Any recommendations for tuning around Reading/Wokingham ?

[craggle]

Yeah, You don't need to be afraid of us, We will be gentle!

Craig.

[dbsmith]

Originally Posted by Sidecarbod

IMHO the edelbrock is a good carb but NOT with the standard setup!
...........
What Cob do you have?

Pete

Thanks Pete, this stuff is all new to me (last time I saw a Carb was on my 67 MGB, considerably easier on that thing !) so it'll be a bit of time till I work all this out.

The car is a Sumo III, originally 2000 factory build but has just been fully refurbed at Pilgrim, including engine-wise changing the gaskets on the RV8 to cure a minor oil leak, so should be in pretty good nick and the engine looked pretty clean inside apparently (awaiting the photos still!). I've had a few teething problems since I picked it up on Sunday (speedo's given up already, not convinced about the alternator (charging @ 12.8v, thought it should be about 1V higher than this ?), also some random tantrums about wanting to start or switch on the electrics a couple of times after its first time out) but overall it seems to be pretty good, although after driving it home, I noticed a few things about the running setup : some dramatic flatspots when accelerating after changing gear (esp in 2nd/3rd), also when changing down in higher gears some overrun and/or need to keep high-ish revs, plus clouds of dark smoke on initial startup. Overall it seems to run fine on the M-Way/A-roads though, so I'm pretty sure it's just the setup of the engine/fuel system (but what do I know, for the last 15 years I've been completely gay & running modern EFI cars! ).
Regarding the Rover ignition, haven't a clue (first time i've seen a distributor for 15 years !!) but i'll check it out over the next couple of days. It'll take me a bit of time to figure out all this stuff out, but i'll track down your earlier posts and let you know how I'm getting on.

Thanks for the help.

cheers

Dave

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by dbsmith

Thanks Pete, this stuff is all new to me (last time I saw a Carb was on my 67 MGB, considerably easier on that thing !) so it'll be a bit of time till I work all this out.

The car is a Sumo III, originally 2000 factory build but has just been fully refurbed at Pilgrim, including engine-wise changing the gaskets on the RV8 to cure a minor oil leak, so should be in pretty good nick and the engine looked pretty clean inside apparently (awaiting the photos still!). I've had a few teething problems since I picked it up on Sunday (speedo's given up already, not convinced about the alternator (charging @ 12.8v, thought it should be about 1V higher than this ?), also some random tantrums about wanting to start or switch on the electrics a couple of times after its first time out) but overall it seems to be pretty good, although after driving it home, I noticed a few things about the running setup : some dramatic flatspots when accelerating after changing gear (esp in 2nd/3rd), also when changing down in higher gears some overrun and/or need to keep high-ish revs, plus clouds of dark smoke on initial startup. Overall it seems to run fine on the M-Way/A-roads though, so I'm pretty sure it's just the setup of the engine/fuel system (but what do I know, for the last 15 years I've been completely gay & running modern EFI cars! ).
Regarding the Rover ignition, haven't a clue (first time i've seen a distributor for 15 years !!) but i'll check it out over the next couple of days. It'll take me a bit of time to figure out all this stuff out, but i'll track down your earlier posts and let you know how I'm getting on.

Thanks for the help.

cheers

Dave

Another Sumo....Brilliant! (It winds Nick "Nobby" up that he's surrounded by them! ).

Personally I would not have bothered getting Pligrim to do anyhing on the car but as its new to you I can understand why you did this.

Sumo's can be turned into a really great car but Pilgrim will not do the mods for you. You should read up about bumpsteer and rear toe out issues. (mainly bumpsteer)

As to your engine, Have a poke around with the carb to suss out what's been done to it (I Bet nothing has). It's quite bad for you engine to be using the carb on the standard setiings, the bores will get knackered by the rich mixture. To check a needle just loosen one of the torx screws but don't remove it, you can then flick the small kidney shaped cover to one side and withdraw the needle and its piston. Watch out for the spring that sits under the piston. The standard colour for this spring is orange. Read of the needle size and let us know what it is.

Try to find out what pump is fitted, you can then easily find out what the max PSI is from the web. I'd do the 1 minute test if I was you as its really bad if the pump can not flow enough fuel. Try to find out if there is a fuel regulator, personally I'd rather just have a low pressure pump with no regulator fitted. (The reg will be near the carb if there is one).

What colour is your dizzy cap? Is there a small black box about the size of a matchbox stuck to the side of it? (Or is there a bigger silver box stuck to the chassis near the dizzy?) You could unclip the dizzy cap and have a look for a set of points

If you car is running standard pilgrim pipes, either sidepipes or underslungs then you could be losing 50 BHP (at a guess) Pilgrim hammer the baffles totally flat in the middle to reduce the noise. With the sidepipes you can shove a piece of hose pipe up the end of the pipe, if it will only go up about a foot before stopping then they've been hammered flat!

I'm only in Bagshot so if you need a hand let me know.

Pete

[Sidecarbod]

Your low charge could be an issue at some point when the car won't start.

My charge has gone low twice, both times it was the big three way spade connector that goes to the back of the alternator. The female parts had lost their grip on the male part. I also dismantled the plastic cover and soldered the wires to the female parts of the connector. The connector was dropping about 1V and getting really hot....its fine now.

