MAIN
Tuning
Previous Page | Next Page
Roger, I totally agree, and do the same. Whatever it is, concentration on driving takes priority. Suspend anything else immediately whenever the need arises I rarely listen to the radio as most stations involve talk and talking distracts. I do listen to tapes of well-loved music which is familiar and does not distract. I also like the sound of the A- series, but sometimes want both. What detracts from listening in a Sprite is wind noise at anything like a decent (or is that indecent) speed, not the tuneful sounds of a well revved engine. My thought that I... MORE
Alan It seems you're following in my footsteps or viceversa, having done/doing this exact same job myself. Perhaps you can benefit from my experience. First off, forget using any kind of power tool on the underseal its a waste of time. The technique that I found works reasonably well on removing the underseal is as follows, I'm afraid however you tackle this job, it's not pleasant, will take ages is boring and messy as hell. I found using a heat gun and scraper worked really well getting off the bulk of the underseal. Just heat it up enough for... MORE
Well, Guy Weller..... The tonneau when "down" would block one of those speakers mounted in the area (otherwise neat location, BTW!:) you speak of, Guy. So, I too will experiment with a single earpiece set-up initially and see how it works out. "Roger" on the ear plugs...used them all the time together with Dave Clark headset "gel" ear pads when flying the friendly skies. Audible sound was "behind us" in any event, most of the "hearing" taking place in the spine and bones (vibrations). Nontheless, there is plenty of slipstream (air) noise going by the cockpit at speed. The... MORE
..sounds like your rear leaf springs to axle u-bolts need to be tightened. The whole axle can easily shift up to 2-3 degrees off line with the road direction. Consider replacing the rubber pads under the mount points and check the u-bolt torque. Paul Tegler ptegler@... www.teglerizer.com "ptegler@cablespeed" 23795... MORE
Can anyone give me the description of the restrictors that I think should be in the tube from the timing case to the PCV valve. I have just rebuilt my '68 1275 engine and it is sucking enough oil through the oil seperator to go through the engine. I tried a 1/8" restrictor and had much oil out the rear seal(screw). I then put a 5/16" inch restrictor closer to the PVC valve and it seems to do much better. I have found no information other than a reference to tube and restrictor in the Hayes manual. Thanks Jim... MORE
Trevor I investigated the possiblity of converting to gas shock absorbers myself and did some investigation into it, but I don't have that information to hand, so I'm going from memory. I think my conclusion was that it wasn't worth the money compared to the benefits received, as I mentioned, correctly working lever arm shock absorbers were perfectly adequate for normal road use. The comments I'd heard from people who had converted to gas shock absorbers followed similar lines - ie the benefits received didn't justify the expenditure. A case of the old 90/10 rule. Other comments were that... MORE
Actually, I've already done a 5-speed conversion. This is what lead to the idea of a tighter front suspension. The 5-speed is so smooth I find myself driving the midget much harder. Now that I'm not focusing on double clutching (the syncros were shot in the old trans.) I'm taking turns and bends much faster. ;-) "Trevor Jessie" 23778... MORE
"I would suggest....Datsun 5-speed" Food worth thought, IMHO. Yes...the 5 speed simply "transforms" the car....for sure! Peace and quiet of operation, fully synchro with slightly lower first three gears for xcellent acceleration, while retaining the normal 1-1 4th and engine/fuel saving "overdrive" 5th. And "rebuilt" boxi available for 1/2 the cost of "stock" box (not that you'll probably ever need one considering the HP/torque of the original 210 the box was designed for....but, in the event!:) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23777... MORE
Nigel!! Statutory nuisance a nuisance as defined by written law (town or state "statute") you gotta get ahold of the written laws which describe in writing exactly what a noise nuisance consists of or someone knowledgeable with the written law on same. Like the police who are responsible for handling such complaints and the laws pertaining thereto? Otherwise: I would start at the town clerks office unless you wish to pay an attorney to take the time to investigate and confer (explain) with you on same. Town clerk ought to be able to direct you to appropriate dept. Cap'n.... MORE
Cap'n Yeah it's the grinder that get's her too. But how do you work on a metal car without making noise? I've looked up the necessary information on the local Council website and the best I can find is - It is important to understand that this means a nuisance in law, usually referred to as a "statutory nuisance", and not merely an inconvenience It's so grey its unbeleivable, what constitutes a 'statutory nuisance' ? Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 23698... MORE
Jim Actually I think my long suffering neighbours are the ones implanting the 'never again' chant into me. I jokingly said to him one day, well when this one's finished I'm going to =3D=0D restore an x - he wasn't amused and the look on his face was worth a thousand words. Seriously though, I have, increasingly been having a lot of problems with m =3D=0D y neighbours over the amount of noise I've been making, mainly as a result of =3D=0D the angle grinder. Unfortunately the lady who lives there works part time and comes home at lunchtime... MORE
Jim I've always had a passion for Lotus's, but whether I'll realise a dream of =3D=0D actually owning one is another matter. If the Midget is a starter, then a L =3D=0D otus Elan must be the main course! The Elan is almost like a grown up Midget with better handling and more power - but somewhat more fragile. I think Lotus's have gained this reputation for being a lot of trouble main =3D=0D ly due to the fact that they are virtually road going racing cars and as such =3D=0D really do need a lot of pampering and... MORE
