> I am not familiar with "Kastner's".
R.W. "Kas" Kastner was Triumph's competition manager during the '60s. He was
reponsible
for race preparing the cars. His wisdom was preserved in a few slim booklets
called
Triumph (insert model name here) Competeition Preparation Manual. I have both
the
Spitfire and the TR4-4A manuals. They're about $6 each from The Roadster
Factory. They're
worth every dime times ten if you ask me. Sure - you're not going to go all out
for your
street machine, but most of the recomendations -- especially the little details
-- are
very useful for any Triumph. The TR4 - 4A manual has a little section called
"Street
Tuning" your TR4.
> I am fairly handy with tools, and could probably do the porting job myself
> too (to save $400+).
> In my experience, the special tools for the job often cost more than the
> job itself (the first time).
> Where does one get the die grinder and carbide burs?
Eastwood has good ones ($60-$70 a set). Harbor Freight probably has cheaper
ones. A
pneumatic grinder will work just fine with a medium compressor. A "Dremel Moto
Tool"
won't cut it. Literally.
>
> Mainly I am interested in just getting it to be at a very nice stock level
> of running. I am not
> terribly interested in significant increases in HP. Maybe it would not be
> necessary to do the
> porting, just new valves, seats, guides, etc. I do have a "spare" head
> lying around here to
> play with. I might have a go at the whole 9 yards!
Porting is very misunderstood. I guess you could say the idea isn't to change
the port,
so much as to "blueprint" the port. The idea is to get it to match what the
engineer drew
in the blueprints -- something that requires 10-20 hrs of handwork. You can
imagine that
Triumph didn't have time to do this to every head it made (I think even BMW
only does it
to the M series nowadays).
You don't need the blueprints, either. Just stick you finger in there. If it's
rough or
jagged, make it smooth. Make it clean. Smooth the bumps. No need to make the
port
"bigger". Take a manifold gasket and put it up against the head. Make the ports
the same
shape as the holes in the gasket (this doesn't always apply to intakes).
I find it very relaxing for some reason. ;>)
Give it a good valve job. Put bronze valve guides in. This is the most cost
effective
engine work you can do. 10-20hp - 10-20ft/lbs or torque. Bump the compression a
bit,
especisally if you have a low compression TR6 or a Spit....
Check out the Standard Abrasives website. They have a great brochure about
porting. I
have it as a PDF file if you like me to send it via email. Warning-- it's about
1mb. (A
very long download with a modem.)
Good luck!
Christopher M.Lillja
Marketing Associate
Princeton University Press
Tel:609 258 4900
Fax:609 258 6305
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