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TR4/4A Converting to ballasted ignition? '62 TR4

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Mark_Barton

Mark_Barton

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Hi All, I'm putting my '62 TR4 back on the road this year and want to give the ignition system an overhaul. It's always been a little reluctant to start in the cooler months up here in the North East and the coil is currently dead, so before getting hold of a new one I wondered of there was any advantage to switching to a ballasted ignition system in place of the non-ballasted one I have now, and how I might go about it.

I see lots of threads about people bypassing ballast resistors to get away from 1.5 Ohm coils, but can't find much about going in the other direction. Is this a good idea, and if so, does anyone know of any good articles on how to go about it?
 
If it is reluctant to start in cool weather then there is something to be fixed, adjusted or replaced.

IMO, it shouldn't be necessary to revise the coil/ignition system to address this.

My starting point would be the usual steps you'll be taking anyway: plugs, valves, points gap, timing, sync & mixture -- then a look at choke linkage and adjustment (which is what I suspect is the root of the problem).
 
Mark_Barton said:
I see lots of threads about people bypassing ballast resistors to get away from 1.5 Ohm coils, but can't find much about going in the other direction. Is this a good idea, and if so, does anyone know of any good articles on how to go about it?
Click to expand...
I can tell you how, if you really want to. But I agree with the others, it shouldn't be necessary on a TR4.

First you'll need the coil & resistor, obviously. Available from FLAPS or the usual suspects. (Resistor is Stanpart 134176, apparently used on Spitfire and GT6 as well as my early Stags). You'll also need a 12v relay. Eg, https://www.amazon.com/HELLA-003510087-Mini-Relay-Bracket/dp/B000VUAJIM

Wire the coil of the relay across the starter motor : terminal 85 (if you use a common Bosch/Tyco type relay) to ground, terminal 86 to the starter terminal on the solenoid. Center contact (30) goes to 12v (any convenient place will do, maybe A4 on the fuse block). NO contact (87) goes to the hot side of the coil (or the coil side of the resistor). That's it.
 
Thanks Randall. Not going to do it if it's not necessary - it's not my daily driver (any more), so it doesn't have to fight through the really cold weather. Basically I was going to work on the ignition system anyway when I saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec7gSyVrh4g&list=PL203268D84EE9ADD8 from Moss on Youtube, which talks about why they started ballasting in the first place, and it set me thinking (too much, as usual)...

I'd like to keep the car close to original spec as far as is sensible, so I'll to stick with points over electronic. If it shouldn't be needed, and if better starting is really just a matter of fixing, adjusting or replacing something that's already there, I'll follow that path for now. I've got most of the bits waiting on my bench as it is...

Thanks for the advice.
 
Mark_Barton said:
It's always been a little reluctant to start in the cooler months up here in the North East
Click to expand...
Just as an aside, but you probably know about the tip for starting these TRs; clutch in while starting. Seems I had forgotten that for many years, until rereading it in the owner's manual. What a difference, way easier to start, I am chagrinned to say....
 
mrv8q said:
Just as an aside, but you probably know about the tip for starting these TRs; clutch in while starting. Seems I had forgotten that for many years, until rereading it in the owner's manual. What a difference, way easier to start, I am chagrinned to say....
Click to expand...

Thanks - learned that the hard way trying to start it in NY winters when it was my daily driver!
 
Along the same lines, multi-weight oil in the crankcase will help a lot, too.

But what worked the best for me was using a Group 27 battery (biggest available then) and converting to an alternator. With those, my TR would start in any weather, even when other cars wouldn't.
 
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