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Well, Alan... We ARE talking the "Prince of Darkness" here, lest we forget!! :):) Now for reality...nothing lasts forever. We get VCR's and TV's into the shop all the time with oxidized circuits. A thorough cleaning with electical "cleaner" is the norm together with soldering new when required. The environment of the older cars also does it's thing. Crankcase vapors along with general dampness caused by condensation and general exposure to the elements I guess. Every time a current passes it leaves it's little "mark" in terms of oxidation and eventually, there will be "discoloration" of the more exposed... MORE
when you turn on the ignition. tach, fuel pump, wipers, brake stop light, reversing lights, heater fan..... The fault must be on the "downstream" side of the fuse for it to blow, so it is likely to be one of those, or the wiring to them. Some of these are switchable: lights, wipers, fan etc so if they are switched off when the fuse blows then it may be one of the non- switched items although it could still be a damaged wire between fuse block and switch. Guy "Guy Weller" 28195... MORE
So much depends on a properly operating electrical system, particularly in older spridgets. To be fair to the Lucas the Prince of Darkness any 30 - 40 year old electrical system, even the best for the period spridgets were made, fails with age and usually for the same reasons . . . oxidation of contacts and a mixture of oil and dirt. A basic knowledge of electronics is a powerful tool in trouble shooting. Having a background in electronics it is painful for me to watch anyone jabbing in the dark when trying to fix electrical problems when a... MORE
I have a yamaha virago 1100 that's been sitting for about a month. Went to crank it and the battery went dead. Put it on the charger and couldn't get the needle to come down past 5 and had the battery bubbling. I'm assuming the battery has gone bad. Is that correct? "Virginia" 28191... MORE
Mark - Oh, and one other thing - yeah, the fitting of the top end parts went fine. No problem with the part fitment. But you have to reroute your front brake lines on early model Spridgets (yours) to make room for them. Ever hand bend brake lines into complex 3D shapes? Buy several extras, and start with coat hanger wire to get the shape close. It's tons of fun. Sorry I forgot that one "small" detail. H "hamondale" 28146... MORE
A buddy of mine, living in Germany during March of 1963, got the following quote from the Austin Motor Car Co., Ltd., Motor Export Corporation, Ltd. of Piccadilly, London on a new AH3000... A-H 3000 Sports Conv. L865.00.00 (Mono or DuoTone) Prod. Line fitted extras: Heater 15.10.00 Overdrive 50.00.00 Wire Wheels 25.00.00 Adj. Steering Col. 2.00.00 Tonneau 10.00.00 Knockoffs (ea. wheel) 1.06.00 Servo Ass't. Brakes 10.00.00 *Steering Lock 4.10.00 *Wing Mirror 1.11.04 * = Compulsory in Germany A hardtop is not currently available thru the Personal Exports Divison Anyone care to do the exchange rate math at "yesterday's" prices,... MORE
G'day Jorge At first I thought the car was an Alvis. But the knock offs have me doubting. English and European cars with wire wheels tend to have smaller knock-offs holding on the wheels. The American cars of the same period tended to the large style as you can see on your pictures. There looks like there is a badge in the centre of the knock-off. Pity we don't have a picture of it! avagoodday - and avagood holiday regards Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 28116... MORE
OK Gingerino...here we go.... The amount of choke (in terms of manual cable/jet travel) that is required to... 1. get the engine to "fire" to begin with 2. allow it to continue running smoothly (decreasing amount) as it warms up to normal operating temperature. Fr'instance: On 40-45F+ mornings, no choke is really needed at all. A couple of turns of the motor with the starter button is all it takes. We let the oil pressure come up and fast idle it for a minute or so (1200-1500rpm) using our right foot, then drive it gently 'til it comes up... MORE
Hi, Can anyone tell me what the normal range of movement is for the clutch pedal on a '65 Midget MKII, and how stiff it should be? My clutch seems to work just fine, but I am surprised how short the range of motion is, and how stiff it is - it feels like its only going in about an inch, if that. As I said the car works, but the difference between in and out is so small that I find myself pushing hard to be sure I've got it in far enough in. If the pedal had... MORE
I put the new battery in the car, start it up. I have not started it since early Dec. It runs, but it is missing, and I have to play the accelerator to keep it going. Then, is just dies. It will turn over, but it will not start. I remove the distributor cap, and I am not getting any spark at the points. I went through all the steps in Bentley's "finding a fault in the low tension circuit" and everything checks out ok, but still, NO SPARK! There is even voltage across the points, this is crazy........... MORE
Brad, If you have 12 volts at the points, they WILL spark! Period! If they don't, check to see if they actually close enough to have the actual points really touch each other. If you have a volt meter, make sure that one side is actually grounded and the other side actually has 12 volts on it. I have seen it out of adjustment enough where the little cam does not let the points come closed enough to really touch with any pressure. Doesn't hurt to close points, take a little slip of 400 wet or dry sand paper... MORE
So has anyone heard of an MK Powered auto battery. They are a non-spillable lead acid gel battery, made in Anaheim, CA. These don't even have the purchase date and month popped out on them!! They have the top posts, with a hole through it for a bolt on connection, and round enough for a clamp as well. The dimensions are 9" wide x 5.5" deep x 8" tall. I have no idea what the cold cranking amps are, but they sure do spin up a Sprite engine well. And for $10 each, new, I HAD to buy two.... MORE
