piston down? Any other tests anyone can think of. A clue might be at a stable higher rev/speed the afr reads it is weak? I use 20/50 engine oil in the dash pots. Looking forward to meeting at Duxford, I'm praying for no rain🙏 Iain

Needles for a particular jet orifice start at pretty much the same diameter at the top. Say a 0.090" jet has a 0.088" needle hence restricting fuel flow. As the needle rises the various tapers of needles allow more fuel to be sucked up. My needles are 0.0519" diameter at the bottom letting more fuel through at max revs. The different needles have varying tapers (in fact some go in and out) over the length. Tapers are measured at 13 points along the length so you can get an idea of what you need. Hence the need to get the correct needle taper profile for your engine, especially if you've a modified engine. Throw damper oils and springs into the ring and it becomes a minefield! Iain

Mathew, good idea. I've used the same ali sheet on the inside but using foam on the outside could help with noise. My carpet is pretty detachable and loose so it should fit. Iain

Daniel, doesn't look correct to me! I think my builder used King tri metal shells. Iain

Cracked dizzy cap or rotor arm? When I took my Vitesse to a rolling road he found my rotor arm was cracked. A cheap fix if it works!

100% correct!

I have a air/fuel ratio guage in my car and whenever after deaccelarating it's nearly stalled at idle the reading has always indicated its too lean (17+). After many hours tweeking with different needles I've found my engines sweet spot is to set the idle at 700rpm(ish) and adjust the mixture and synchronisation to suit. When I have set the idle at higher rpm (800/850) the mixture goes out of plonk up the rev range. I've found I had to richen the mixture for the standard idle rpm which gives a better mixture over the rev range and WOT. Easy for me to see as I have a afr worry/information gauge. Another thought, do you have a return spring on your throttle? Iain PS, I checked the fuel pressure of my Huco electric pump and it was 2/2.2 and it doesn't overflow🤞

Always good to think about bracing when dipping body shell. If the liquid can't drain out quick enough the weight can break its back. Modern shells are full of drain holes as time is money! When BiW designers think they are finished with the body the electrical and paint engineers plough in and punch holes everywhere! Seen it loads of times! Iain

Double cut shears are good to minimise distortion. Do you have compressed air?

Looks a superb job, do you want to do another? Have you tried the hose pipe test yet? Iain

The vicar at school who tried to turn us into good Christians drove a blue Vitesse 6 convertible. It sounded lovely! My first Triumph love affair😍 Iain

I spoke to the technical guy at Pertronix and the Ignitor 2 with 0.6ohm coil draws about 4 Amps. He said the calculation isn't applied correctly as the 0.6ohm is for the coil not what it requires. I have to say the cables from the Ignitor to the coil are very small. Apparently the widgets and programming in the Ignitor sort and sense everything. I'm happy and slid that one off the worry list! Iain

What about Ignitor 2?

Thanks, I'll investigate further!

I now understand the problem. Even if I upgraded the cable the switch is still vulnerable?

Also the Bosch plus are pre gapped at 0.9mm (35.4 thou) which is bigger than the standard plug hence more oomph required. Iain

Jaguars are odd in that number one is at the back. As Dave said Triumph and most other cars number one is at the front.