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OK, Rob C. Belay the first paragraph of my previous post then. Now that I know the circumstances, I totally agree with your mech. in that you need to "vent" the crankcase, either to the airfilters (if possible) or to atmospher via a "breather" similiar to the one you can find at www.speedwellengineering.com under "performance, misc.". These breather cans are also available for more reasonable prices from Jeg's and/or Summit . Open up whatever vents you have on the valve cover and skip the charcoal cannister competely with respect to the motor. Now, because the fuel system is closed... MORE
Cap'n The car cam with a ZS150. I transplanted a Spitfire 1300 carb/manifod setup. The original set up had a valve cover tube and a carb tube that connected to a charcoal canister along with the fuel vent tubing. The pro I had work on the car is good. His opinion is that I need negative pressure off the valve cover which between a 30 year old cannister and some suspect tubing connections I am not getting. Most of the original emmissions equipment was gone when I got the car. The motor is a fresh rebuild. Rob C Webfoot... MORE
Folks, Am finally, after 6 years, getting to enjoy my LBC ('75 1500) but I still have some issues. Suggestions have been made and I was hoping group members might comment. After having my twin carb setup tweaked by a "pro" I started leaking oil out of the dipstick. Sealing the joint helped but has not cured the problem which seems to occur at sustained higher speeds and RPM's. It has been suggested that instead of running the valve cover breather tube to the charcoal cannister that I run it into the back of the air cleaner for better... MORE
I thought you might like to see these stats about dragsters. It is surprising and amazing. Bob Dragsters..... Cool info about dragsters.......... * One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of race cars at the Daytona 500. * Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1=BD gallons of nitromethane per second. * A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to even drive the dragster supercharger. * With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a... MORE
Robert, You are going to be sorry you asked. For other listers, log off if this is too boring and it has NO LBC. Back in '72 or so, I was taking a camping trip around the United States with my then wife and two kids, age 9 & 10. We were driving my white Chevy California hippie van with side pipes and big tires in the rear. My wife was a fashion model and I had long hair and a beard. We stopped in Sheffield Texas for gas and I tried to buy some beer. The old crone... MORE
Anyone know if stainless steel fuel tanks are still available for early Spridgets, mine is a MKIII Sprite 1966. I Know they were available a couple of years back but currently none of the usual suspects here in the UK seem to stick them. I think the Idea of a stainless tank is brilliant since there is mo possibility of corrosion crud building up on the inside and finding its way in to the carbs (ever) and no need to paint the outside. Thanks and best regards Dave "David Dixon" 36963... MORE
Hello, Well it's a sad day I have to sell my Sprite. Life and school don't seem to agree with my little English car. Here is a list of all the goodies that it has: Some details are: Engine 1089cc bored .040 over Intake valve is 1 5/16"(Rimflow) Exhaust valve is1 1/16 (Rimflow) The head has been ported and has a 10:1 compression ratio. The cam specs are duration @ .020 (In./Ex.) 268-272. Rockers ratio is 1.5:1 Duplex adjustable cam gear Also has Isky duel value springs. Pistons are flattop Hepolites Heavy-duty radiator/with 10" fan Twin HS2s with red... MORE
I rebuilt the engine recently and I am trying to sort everything out before I try starting it. I took the plugs out, I thopught I primed the pump, and then I cranked the engine untill the battery was half dead still no oil pressure. Before anyone asks, I put three quarts of oil in already and there is a new filter installed, and the oil cooler is all hooked up. Whats wrong with this picture? "gan5ub91179g" 36936... MORE
The price of crude is driving the price of conventional oil up faster than synthetic. Wal-mart still sells 5 gallon jugs of Mobil- 1 for $20, and regular oils are approaching $2/quart. I've run my Caddy on Mobil-1 for thast 100K miles, and I think I'll change all the other cars to synthetic too. "joe blxfstz" 36928... MORE
"Oils ain't oils" Cheapo oil is exactly that...good base stock without benefit of the major mfgr's additive packages which make it "better" in preventing formation of acids, foaming, varnish/deposits, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. While the tolerences within our older engines were spec'd with petroleum based oils in mind...viscosity as much if not moreso, as film strength being in mind as a "boundary" between parts ................a quart of synthetic within 3 of petroleum can only be a good thing in terms of upgrad ing the mix by "reinforcing" film strength while adding "slipperiness" to t he whole. I HAVE... MORE
Have you tried squirting some oil in the lock? That sometimes helps. The lock on the passenger's door of my midget is difficult to use, so I lock it from the inside. Margaret South Lincolnshire (UK) "May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead" mmbrock88@... 36892... MORE
Hi Jeremy, Water flows from the block/thermostat housing to radiator top then cooler water returns to the water pump from the bottom of radiator. Thermostat should have the heat sensor/bellows toward the block. There may be a passel of other things that are wrong too. Such as radiator blocked with debris, return hose collapsing, heat gauge off calibration, vapor lock, fuel hoses partially blocked, the list goes on!! Don't run the car without a thermostat, either. May develop dangerous hot spots in the engine. Paul A "Paul Asgeirsson" 36888... MORE
