The process is mostly a function of carefully cleaning, disassembling and reassembling each carburetor while installing new gaskets. These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Make sure the engine does not overheat. After this simple swap, our Spitfire was transformed. Install lifters, pushrods and cylinder head. I am looking for some specific engine modifications, specific cam recommendations, specific machining insight from the Spit crowd who have been tuning these engines longer and harder than we MG owners. This full engine rebuild kit includes the minimum of parts required when rebuilding an engine (less crank & cam); and assumes that your cylinder block, head, crankshaft & camshaft are all serviceable. A heat shield is highly recommended for these as well. FM Spitfire 1500. It is now running with high compression pistons, UK-spec cam, UK-spec 4-2-1 exhaust manifold, and HS4 carbs. Bottom end I might just get it balanced and reground if needed and look at different pistons and rods but also look at budgets. Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars for Sale - Classics on Autotrader A nifty-looking, dual-inlet air cleaner wrapped in a black crackle finish was part of the package. Set your dial indicator on the top side of that push rod. The rubber insulator can crack and wear out over time. Measured engine output had improved nicely: We posted 65 horsepower and 78 lb.-ft. of torque during our next visit to the dyno. Inspect your starter ring gear. 1973 Triumph Spitfire 1500 - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle Engine Rebuild Kit Major Spitfire 73 to 80 - British Parts Northwest Inc But this is for high revving engines, not road use. I don't have a clue what else is in there yet but I intend to pull it down and find out before I run it hard. Add those two numbers together and divide by twothat is your cam timing. This reduces flow to the mains. .0015 to .002 is acceptable. TS Imported Automotive - British Car and Parts Sales Pandora, Ohio Chances are your cam timing is probably not where it needs to be. Digital Rev Limiter Pertronix . Carefully remove the main cap and use the graph on the paper slip the plastigauge comes with to determine the clearance. For a reliable road-going engine, careful building, in clean conditions will get you one tha is long-lasting! 4>2>1 manifolds easy to source, and the canley single sports box would be my choice. Triumph Triumph Spitfire Fuel Pumps for sale | eBay But improper clearance can result in a seized exhaust valve. Thanks Richard. Pete, The 1500 long stroke is not the best for reliability and can suffer serious big end and con rod failuresifnused in ahurried life, It does age quite quickly, upping the power wont help much in reliability. Apologies, confusion re std. Shifts well, stops well. If you have a single row chain I suggest you upgrade to a double row chain if available. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Ray, July 19, 2015 @ 6:14 am As for the MG Midget, I preferred the 1275. A 439 inch small block that put out 739HP on pump gas. You will do this similarly to your crankshaft end float. Intake valves Consider oversize for better flow 4.20 postage . Rocker shaft Install the camshaft, front engine plate and cam thrust plate Other Areas of your Engine US Supplier of 123Ignitions, Pre-programmed\switched models, Programable USB PC models and "NEW" Wireless Bluetooth models for Apple or Android. Dennis Vessey - Performance and Triumph engine building, reconditioning Pay close attention to your workshop manual for tips like this. Its rated horsepower was 104 hp in its final year of production, which was 1973. Bare J-type OD base rebuild pricing is $1399. 2,000 rpm. Handy Tip: Use a Sharpie to put markings on parts you have already torqued or checked clearance to know where you are in the process. Freshening a carburetor is not as scary as it sounds, and companies like Quantum Mechanics supply the necessary kits. A word of caution about decking the block too much: Some engines, such as the Spitfire and Midget 1500 and the later TR6, have necessary recesses around the cylinder bores. Power is supplied to the wheels via a 4 speed manual with overdrive gearbox. It was beautifully designed by the legendary Italian car designer Giovanni Michelotti, and it also surprisingly sold in greater numbers than any of its rivals between 1962 to 1980. No problem. Never, ever fire up an engine without confirming you have oil pressure. I'm guessing not particularly. All rights reserved. We also redid the air cleaner with the original black crackle finish. For about $200, we had a local muffler shop fabricate a new system. You will need a piston ring compressor. Total price: $93.10. Sometimes honing is necessary to get the proper fit. Test fitting the crankshaft and bearings This engine is almost a direct bolt-in. Triumph Spitfire 1500 engine and gearbox rebuild - CCK Historic Valve springs, Rocker arms assembly Line up the dots on the two timing gears when installing the chain. If the gap is too big, have the cylinders bored and new oversize pistons fitted. A bit too obvious for me that! If the gap is too big you are going to have to shim the camshaft or remove material from the back side of the cam gear. Be extra careful installing the camshaft into the blockespecially with a block that has cam bearing as most nicks and scratches happen during installation. Spitfire 1500 not starting - Engine - The Triumph Sports Six Club Forum 13 33,950 TRIUMPH SPITFIRE 6383 MANUAL RHD Refcode: 07AD6F7A-7C71-6CF9-9CAF-66E10EE97FDA Pristine Triumph Spitfire 1500 with just 3,999 miles on the clock! Engines & Engine Component Rebuilding Services. do make sure you stick to 97+ or better fuel, **95 ul was for side valves and mowers when these cars were born. Budget a day to do the work, plus the cost