Ron,
I didn't see Vance's response, but I was able to rebuild my vacuum unit.
I ground off the crimped lip and smoothed the edges on both halves. I bought
the least expensive vacuum unit I could find from an auto parts store that was
of similar diameter and removed its diaphragm. I drilled eight holes through
both halves of the original for the smallest machine screws I could find
(don't remember the size, but it was one of the numbered sizes, not a fraction
of
an inch). I was mainly concerned about making sure the head was flat with the
flange and didn't rest on the domed part. I removed the old diaphragm by
drilling out the center rivet, then tapped the push rod that the rivet was in
for a
suitable sized machine screw. The new diaphragm was attached to the push rod
with the machine screw and a little lock tight. The diaphragm and push rod was
then placed back into the distributor side of the original unit. The suction
side was placed over the diaphragm, making sure that the diaphragm edge was
evenly distributed. I used some small clamps to hold in all in place, punched
some holes through the diaphragm with an awl and inserted the machine screws
and
secured with a lock washer and nut.
Even though the unit doesn't look original anymore because of the screws, I
think it looks pretty cool. Sort of like the fuel pump, which was designed to
be rebuilt. Now, I can rebuild the vacuum unit over and over, if need be,
assuming I can still find a donor vacuum unit. They are getting scarce.
The rebuilt unit does retard the timing, but it isn't getting the retard all
the way to 10 ATDC. Closer to 5. I think the vacuum line may be leaking. I
plan on replacing it before putting the car on the road.
This may seem like a lot of work, but it only took a couple of hours, not
counting the time to find the parts. But, it was a fun project; which is why I
have the TR6 anyway. .
Bud Trussell
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