Gavin... I know little about 1500's and nothing about European spec types however, I 'd not be driving the car with a fuel leak in the engine compartment. Not as bad as a Series A wherein the exhaust/carbs reside on the same side of the engine nor a situation wherein the higher pressures of fuel injection may be involved but....not a good idea nontheless. Pick up from your supplier an SU carb overhaul kit. This will contain the n ew gaskets/seals you no doubt will need to put a stop to the fuel leak, assuming it is from the... MORE
My car recently broken down and I was hoping somebody might be able to give some idea of the likely fault and how to fix it. After being run fairly hard for about 30 mins then pulling up to traffic lights my '76 1500cc Midget had very little power when I tried to pull away from lights. Pressing the accelerator made neighter the speed increase or the Revs. Instead it just made the engine sound rougher. I pulled over straight away and found out that the lower two pistons ( furthest from the driver) were doing nothing. (I pulled... MORE
I misunderstood. I thought you said it misfires above 2800, when what you actually said is that it misfires AT 2800, but is okay above and below. I'm pretty sure this is a carburation problem wherein at a certain rpm there is a strange harmonic set up in the intake manifold and carburetor, which causes erratic, uncontolled movement of the air piston. Try this: Remove the old oil from the piston damper. To do this you'll have to remove the cap and the screws which hold the cover in place. Then remove the piston and it's diaphragm. Be careful,... MORE
Yes, Cap'n, personal in the sense that it is aftermarket. It is a Grant GT. I'd prefer a plain horn cap, though. I don't like logos, raised white letters on tires, etc. (Pay me if you want me to advertise your damn product.) It's actually a little too small. I can't see a all of the speedometer in the 40 - 70mph range, but the more important tach is fully visible. It was a lot of screwing around to adapt the hub fitting I had and get the horn to work, but it seems ok now. I haven't had... MORE
I don't know what the deal is with motors and me. I think the only things I have that have good motors anymore are the two new cars I got in December. They are good, because I purchased them brand new. I don't tear things up; I just tend to buy other peoples worn and abused stuff, and more than likely they tell me things are fantastic, when in fact they aren't. Skorpion Motorcycle Motor dropped a valve, chewed the piston up, etc. etc. etc. - recently sold to a racer - was caused when the PO jacked with... MORE
Same here with my mk3 midget. When leaded fuel was around I got 200 to the tank full. Then it started dropping. I think it's something to do with mode rn day fuel!! "They don't make it like they used to". Also, when I firat got the car nearly 20 years ago, it cost me =A35 to fill up from empty, now it's over =A325. It's a sign of the times!! Margaret South Lincolnshire (UK) "May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead" mmbrock88@... 36812... MORE
Rick, On my Sprite, I run 2" pipes from my header collectors back to oval Flowmaster mufflers. They are pulled up hard against the floorboards with a quadruple layer of fiberglass/foli insulation. My floorboards do not get hot. The fuel and brake lines and the battery cable nearby are heavily insulated and I've had no problem with those either. Oh, and the exhaust sounds tolerably quiet at low loads and idle, but nasty when on it. My ground clearance is about 3" at the low spots on the collectors and mufflers. I have 24 ga. stainless steel skid skins... MORE
Unless you have an aversion to removing the water pump, I'd just go ahead and replace the head gasket at this point, based on my experience with "quick fixes" in this area. The hard part is already done - removing the carbs & manifold. An oil change is always healthy. However, if you do want to try the re-torquing bit, from what i have read/heard, you should do one bolt at a time - loosen and retorque - in a specific order (as listed in Haynes & Bentley manuals). Cracking all the bolts at once will allow the oil... MORE
Does your fuel gauge go to the far right after a fill-up? I've found that a minor short (or excessive resistance) has made my fuel gauge read a bit low in the past. Finding a loose or corroded/rusted ground wire has usually fixed the problem. If the gauge does go full right, it might be a tank/sender issue. Adam J.Kopff 36734... MORE
How do you lube the steering on a 60 bugeye. There is a zirc fitting and the book says to use 140 weight gear oil. I went to the car parts store and couldn't find a tool to inject the oil into the fitting. Any ideas? Thanks Bob Irwin rlirwn@... 36732... MORE
Vince....I may be mis-understanding your terms, but here goes..... Off hand, it sounds like the front carb is "weak" while the rear carb is "correct" or maybe a little rich. Don't forget, these are "interdependent" considering they're "connected" by a "balance" tube. Therefore it is possible for one carb to run the whole show....IOW, one "weak" and one maybe "overly" rich. For BOTH carbs..... the result with proper mixture should be a slight initial rise in rpm (50 or so) followed by a return to the prior i dle speed as the air valve is "held" less than 1/8"... MORE
74F here in Dallas. Drained just the radiator and replaced that volume with nothing but distilled water (thought that was the best way to go, introducing as little as typical water impurities as possible) and obtained some very notable running temp results. I'd say 20-25' less (from 190F) cruising temp and not quite 200F at most red lights. I'm satisfied. Thanks for responding. Now, if I can gain a comfort level in adjusting the carbs (dual HS2). You may be hearing from me next on that. If you know the cooling system is sound, and the engine is correctly... MORE
Hello, Couple of questions I have hopefully some one can solve them for me. My Car is Uk 1500cc 1976 Midget First my car does not indicate tothe right when the steering wheel is dead straight. The lights does not come up and the dash board and the clicking noise is far more rapid than it should be. However when I turn the steering wheel a small amount in either direction it works fine. ( And i get strange looks when I have to sway across the road so my car will indicate) The left hand indicator works fine.... MORE
