This TVR came in on a tow truck and wouldn’t run. Turns out it was a victim of a cheap replacement distributor rotor. We’ve spoken of these before (see this blog post). If you find one on your car, go ahead and get a new one, as they are problem children. This particular rotor didn’t have very good tolerances either, so it got loose enough to hit the contacts in the rotor cap. With a new rotor and cap, the car started and ran very well, thank you very much.
So, I realized (when someone brought it my attention) that we had build up but no resolution about the Jefferson 500 race at Summit Point. That would be because Chip got sick and was unable to attend. Sorry about that. I wish I could write and tell you about his wins, but maybe next year.
The mechanics went racing. When they come back, we’ll have more news. -Ed.
See that? It’s a sticker for the Jefferson 500 vintage races at Summit Point. Chip got that sticker on his 510 racecar last year. This year’s event is coming up May 17-20, 2012 at Summit Point Raceway. Chip has raced there for years and is looking forward to another round. It’s a great event and sure to be enjoyable for vintage race fans. Check here for further details.
We’ve probably all had the experience of slaving away on our Intertype Printing Press when something goes awry. Should this happen to you and you’re in the Richmond area, never fear. Prior to landing at UK, Dean rode herd on some of these. He’s a general mechanical whiz.
The ol’ whiz himself was standing in the audience during a Field Day of the Past one year while someone was explaining this donated machine. The presenter made a comment similar to, “Now, we just need someone who knows how to run it to show us what to do with it.” Dean said, “Uh, that’d be me.” Dean Tetterton… Triumph Rebuilder/Press Operator. So, here he is…
We just received this TR4A into the shop and it’s been sitting for some time measured in years. When motors don’t run for a while, they get used to it. Let’s see what we’ve got so far.
Dean checked on the carbs and the slides were frozen, as in won’t budge — not even a little. Underneath, the fuel line broke open when he touched it to see if it was still good. The bright side is that the broken fuel line accelerated the process of emptying the old gas from the tank, which had to be done anyway. We’ll also need to do the brakes. After that, we can see if this TR4A is interested in cruising again.
Good Lube
Accepted norms of polite conversation notwithstanding, some yahoo occasionally asks, “So, what’s your favorite brand of transmission lubricant?” Remaining composed, my standard line is, “I normally don’t discuss personal matters with yahoos, but I have a friend who uses Red Line MTL and loves it.”
In all seriousness (Boooooo!) we’re big fans of MTL here at the shop. If you haven’t tried it, consider it.
Those who’ve dropped by the shop will notice that the open stairway is now enclosed. The crew has been in this week hanging plywood and extending sheetrock all the way to the ceiling. Upstairs…
… the sheetrock is covering the walls in what will eventually be a meeting place for shop discussions and club meetings. Here at UK Motorsports, we desire to maintain a respectable appearance.
Waxstat carburetors seemed like a good idea. Use one mixture when the engine is cold, then have a temperature sensitive adjuster change the mixture once the motor warmed up. Sounds rather modern, frankly. In real life, these SU’s with waxstats didn’t execute so well. So, Chip is converting them and removing the waxstats. To get philosophical, your humble webmaster, who is no mechanical genius, has never opposed a simple manual choke and wonders exactly why they fell out of favor.
On the other side of the shop, Dean has been assembling this TR4 engine for a customer’s car. I’ll try to get another picture when it’s all completed. Stay tuned.
Does your rotor button look like this? Is the contact held onto the plastic with a rivet? If so, you may experience a misfire or ignition failure. The original Lucas rotor contacts were recessed into the plastic and did not use a rivet. On these rivet designs, the bottom of the rivet ends up being very close to the spring clip on the underside of the rotor, which means there is insufficient insulation between the contact and the distributor shaft. Electricity follows the path of least resistance, which in this particular case means it grounds out through the rivet on to the spring clip and then to the distributor shaft, all of which means no spark to your plugs. We replace these when we come across them to avoid ignition problems. If you’re having ignition problems, this is a good item to put on the checklist.