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** ON TO THE NEXT BIT ** Nose to Tail - 1972 Spitfire MkIV restoration upgrades!!


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4 minutes ago, johny said:

For me it's just a case of elimination as with points I'm always wondering if the gaps right and the condenser OK (especially if it's not running right) where as, in my experience, electronic usually works or doesn't.....

+1 to that; I've run both over the years and anything like that which is a simple upgrade seemed to me to be worth trying.

I'm actually becoming more retro and at present am debating refitting a dynamo to one of my restorations...

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Mark - Instructions say green led only plus case is different design.

The thing that appeals with the add on units is the facility to turn them off without dismantling the distributor etc. Nothing to keep in the boot or get messed up with when you have to refit points etc. This was the case with my SX1000 unit. Misfire, click off, no misfire problem, disagnosed, get a new one, four leads, away you go..... could it really be that simple.. I doubt it but, as usual, will let you know.

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6 hours ago, dougbgt6 said:

I've electronic ignition, no need for repeated points gap checking, one less thing to worry about. What's not to like? Although I do have a plastic bag with a screw driver and all the redundant bits, which is kept under the passenger seat, just in case.

Doug

You do still have to check the gap as the heal of the points does wear down - but I do accept that the gap is a lot less critical and you don't get the pit on the points due to the current through them. 

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Stupid question time. Is it possible to measure the strength of a spark discharge without exotic equipment? You know where this one is going. To test with electronic ignition as against conventional. Looking at all sorts of claims and just wondered if any could be easily proved. No great worries, just my mind wondering on a lovely summers evening with a glass of homebrewed wine.

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Mark,

No my fault, the guys were talking about a magic box additional to the points, I've got standard electronic ignition. The advantage of the magic box is you can switch it off, where as I've got to scrabble under the seat for my plastic bag. 

Hay fever! Tell me about it! Never suffered from it until about 5 years ago, but now :wacko: !!!!!

 

BW

Tell me about your wine. I made some elderberry, tasted not very good, so put it under the stairs. Rediscovered it 2 years later, nectar of the Gods!!! If elderberries weren't so difficult to pick nobody would bother with grapes.

Doug

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Doug - Never thought I'd be discussing home made wine on my restoration thread (some drift). I am drinking rosehip from 2010, Lady BW, elderberry from 2012. All sourced locally. Steep fruit slowly and gently so as not to get a pectin haze, strain, press, add sugar to show an end alcohol content of about 16% add a high yield yeast, ferment out, rack, bottle in champagne type bottles in case of secondary fermention, leave for a couple of years at the back if the garage, drink, fall over. To paraphrase, I think, Ossie Osbourne... I don't have a drink problem...  I drink, get drunk, fall over......there's no problem!!!

Additional. When you pick elederberries either, pick the whole bunch complete with stalk, crush and strain off juice OR pick the whole bunch strip from stalk using a fork then crush, stew & extract juice. You can also add pectolaise to keep down any pectin haze. You can get a higher yield of juice by freezing the fruit first, as this ruptures the fruit solids releasing more liquid - this is why strawberries don't freeze well.

 

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I used a fork, very tedious. I do the freezer trick on sloe berries for sloe gin, mother's favourite, she's 95 and gets through 4 litres a year, that's why she's 95. Did plum gin one year when some bugger got to the sloes before me, almost as good.

This evening drinking IPA from the local micro brewery, Binghams. Surprisingly we also have a vineyard in Twyford, exclusively white but good stuff, very...….vanilla flavour.

Doug

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2 hours ago, Badwolf said:

Doug - Never thought I'd be discussing home made wine on my restoration thread (some drift). I am drinking rosehip from 2010, Lady BW, elderberry from 2012. All sourced locally. Steep fruit slowly and gently so as not to get a pectin haze, strain, press, add sugar to show an end alcohol content of about 16% add a high yield yeast, ferment out, rack, bottle in champagne type bottles in case of secondary fermention, leave for a couple of years at the back if the garage, drink, fall over. To paraphrase, I think, Ossie Osbourne... I don't have a drink problem...  I drink, get drunk, fall over......there's no problem!!!

Additional. When you pick elederberries either, pick the whole bunch complete with stalk, crush and strain off juice OR pick the whole bunch strip from stalk using a fork then crush, stew & extract juice. You can also add pectolaise to keep down any pectin haze. You can get a higher yield of juice by freezing the fruit first, as this ruptures the fruit solids releasing more liquid - this is why strawberries don't freeze well.

 

Badwolf....... Has the forum got to you or just your car...... Never seen this sort of drift :)  Funnily enough my garden will be heaving with elderberries this year if anyone wants them?

Tony.

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What next, engine strip down, front suspension overhall, wedding cakes for beginners, cookery corner... is the forum really ready for a complete section on home baking, knitware, jam & preserves or making wine with a sparkle!! Maybe the Woman's Institute meets Top Gear?? Oh dear.... where will this drift off to?

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So, back to the plot. this afternoon I fitted my SX4000 electronic ignition unit

Sparkrite-05.thumb.jpg.106c982fa88528dba2ba7ab5975fb187.jpg

 

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This is the beast, as I mentioned, one green led, one switch, four leads out and no identifying markers marks etc. Looks like it is a generic unit, supplied ready to be branded and boxed as needed. It is not this one.....

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which is also branded as an SX4000 which has 2 leds. I thought that this was a little strange, but not to worry. What I did do was whip off the case for a quick look..

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and found...

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.. not really very much.  But not to worry.  I fitted it with the appropriate connectors, took out my out SX1000 and fitted it. As mentioned, four wires, earth, to distributor, to coil + and coil -.  Set to conventional and fired up no trouble. Switched off, switched to electronic, fired up again. A bit of an anti climax.  I now need to take her out for a test drive and will report back. I have no real way of telling if the unit does anything more than switch on the green led when set to electronic, but it did come with a plug tested gadget

image.png.ed3f6c9f8fd66c06e969f83ef8db7dc1.png

.. which I have not tried out yet.

 

 

 

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