Dieseling/run on

[JPSmit]

The Haynes MK1 spec is 5*, however its a 1275 motor that has the smog head. So do I still set at 5 degrees, or use another spec?

Just checked, not sure which is the smog head but I suspect the later.

static

Sprite Mk IV Midget Mk III (up to 1972)- 4 deg BTDC
1972 - '74 - TDC

dynamic

up to '72 - 10 deg BTDC at 1000 rpm
23D4 distributor - 22 BTDC deg at 1200 rpm
'72- '74 - 9 deg BTDC at 1500 rpm

that said don't be afraid to set it by ear either.

 

[Westfield_XI]

Ethanol blends vs gasoline is always a contentious subject. I know that on the boating forums I frequent, they love the idea of being able to run huge amounts of supercharged boost with no detonation due to the cooling and anti-knock properties of ethanol blends. We are talking here of boats capable of 150 to 200 plus mph, so it's really a matter of horses for courses.

It looks like the real hotrodders have moved to the lake these days: where else can you run a 500 to 1200 HP engine WFO these days for more than a few seconds, even on a drag strip? My boat is a NA big block Dart that made 550 HP on the dyno on 87 octane and on Lake Powell I can run as fast as I want for literally hours on end. Of course the wife always wants me to slow down since it starts to get expensive if you cruise fast enough to open the secondaries (over 3250 rpm or so), but she does that in the eleven in the hills too. Maybe it's just me and the way I drive? I asked her and she assured me that it was not her.....

If a man is alone in the forest and his wife cannot hear him is he still wrong? (hint, I have been married to the same woman for 26 years...)

 

[nomad]

Well Rick, I know that we can't run this countrys fleet on alcohol from corn but the info I get is that it has held down the price of gas for the last few years. Its the only competition the 4 monopoly [in my opinion] oil companys have.

As Westfield has mentioned, if you need octane find yourself an E 85 or complete blender pump and mix your own. Some hotrods built in the day when high octane gas was available at every pump are finding those a boon since they can actually drive those cars again.

BTW I never noticed that big a reduction in fuel mileage myself and a freind claims he sees none. I think a lot of the dislike comes from scare tactics by big oil and folks that stand to make a profit by it. The mistruth's that Moss is perpetuating with there ethanol gas additives are a good example!

As to the beef question, this country has taken the stand that it will import anything from anybody. That has done more to hurt the beef business and many other industries than anything.

 

[RickB]

I hear you about the beef.
Where I grew up we had cows around us all the time, my first job as a kid was on a farm and it's a shame what's happened to the American Farmer.

I run the mileage figures every time I fill up, it's really even with the additional cost of pure gas vs the reduction in mpg for the blended.
The stations are only a few blocks from each other so I can choose either just as easy.

 

[Westfield_XI]

Regarding beef, I am currently traveling in Switzerland and N. Italy and all the resturants list on the back menu page the origin of their meats and fish. None have any American meat and many if not most say that they are hormone and antibiotic free followed by words to the effect that they have no meat products from the USA. It seems like they want nothing to do with what we are selling........

On the other hand lots of places feature cavallino (horsemeat) as a popular speciality from Canada. I would assume that most is from old American nags sold north to slaughterhouses, at least that's also hormone and antibiotic free too. Go figure......

 

[Talonaer]

I'm from farming background in the UK and your right: American meat has a god darn awful reputation over here. I'd rather go without personally...

 

[JPSmit]

On the other hand lots of places feature cavallino (horsemeat) as a popular speciality from Canada. I would assume that most is from old American nags sold north to slaughterhouses, at least that's also hormone and antibiotic free too. Go figure......

You are correct and it is a very shady market. Was in the news recently.

 

[Westfield_XI]

It's Hobson's Choice: if you ban the sale of horses for human consumption, you have a black/grey market of broken down horses sent to foreign slaughterhouses. If you make it legal and begin to breed them for meat, they get pumped full of chemicals like all the other American food animals: cows, pigs, chickens and sheep.

Now it seems that studies are indicating that there maybe a link between chemicals in our food and obesity, google "obesogens".....

 

[nomad]

Well as a full time farmer and producer of beef I did'nt realize this was such an issue. We, unfortunatly, are driven by the necessity to maximise profits at all times. Artificial hormones greatly increase feed efficiency so, yes, I use them . I do avoid unnecessary antibiotic feeding though.
As an aside, when a small packer wanted to insure hormone free beef to the EU he was threatened with jail time. The same happened when another wanted to test all his beef for mad cow disease. You don't fight the big money folks here.

