Well, I almost have the body ready for paint, and the little gremlin decided
to tear into the engine at this time. Now, this car had been running ok when I
got her to run, but I decided that all the work I was putting into the rest of
her deserved an engine of similarly proficient status- therefore, I needed to
know how it was within.
Anyway, I find inside a bit of disagreement- gunked in places, with beauty
spots! The crank bearings all look very new, although a couple seem to have
embedding, and the rear thrust washers are showing signs of dissolving! The
journals all appear in good shape- And they are standard! I am going to mic
them to check for roundness, but I am hoping to get away clean on them, as I
think it may be a new crank to start with. The scroll type rear main seal(ugh)
is very definitely in good condition.(I prefer a real seal, at least rope...)
The pistons themselves show wear, and there is a ridge, but all dropped out
easily without removing the ridge(my reamer was too big!) I will have the
ridges reamed when I have the engine cleaned and bores checked and
honed(hopefully, only).
The camshaft is in fine fettle, and the number on it shows it to be stock
12/50 Herald(202931). Here is where I am looking for answers- I have another
camshaft, from a Spitfire, number 213028, which is in almost equally good
shape- they are virtually identical, down to the wear patterns! However, this
looks to be a slightly different set of numbers for opening, duration, etc.
Can anybody confirm this? I am hoping this is the more zippy cam for the
Spitfire Mk.2, which is a 25-65-65-25 rather than the stock 12/50 18-58-58-18,
as I am trying to figure a little more power.
Amongst my tricks I am thinking of shaving the head slightly, and decking the
block, both to level them, and also hoping to pick up a little more
compression. The 12/50 has a compression of 8.5:1, and the Spit Mk2 has
9.0:1. How much would I need to take off each to hit that safely?
Also, with regard to the head, I am going to be using dual carbs (HS2's) on
what was originally a single carb head. There is a little difference in the
intake valve size- the dual carb valves are + - 1.243" and the single carb
valves are + - 1.306", a difference in the area of + - .057" (The exhaust
valves are the same either way) Should this improve the performance(I suspect-
easier breathing) or impede it? Which exhaust would be better to use- the
Spitfire header, or the cast manifold?(I have both, in preparation) And I am
planning to convert the head to unleaded at the same time.
I think someone on the list might have some answers for me- TIA
Scott
64 Herald 1200/12/50 Convertible
I am not looking for a pocket racer- just a little spring in her step- she
already has a late Spitfire rear spring, Spitfire front disks, and the whole
suspension has been rebuilt(Trunnions, front and rear everything...)
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