Zappa? Is that you Zappa? Leak is most likely caused by a sticking fuel float inlet valve. It may have a bit of grit in it. They are easy to replace, but try cleaning it first. Another likely culprit is the short length of flexible plastic tube that connects from the base of the carburetta bowl to the main jet. They come loose and leak at the bowl end. There should be a small neoprene washer, a brass washer and a gland nut. Don't overtighten the gland nut, but do make sure the pipe is pushed well into the... MORE
Hi, Alan... With respect to correctly sized LCB.... for the stock and/or short cammed engine (with largest Mickey D's in one hand and Vizard's book in the other) in a word NO, not in and of itself with respect to the stock engine, or even as part of a free flow system, unless you are cruising the highways at 70+ most of the time. For a trifle more power... The short 3-1 is better for fuel economy below the rpms associated with tooling around town and driving applications wherein rpm's associated with the above paragraph aren't likely to be... MORE
Thanks to all the "start-up" advice, the initial run-in went without a hitch. But a strange problem cropped up. Engine is a fresh high compression 1275 with PCV only. It would run very well for the first few minutes, and then start to belch smoke the likes of which few could imagine. It would do this for a couple minutes, then run normal again. Also, I could not get it to idle below 1200 rpm despite the fact that the carbs were fresh and were properly set up. With throttles CLOSED it still idled at about 1200. After doing... MORE
Peter, Right you are. I wondered if anyone would realize that the distributor drive gear is connected to the camshaft which actually turns the oil pump. Lots of wasted time doing it this way if you ask me. Its your money.....I heard of one fellow that hooked up a presurized bug spray can with oil in it to the oil gauge feed pipe or something and pumped oil through his engine before starting. I heard it killed bugs for miles when he drove by for years afterwards. LOL Really, I think that this is to anal for a common... MORE
Peter... My mechanic packs the oil pump with..... grease!! Same grease he uses when lubricating chassis/suspension grease nipples. He will also turn the engine over with a drill via the distributor drive to ensure oil pressure before the actual start. His "way". Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 27839... MORE
David Jacobs wrote ........if a valve seat does come loose, I would have thought it won't actually drop onto the piston, since the valve head should always be bigger; having said that, if it holds the valve open, it can still cause interference problems. Very true, but I've also heard that if the press fit tolerance isn't correct , the valve seat insert can crack and break in half, not likely ,but a possibility that can easily be detected visually. More likely though is the long bolt in short hole theory. Alan "alan.east-jones" 27752... MORE
Hi all- First, let me take a moment and thank you all for the gracious way so many of you have spent your time trying to help. I recently sold a '96 Porsche 993, and let me tell you, if you do your own wrenching, you are on your own. This group is a real pleasure..... Worked on the problem this evening. Not sure what I have learned. I first pulled the starter. No change in problem. Next I decided to spend some quality time on my knees watching the valve and piston movement. Very interesting. I watched each... MORE
Hi Alan- That's what has me really confused. I am NOT sure it is stopping mechanically. Years ago I had a problem like this with one of my race motors, and it was found to be a ring of rust. This time, since I could not detect any "mechanical" stop and the valve train looked fine, I had my boys push a little harder, several times. They ended up skidding the car about a foot. It ain't budging. Got any suggestion as to how I can free up the initial tick-over? One other note. I carefully marked the crankshaft... MORE
"Sounds like you put a long bolt where a short one should go" Boy...this just lit up a bulb. There are two short screws behind the crankshaft timing chain pulley on the front face of the block. If one of thesse screws is a tad too long or is not fully home into the block, it will foul the crankshaft pulley. This may or may not be the source of the problem but just remembered this so thought I would "put it out there" for consideration. Hope you find the culprit, hope it's something simple and easily fixed, and... MORE
Don- As best as I could, I tried to eliminate the tranny in my testing. I put the car in neutral and could roll it all over the garage. I then left it in neutral and turned the engine by hand via the fan pulley. The crank turned the same amount as when in gear. Am I correct that this rules out internal tranny issues? Is there anything I could have done when bolting the tranny to the engine? For what it is worth, as I roll the car it sure FEELS like the problem is in the engine.... MORE
Be sure and pull the starter (easy) and check inside with a light and mirror, and listen in the hole for sound. (Long bolt) Chances are that a long bolt would not stop engine at TDC but somewhere in the cycle. (random). Use the broomstick! It can't ;possibly just stop with out making a noise unless someone left a red grease rag in a cylinder. I am taking Vegas odds on the cause. I think if it stops at TDC, it is something in the Cyl, but my vote goes for a long bolt (Non TDC stopping) in a... MORE
Sounds like you put a long bolt somewhere a short bolt goes. :) anon "Jon Paschke" 27734... MORE
I need help. Here's what happened. Began restoration about 10 years ago. Thought it would go faster than it did, so early on I had the engine done. It was built by Dave Tabor of Comptune, the guys who built all the SCCA champ 1275 motors. Anyway, I told Dave I wanted a 1967 street spec high compression engine. I know he used a factory crank and cam. I believe he used aftermarket pistons that he preferred with a compression of about 8.9 to 1. He used a factory non-emission head, redone to run unleaded. Job was completed many... MORE
