Toby Atwater wrote:
>
> not looking to stir up trouble, but...
> did locktight exist at the factory? what did they use? new lock tabs I
> presume...maybe this is just for purists... but it seems to me, that they
> knew what they were doing... then again... maybe not...
They knew what they were doing -- for the time. But there have been
some improvements in materials science and automotive engineering since
1956. I mean, they didn't use alternators on Bugeyes either, but BMC
changed over once they were standardized in the early '70s. And there
are many other materials advances since the factory was torn down in
1980, too, such as ARP rod bolts, synthetic lubricants, and Viton-tipped
valve seals.
One of the things I *still* like about Spridgets is that there are just
enough of them, and they're just inexpensive enough, that you can really
do with them just exactly what you want. There's absolutely nothing
wrong with trying to duplicate *exactly* the experience a brand-new
Sprite owner would have faced in 1958, down to the locktabs and skinny
tires (bias-ply, if memory serves). And there's absolutely nothing
wrong with building a roundarch with a strong, reliable 1380, a
285-degree cam, split Webers, Rimflo valves, a Jet-hot coated LCB and
maybe a Datsun 5-speed in front of a 4.55:1 rear end. ("I'll take 'B',
Alex.") And who knows, maybe the Spridget you dream of is somewhere in
between.
And the beautiful thing is, if you do even part of your own work, you
can probably build *exactly* the Spridget you want for less than half
the cost of a bland, modern econobox, much less a modern so-called
"sports car" with a wind deflector to keep your comb-over from getting
mussed and traction control for when you suddenly realize this car has a
lot more power than your ex-wife's minivan used to. And in 15 years you
can take the worn parts out, replace the worst of them by ordering new
ones over the Internet, refinish the better ones, and do it all again,
when that OBD-II equipped econobox is worth $150 in recycling costs.
And, yeah, I guess I *am* preaching to the choir here, aren't I? :-)
Anyway, back to your technical question (I've never been one to let
technical issues get in the way of a really good emotional outburst
about the cars I love)...
The problem with new lock tabs is the soft alloy used to make them
malleable enough to whomp 'em into place with a Big F--uh,riendly Hammer
and a suitable drift. That very softness means that getting a really
accurate torque reading isn't possible; the soft iron actually extrudes
out from between the nut and the bearing cap. Take a look at a used
one, you'll see what I mean.
Note that a) you have to use the *right* Loctite, one that's meant to
stand up to gas, oil and heat. Surely someone here will remember the
number/color; I haven't had to redo the con rod bolts on an M.G. since
1993 or thereabouts (the dim recesses of my Lucas-engineered biological
memory says it's blue, number 456, but I wouldn't bet a roll of shop
towels on that). And b), you have to have the thread surfaces
scrupulously clean, free of oil. Brakleen and compressed air will do
the trick, but be as fussy as you know how.
In short: new lock tabs are probably exactly what the factory put on
your car when they built it 20, 30, or 40 years ago. However, there are
some of us who ask a lot of our cars, and certainly anyone doing either
competition driving or imitation competition driving (you know what I
mean, and you know who we are :-) would probably benefit from the
knowledge that the rod bolts were Loctited into place.
As with so many other choices on these cars, it's all in what you want
*your* Spridget to be.
--Scott "A swan, a sunbeam, a thunderbolt!" Fisher
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