Kurt.

 

[Westfield_XI]

What really irks me as an American consumer is that in the "land of the free", we do not really have any choice in the matter. No one seems to ever ask me what I want, they just go ahead and do it and we have to take it. It seems so contrary to the basic capitalist principal of giving the consumer a choice and letting them vote with their wallets. The result in this case is an perception around the world that US food is essentially poisoned. Do not forget genetically engineered crops too, another nail in the coffin. As far as the rest of the world is concerned: our food chain is now seen as contaminated from top to bottom.

Sorry to take it so far off topic, but I was really stunned to learn just what the Europeans thought of our food supply.......

 

[rkep01]

I think this thread is becoming perilously close to political discourse. At any rate, it is way off the original topic. Should probably keep these kinds of posts confined to the Pub, if anything.

 

[nomad]

Agree, I could go on and on about country of origin labeling but its a topic not related to Spridgets.

Kurt.

 

[Westfield_XI]

I think this thread is becoming perilously close to political discourse. At any rate, it is way off the original topic. Should probably keep these kinds of posts confined to the Pub, if anything.

You are quite correct, please forgive me for overstepping the boundries.

 

[RickB]

Not wanting to do anything other than offer some good reading and maybe that "choice for your wallet" here's a link to a place near where I live that does offer a choice. NFI

Snoqualmie Cattle Company

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Our healthy and happy Longhorn cattle are fed only grass, not grain and are not given any antibiotics or growth hormones.[/QUOTE]

 

[bugedd]

I buy only sustainable, grass fed, organic, cage free, locally raised meat. I try to do the same with seasonal produce. Government subsidized farming promotes unhealthy products pumped full of chemicals. Now back to the topic of my run on....

 

[RickB]

I buy only sustainable, grass fed, organic, cage free, locally raised meat. I try to do the same with seasonal produce. Government subsidized farming promotes unhealthy products pumped full of chemicals. Now back to the topic of my run on....

This thread is all about run on, right??

So your car has a run on problem too?

 

[Guest]

My boat is a NA big block Dart that made 550 HP on the dyno on 87 octane and on Lake Powell I can run as fast as I want for literally hours on end. ...)

You runnin' 87 on the lake too? What compression ratio and timing do you have? Aluminum heads too?

 

[Westfield_XI]

It's a full Dart motor, block and marine heads in alloy. 540ci with a pro former Holley knock off 4 barrel. The originally had a 468 BBC with a period (early 80's) Race aero twin turbo setup. When I got it a few years ago it was in barn find condition with a cracked block and no carbs. There was also some rot in the floors, but the hull and stringers were sound.

My engine builder was able to save and reuse the crank and Carillo rods, but everything else was junk. We went with a hydraulic roller cam and he found me a used set of water cooled headers as well as a set of muffler tips and a used mercruiser electronic ignition. I am not sure what the compression ratio is, but the dyno runs were done using the 87. My philosophy is to build a motor for 87 and then run it on premium, that way if I can only get the low octane stuff or if the fuel degrades over the winter, I will still be in the detonation free zone.

The boat is an 83 Campbell 24 foot Daycruiser, one of only 6 made. Campbell practically invented the Daycruiser back in the 60's and sold hundreds of 20 and 22 foot models. Their signature boat however was the 24 foot cuddy cabin of which they built over 300 over the years. Their heavy construction and early Vee hull made them popular for ski racing from Long Beach to Catalina as well as on the western lakes. Having such a big cockpit as well as all the storage under the foredeck make this a perfect scout for Powell where it really helps to go ahead of the slower houseboat to claim a good beach for the night.

Depending upon how I prop it and how heavy I load it, I top out on GPS above 80 mph on a glassy lake. But usually I have 100 gallons of fuel, 200 lbs of German shepherds, and several people as well as beach chairs, canopy, coolers etc. then I run a 5blade that gives about 60 at the top, but cruises in the 30 to 45 range like a big old Cadillac convertible. There is nothing like rumbling through those narrow slot canyons on a warm afternoon....... It's like driving through the Painted Desert or the Grand Canyon, except there are no cars or even other boats most of the time.