of modifying your exhaust system, the carb-freshening kits and the paint and cleaning supplies. If you find excessive wear your machine shop can reface them. I replaced the original exhaust header with a Pacesetter which increased the pipe diameter to about 2"but have learned there are better ones available. (different torques given by ARpdepending on what lube you use on the threads, more torque needed if you use 30weight oil..), I agree you can re use our spec of bolt a number of times , what you cant reuse is more modern specs where the torque has been, Tightend to its yeild point these are dangerously likely to fail if re used, More moderns are often spec'd as up to a target torque followed by accurate angular rotation, In stages on production these results are devised from watching the toqure climb and rotation, The meters that measure this carefully stop as soon as the torque rise flattens and rotation is about to continue, Ive got one in the cupboard gathering dust never use it these days, Usefull on troublesome fitting to find the ultimate torque. Proper clearance is required in many areas of your enginepiston to cylinder wall, crankshaft end float, camshaft end float, connecting rod side clearance, and then also things like spring valve lash. The 123 ignition(distributor) is a modification that employs spark balancing, like used in formula race cars. Our zero-to-60 times dropped by more than 2 seconds. In my post above I was referring to "quality"! Regrinding the original cast iron exhaust seat is a short term answer, as valve seal will be lost in a short period of time. After a few heat cycles, you will need to retorque the cylinder head and re-adjust the valve lash. Good information. Does the backfire come from timing, or carb? That is not true but often repeated. A piece of angle iron drilled and tapped with a small bolt installed across the bore is easy to make. Guess 3 mains and a thrust bearing that falls out were state of the art back then. I raced both 3 and 5 main bearing MG engines and the 3 mains were dealing with slightly less drag and seemed a bit stronger and quicker revving, but bearing life when run to high rpm was better on the 5 main engines - they didn't get around to making 5 main versions until 1965 and Triumph never did go with 5 mains for their 4 cylinder sports car engines. Engine was previously rebuild by Ivor Searle, looks brand new under the rocker cover.. Ps, fuel tank is disconnected, now pumping fuel out of a fresh can. Minimum engine rebuild service price is $10,000 USD for a fully rebuilt dyno tested engine package (fully assembled engine, carbs, ignition, exhaust manifold, etc) All engines being rebuilt are torque plate honed for superior cylinder bore geometry and improved piston ring seal Manganese bronze guides expand with heat at a different rate than your cylinder head and require more clearance than cast iron guides. Do both methods and you will see the dial indicator method can lead you astray by a couple degrees. from a 1300? Watch on There's nothing quite like the process of pulling apart, fixing and rebuilding a vintage engine. The 1300 Spitfire and MG motors shared quite a lot; iron block, 3 main bearing crankshaft, similar bore & stroke, similar cylinder heads, similar carbs, similar power. Very nice condition 50 year old car. Remember they have to go in the exact spot they came out of it. A word of caution about decking the block too much: Some engines, such as the Spitfire and Midget 1500 and the later TR6, have necessary recesses around the cylinder bores. This information does not touch on replacing the Piston sleeves(Liners) and the figure 8 gaskets. DIY Engine Rebuild Kits - My website - Acme Speed Shop Bare A-type OD base rebuild pricing is $1650. Whether stock, performance or race, only the highest quality components and workmanship go into our engines. British Engine Rebuilder 217-232-7303 Specializing in MG/Triumph 1500 Engines " I will not let you run one of my rebuilt engines in your car if I would not run it in mine. (203) 463-8299 Useful article on the oil pump too. Engine gasket sets I prefer Payen brand gasket sets when I can get them. TheseSUcarburetors may be older technology, but they have served many owners very well through the decades. A bead blast cabinet is ideal for this job; however a wire brush on a drill, or bench grinder with a wire brush will get the job done. AnglefireSeptember 30, 2017 in Engine. Protection by optimising the oil supply is another option. If you are using a performance camshaft you may have to advance the cam timing per the cam manufacturers instructions. Make sure to clean and lubricate your throttle linkage, too. Your manual will tell you the clearance specs, and you need to use an assembly lube on all moving parts inside the oil pump. Bring in the camshaft you are using to insure it fits with the new cam bearings. But not just any pump--SU carb float valves will allow gas by if it's under too much pressure, so you need a low-pressure pump or pressure restrictor in the system. 