Jump to content

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


Recommended Posts

24 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

thats why we started TWIDDLE DAYS at Hq - solves the head aches but ...wont start the car. ive said many times classics have a mind , when you find the fault i wont solve the problem 

having said that pop backs thro the carb is looking like a firing order   1342  anti clock.   or to advanced - then theres burnt inlet valves    and so on !!!!!!!!!!

Pete

The annoying thing is that, apart from what I mentioned earlier, she ran beautifully 10 days ago. I must have disturbed something, but what?  Only took off the plugs to gap and that was connector off, plug out, gap, and back in/on. Learned my lesson after the last time. Not messed with the advance/retard.. guaranteed for me to get it wrong. Burned inlet valves... were OK 10 days ago with no obvious problems. She was running like a dream, just a bit fast on the tick-over but that was on my list of things to adjust. Surely the new light relays won't affect anything. I did run the feed off the battery/solenoid contact prior to fitting the new fuse box (that now seems to be light years away). Will go through the usual routine tomorrow, spark at the plug, contacts OK etc etc and report back. It could just be the old electronic ignition has died, but not enough battery power left to try it in conventional mode.

One thing that I will mention is something I brought up way back. The visible petrol in the see-though fuel filter appears to disappear after a week or so and the fuel in the carb float chambers, the same, so I have to turn over a fair bit to pull fuel through before firing (if it does). Is this just normal evaporation, leaks, or drain back to the tank, the feed from which I thought was higher than the filters etc and worked by siphoning. Problems.. some hobby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have checked this so many times, even considered having put the distributor cap on wrong.  Off the to garage to check again. Maybe its one of those things that it is wrong and I just can't see that its wrong.  One of those things where your mate comes along and just switches it on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, poppyman said:

I would agree with Pete, firing order or possible leads on wrong?....... People have made the same mistake twice BW, and if you have we will sympathise..... Another blonde moment

Tony.

Tony - Wish I was still blond not grey. Just checked the plug leads again 1-3-4-2 anti clockwise when looking down on the diff. Try again tomorrow.

Thank you for the tips folks. Even if it don't run, very grateful for the thoughts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry Pete - I think that I am using one of your old keyboards on this computer!!  Thank you all for the correction. Looks like my old, addled brain has confused one problem (leaf spring on diff) with rotor in Dizzy. Glad to have brought some humour to your day. No Tony, you didn't make the day any worse. 

However..... drum roll... I may have found the problem, but, I need to check it up later this morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

She runs!!!... and I have know idea why.  Late last night I decided to try one last time but with the electronic ignition (old SX1000 Sparkrite) set to 'conventional' instead of electronic She fired up first time. Turned off, turned in. This afternoon started up first time again. Thought... switch to electronic and she will die... no, continued ticking away happily. So I have no idea why she wouldn't start yesterday unless it was something to do with the fuel, which I outlined earlier. Just got back after going out for petrol. no great problems apart from Kangeroo-ing a bit with gentle back fire when accelerating.  Couldn't run hard due to traffic problems but revved hard when I got home with no problems. So there we are.  Its a classic!!!  Any offers about the back fire.. timing, fuel blockage.. plugs, points etc all cleaned etc. Yes, I know, I should have left the engine alone but there you go. Definitely no rotor in the diff today!!!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes it does.  I had this problem when I recommisioned the car and we had this conversation about condensers then. She was OK until I started messing. Could I have disturbed the vacuum setting or something similar when I was wiping over things?  I still have worries about the fuel disappearing from the filter. No leaks, no smell??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tony - Thanks, I'm sure the Spitfire tank works by syphoning the fuel through a pipe out of the top on the tank so it wouldn't run back.  I'm sure someone will correct me.

In the meanwhile I had an entertaining afternoon changing the oil with an idea of changing the sump gasket (Herald 13/60 engine). Undid 15 nuts, then found how difficult it was to get to the 16th!!  15 nuts back in.  Had a brand new sump plug from JP. Lovely thing, magnet nice large nut head, so much better than the one I took out which was once square headed. Yes, you know where this is going because there was a thread about this a couple of weeks ago. New one, dead posh, copper washer, straight sided thread... doesn't fit. Find the old one (taper thread, oval head) put it back in. Fill with oil (don't mention the brand/type) and back where I was 3 hours ago, but much muckier. At least its raining so no gardening... shame.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Tony. Sorry to hear you have similar problems but 'you are not alone'.

I'm sure that the problems starting up were due to fuel. None to begin with, then flooded. I know the car doesn't get used as much as it should, but checking the carb float chambers after a 2 to 3 week layoff is a bit of a faf and it knackers the heads of the screws. Any ideas anyone? As for the misfire, could there be too much oil in the dashpots, did I put too much oil on the rotor shaft (just a wipe), or did I move the vacuum advance screw when I was dusting!! The carbs and timing were set up last summer by an old style, classics owing garage (not the one that fitted the leaf spring) and has run beautifully, until I started 'servicing' the car for the MOT. I really cannot think what else I could have b*ggered up in the normal run of the mill checks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Badwolf said:

 I'm sure the Spitfire tank works by syphoning the fuel through a pipe out of the top on the tank so it wouldn't run back.  I'm sure someone will correct me.

It depends on the model. 1500s and probably MkIV have the pickup out of the top of the tank. Mk3 and earlier have a pipe out of the middle bottom of the tank. The top pipe may not make much difference to drain-back, really, as that can be affected by pressure differences as things cool down. What it does do is allow you to disconnect the fuel pipe without emptying your tank all over the boot floor. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...