RichardSIA Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 Running into an issue with trying to buy an oil cap for my Birkin valve cover. Zetec parts I've tried are too small at the threads. Any suggestions of something that might be available in the USA? And the second T9 has made it into the container this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Westfield Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 (edited) On 11/22/2023 at 9:12 PM, RichardSIA said: So for now I only have the "Type E" 4-speed to work with. Not certain how much has to be changed between them when I finally do have a T9. I swapped a type 3 out for a t9 a couple of years ago you'll need a different bell housing I went hydraulic concentric for clutch release if the t9 came from a merkur, the input shaft is too long--shorten or change new clutch disc new driveshaft Edited November 30, 2023 by 7Westfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamScotticus Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 3 hours ago, RichardSIA said: Running into an issue with trying to buy an oil cap for my Birkin valve cover. Zetec parts I've tried are too small at the threads. Any suggestions of something that might be available in the USA? And the second T9 has made it into the container this time. Still the black finned Birkin cover? If yes, no telling. Maybe a call to Birkn Direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSIA Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 Found one, NAPA #703-1332 I will be replacing the thin rubber gasket with a more substantial O-ring. Had some trouble getting the cover bolted down as it seems the bolt locations are just a fraction off. Next time I have it removed I guess I will ream the holes for a little more clearance. Getting close to test fire as the 3 PSI fuel pump should arrive on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamScotticus Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 31 minutes ago, RichardSIA said: Getting close to test fire as the 3 PSI fuel pump should arrive on Friday. Which one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSIA Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 3 PSI electric fuel pump. I've used these before and they are fine except that you MUST place them where they are gravity fed, they do not siphon at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSIA Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 Another step back. Luminition unit is not working so no spark. Had hoped to have it fire off today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamScotticus Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 (edited) I'll just ask the same question I ask everyone.. The rotor turns 1/2 crank speed so there are two TDCs. Are you aligned to the compression TDC? More than helpful... Edited December 1, 2023 by IamScotticus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSIA Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 Checked before refitting the valve cover, both valves closed. But the issue is zero spark. Tried cleaning the IR Diode and interrupting the beam, still no spark. Checked that there IS a beam using a cell phone, it was there. So it seems likely my obsolete control unit is dead. Quick fix is to go grab a PerTronix unit to fit, or just put points back in. PerTronix is more available. And yes, I did check the coil. This does bring up another issue. According to on-line advice my DHLA-H are "Emissions" carbs and intended for use with a vacuum advance distributor. My Lucas 43D4 distributor is mechanical advance only. This setup was in use before I bought this engine. But I have to wonder if another distributor with Vac. advance might be better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 (edited) Vacuum advance is only going to benefit mpg and emissions, at some cost to performance. I'm a fan of points on these cars, generally easier to dx and cheap/easy to keep a back-up to critical consumable parts in the car. If you go this route, be sure to buy quality condensers and rotors as there is some really cheap sh!t out there. Distributor Doctor in the UK is a reputable supplier if quality parts Edited December 1, 2023 by SENC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSIA Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 PerTronix ordered this morning. Another week of waiting as none were available locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pethier Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 1 hour ago, RichardSIA said: PerTronix ordered this morning. Another week of waiting as none were available locally. Be sure it is grounded securely. On many distributers, the advance plate is grounded to the distributer body by a short piece of braid. On my TR4 this braid was connected to the plate with a rivet. Seemed to work well enough with the points, but with the PerTronix the tiny looseness of the rivet raised hob and the car kept cutting out. I can't remember now the alternative method I devised to ground the PerTronix, but it was simple. The ignition worked flawlessly thereafter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXguy Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 7 hours ago, RichardSIA said: PerTronix ordered this morning. Another week of waiting as none were available locally. Petronix will be pretty good on a road car. I've tried 3 different electronic ignition systems on my xflow cat and the petronix work pretty much out of the box (assuming you're getting the matching flamethrower coil with dizzy). Also make sure you have good coil leads, that the your coil wiring is correct, engine at TDC cyl 1 compression (at proper orientation, rotor should be facing ~ 10 o'clock if you are looking down at dizzy and the wire lead coming out the dizzy should be coming out around the ~8 o'clock mark). The dizzy adds about 24 degrees of mechanical advance (no vac adv), so you can start with something around 10+/- degrees static depending on engine spec (targeting ~32-34 all by about 3.5k rpm). As long as your fueling is good, it should start and once warmed up, optimize everything to suit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSIA Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 It's ALIVE! Rebuilt the DHLA 40's. Going to need some tuning, seems a bit lean at part throttle. Idle screws two turns out to run. Getting a pretty good fog of fuel reversion at higher RPM. I have no idea what cam is in it but the head porting is obvious. Did a warm compression test after running for several minutes, 160 high to 145 low. Excellent oil pressure and no smoke, seems good enough to put into the car once it is tuned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamScotticus Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Is your engine on a test stand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSIA Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 Indeed it is. Much simpler to work with out of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedwagon Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 my experience with all electronic points is that while you do not need to regularly adjust the gap the life is usually no longer than a set of points. And while you usually get a warning when your points need attention the electronic ones just quit. So my off road race engines had points and electronic (preferably Pertronics) was used in my personal use car. With a spare set of points as it takes just a few minutes to change, and time is not of the essence. And as for vacuum advance unless you are staying in the upper RPM range and pretty much in an off/on throttle mode the tractability of a well matched vacuum advance is well worth it from the performance aspect. Worst thing in the world is a VW dune-buggy in rough country using the popular weights only dist. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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