I sent this out a few hours ago, but owing to the annoying computer, it sent
it to the digest instead!(Auto complete e-mail address feature strikes
back!)
Anyway, since I wrote the original letter, I have run to Pep Boys and
secured a new set of points and a rotor for the junkyard pull-out Spitfire
distributor. (Funny thing- but a Spitfire takes exactly the same points as
my 52 Seagrave Fire Engine's V-12! But not as many sets...) Anyhow, I
cleaned and reassembled the Spitfire dizzy, and after reseting the dizzy
drive gear(I needed to relocate #1 from 7 o'clock to 9 o'clock as otherwise
the advance unit hit the genny) proceeded to attempt to fire her up. She ran
better on the Spit dizzy than she did on the Lucas replacement one she
recently got, NOS! Very smooth sounding. Now I just have to get the fuel
pump settled, and I'll be in business. Once I have her running great on the
carb, I will screw it all up by putting my rebuilt HS 2's on. Then to find a
decent Spitfire head to rebuild :)
Please enjoy the original message below!
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott A. Roberts
To: Triumphs@Autox.team.net daily digest
Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2001 6:47 PM
Subject: ARRRRGGGHHHH! Lucas strikes again! and others...
Ok- Lucas has struck- My little 64 Herald is off line again, due to a
distributor problem. The horrible stench(and I mean stench) of plastic death
has permeated the distributor. I fired up the car today, trying to test a
fuel pump theory(more in a minute) and, after a little hard spinning, she
started- but she did not run as well as usual. After some experimentation
and searching, I discovered the little plastic piece holding the condenser
and points contact spring had melted completely, shorting out the points
horribly(ergo the plastic burning stench) and cooking the wires leading to
the condenser and coil. Is this normal? I can only figure the points cooked
and overheated during one of my test runs, but I can find no apparent cause-
I am usually very careful about switching the ignition off when the motor is
not spinning(I have worked with points for years) So now I am going to
attempt to resurrect the Spitfire distributor I have- wish me luck!
As to the fuel pump idea, I received a regulator(Thanks to Ken Waringa!
Thank you again!) but unfortunately, it failed to reduce the fuel pressure
at all. So, having only been told the fuel pump was bad, I decided to test
the theory myself. Well, the fuel pump, when connected, put out a higher
fuel pressure, but worked correctly. Luckily the Lucas ignition killed
itself- at this point I discovered fuel coming out of the housing! So I
pulled the pump, and(guess what.) the diaphragm was hard. Hence the higher
than normal fuel pressure. And brittle- thus the leakage. I am not sure if
any got in the crankcase- all I smell is the Marvel Mystery Oil I put in to
help the oil circulate when I put fresh oil in before starting here the
first time. Another lister is sending along a fuel pump, so I am hoping it
will work out, and I will be withholding fuel pump experiments until it
arrives.
Now, off to Pep Boys for points and a rotor for the Spitfire distributor!
Scott
64 Herald 1200 CV Lucas Victim of the day
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