JohnD Posted January 1 Report Share Posted January 1 Dial gauges, and the necessary stands, are not cheap, and anyway, there isn't really room to mount them, unless you remove the head. A metal plate bolted to the head may help, but that's more faff. There is another way, that was never documented in Triumphs day! Think on "Equal lift on overlap". At TDC No.1 firing stroke, No.6 should have it's valves 'on the rock' and of course at equal lift, one coming up, one coming down. So, if you lay a spirit level across the two valves, when the bubble indicates 'level' then they are at that point. This is slightly complicated by the engine being mounted on a slight slant, nose up. But a "Combination Rule" includes a protractor with a spirit level on the rule: Lay the rule on the edge of the head, and adjust the protractor so that the spirit level in the protractor is level. Now lay the protractor edge across the valves and turn the engine clockwise towards TDC until the bubble indictaes level again, and your have found the ELoO point! This was taken with the head off and cam follower dummies in place, but demonstrates the method. Does this point coincide with TDC on your crank pulley? If not, either A/ your cam timing is wrong, or B/ your crank pulley has shifted> Simples! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 1 Author Report Share Posted January 1 42 minutes ago, JohnD said: There is another way, that was never documented in Triumphs day! Thank you John! Another clever method to consider. I plan to renovate a Mk II engine (maybe the one with rusty cylinder head studs) and I will definitely make sure that I get valve timing spot on while there is no cylinder head on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 1 Author Report Share Posted January 1 (edited) Just a prototype, but has potential... I have to manufacture that TDC tool made of sparkplug and a stud to find true TDC, then I can start adjusting the valve timing Edited January 1 by Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted January 1 Report Share Posted January 1 Nicely arranged stands, Roger! The TDC gadget can be a true piston stop, or if the stud slides in the old plug body, may be scored at regular, small intervals and used as a 'piston rise indicator'. But note that the piston has a few degrees of rest at the top of the stroke! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagger Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 Relax a bit, get the cam timing correct and all will be well. I timed an engine two teeth retarded and it would not go uphill unless in 2nd gear. I'd assumed the procedure was as BMC 'A' series. 'Wrong'. Triumph had a different set up. It can all be done without taking the head off checking down plug holes and using the WSM for reference. My engine had timing marks on the sprocket when I looked properly. (1987). It went like a rocket after correction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 (edited) Using a piston stop takes away any dwell issues, is simple and works. It's much easier and in my opinion more accurate to use than measuring the valves. Then you can progress to cam timing. Iain Edited January 2 by Iain T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 2 Author Report Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, Wagger said: I timed an engine two teeth retarded and it would not go uphill unless in 2nd gear. That is EXACTLY the problem I have with my engine! I can't wait to test drive after I have checked & adjusted this. But it is minus 10 Celsius on The Åland Island and plenty of snow at the moment, so it will have to wait a month or two. I used to have studded winter tires on my Herald when it was my daily driver, I think I still have them somewhere, but the rubber must be 40 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 "Minus 10C and plenty of snow"!! The UK would be in crisis mode if that happened. The only good thing would be that the roads are so potholed and rough that there would be plenty of traction! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 Someone opens a fridge door here and half the country can't get to work. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 17 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said: Someone opens a fridge door here and half the country can't get to work. Co-incidently I spent an Hour this afternoon, Watching "The big Snow of 1947" As a 3-1/2year old I remember very little, but one thing that does stick in the mind, was the snow over the top of my little wellie`s!, and very, very, cold feet, I think I got chillblains?. -20+Celcius was the low. The country ran out of coal, which everything ran on, gas was made from and all homes where heated with, almost out of food, which was still (war) rationed. Siberian conditions for 7 weeks, followed by major flooding as the snow melted. Hundreds of thousands out of work, rolling blackouts. Now "they" throw the towel in if the temp goes below zero. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagger Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 2 minutes ago, PeteH said: Co-incidently I spent an Hour this afternoon, Watching "The big Snow of 1947" As a 3-1/2year old I remember very little, but one thing that does stick in the mind, was the snow over the top of my little wellie`s!, and very, very, cold feet, I think I got chillblains?. -20+Celcius was the low. The country ran out of coal, which everything ran on, gas was made from and all homes where heated with, almost out of food, which was still (war) rationed. Siberian conditions for 7 weeks, followed by major flooding as the snow melted. Hundreds of thousands out of work, rolling blackouts. Now "they" throw the towel in if the temp goes below zero. Pete I missed that one (born Sept 1947) but saw the programme about 1962/63 when I was 15. Had to haul the coal, bread and groceries down a blocked lane for four months on a sledge. My brothers remembered 1947 as they were 9 and 10. This was in West Sussex which gets snow about one in every five years. They had fun skating, sledging etc but had to get to work in 1963 so considered that one worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, Wagger said: but had to get to work in 1963 so considered that one worse. Likewise, I was in the last year/18 month of my Aprenticeship, and on Night Shift for most of it. My old Thames Van sometimes had to be push started at 7-30am, to get me home, and driving to work in the dark, was a nightmare!, as the main and side roads started to re-freeze. Kept a small paraffin sump heater under the engine during the day. 50% antifreeze in the engine, and an old army greatcoat on the engine/radiator under the bonnet. Hardboard in front of the radiator too. Still managed to walk to the pub though👍 Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 (edited) Are we talking snow and cold winters here? Well, hold my beer!! The Baltic Sea always got frozen in the past so I used to drive my Herald on the ice between smaller