The 1500 motor

[regularman]

Don't know squat about them. Never been on the triumph side. I got the junker car and the motor will be with me real soon. I am just wondering what I should do with it. I am in no hurry. I will at least tear it down and look it over. Gotta see how it works and all.

 

[Bugeye58]

Dig a large hole............................
Jeff

 

[RickB]

I like my 1500...

Oh wait, mines a Nissan! :wink:

 

[zimmy]

sell motor, build a hybrid.. :wink:
i have a plan if u wanna trade
notes..........zimmmy

 

[racingenglishcars]

If there's a lake nearby, maybe there's a boat owner who needs an anchor.

 

[SAMidget]

Down here in Johannesburg

Hey wait a minute guys you've hurt my feelings ) My 1500 blew totally at exactly 60,000 miles whilst still living in the UK. I replaced with a new 1500 Gold Seal all wrapped in shrink plastic. Since read that these were over run production. Had no problems since (except overheating due to lack of water and/or oil). HOWEVER about to embark on the South African version of the Spridget tour and my current mileage on the gold seal engine 59,250 mile aaaggghhhh.

 

[tosoutherncars]

Now now...

On a road car? My suggestions would be...

- DITCH THE Z-S CD150 CARB! Anything is better. SUs, Weber DGV 32/36, or sidedrafts if you're a millionaire... just throw the Stromberg in the creek, particularly if it's the most common 'water choke' variety.

- Thrust bearing... the 1500 is notorious for dropping out its crank thrust bearing, at which point the crank is free to move about, causing all sorts of nasties. Measure end float, replace, and set a replacement schedule. I think Nial does his every day, after his morning coffee!

- Ignition... most of the original Lucas systems have long since died. I put a basic optical trigger in the original dizzy, and a Crane Fireball box, very happy with it so far.

That's about it... it's not as rev-happy as the earlier engines, but has much more torque. There are high- and low-compression engines... Personally, if I were going to rebuild one, I'd make sure I was starting with the right bits!

 

[Morris]

I will be the first to admit that the 1500 engine is poorly designed. But mine, with a stock cam and intake manifold, pulls HARD all the way to 90mph. It will continue to pull past 90, but I am scared that the engine will come apart on me.

The biggest PITA about the 1500 to me is the fact that the cam has no bearings. If you want a cam with bearings you either have to source and early spit cam (which is not easy) or have the block custom bored ($$$).

The thrust bearings suck, but they are very easy to get to. In fact, you can replace all the bearings with the engine in the car in an afternoon's time. I think that's kinda neat.

 

[aeronca65t]

I've been racing a 1500 powered Spridget for 5+ years.

Mine's very close to stock except the carb and header.
To say I've had fun with it would be an understatement.

As Duncan and Morris said, the thrust washers should *always* be checked in an unknown motor. My racer gets new ones (and rod bearings) all the time.

The 1275 is a better engine (especially for racing), but the 1500 is acceptable for street use if you follow the suggestions above and keep RPMs under 5800.

I actually like replacing the ZS carb with a single SU....that worked quite well when my car was on the street.