The 'E' Type Forum

For people who have contributed to this thread, I'd be interested to know what voltage they measure on a running car (i.e. alternator powered) at the reversing light connection. Obviously this would have to be done with the aid of an assistant. It'll help make sure this happen to anyone else. Jeremy...

This thread is about spark plug colour. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the concept of ported vacuum, it doesn't bring anything to the table that manifold vacuum doesn't already, so I wouldn't go to the trouble of implementing it over and above that of going the conventional manifold vacuum advan...

I've no idea whether your "alternator is failing". I've simply outlined the two most likely mechanisms by which the ammeter needle can be made to move that way. The advice to check the condition of the brushes is a sensible next step. If they don't conduct nicely or the commutator is worn, then that...

Dear Brucey, If the ammeter needle is undamped and oscillating wildly, it is because there are large current pulses on the line or it is resonating at particular frequencies/currents. You have reported that this is worse with a new battery and others reported it is less so when the headlamps are tur...

You'll have to send me your email address - I don't have a copy of it to hand any more. Alternatively, there ought to be some pictures on J-L if you search there.

kind regards
Marek

Dear Andy, There are two places on these cars which set the minimum achievable gap when considering how small you can make the gap. Both of these are on doors over curved surfaces and the gap decreases as the doors open against the bodywork. For your car, a coupe, the minimum gap you can achieve is ...

It isn't and they didn't, but you ought to be able to locate the captive nuts above the IRS where it would have bolted into the body as these are a legacy item still present in 1974. Expect to alter the handling if you attempt to fit one, as it'll upset how the front grips the road, not just the rea...

You may get enough access into the boot to lever the luggage around or investigate whether the arms of the hinge assembly are fouling by removing the interior light and bezel in the centre of the cabin and using a stick or hook through the light fitting hole into the boot.

kind regards
Marek

Sorry about that - my computer is not any good at displaying pictures, so I tried to draw a table. The x axis is "rpm" and it runs from 501 rpm to 3700 rpm The y axis spells "engine load" and runs from 35% (very light engine load) up to 100% which is very heavy engine load. The numbers in the table ...

Christopher, Yes the illustrative example is simplified in the way it treats the air through the idle screw and what sneaks past the throttle plate when the throttle is shut which means it isn't a straight 1:1 relationship. Here are some real figures for the average %age of how open the throttle pla...

I think there is only two things that seems to have been hard to explain here and that is "What's all this about wide open throttle?" and "Why did he say all that about setting the advance thingy stuff at wide open throttle and not at idle?" So.... In the spirit of the thread, "What is wide open thr...

All I actually did was read the thread title and the opening paragraphs and then set out how I'd go about demonstrating, with the desired proofs, what your stated aim was. The answers to the subsidiary questions at the bottom will clearly help navigate a way towards demonstrating the desired proofs....

You might be able to have your cake and eat it..... Investigate vacuum capsules which had both an advance tapping on one side and a second retard tapping on the other side. What that might achieve is something similar to ported vacuum but with additional retard at idle depending on from where you ho...

Granted, it may be quite a step forward by comparison to a similar car with type appoval, but..... In the round, my view is that it has little impact because the car being "improved" sits in the garage 350 days of the year and still has one third of the economy of a small turbo diesel instead of a q...

I agree with you, but it is a question of timing..... The VW emissions scandal proves quite comprehensively that people go to great lengths to play by the rules, whatever those rules are at the time of manufacture, even if that means being "unconventional" in how they implemented those rules. There ...

I think it is swings and roundabouts because what you take away or alter from vacuum advance/retard, you'll partially put back in with static and centrifugal advance, just in a slightly different mix. The reasons you post are all secondary concerns which will have been addressed later and are really...

Everything you need to know about the vaccum connections is in the manuals. Look in the Parts Manual which has the different setups listed by car number and look in the tan coloured Owners Manual booklet whicxh explains their functions. Failing that, it has been covered many times already in this fo...

Aside from the fact that the width and depth of the sumps is different, consider also that the tube that the dipstick sits in has to be matched to the dipstick's length. The reason for the twist is that after 40 years or so, the dipstick will have taken on a "set" as it sits inside the tube. In the ...

Hopefully you'll wire it up in a way not to put 16amp pulses through the ignition switch now. Saving five pounds for a relay would have have meant spending more on a new ignition switch some time down the line.

kind regards
Marek

I only responded to this thread because Tony gave contradicting advice. With the first sentence he said a relay wasn't needed and in the second sentence he said they were retrofitted when there had already been a problem. That means there obviously are problems which are not properly understood or a...