Marc,
Supposedly 90% of faults blamed on the carbs are actually the fault of the
electrical system. So that's where you should start.
Check the timing.
Check that the centrifugal advance is working - try to twist the base plate
around a little (anti-clockwise I think? The opposite direction to the
rotation of the cam in the middle), and it should spring back again under
spring force.
Check the vacuum advance is working - unplug the pipe from the carb end and
suck hard, you should see the plate in the distributor twist a little.
Push and pull on the distributor body and central shaft, to see if there is
any looseness or free play.
Replace the condensor - they cost pennies and replacement is the easiest way
to eliminate it as the potential culprit. If you notice no change then keep
the one you just took off as it's probably OK!
Check the distributor cap very closely for cracks or any lines from the
posts down the side of the cap, indicating that electricity has found a
route to earth that way.
If all that looks OK, you may now start to look at the carbs.
Firstly pull all the spark plugs and look at them - a 'digestive biscuit'
colour should cover the end. Too white and you are running lean, too black
and you are running rich.
Make sure the jets (metal tubes going into the bottom of the carbs) are
sliding up and down freely - when you pull the choke out they move down, but
they rely on spring force to move them up again, and if they are bent, or
covered in the sticky remains of old petrol they might stick down.
I'm not very good at carbs, so if these get you no-where ask the question
again and someone much better than me will advise you! (or just take it to
an old-car-friendly garage - they don't need to be Triumph specialists at
all, but you want someone working on it who is at least 50, so they have
spent a fair portion of their working lives dealing with distributors and
carbs!)
Hope you get sorted! There are few better feelings than taking your Spit
for a drive after the tuning has been sorted, and realising just how much
faster it can be!
Richard
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Important Notice:
The information in this email is confidential and may be legally-privileged.
If you have reason to believe you are not the intended recipient, any
disclosure,
copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on
it is prohibited and may be unlawful and you are requested to contact the sender
urgently and dispose of this email
-----------------------------------------------------------exp.
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|