> First, I can definitely rule out the brakes dragging and wheel
> bearings need
> grease. As suggested, the car rolls easily on a flat surface. Car starts
> well, idles around 800 to 900rpm, and does not overheat. I set
> the timing at
> the plate spec of 4 degrees after.
Roger, FWIW that spec is with the vacuum retard active. If the retard
module is not working for some reason (not present, thermal switch not
working, etc.), 4ATDC is terribly late and will result in poor performance.
Try pulling off the retard line and see if the timing immediately moves to
around 12 BTDC.
> It was way off and runs a lot better
> now. However, I had a great deal of trouble setting the timing exactly as
> the most minute movement of the distributor cause the mark to move a lot.
Generally +/- 2 degrees is acceptable. However, optimum timing depends on
several factors that may change, so it's entirely permissible to experiment
a little. Triumph even recommended it, on non-emission controlled cars.
(US smog regulations forbid recommending it on smog cars.)
> The car blows grey smoke from exhaust which smells gasoline.
That sounds more like a mixture problem. How are your carb diaphragms ?
> Any suggestions on what to adjust next or what to look for?
Use your timing light to check that the centrifugal advance is working.
(With all vacuum lines disconnected from the dizzy, the timing mark should
advance smoothly as you slowly rev the engine up, then retard smoothly as
you let the rpm down.) Also look for spark scatter (mark appears to jump
around at certain rpm). Then check the vacuum advance (if your engine has
one) by temporarily connecting it to a source of manifold vacuum or a
Mity-Vac (retard line still disconnected) and watch that the timing moves
ahead a fair amount. (I don't have a spec handy, but it's typically
something like 10-15 degrees.)
Read the plugs, and do a "plug cut" to see what the mixture is doing under
load.
Check the valve clearances. Given that your ignition timing was way off, it
might be a good idea to double-check the cam timing too (the timing chain
may have slipped a tooth at some point).
What were the compression numbers like ?
Randall
/// triumphs@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|