Andy's awful autos: Vanden-blah

[sdkrc]

23 minutes ago, Andyrew said:

Collected

That's fucking spectacular, what a buy

[Andyrew]

110 miles home. Food first then lets roll!

 

[EyesWeldedShut]

I wouldn't have the patience to stop and eat - I'd be off - nice purchase
(Has it got overdrive?)

[Yoss]

So it says Spitfire IV on the bonnet not 1500 so I'm guessing it's a 1300? If so, even better. The 1300 is a much nicer engine. I may be biased. 

[Andyrew]

[Andyrew]

2 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

I wouldn't have the patience to stop and eat - I'd be off - nice purchase
(Has it got overdrive?)

It has, it also has some rather noisey pipes. 

My already damaged hearing may not recover!

 

[Matty]

3 hours ago, Andyrew said:

Collected

Fuck me, everyone's at it 👌

[Alan_Green]

2 hours ago, Andyrew said:

Small world!  I took an old convertible down to Brighton last night and stood on that very spot in the early hours of this morning taking photos.

Edit.  Darn it.  That's Worthing Pier.

[Andyrew]

Having taken the quieter roads id say 120 miles later and we are back at the workshop.

All 4 tyres are ancient an miss matched but appart from a bit of tuning needed im very happy.

Roof down the whole time so im as Deaf as a post now but very happy  

 

[Matty]

15 minutes ago, Andyrew said:

Having taken the quieter roads id say 120 miles later and we are back at the workshop.

All 4 tyres are ancient an miss matched but appart from a bit of tuning needed im very happy.

Roof down the whole time so im as Deaf as a post now but very happy  

 

Brilliant. Doing it proper

(Don't worry about the noise. My dad can hear me coming from about ten miles. It's convenient 😄)

[Andyrew]

8 hours ago, Yoss said:

So it says Spitfire IV on the bonnet not 1500 so I'm guessing it's a 1300? If so, even better. The 1300 is a much nicer engine. I may be biased. 

1300, twin SU carbs into a overdrive 4 speed box. 

Runs okay. Has a boggy spluttery issue but im looking forward to learning about tweaking older stuff as its really something ive never dealt with. 

[Andyrew]

What have i purchased then? 

After looking at a herald estate that was very rough with @Mrs6C i had gotten my mind into wanting something. I dont want a big project tho, a bit of tinkering is fine but i just want something that it up and running. 

I found myself browsing ebay for heralds and then looking up spitfire engines. Thats when this caught my eye.  The advert was well written and with the word "kippered" being used to describe the rear valance i knew the owner was a decent sort. 

A few ebay messages on monday me and a mate shoot down to shoreham by sea thater that day. 

A scruffy but running and driving spitty 

Good points, 

New sill and passengers floor, californian rust free bonnet, NOS twin su carbs, gt6 steels, twin pipes up the back and a new ish roof also included a pair of rear quarter panels and new seat foam.

While rust free the bonnet is scuffed and dented. I love it so it will stay exactly as it is. 

Kippered rear valance isnt too bad and i doubt ill be fixing it anytime soon. 

Archs are a bit bubbly, again i wont be fixing this anytime soon but the parts are included.

Dash had been redone, interior will clean up nicely.

 

[Andyrew]

[Yoss]

4 hours ago, Andyrew said:

 

Roof down the whole time so im as Deaf as a post now but very happy  

 

It won't be any quieter with the roof up, trust me. You just get used to it. I have the same engine in my 1300 TC. Actually it's the same spec as a mk3 Spitfire, I don't know if there's a difference between mk3 and mk4, I think it's mostly cosmetic isn't it?

I've been messing with mine today. 

Fitted all new studs to the head as last time I had the manifolds off I didn't realise one of the studs had almost unwound and was only hanging in by three threads. When I did the nut up it just pulled the stud out of the head. So I've been running it with only seven of the eight studs fitted. It was running OK but it was only a matter of time before the manifold gasket was gonna give way.

Fortunately there was plenty of thread left to put a new one in. 

A lot of them were looking a bit pitted anyway so I've put all new ones in and threadlocked them in so they should all stay in place next time I have to remove the manifolds, which happens on a regular basis. 

