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Re: Another successful (?) test drive...

To: doug@dougbraun.com, spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Another successful (?) test drive...
From: "George P." <ygpz4re@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2003 07:55:35 -0400
Thanks, Doug.  I'll look into all those things.  Overall, I'm very happy 
with how the car is driving, considering how long it's taken me to get to 
this point.  So these are little things that I'll attack with more 
enthusiasm now that it runs.  ;-)

By the way, to the rest of the list members, I'd really like to take this 
opportunity to thank many people who have helped and/or encouraged me as I 
struggled with my ignition and carburretion problems:  Doug Braun here who 
has offered many sound technical tidbits,  Joe Curry who stepped right up 
and sent me some parts I needed while trusting that I would send him the 
agreed up on price later, Clark Nicholls (from my hometown) who not only 
offered much technical advice but also loaned me a distributor to get it 
running so I could attack the carbs without concern for whether the ignition 
was working correctly or not (and never once worried about how long I had 
his distributor, which was way longer than it should have been!), and last 
but certainly not least, Liv Haasper and James Carruthers who not only 
offered technical advice, but more importantly offered far more 
encouragement than I ever would have expected from somebody whom I've never 
even met!

Thanks everybody!

George P.


>From: Douglas Braun <doug@dougbraun.com>
>To: "George P." <ygpz4re@hotmail.com>
>CC: spitfires@autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: Another successful (?) test drive...
>Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2003 22:58:19 -0400
>
>At 09:48 PM 7/1/2003 -0400, you wrote:
> >Drove the Spit again tonight - longer drive, probably 20-25 miles.  
>Here's what I noted:
> >
> >1.  At idle (about 1500 rpm), oil pressure was around 45psi.  Again 
>started high, then dropped when fully hot.  I don't think this is a 
>concern.
>
>Your descriptions of the oil pressure (here and in your previous message) 
>sound entirely normal.
>
> >3.  Near the end of the drive, in traffic, it was getting hot - 3/4 mark 
>and above.  At this temp, it seems like it would idle at 1500 rpm all day 
>long.
> >But it cooled once I got out of traffic.  Could I have a coolant 
>circulation problem?
>
>Could be a partly blocked radiator...  You might try one of those super 
>flush kits, the kind
>that comes with two chemicals: a cleaner and a neutralizer.  I think these 
>have an acid
>that actually dissolves scale, instead of just detergent like the one-part 
>flushes.
>
>And if you use a 50-50 mix of distilled water and antifreeze, you will 
>never get scale again...
>
>
> >Other than those things, it ran pretty well.  Still a bit weak in power 
>in the lower revs.
>
>I think the "power band" of most aftermarket cams is exaggerated.  The Spit 
>engine
>will always be a bit weak in the lower revs.  If you somehow got it to have 
>a lot of low-end
>torque, it would have no high end at all.
>
>
> > Oh, and back to the "dieseling/run-on" problem - my Dad suggested colder 
>plugs.  Would that help cure that problem??
>
>After some normal driving (as opposed to idling in traffic, etc.), remove a 
>coupl eof
>plugs and check their color.  Refer to the handy color picture chart in 
>your Haynes book.
>
>Doug Braun
>'72 Spit
>

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