Well, thanks to all your help, my car is together (almost, I forgot to
remember how to reassemble the choke, but I'm hopeful) and running.
Here is what I did and what has happened:
I replaced the distributor, cap, rotor, et. al, the wires and the plugs.
I set the timing to the fourth "finger" which is something like 14
BTDC. Set the timing at 1500 rpm with the vacuum hose disconnected.
(Did you all mention that it is lay on your back and check the timing,
get up and hang over the fender and turn the distributor, lie down, lay
on your back and check the timing, get up and move the distributor and
so on forever and ever?)
Replaced the thermostat with a 160 degree one.
Totally tuned the carburetors. I mean from take the cover off and make
the doohicky flush, to setting the gap on the throttle arm. It took me
two days. The fun part was putting a hose near the carbs and listening
to the hiss so as to make them sound the same.
Hooked up the vacuum hose from the distributor to the intake manifold -
readjusted the idle as doing so cause the idle to increase, and took
her for a ride, through the city and then on the highway.
She idles nice and smooth at around 900, 1000 rpm, accelerates smoothly
with a steady growling sound. I couldn't redline her because of
traffic, but she up to 4 grand in second gear.
Highway was nice although with the cop crackdown that we are
experiencing here in Portland (summertime you know, got to get some
cash from those tourists) I couldn't get any real speed up.
But. The temperature gauge never went more than one needle above the
"N", and the car felt peppy except getting up near 4500 in fourth she
seemed to "flatten out".
So. Strange as it may seem - at least to me - adjusting the
distributor seems to have cured my overheating problem.
But I do have a few questions, and if you have the time to reply, I
would appreciate it.
1. I haven't got a clue as to how to adjust the carbs. True, I
followed the manual and moved the nuts (both at the same time) first
one way and when the engine sputtered, the other way until it sounded
smooth, but is this how it's done? Or is there a more refined
methodology?
2. If I am correct, and the engine does flatten out around 4500 rpm,
any ideas what might cause it?
3. Do dwell meters go inaccurate? Mine is one of those "double the 8
cylinder readings to get a 4 cylinder readout and even though I
adjusted my points with the utmost care, my dwell stayed at 40. I
readjusted the points a few times, making them tighter, then looser,
and still the dwell says around 40???
Anyway, I'm off to do battle with the choke cable.
Once again, thanks for all your help.
Cordially,
Michael Torrusio, Jr.
Running a zoooooming 1971 Brit Green MGB.
Paralegal
Manager
Research Associates, LLC
P. O. Box 18194
Portland, ME 04112
207.252.5787
researchassociatesllc.com
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