[dbsmith]

Thanks Pete, I'll get my head under the bonnet this morning & start tinkering & figuring out the carb in particular.
Particularly interesting comment you made about the alternator, I'll check the spade connector, never thought of that. I've also noticed though that the alternator is sitting quite a way back from the line of the belt, so I suspect it's the wrong alternator for the car anyway & am worried that it may throw the belt at some point because the belt is spinning at an angle. Interestingly enough, the car still starts after every run & even on short runs it is leaving the battery at a sufficient level to restart the car (12.4v typically), although when sitting at lights o竐r in traffic , I can see the charge drop down to 10.5v which isn't good (I haven't dared try putting the lights on yet !). I suspect the alternator is due for a change.......

Cheers

Dave

[craggle]

Is the voltage readings your seeing on the gauge or have you checked them on something else?

Might be worth putting a digital volt meter on there in case the gauge is mis-reading.

Craig.

[dbsmith]

Hi Craig,
No, i've had the multimeter out on it, definitely not on the gauge.

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by dbsmith

Thanks Pete, I'll get my head under the bonnet this morning & start tinkering & figuring out the carb in particular.
Particularly interesting comment you made about the alternator, I'll check the spade connector, never thought of that. I've also noticed though that the alternator is sitting quite a way back from the line of the belt, so I suspect it's the wrong alternator for the car anyway & am worried that it may throw the belt at some point because the belt is spinning at an angle. Interestingly enough, the car still starts after every run & even on short runs it is leaving the battery at a sufficient level to restart the car (12.4v typically), although when sitting at lights o竐r in traffic , I can see the charge drop down to 10.5v which isn't good (I haven't dared try putting the lights on yet !). I suspect the alternator is due for a change.......

Cheers

Dave

Hi Dave,

The belt alinement does sound like an issue that you need to resolve, you may be able to make some spacers or something. In my other post it sounded like I soldered the wires to the alternator, I actually just re-worked the female spade with some needle nose pliers so that they had a better grip on the male part of the connector. I also soldered the female onto the wire that it was already crimpt on to.

When you test your voltage you must give the motor at least one good blip on the throttle. I've seen at least to Sumo's where it's possible to start the engine without the alternator spinning quick enough to start the charging process. My charging light stays on until the thottle has been blipped, after that the battery does get charged even at 800 RPM.

Even at tickover with the lights on I've got around 13.5v (from memory).

is there a difference in the battery voltage with the engine off and running?

The twin fans the Pilgrim supply do over power the charging system, combined they pull around 14 amps. The 14" Pro Pacet pulls more air but only 12 amps.

Anyway, sounds like you've got enough to sort out at the moment with your engine. You can bomb round to mine if you need a hand.

Pete

[dbsmith]

Originally Posted by Sidecarbod

Hi Dave,

The belt alinement does sound like an issue that you need to resolve, you may be able to make some spacers or something. In my other post it sounded like I soldered the wires to the alternator, I actually just re-worked the female spade with some needle nose pliers so that they had a better grip on the male part of the connector. I also soldered the female onto the wire that it was already crimpt on to.

When you test your voltage you must give the motor at least one good blip on the throttle. I've seen at least to Sumo's where it's possible to start the engine without the alternator spinning quick enough to start the charging process. My charging light stays on until the thottle has been blipped, after that the battery does get charged even at 800 RPM.

Even at tickover with the lights on I've got around 13.5v (from memory).

is there a difference in the battery voltage with the engine off and running?

The twin fans the Pilgrim supply do over power the charging system, combined they pull around 14 amps. The 14" Pro Pacet pulls more air but only 12 amps.

Anyway, sounds like you've got enough to sort out at the moment with your engine. You can bomb round to mine if you need a hand.

Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the offer, I'm heading up North tonight to pick up another new car & will be back next Tuesday, i'll take you up on your offer after next week if that's OK with you, looks like I'd better start printing some beer tokens out ! (BTW, the Sumo is not a new build, just a factory refurb, so engine components are reasonably old, 3-7 years).

To be honest, I'm reasonably OK with electrics (I'm an electrical engineer twice removed so figuring that stuff out is not so bad). Interesting about the Pilgrim fans though & the fact your charging lights stay on till the throttle is blipped (my charging voltage hits 12.8V under throttle blip), that is a pretty high current drain for a couple of fans. Looking at my alternator, it looks like a weeny Ford one (plus no spade conector, just some sort of plastic clip), so I may just replace it anyway for something reasonably heavy duty.

OK, onto the fuel side. I've not had a chance to disassemble the air filter & teach myself EdelBrock 500 carbs as yet (the manual is scary enough & the last experience I had with carbs was on my MGB 20 years ago!), but in answer to some of your questions :

Its got a Mallory Distributor on it (Part 2764301H) : Red ! Pic attached.

Carb: haven't been able to suss it out yet. However, from some old receipts provided with the car, it seems to have the following (or at least this was the last receipt bought):
Needles : 62 52
Jets: Weber 80
Offenhauser Dual Port Manifold
1 x Fuel Banjo, Edelbrock.

I can't see a fuel pump or regulator under the bonnet, unless the fuel pump is in the back somewhere (the fuel hose seems to come straight from the passenger front side bulkhead directly into the carb, although its hard to see without taking the air filter off).

Exhausts: these are Custom Chrome sidepipes, not standard Sumo. I've seen them before they went on, pretty good quality IMHO.

Thanks Pete

Dave

[Purple AK]

Dave. Charging issues aside. I'd lay money on your bad running being down to the Mallory Dual Point Dizzy! They really are a pain. Before you do anything else either get a new set x 2 of points and a new condenser and set them up with a dwell meter, Or invest in a Pertronix conversion. The Pertronix is only about £60 and will mean you never have a points/condenser problem again. I would do this before you even look at the carb as without a proper spark you will be wasting your time