Fancy a race, Virgin Boy?

[jonclancy]

Splat, indeed. I'll come over with Mooch and his SDV build (very nice it is, too), and maybe a local Fury owner. We're always on the lookout for a run.

One thing definitely on my list is to head to Bristol one morning for the Avenue Drivers' Club. Have a look here:

http://www.avenuedriversclub.co.uk/

Some excellent pics in their photo feed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theavenuedriversclub/

I quite like the idea of taking an sharpened stick to persuade a be-scarved Mrs C to come for a run down to Bristol. The XI doesn't get the love in this house that it deserves!! Wimmin!

Too grey at the moment, though...

[Westfield 129]

Prior to the rolling road, pull the front cover and put a degree wheel on the cam and check the cam's timing.

Many engine builders will just use the cam's timing mark, installing the cam "straight up". However, this may have some substantial error, in that the mark may not have anything to do with the actual timing, which is a product of the grinder working with the area of the cam with the most metal, and not necessarily the TDC marking on the cam. Timing can be off as much as 5º, maybe more. It is always best to check the cam timing with a degree wheel, and check it against the actual cam lobe, using your dial indicator on the push rod to find the maximum lift, as well as using the indicator to find TDC.

Hopefully, you have an adjustable timing gear setup, or offset keys to get the cam positioned properly. Having a veriner adjustable cam sprocket will greatly speed the adjustment.

As far as a 5.4 0-60, that's pretty close. Launch weight, with fuel and me on board (the car can't do 0-60 without me, unless I push it over a cliff...) is closer to 1230 and I have clocked 0-60 in 5.9. Note that I have a 3.9 final drive, LSD (very little wheel spin) Datsun 'box (shorter 1st) and 185/70/13 tires.

Empty, my XI weighs in at 1040.

[jonclancy]

Oh, yeah.

Splat, have you seen the tarmac this year?

I have. At speed. It's cold...

You? Coffee mug in hand mulling over the voodoo in your chile.

So, come on. Pull your finger out and fire it up.

I may have a throbbing 65bhp, but:

1. I am on the road.
2. You probably can't drive.

Any time you like, big boy.

Oh, and Hullavington has plenty of run-off for over-exuberant school-boys.

So, I suggest we try here first.

Questions?

[Splat]

Yes. What were you on when you wrote that?

[Splat]

Far from feeling goaded by Jon, it's purely serendipity that had my car ready to drive this morning . Standard rockers on a hardened shaft have quelled the valve overlap that resulted in nothing below 3500rpm and a change of throttle chokes (from 32mm to 36mm) and a little work on the jetting have given a much smoother response. Still a little cammy below 3500, but OK when warm. 101bhp at the crank (70-something at the wheels). Thats with a very short Maniflow inlet. A custom 6-incher is next. They're only just down the road so I'll try to pop down on Monday.

18 months sitting idle has resulted in a weeping front shock. Standard Westfield of 2005 (red coil over black body). Do we know who the Original Manufacturer is and whether they are rebuildable?

MoT later this avo'. Fingers crossed...........

[jonclancy]

Just goading. You started it!! I doubt I'll be starting a Stand-Up career, granted.

Good luck with the MOT.

Also, when you're at Maniflow, could you ask them how much it would be to make up an inlet manifold for a single HIF44 please? I test fitted my (to be rebuilt) carb to the Howley manifold I have and it angles up. Top of the dashpot is well above the oil cap.

Sorry, don't know about the shocks. I would have thought it quicker and probably cheaper to just relace it?

[erictharg]

The stock 7" Maniflow Weber item fits fine. I run their big bore version (1.5" inlet dia) but I believe they do a slightly smaller version for road head size ports.

Re. Single SU, getting Maniflow to make one up is a good plan. I never found one that would clear the bonnet otherwise. Even the Titan manifold made for the Midget did not clear the Eleven bodywork. Hence the hole in mine to clear the dashpot. Still there, even though the carb is long gone. May fix it if I ever get around to painting the car.

[jonclancy]

Splat wrote:

> MoT later this avo'. Fingers crossed...........

Any news?

[Westfield 129]

Rockers don't change the valve timing, or the overlap. They do extend the time that the valve is off the seat, but this is more to properly translate the cam's lift to valve lift. The rockers don't change the overlap one fraction of a degree. The valves open and close at the same rate and timing.

Unless you had a cam that was optimized for lower ratio rockers, there would be no problems. There should be no problems with the higher ratio rockers. Again, I would check the cam timing for your problem, not the rockers.

Your current HP is not that high that you would need such a big cam to get there. Something is suspect with your engine build/combination. You should be seeing about 95 HP, maybe more. Perhaps your problem is port/valve size, or carburetion/inlet manifold/exhaust header. Somewhere there is a missing 20~25 HP.

[Splat]

MoT passed without a hitch. Although they did suggest that the rear reflector must have fallen off on the way there . I'm probably nipping down to Salisbury today so I'll ask about your fabrication Jon. Personally, I'm happy with over 100hp as a starting point. They're British war horses you know, not your Yankee show ponies.................