islands in our archipelago. It got a bit riskier in the spring when the ice got thinner so the brave (or stupid) guys used to drive with car doors wide open. That way you won some time to get out of the car if it went through the ice. But it was extremely fun to drive on ice. No driving license required (I started to drive on ice when I was 14) and no speed limit on the ice. One winter it was minus 30 Celsius and I saw a car window crack from the thermal chock when it came into a warm garage with +20 Celsius inside and a fan blowing there. Despite a lot of snow and low temperature I think we manage to drive without any major problems. We know it is coming and we plan and prepare accordingly, I guess it is different if you get snow once in a decade. The only memory of cold and ice related problems I have is that ferries where small when I was a child and they would get stuck in the ice so we sometimes got isolated on our island. We have quite a lot of mosquitos in the summer and they can be a real pain. It is quite common that you hear someone cheerfully say "No mosquitos today!" when checking the outdoor temperature and finding out that it is lower than minus 20 C. Always look on the bright side of life... Edited January 3 by Roger 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 1 hour ago, Roger said: The Baltic Sea always got frozen Yes, We only just escaped one year by the "skin of our teeth" so to speak. With the help of a Nuclear Powered Russian Ice Breaker!!. It`s very eerie, in an Engine Room, listening to the ice scraping the paint off the hull as you move. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 Driving on ice! When I lived in Stockholm in 1980, everyone (except me!) had two sets of wheels. One for summer and a winter one with spiked tyres. Was your ice driving on spikes, Roger? But this may not be for much longer! The annual ski resort ice racing series, the Andros Trophy, will hold its last championship this winter. Suitable iced circuits are too difficult to find! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 Given last year's weather, it was neither snow nor sun, just perpetual rain. I suspect this is what we can expect in the future, soggy fields, rained-off events, floods and complaining farmers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 (edited) I Learnt to drive in Dads 111A minx and in 62/63 christmas was at an uncles in Stratford st Mary we went out in the snow and ice to Flatford Mill(constables country ) and watched the ducks doing skid tests trying to land and take off from the frozen Mill pond Edited January 3 by Pete Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 (edited) 1 hour ago, JohnD said: Was your ice driving on spikes, Roger? Yes, winter tires with spikes are a legal requirement here from 1:st of december to end of february. You will get a fine if you don’t have them. But even with spikes (they are not big) it is till very slippery on hard ice. Imagine a Herald going sideways at 60 mph! It was increadibly fun, unfortunately I can’t find any old pictures from those adventures. Even with only 50-60 horses you can easily drive sideways with a Herald on ice. The kids call it drifting nowadays, as if it was some kind of a new invention. But it was not without risks driving on ice. We have more than 6000 islands in the Åland arcipelago and we learned not to drive between two islands that where close to each other since there is current between them hence the ice get thinner there. Which you don’t see when you look at the ice! I also think it was a good experience for a young driver to be able to press the car to its limits without fear of crashing into something. I’m sure it made me a better driver so I knew my car very well when I finally got my driving license at 18. The only downside was probably that my beloved Herald suffered a lot howling on top revs for hours! I will take pictures of my Herald wheels with spikes when I find them. In the meantime, two pitures taken today. The factory I work at is 5 km away so I ride my bike to work every morning. Also in winter. With spikes on my bike tires! Edited January 3 by Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 A BICYCLE that you ride to work? In 10C below weather? When there's so much ice you need spiked bike tyres? We are made of different stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Longhurst Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 Hi Roger - Someone was going to hijack this tread! And its me with some pictures of a 'Aland Island Post' model 1/43rd scale Triumph Spitfire III (Corgi brand) - it looks like it was part of a series of models. I was wondering why a Spitfire was chosen as one of the models! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 32 minutes ago, Chris Longhurst said: I was wondering why a Spitfire was chosen as one of the models! The Åland Island is autonomous and we have our own goverment, flag and stamps. For some reason, the local post office started to sell "collector cars" years ago. I remember them very well, my father used to collect them and the Åland stamps. These cars are for sale only for a year, this year it is a Chevy, Opel and a Ford: https://alandstamps.com/collections/samlarbilar I have no idea how they choose models, I assume that one requirement could be that at least one car of that particular model was sold new here, but I'm not sure. I think "car #1" from 1996 was sold for about 150 € recently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 (edited) 1 hour ago, JohnD said: A BICYCLE that you ride to work? In 10C below weather? When there's so much ice you need spiked bike tyres? We are made of different stuff! It is a great (and daily!) opportunity for exercise given proper cloths and some planning and determination! Good for the environment, and it reduce my petrol and doctor costs. Not only did I learn to drive a car on the ice, I also rode my bicycle on snow and ice as a child. But without spikes back then! It’s not so difficult. But you can’t sleep on your bike going to work in the morning. If you don’t pay attantion and focus on what you are doing then it will hurt. Usually they plow the roads very well but not always. I took this picture of my bike going to work on a cold winterday a few years ago. I came to a part of the road that was not plowed yet. Another character building moment… Edited January 3 by Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 this must be the best thread drift for ages ha ! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 7 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: this must be the best thread drift for ages ha ! I didn't start it!!! I just mentioned that it is too cold here to test drive my new valve timing, and then all went south... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 its fine ... its just drift was a common occurrence and it seems to have drifted ha ! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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