My Aunt Jean owned one of them for a few years. I thank my lucky stars that I atained driving age before she sold it to a collector in western NY. It was certainly an experience that I will never forget....Amazing power curve. *THANK YOU CARROL SHELBY* David A. Stevens Jr. Utilities Engineer II NYS Office Of General Services Sheridan Avenue Steam Plant 79 Sheridan Avenue Albany, NY 12210 "Stevens, David" 23693... MORE
Yeah... Wait'll you try driving one around on a day by day basis. Believe it or not, you get tired of all the noise, the tendency to over-heat and the horribly "heavy" handling (which gets quite nice at around 80 or so!!:):):) of the 427. The 289 was easier to live with on a day by day basis and still went like hell. BTDT with both cars on a limited basis, in my younger years. The cars were owned by the fathers of some of the girls I and a buddy dated....like way back when! The cars were great!!... MORE
Guy Weller writes..."so what changes?" Exactly..."old story" I am afraid. Were Cecil's problem one of his being of the old school and a good bloke doing his best for the company and getting screwed accordingly in having his loyalty and hard work rewarded by a screwing, it wouldn't surprise me a bit. Look what some of our Companies did over here just recently, to employee and stockholders alike!! To the tune of literally billions!!! Big business and politics...they both make me barf. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23691... MORE
Nigel... The noise laws differ from town to town I am sure. Your local town hall types could point the way in this respect as to what rules might be in effect in your area, and under the circumstances, I would become familiar with them, along with EPA laws on disposal, painting, etc. Things are different from when I grew up and was doing this work in what was at the time a blue collar residential area. I am not sure what would and would not be tolerated today. But there is another side to this when it comes... MORE
Nigel states.."the Elan is almost like a grown up Midget" My old buddy Alan who owns an XK-140 Jag (with Ford 289!) along with a Ferrari 308 has been trying to get me into an Elan for many a moon as he knows I much admire the machine for it's light weight, handling and "go-power". It's a grown up Spridget if there ever was one!! :):):) But the guys who could service the marque back when I could've learned about them wanted a fortune so I canned that idea and stuck with the more affordable Spridgets, which I "knew"... MORE
Although I say Cecil Kimber was only an employee, he was the one who, off his own initiative, started modifying Morris cars and selling them as MGs The first ones only involved bodywork modifications and some accurate engine tuning (not engine modifiactaion) The effect was so good that before long they were selling more of the "MG " varients than the standard models. Only later did they get into racing and were pretty amazingly sucessful. Reall swept the board in the 750cc classes in a way that no modern manufacturer ever manages to do. They simply wipoed out the... MORE
I opened a sticking tach and found the trouble to be a warped plastic bobbin that was used to form the wire coil on the end of the indicator pointer. The bobbin walls are very thin as it is mounted on the moving needle, heat and age deteriorate and warp it to a point that it strikes adjacent surfaces causing the indicator needle to stick. I was able to gently pry off the warped and brittle side walls of the bobbin which allowed free motion again. Would not recommend trying this to anyone unless they are very comfortable working... MORE
Well, Don Ma, you already have the answer to this but even if you already knew, I can empathize... it IS a little difficult to think straight with "Mr. Thirsty" making all that noise in their reverberating throughout your skull, eh? Cap'n. Bob '60 : {) Confirmed Anti-Dentite PilotRob@... 23638... MORE
Don, Re the crack, there are many al. alloys which are not weldable, but I have no idea about this one. In any case, a typical good welding-repair practice for large and relatively fragile castings such as this is to pre-heat the whole bare casting (in an oven) and keep covered with thermal blankets as much as possible during the weld time to minimise distortion. Without this, even if the bell housing IS weldable, one of the dangers is that you might just cause the crack to propagate further by attempting to weld in situ and thus cause more... MORE
Hi guys At last I've almost finished the paint stripping/underseal stripping. What a boring, tedious, monotonous job that was! By far the worst I've had to do so far and I'm so pleased its now almost finished. This does now bring into focus the filling/spraying aspect. All of the car has now been taken back to bare metal, and I intend to spray an acid etch primer coat on top of the bare metal, before the primer coats. Now, the question is, should I put filler on before the etch primer or afterwards? Second question is, there is still... MORE
mid page at http://www.teglerizer.com/sucarbs/index.html you'll find links to a few databases that will help you select a richer needle if needed. Paul Tegler ptegler@... www.teglerizer.com "ptegler@cablespeed" 23556... MORE
Dear Listers, I hope someone out there can point me in the right direction. Just finished ( to the point where it should run well) my '75 Midget. I have a recurring problem with stumbling and power loss during higher speed cruising, above 40 mph. The spluttering is usually accompanied by a 5 dg. or so rise in coolant temp. If I back off, the car will smooth out again and run OK if I don't push it. The magic number seems to be 50 mph. If I cruise lower than that I usually don't have problems. At 50... MORE
Rob... the temp rise, along with the stumble... tells me it's running very lean at higher speeds. Do an old fashioned 'plug check'. Find a stretch of road where you can cruise at say.. 30-40mph steady for about 10 minutes. While at speed, switch off the ignition and coast/brake over to the side of the road. Pull a sparkplug and see if it's whitish, or grayish/brown in color. Now repeat the cruise at 50-55mph. Kill the engine at speed Pull over and check the plugs again. If they are much whiter than before....it's running lean. If you simply slow... MORE
