Well, it finally happened. Utterly frustrated with the poor running of the
TR4 - no power, stuttering under load, -having checked and retuned everthing
I knew how, took the car to a Jaguar guy here in Sausalito. I won't tell
you the labor rates. Still, for 1.6 hours of time he located the problem in
the distributor. He just happened to have a new Pertronix Flamethrower unit
in a another TR4, so he switched it into my car, and took me off on a
hair-raising ride. Great pickup, great power. Drives like it did a few
years ago. Even the OD was clicking in and out on cue.
Apparently, the dist. is "metallizing", ie throwing fine metal dust into the
cap. It appears that the shaft is worn and the advance mechanism worn out.
Of course he wanted to buy and install the Flamethrower for me, but I
demurred. So my question to you all is:
Rebuild or buy? If rebuild, what shops have some of you had good experience
with. Advance Distributors gets a good rec from a posting on the 6-Pack
site.
If buy, is the Mallory the way to go? My engine has a "D" cam, 87mm pistons,
and the head shaved .090. Pertronix does not have an adjustable advance
curve, I take it.....does that matter? Is anybody operating the Pertronix?
Are there other makes I should consider?
So, Chris, it was electrical after all. What do you know about that?
Thanks, and regards.
John Howard
=== This list supported in part by The Vintage Triumph Register
=== http://www.vtr.org
|