These engines are as simple as it's possible to be so if the rough running turns out to be something more serious they are a pleasure to work on. Obviously there's all sorts of things to try before that, just saying if the worst comes to the worst no job is particularly hard. 

[Andyrew]

The bad? 

A bogging and spluttering issue, goes well but let of the throttle to approach a round about and when you stop or slow down and try to pull away its bogging down and spluttering untill it clears its throat.  Maybe over fueling? Im not sure but ill have a nosey through and find out.

The tyres are really really old and mismatched. Flatspotted and the ROSAVA has buldged the sidewalls. 4 new boots will be fitted Asap.

 

[Yoss]

The first thing I'd look at is to see if the choke is closing properly. Either the choke cable or the linkage on the carbs can stick. When you pull the choke cable it pulls the jets downwards. When you put it back the jets should sit hard up against the bottom of the carb. If you reach under and push the jet upwards there should be no movement at all. If there is it hasn't returned properly. The jet is the red plastic thing at the bottom of the carb. Unless you have waxstat jets of course which just opens up a whole new level of pointless complexity. I added an extra return spring to mine. 

After that it would be the usual things. Check the points and condenser. You can't really check the condenser, you just put another one on. Spark plugs. Obviously check the gaps, but also being twin carb, if two are blacker than the other two, your carbs are out of balance. Also check the oil in the dashpots. There seem to be lots of arguments about what oil to use but I just use 20/50.

You could use the most sophisticated tools available to try and balance the carbs but two weeks later you'd have to do it again. That's just the way SU's are. You can live with a little imbalance, it's just when they get way out you need to sort them. 

That's enough to start with isn't it? 

[Mrs6C]

+1 for dashpot oil to prevent piston flutter. Other things to check are that both carb. pistons go up and down freely and cleanly and in synch, with each other when the throttle is opened. Also, check that the needles are of equal (and correct) sizes and are centred properly in the jets...

[High Jetter]

IIRC the books say 20/50 for dashpot oil.  Could be wear on needles or jets but I'd check fuel delivery & ignition first.

[Andyrew]

33 minutes ago, Yoss said:

The first thing I'd look at is to see if the choke is closing properly. Either the choke cable or the linkage on the carbs can stick. When you pull the choke cable it pulls the jets downwards. When you put it back the jets should sit hard up against the bottom of the carb. If you reach under and push the jet upwards there should be no movement at all. If there is it hasn't returned properly. The jet is the red plastic thing at the bottom of the carb. Unless you have waxstat jets of course which just opens up a whole new level of pointless complexity. I added an extra return spring to mine. 

After that it would be the usual things. Check the points and condenser. You can't really check the condenser, you just put another one on. Spark plugs. Obviously check the gaps, but also being twin carb, if two are blacker than the other two, your carbs are out of balance. Also check the oil in the dashpots. There seem to be lots of arguments about what oil to use but I just use 20/50.

You could use the most sophisticated tools available to try and balance the carbs but two weeks later you'd have to do it again. That's just the way SU's are. You can live with a little imbalance, it's just when they get way out you need to sort them. 

That's enough to start with isn't it? 

Thats fantastic thank you. 

The carbs are new old stock so everythings nice and clean which is handy.  

Ignition components all new from what ive peak at so far.  Loads of used ingniton stuff in the boot aswell. 

[SiC]

Nice buy 👍

I did see that one on my searches and was quite tempted. 

Spluttering - does it have the silly wax jets on the carb? Also poppet valves on the butterfly valve? Both are problematic especially as they age. 

Tbh if the carb is probably worth a rebuild if it hasn't been done in a while/if ever. Kits are available from SU/Burlen and are excellent quality. SUs are a piece of cake to rebuild and I find it quite enjoyable! Gives a chance to make it E10 compliant. 

[SiC]

A few posts on here where the (presumably) last chap did some work on it:

https://m.facebook.com/189241377810211/?locale=en_GB

 

[Andyrew]

Tyred!

