As a brief tech note concerning the recent reference to Grose jets, I thought
I might put in my two cents worth and say, "Don't buy 'em"
When I rebuilt the engine and carbs (HS4's) in my 66 B I bought those
things on the advice of somebody who shall remain nameless. . .and I wished I
never had, because it took my a long time to figure out they were the source
of my troubles. .after installation my carbs would dump fuel through the over
flow tubes at a rather copious rate. .but only after prolonged (2 minutes or
more) freeway cruising speed. . .hard (and unnerving) to check with the car
idling in your driveway. . .I don't know how many of you have seen where an
early B routes the overflow tubes but let me give you a hint. . ex____ mani___
Anyway, I finally queried my old man (a veteran mechanic on such simple
machinery
as Pratt & Whitney JT-9D's V12 Jags, and Rolls Royce Merlins, and he said, "get
rid of those things, an SU will run forever on the original style needle valves"
Being that he is my father and I was a young know it all. . I wasted another
two weeks and sore back sessions trying to "save" my investment in Grose Jets
by adjusting the float level to stop the flooding. . .I never got it right, and
finally replaced them, with the original units. . .I later spoke with a few
other owners who experienced the same symptoms and I think we narrowed it down
to SU's with metal float tab adjustments and them not providing a vibration
free shutoff to the Gross Jet. . .apparently the one piece (later) plastic
types don't cause the problem. . .
So I guess the moral of the story is this. .SU's are wonderfully
simple (read that crude) ineffiecient (sloppy) and beautiful (arcane)creatures,
their polished (oil splattered) bodies look appropriate under the bonnet of
any vintage British car. They are not and should not be expected to perform
like a modern carb. . the sooner I learned that, the happier me and my B
became. . btw, I have over 35K miles on those old style shutoff valves. .
Best Regards,
teej
PS For those of you I bugged with my electrical question, the first round
is over and the score is Lucas 1 TJ O. Have not found anything loose,
frayed, worn, or otherwise molested. . .and the symptom hasn't shown itself.
Cheers!
--
TJ Noto 66 MGB 69 Triumph Bonneville
The Wollongong Group
1129 San Antonio Rd Palo Alto CA
415 962-7172
"Once again Yankee ingenuity Triumphs over British craftsmanship"
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