Dear SOLers -
Since my tranny decided to lose a tooth last december I
thought it would be best to just leave BD (the Blue Dragon, 1979
Spitfire) be and drive a rust rocket for the Winter. Now I have
come out to fire it up it again and it won't start. I could use some
more suggestions that are missing from the following.
This is what I did to store it (minimal) in December 1992, Chicago
in an outdoor parking lot:
- put plastic over the carb intake
- plug up the exhaust
- disconnect battery
- remove rotor (to deter theft)
Now I have come to start it and barely get a a cylindar firing
out of it. Here is what has been done:
- charged and connected battery
- removed plastic bag over carb
- removed muffler plug (old ragg)
- cleaned plugs and re-gapped
- put SAE 20 in carb damper
- ran on starter to get oil flowing
- installed rotor
I had only an occasional explosion and starter disengagement, nothing
to write home about, so tried:
- Prestone starting fluid
- put STP gas treatment in tank (in case there is water)
still no luck...
- Checked spark..
spark is visible in sunlight, perhaps a little too yellow.
- checked fuel line (fuel is flowing)
So I opened the rocker and checked for mechanical failure..
valves look like they are opening and closing properly. Though i did
find the rocker shaft position-locking screw out and rolling around
the valves. I looked at timming statically, it looks approximately
correct. I can't think of what else it could be, except:
- gas is no good (5 months old - outside).. but wouldn't
the starting fluid have started it?
- spark is not strong enough.
- timming is a might too far off (how could it have changed?)
- other mechanical failure (?)
- someone has removed something vital and I have not noticed
and cannot think of what it might be.... (?)
The clutch slave cylindar has decided to give out, and
fluid has probably all been dumped into the bellhousing.
thanks for your help, in advance!
Kristian
kristian@cs.uchicago.edu
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