Spitsters - I've had my '79 for almost one month now, and have
accumulated just over 2500 miles. I spend most of my time on a high
powered motorcycle, and was concerned that I would not be able to get
used to the lower power level available in the Spit. I asked the PO
where he shifted for best acceleration, and he told me he never went
above 4000. This seemed a little silly on a 6k redline engine, but he
should know, right? Besides, a friend of mine had an old Capri that
responded best to short shifting, and my experience with old British
motorcycles made me a little wary of running older pushrod engines near
redline (don't ask ;^).
Anyway, I've realized that there is value in running over 4K, but here's
the problem. At anything over 4500 RPM in third, the engine falls off
sharply. At 4500 it takes quite a while, at 5500 it happens
immediately. Lifting the throttle, engaging the O/D, or shifting to
fourth all stop the periodic hesitation/surging cycle. I presume I'm
not getting fuel to the carburetor. Is this why so many of the spits I
looked at have elctric fuel pumps? If so, is the new pump plumbed in
instead of or in addition to the existing mechanical pump?
Thanks in advance as always,
Mark Gardner
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