Hi Paul,
New cam? Or freshly reground? Has it been hardened? It should be.
Are you considering re-using old tappets? Personally, I'd want to put in a
complete, brand new and matched set of tappets whenever a new or reground cam
is installed. And, I'd have each and every one hardness tested, despite being
new and *especially* if sourced from certain major U.S. LBC vendors who take
an attitude about parts quality that seems something like "Hey, it's good
enough! After all it's not like that old car is actually going to be run very
much
or driven very hard."
Last I heard, Greg Sulow at The Engine Room in Santa Cruz - who is known
for the TR/Morgan 4-cylinder race engines he builds - was reporting something
like a 50% fail rate on brand new TR tappets from various sources that he'd
personally tested for hardness. I'd be leery of many "stock" tappets at this
point in time and would be inclined to have any and all tested before
installing.
The latest and greatest replacement/upgrade tappets for the 4-cylinder TR
motor are said to be GT40 with a specially fitted sleeve, available from
www.britishframeandengine.com here in the U.S. ( or www.racetorations.co.uk in
England). Reports are these have consistently tested to be of high quality, and
arewell proven in the cars. These tappets are said to be hard enough to hold up
quite well themselves and yet not be too hard as to excessively wear the cam
flat in a very short time. I wonder if there might be some advantage to the
slightly smaller diameter, too (which is why sleeves are needed)? Used TR
camshafts and tappets I've seen over the years seem to show most damage,
besides
normal wear, as flaking or chipping at the edges of the cam lobes and/or around
the rims of the tappet.
GT40 tappets are more expensive (largely due to the extra sleeve) and
for a modestly driven car there are likely some less expensive alternatives.
One
is the lightened/hardened/drilled "upgades" that both BFE and Moss/Moss
Europe offer as a performance item.
I bet Ted Schumcher at www.tsimportedautomotive.com could supply a good
set, too. (And can provide quality pushrods to match, in custom lengths as
needed.)
www.bpnorthwest.com states they test all their tappets and, reading
their website, seem proud of them. But I've not used them and can't say any
more
from personal experience. I'm sure there are other sources I'm forgetting.
Just be sure to shop around.
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
'62 TR4 CT17602L
http://www.triumphowners.com/640
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I sent off my tappets to Integral Cams for testing. 3 of them were found to
be no good. I ordered 3 replacements from Moss- certainly these don't need
testing, do they?
Does it make a difference if 2 of the new tappets are put in one cylinder or
all three in different cylinders?
Thanks, Paul Dorsey
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