1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500 specifications - Carfolio.com I'd start with some head work a header and dual SUs. It will be your main point of reference. Otherwise, enjoy the car, collect the stuff you need and don't put yourself under pressure! Oil pressure regulator parts They are inexpensive, so replace them. He said he'd had problems with soft lock tabs on other engines messing uptorque readings. As always, check your local emissions laws. Description Triumph Spitfire - Classic Car Fuel Injection Conversion Based on our Premium Vehicle Kit for 2 SU carburettor upto 125 BHP This kit contains all the parts needed for our Classic Fuel Injection system (you do not need to order anything else from our range ) Save around 200 when buying as complete kit - I think there is some end float issues amongst others!). Be sure to use engine oil with 1200 ppm of ZDDP to insure long engine life. Yeah, except for Mazda, Ford, GM, Toyota, Mercedes, Nissan, Honda, etc. I'll be making sure that my new one is as good as it can get to the "best" end of the specs. All engine parts are cleaned, prepped and machined or new. I hope this far into the game you already have a good manual. BLACK SOFT TOP. From your local part store you will need to purchase the green plastigauge with a measurement range for .001-.003. Still slower than my prius, these are tractor engines from the 50s. These used to be cheap,but only Burton power (SC248)seems to have them now (7.61 ea). That is not true but often repeated. It should come around the outer edge of your degree wheel, preferably on the top side. Get your hands on the complete Triumph factory workshop software. 7000 17.73 20.42 Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. A nifty-looking, dual-inlet air cleaner wrapped in a black crackle finish was part of the package. Need oversized lifter / tappet bores? You can use new lifters with a used cam but never used lifters with a new cam. " Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Crankshaft wear: the 1493cc engine fitted to the Spitfire 1500 has problems of its own, as the crankshaft can wear badly, along with the pistons and rings. The solution is an electric fuel pump in the trunk, and bypass the mechanical pump. Water pump After your 20-minute break-in, do your final tuning. The 1500 is a stroked 1300 and like all stroker engines, they make torque down low, but do not like higher RPMS. Our carbs did need to be freshened, though, and we did that ourselves. 9.99 Download now. Pushing out the old pins is normally done by cold pressing. Lighter pistons and lighter conrods, by reducing their mass. I don't want to build a racing engine, but would like to do some sensible upgrades to improve reliability and drivability. J - Home The goal is to find maximum camshaft lift on the indicator. The idea is to remove all the accumulated junk, especially from critical areas like the float bowl and jets. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. It will smooth out an engine and pull locked up hp to the fore. Deck H $3,341.18 New ---- Used Dart SBF SHP Iron Block 4.125 Bore 9.500 DH - 31375235 $2,999.00 New ---- Used Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Contact Us, Rare American Sports Car: The Fiberfab Jamaican II V8, Full Documentary: The History Of Land Rover, For Sale: The Triumph Scrambler Stunt Motorcycle From James Bonds No Time To Die, Street-Legal Historic Race Car: A 1962 Semi-Lightweight E-Type, Unusual Project Car: A Brazilian Volkswagen SP2, For Sale: Ferrari F40 Wire Frame Sculpture. To read Haps previous article on engine disassembly and inspection, visit www.mossmotoring.com/disassembling-british-engine, October 16, 2013 @ 2:20 pm Larger and the vital internal parts should be cleaned by professionals in an industrial parts washer. You have to have a good idea of your expectations and an understanding of the steps required to get what you want. Rod bolts I recommend replacement. Classic Triumph Spitfire Cars for Sale | CCFS Low Mileage Triumph Spitfire Used Engines For Sale @ BUYUSEDENGINE.COM Purpose manufactured components designed to replace faulty original designs - for increased reliability and durability. Keep your manual close at hand for the assembly stage. Need someone to fit steel main caps to your block and line bore for the proper fit? Copyright 2018 Wishbone Classics. Crankshaft grinding is a very skilled part of the machine shop phase. As always, once we test fitted the manifold, we sent it to Swain Tech Coatings to be coated. Follow the advice of the head gasket manufacturer in regards to coating. The 1500 long stroke is not the best for reliability and can suffer serious big end and con rod failures ifnused in a hurried life It does age quite quickly, upping the power wont help much in reliability Clives the best on this Pete clive Members 5.5k Posted October 1, 2017 For a road engine there are a few simple things. | From the March 2013 issue Remember, these parts may be nearing their 40th birthday, so go with a reputable dealer. Power is, This documentary tells the story of the humble Land Rover, from its origins immediately after WWII as a four-wheel drive farm tractor replacement right, This is the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE stunt motorcycle that was used while filming the memorable chase scene in the James Bond film No, This Jaguar E-Type has been built to Semi-Lightweight specification by XK Engineering, its powered by an all-alloy Crosthwaite & Gardiner 3.8 liter straight-six thats, The Volkwagen SP2 was developed by Volkswagen do Brasil specifically for the Brazilian market as a locally producedsports car. The piston should now slip into the bore. I also experienced the thrust washer failure which ruined the crank so my advice is to keep your foot off the clutch as much as possible. Our initial zero-to-60 testing was just as depressing. http://auskellian.com/paul/links_files/performance_enhancements.htm. Triumph Spitfire Market - CLASSIC.COM Rebuilding A Triumph Spitfire Engine Reading time: about 1 minute | Written by Ben Branch | August 25th 2013 11 Months, 3000 pictures and a lot of coffee. They can handle the disassembly, cleaning, checking for cracks, machining and assembly for you. Bottom end Use a wooden, or plastic hammer handle, to tap the top of the piston down into the bore. Grinding off unnecessary mass from conrods, should be followed by polishing and shot peening, which does increase the strength. The carb is a two stage design, so it's essentially a one barrel with a secondary that comes on at full throttle. Triumph had a lock on using only half the thrust washers