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Well, the so far the biggest unknown on the bucket list is if the engine was pickled... Some... either forget or because of wanting to do a quickie rebuild clean but don't boil because it adds time and money...iron castings rust and the rest is left to chance.. anyway to find out now? Water pumps are alum mostly now...do you save receipts? you could get the part# and trace back..anyway Hopefully, the new rad has the larger dia opening... All in all so far the pickling is the unturned item given that the timing etc. etc. is straight up... Others could chime in tooo Hap, are you out there???
I just called the guy who rebuilt the engine (Mickey Pleasant in Carlsbad, CA). He said that the engine and head had been boiled out at the machine shop and then thoroughly flushed, so I guess that's not the problem.
Well, the so far the biggest unknown on the bucket list is if the engine was pickled... Some... either forget or because of wanting to do a quickie rebuild clean but don't boil because it adds time and money...iron castings rust and the rest is left to chance.. anyway to find out now? Water pumps are alum mostly now...do you save receipts? you could get the part# and trace back..anyway Hopefully, the new rad has the larger dia opening... All in all so far the pickling is the unturned item given that the timing etc. etc. is straight up... Others could chime in tooo Hap, are you out there???
I just called the guy who rebuilt the engine (Mickey Pleasant in Carlsbad, CA). He said that he had the head and block boiled out at the machine shop and then thoroughly flushed, so I guess that's not the problem.
ok, moving on...notice your running a DCOE, have you run your engine on a dyno? The jetting as you probably know is difficult to establish...You maybe running lean at certain bands that are used during certain cruising speeds for instance. I ran a 45 and loved it but went through **** until I found a shop that KNEW Webers.. If that's not viable option, I would take that dime and get the mothballed SU's out and have them redone by some outfits that are recommended on this site..Billm mentioned it in a earlier post lean is a heat producer...
ok, moving on...notice your running a DCOE, have you run your engine on a dyno? The jetting as you probably know is difficult to establish...You maybe running lean at certain bands that are used during certain cruising speeds for instance. I ran a 45 and loved it but went through **** until I found a shop that KNEW Webers.. If that's not viable option, I would take that dime and get the mothballed SU's out and have them redone by some outfits that are recommended on this site..Billm mentioned it in a earlier post lean is a heat producer...
Actually, the DCOE is temporarily off the car. I switched back to a downdraft Weber I had sitting around until I get the temperature problem solved. 'Hope to put the Weber back on later this summer. And you're so right - it's a real pain to get right!
Unfortunately, the car had already been converted to the downdraft Weber when I got it, so no SU's. I bought the DCOE for its "sexiness" but was pleasantly surprised that the car had significantly better WOT acceleration with it compared to the downdraft. And I really like the sound that the DCOE makes when you step on it. :smile-new:
I have a 1275 and I put 3.9 gears in two weeks ago. My spedo is not working but the motor sounds best at about 3000 to 3200 RPM. What is the RPM at 70 MPH. I have never ridden in or driven another sprite so I have no prior experience to go by. Is 70 pushing it a bit. What does a 1275 like to run at.
I had two nasty SU carbs took them apart, cleaned them, installed them and synced them with a rubber hose and they seem to work fine. SU carbs are about the simplest I have ever delt with.
I have a 1275 and I put 3.9 gears in two weeks ago. My spedo is not working but the motor sounds best at about 3000 to 3200 RPM. What is the RPM at 70 MPH. I have never ridden in or driven another sprite so I have no prior experience to go by. Is 70 pushing it a bit. What does a 1275 like to run at.
I had two nasty SU carbs took them apart, cleaned them, installed them and synced them with a rubber hose and they seem to work fine. SU carbs are about the simplest I have ever delt with.
I have a 3.9 in mine as well. IIRC, I think at 70 it's running around 3500 RPM, and the engine doesn't seem to "scream" as much and feels more comfortable around 60. I'd love to find a 3.7 instead, but they bring a pretty penny these days!
Just wanted to comment on the bypass hose that bypass'es hot coolant to the cool side of the water pump. I always have blocked these off. The simplest way for me is to cut a piece of, I believe, 1/2 inch rod and put it inside the hose.
The bypass system is used on all BMC engine's of that era and was designed to speed up warm up but only with the correct thermostat which is not available anymore. Not saying it will cure your problems but it may help.
On my 1500 Datsun engined midget I am running the 1500 Brit radiator turned upside down to clear the fresh air intake. Also need to modify to clear the steering rack but the Datsun never has gotten over 190 and that was on the run to Midget 50. The guys from the North Western contingent know how hot that was!
Just wanted to comment on the bypass hose that bypass'es hot coolant to the cool side of the water pump. I always have blocked these off. The simplest way for me is to cut a piece of, I believe, 1/2 inch rod and put it inside the hose.
The new aluminum radiator arrived today. I have it installed and took a short drive, but the results are inconclusive given that the high today was only about 70F. The forecast is for warmer weather this weekend, so I'll update everyone once the weather is a bit warmer.
Installation was rather straight-forward. The four holes used to hold it to the two uprights line up properly and accept the original bolts. The threaded hole for the temperature sensor also had the correct thread size and came with a male plug. The inlet and outlet pipes are the same size as the original. The only physical difference I could find was the filler neck uses one of the much smaller size radiator caps, which was included. There was an overflow pipe with the correct size.
By the way, it's been suggested that one of the reasons Spridget's (and BE's in particular) overheat is due to heat build-up under the hood. Apparently some people have added vents to the bonnet (see first two photos below) to let the heat out, but I don't want to alter the outward appearance of my BE. I did find this interesting photo (see third photo below) on the Web that looks like someone had installed an electric fan on the driver's side fender well to help pull hot air out of the engine compartment. Or am I interpreting what I see incorrectly?
Fabricated these up before paint a couple of years ago. I like them and they work great helping the hot air out from under the Bonnet. Used a picture off the Big Healey ralley vents for a model. Hmmm all I can post is a thumbnail?
Fabricated these up before paint a couple of years ago. I like them and they work great helping the hot air out from under the Bonnet. Used a picture off the Big Healey ralley vents for a model. Hmmm all I can post is a thumbnail?
That auxiliary fan on the fender (in the red car that was from Chicago but sold at auction in Scottsdale) is for the carb that fed the supercharger. That car has a TON of mods.
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