Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
What's keeping the Healey off the road (aside from the fact that according to your avatar, one of your carbs is on the kitchen table )?
|
OK, but remember that you asked.
That's one of the original 3 SUs that I couldn't get to lean out. They're a peculiar but faascinating design: they
actually alter the venturi size while metering the gas with a tapered needle to keep the mixture correct for all engine speeds. Usually the throttle shaft bushings get so worn that they let in too much air in and the carbs just won't work right. In this case, the needles and seats were worn as well. Compared to doing a rebuild myself, 3 brand new ones were only slightly more (about $1k in all), so I bought new ones from the SU factory while it still existed. When I got them, they didn't fit the existing linkage and I didn't want to alter the original parts. So, I chose to grind down the brand new parts.
Meanwhile, back at the oasis, the car has sat motionless for several years. I feared the inevitable varnish would plug up the new carbs, so I removed the whole fuel system from the tank forward. Now that that is done, I'm finally ready to install the new carbs and get them tuned up. Yay!! Then synchronizing all 3 is an iterative process of mixture adjustments and airflow measurements. It sounds harder than it really is, just time consuming. Before I get the brute started, I need to carefully make sure nothing (like a valve) is stuck, or I might do as my brother did and break something that requires an engine teardown.
The battery cables also needed replacing and are all set now. Oh, and the speedometer has been broken since I bought the car. It's off to a rebuilder.
...and I try to tell kids this today and they just give me the thousand-mile stare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
Blue car tranny is nearly fully hooked up now: spent an hour this AM re-installing the shifter & linkage from the 4-cyl car (different length control & shift rods compared to the 3-pot due to transmission offset).
I totally FUBAR'ed the speedometer cable "recepticle" on the trans housing (what they heck to you call the orifice it plugs into?). The end of the cable was corroded solidly in there, and I snapped the works right off. The mechanical "sending" unit is still functional - but I'll have to come up with a creative way to hold the replacement cable in place on top of it.
|
Bummer about the speedo drive. Sounds like the part of the cable that threads onto the trany twisted off the threaded part on the housing (is that right?). Is that part replaceable? If not, I'll be watching to see how you solve that one.
__________________