When i picked up the changer and balancer, i bought myself a bag of 100 tyre valves, i thought they would last me a lifetime but i was wrong. Im approaching half way through!  Counting them up id say ive done 46 tyre swaps and balance since i got the two machines.

Last week id done Rikens on father rews ignis

Toyo nanos on a work van

And today see the shitfire get some matching toyo boots all round and a car dealer spec wheel refurb. 

 

[Andyrew]

Shitfire tinkerage. 

Previously i had a quick fidget with the carbs and got the balance where it sounded okay and a test drive seemed it was running better.  But once i revisted the car and it was cooled off a bit it was running still a bit shit.  Yesterday i took the carbs appart and reset everything to start from scratch. The front carb was set much richer that the other. Ive tweaked it again and balanced them and it seems to be running sweetly. Ill fired it up for a spin later and see what its like from cold. 

While in the workshop i set to address the makeshift overflow tank.

Thankfully the water in the system seems nice and clean however while functional the tank is a bit shit looking. 

Thankfully after a bit of googling and checking who had them in stock, the correct spitfire tank has been obtained from a local supplier. It didnt fit the OEM bracket so i had to modify it a bit and put in some rubber to grip it better, but thats cheap aftermarket parts for you (£2!) .

[Andyrew]

Test drive today. No better, balls. 

[Matty]

11 minutes ago, Andyrew said:

Test drive today. No better, balls. 

I buggered about with mine for ages. Bit of a frankenstien motor with a Cooper spec head, fast road inlet and exhaust manifolds and a bigger SU. In the end I took it to Minisport in Padiham who set it up on the rolling Road. Probably the best money I've spent on the car. Worth considering? (Albeit not at a garage in Lancashire 😄)

[Zelandeth]

Not wanting to teach granny how to suck eggs, but before you spend an eternity chasing your tail with carb fine tuning, make sure the bloody points gap is sensible, they're clean and try a substitute condenser (a decent one, so from Distributor Doctor or similarly trusted source) as 99.98% of them out there these days are absolutely crap.

Ignition issues can masquerade astonishingly well as fuelling ones sometimes and I've been caught out by this more than once.  

[Andyrew]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Not wanting to teach granny how to suck eggs, but before you spend an eternity chasing your tail with carb fine tuning, make sure the bloody points gap is sensible, they're clean and try a substitute condenser (a decent one, so from Distributor Doctor or similarly trusted source) as 99.98% of them out there these days are absolutely crap.

Ignition issues can masquerade astonishingly well as fuelling ones sometimes and I've been caught out by this more than once.  

Teach away.  This car isnt really anything im used to, im a have a go tinkerer at best and This kind of old tech is is something im interested to learn about.

Im not fully convinced the ignition system is all that, Its been gone through and theres a few points and condesors in the boot to show this has been an ongoing issue,  Ive picked up some more via work but intermotor is the only option available to me. 

 

 

 

[SiC]

They always say running issues with old British cars its invariably on the igntion side, not the carb side.

Intermotor condensers and rotor arms are shit. Throw them straight in the bin. Their points are acceptable.

This what you need:

https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/condenser-lead-25d-high-quality-gsc111hq.html

Lead will be wrong, just unsolder the fly lead, chop the ones off the existing and solder it on.

Also get a genuine distributor doctor rotor arm. Are you on a Lucas 45d?

https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/rotor-arm-45d4-high-quality-gra2114hq.html

[SiC]

Replacing the condenser and rotor arm with genuine Distributor Doctor won't neccessarily fix your problem. But if you're on Intermotor condenser+rotor parts then they are a suspect and only a matter of time before they will leave you stranded.

[Andyrew]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

They always say running issues with old British cars its invariably on the igntion side, not the carb side.

Intermotor condensers and rotor arms are shit. Throw them straight in the bin. Their points are acceptable.

This what you need:

https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/condenser-lead-25d-high-quality-gsc111hq.html

Lead will be wrong, just unsolder the fly lead, chop the ones off the existing and solder it on.

Also get a genuine distributor doctor rotor arm. Are you on a Lucas 45d?

https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/rotor-arm-45d4-high-quality-gra2114hq.html

Not the lucas, seems to the the delco unit with the shallow cap like below.