Larry,
I too haven't seen much in response.
Here's what I did to my 1500 Midget, which seems to be working well for me.
+0.030 Flat Top Hepolite Pistons
285 Piper Cam Advanced 4 degrees via TR6 Double Chain Vernier Gear Set
Pinned Thrust Washer (some people fit MGB thrust washers)
Balanced Rotating Mass (crank, pistons, rods, pressure plate, flywheel, and
pulley)
Oil Cooler
GM 63 amp alternator
Lucas 25D4 points dizzy (eventual upgrade to Mallory dual point)
Ported, skimmed, and intake matched head.
(no chamber work, and not polished too smoothly. I can't remember
if I
read it in Vizard, or the BL competition manual, but someone did
not
recommend polishing this head, other than removing all the burrs
and
casting imperfections. Make nice big D shaped pockets under the
valves
for better puffing action. Standard valves)
Dual Valve Springs to eliminate possible lifter bounce.
4-2-1 Exhaust header, mild steel (the 4-1 is best at high RPM, the 4-2-1 has
a bigger range)
Monza free flow. Dual exhaust may be hurting your exhaust suction...
forget the term...
Dual HS4s with CapStat jets
'74 water pump with no clutch and a '74 fan
Backup 10" electric pushing fan
3 row louvered radiator 1/2" thicker than stock for a Midget. You may be
able to fit
a 3 row staggered in the Spit, which is better. Transfer tubes are
3/8", I believe.
Skimmed block (not too much)
Standard studs (I didn't use the ARP studs I purchased. Still have them,
though)
Bored out main oil galleries and high capacity oil pump. Shimmed oil
pressure relief valve.
Currently running 90 lbs cold and 25-30 lbs hot oil pressure.
Some people retrofit cam bearing from a 1296 cam. Might be a good idea, if
cash is no object.
For tuning purposes, I purchased a Air/Fuel Ratio gauge, but haven't
installed it yet. A definite must if you plan on screwing around with your
needles. Out there somewhere in the archives is the link to the SU needle
program which references different needle profiles to needle codes.
You can always add a supercharger, and nitrous.... Seems a bit much for me.
When all is said and done, the Corrolla next to you will probably beat you
in the next street light race anyway. I thoroughly enjoy the added power in
my Midget, but recognize it's limitations. I also try not to race it at
the street lights. I spend too much on the rebuild to risk damaging it.
Michael
-----Original Message-----
From: Vic Whitmore [mailto:vicwhit@home.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2000 8:56 AM
To: Larry Elswick; Spitfires Maillist
Subject: Re: Engine Rebuild
Larry, I haven't seen much in terms of replies to you. Hopefully, there has
been
some off-list.
I expect that you have a copy, or have seen the competition preperation
manual.
You can find a copy of it at:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark-kaye/thumbs/Spit-comp-man.pdf
You seem to be following a good path with the HS-4 (once the jetting it set
right), header, etc. I would suggest the next step is to port and polish the
head.
I think the reference to the 1300 is just for the head. There were bigger
intake
valves involved but you can have them retro fitted to your 1500 head at the
same
time you get the valves/seats triple cut. A good machine shop should be able
to
do it. I am unclear on whether the bigger intake valves were for the 1300 or
the
early 1500 so you may need to check on that.
There are several other listers that have done a lot of race prep on their
cars.
Maybe they can help with more suggestions.
Vic Whitmore
76 Spitfire
Thornhill, Ontario
Larry Elswick wrote:
>
> I'd like some suggestions on a performance rebuild of
> my 1976 1500. One suggestion was to use a 1300 engine.
> I'm talking about every trick in the book to squeeze as
> much performance out of the engine as possible. It currently
> has twin HS-4's, exhaust header with dual exhausts, and
> electronic ignition. I do plan to blueprint and balance it.
> Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
> Larry
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