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SU questions on a Spit 1500

To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: SU questions on a Spit 1500
From: "George Parker" <ygpz4re@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 11:35:38 -0400
Hi List,

Well, after many months of not having time or heated garage to tinker with 
the Spit, I finally got out there this past week as the weather warmed up.  
After a short battery charge, it fired right up and ran pretty smoothly once 
things started to warm up.  A friend recommended that I hook up a vacuum 
line from intake manifold (I have dual SU HS-4s on a rebuilt 1500 engine - 
dual valve springs, Kent cam, 9:1 pistons, Kirk Racing header, etc.) to the 
older, points operated distributor on loan from Clark Nicholls (many more 
thanks, Clark!).

I had driven the car w/out the vacuum line and it ran poorly.  With the 
vacuum line hooked up, it seemed to run much better, but it's been so long 
since I'd driven it, I wasn't sure if it really was better.  Or, to put it 
another way, were the things I perceived as possible "problems" during this 
drive really problems or have I just been spoiled by driving a brand new 
Miata and various (forgive me) 308s?  It seemed to run with more power, and 
fairly smoothly.  At one point, running up through 1st there was no 
hesitation or stumble or loss of power.  At another point (again in 1st), it 
still seemed to have the choking, coughing, wheezing loss of power I had 
experienced previously.

When I first installed the SUs, I was getting fuel out the overflow/vent 
pipes despite having gross-jets installed.  So I put a pressure regulator in 
the fuel feed line.  This led to other *interesting* things.  Specifically, 
at high revs, the fuel seemed to stream out of the overflow with the 
regulator set to 1 or 2psi.  When cranked up to 5psi, the overflow stopped, 
even at high revs.

So here's the real questions:

1.  What should the fuel delivery pressure be for SU HS-4s w/ mechanical 
fuel pump?

2.  Anyone know the output pressure of a stock mechanical fuel pump?

3.  Why would the gross-jets not be shutting off fuel flow?  Even with as 
little as 2-3psi, it seems that the plastic float and ball-bearing style 
gross-jets wouldn't be enough to shut off fuel flow.  Thoughts?

4.  Why would the overflow situation disappear when the pressure was 
*increased*?

5.  Given that the gross-jets *should* be shutting off fuel flow, but 
aren't, what would be the benefits/risks of installing a return line from 
the float-bowl overflow/vent pipes to the inlet side of the fuel pump?  
Assume that a check valve would be installed right before the "T" going back 
into the inlet side of the pump to prevent fuel from going the "wrong way" 
in the overflow tube.

Thanks a lot for any help/answers any of you can provide.

George Parker
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