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Distributor questions


Danwedges

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My cars a mk3 gt6 currently running a 2000 saloon engine twin hif carbs with distributor from what I believe to be a 2500 pi engine with no vacuum advance and was wondering is there any real difference between a standard gt6 distributor to the pi distributor?

The reason being is I seem to have a flat spot around 3500rpm and a lack of power after that and I'm trying to work out possible causes 

Any input is greatly appreciated  thanks

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Which 2000 engine? There are several variations (prefix of engine no may give a clue).

The later 2000 engines with domed pistons have very mild cams and don't like to rev. And this may be the fundamental problem.

GT6 would have had a Delco distributor with tacho drive originally. If tacho drive not needed then stick with Lucas (slightly less crap) but the one intended for your engine code WITH vacuum advance or even invest in a 123-Tune.

Nick

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4 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

Which 2000 engine? There are several variations (prefix of engine no may give a clue).

The later 2000 engines with domed pistons have very mild cams and don't like to rev. And this may be the fundamental problem.

GT6 would have had a Delco distributor with tacho drive originally. If tacho drive not needed then stick with Lucas (slightly less crap) but the one intended for your engine code WITH vacuum advance or even invest in a 123-Tune.

Nick

It's funny, but I had a 123 dizzy on my GT6, and went back to the (crap?) Delco version, which was rebuilt by H&H and fitted with electronic ignition. Ebay usually lists a few, or put an ad in the Spares Wanted section if you need an original one.

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It may not be the Dizzy. It could equally be the needles are too lean. As hif carbs weren't a standard fitment they may have needles that don't suit the 2000 engine.

The vacuum advance is an economy device, it increases the ignition advance when at light throttle cruising speeds and hence improves the mixture burn efficiency.The more you use the throttle the less the vacuum unit advances the ignition as too much will cause pinking under a heaver load.

It not being there shouldn't make any difference to the loss of power over 3,500 rpm.

Dave  

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I'm currently running bae needles which ran my 2500 engine as I tried bcy needles and they leaned off far too much on the top end bae seems to be a good match when checking with the colour tune and the engine number is me37332he 

I have every intention of rebuilding my 2500 engine and replacing the 2000 when it's finished so I would like to keep the costs down and not splash out for a fancy distributor but I would like the car to pull smoothly through the revs 

The reason I ask is when looking on eBay at distributors some say fits 2000 /2500 so didn't know if the advance curve was different 

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To answer your dizzy question. Your engine, me37332he should be fitted with a Lucas 25D6 part number 41314 dizzy. The part number is stamped on the side of the dizzy. Yes there is a difference between both early and late 2000 Mk2. Early and late 2500 PI and TC. None are the same they all have different advance curves. It will make some difference, what I am not sure.

The non-vacuum type of dizzy was fitted to the TR5.

Dave

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I Have yellow and green springs I was using green on the 2500 and I've swapped back to yellow for the 2000 in attempt to solve the flat spots and lack of power to no avail. i need a suitable distributor with a tacho drive on it the engine looks to have had light headwork and it's running k&n filters

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If the engine has a Mk1 cam still then the nearest with a tacho drive would be the Mk1 GT6 or Mk1 Vitesse dizzy.  If it has a Mk2 cam then it requires a Mk2 GT6 or Mk2 Vitesse dizzy.

The Vitesse Mk1 has a Lucas 22D6 part number 41168. The Mk2 Vitesse has a Lucas 22D6 part number 41273. 

The both Mk1 and Mk2 GT6 have a Delco type dizzy. I am not sure of their part numbers.

If there are flat spots it does sound like the mixture is running too weak, maybe an air leak on the manifold? 

Dave

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I assumed the same but a spray around all the joins in the manifolds with brake and parts cleaner saw no increase in revs and the colour tune shows yellow under acceleration and blue at steady revs throughout the rev range but when driving it pulls all the way up to 3500 then flat then a noticeable  loss in power from 3500 onwards  

I had bought the engine rebuilt but never used so I have no idea of it's internal spec or cam 

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Can check whether it's going lean by pulling the choke out when it goes flat - if it picks up, richer needles/heavier spring needed.

@Colin - I actually hate all distributors more or less equally.  There hasn't been one on my Vitesse since 2005......  3D distributorless is the business, and a bit of rolling road time dialling in part throttle advance amply demonstrates the value of the 3rd dimension (vacuum advance in the clockwork world).

Nick

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21 minutes ago, Danwedges said:

I was under the impression that bae needles were on the rich side for the 2500 so surely they should be richer for the 2000 ? 

Why would you assume that? SU carbs are sensitive to air flow rate, not engine capacity, which is why you can largely get away with the same ones on different engines. If the engine likes a bit more fuel at high speed, the 2000 is going to get there at a lower air flow than the 2500. A 2L doing 3500RPM is flowing the same air as a 2.5L doing 2800RPM.

I'm not sure that's correct but it highlights that needle selection is not a simple matter of multiplication. The people that know still seem to use trial-and-error to find the right ones.

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When I had a similar problem with the 2500 it wouldn't rev above 3500 at all and I was suggested various needles and the bae were suggested as a rich needle that could improve performance with the cost of reduces mpg 

My understanding of airflow would suggest that the 2000 would require the same fuelling at 3500 revs as the 2500 requires at 2800 revs and when running the 2500 it revved freely throughout the rev range using the same needles

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The dashpot springs also matter as they change the calibration range of the carb, which in turn changes which bit of the needle is in play at a particular airflow.

HIF4 (rare)/HIF38 can be considered the same as HS4 in terms of needle/spring selection.

Nick

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I'm pretty sure my carbs are hif carbs have been told they could originally been dolomite sprint carbs but I'm not sure I've got a pair of bcy needles which are very lean on the top end the bae needles are defiantly an improvement on bcy 

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I've tried bcy needles with green spring and they were leaning off too much and running to rich on idle so I returned to the bae needles

I think ideally I would like to get the car on a rolling road as all of my measurements are from a gastester or gunson colourtune and they read spot on when not under load but I'm struggling to find anywhere that also stocks su needles ect to try different options 

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