Jay; the original fluid for this type 35 BW gearbox was type A fluid.
Today you should use Dexron II as it is the current iteration of the
old type A.
The Ford type F fluid and the now current version of F will not hurt
this trans. but there are some differences in the material used on
bands and clutches of all AT units and the designers select fluid
based upon getting a smooth engagement (so important in selling new
cars).
In the Sunbeam, this was a pretty unsophisticated trans. and you
might not see any difference in the way it shifts with either fluid
and of course either fluid does protect bearings and moving parts in
an equal manner.
------------------
Jarrid; your report on the importance of setting the oil pump drive
to correct clock position is a very important thing and all LIST
people should note it in their shop manuals as being a MUST item,not
just a suggested position. It is a very valuable topic and thanks
for posting it.
As you explained........when the dist body has to be rotated a large
amount to obtain idle rpm timing setting, the rotor can be so far off
from its alignment with the cap contact that a large air gap occurs,
and the spark must leap this gap.....resulting in misfires and/or
poor running at higher speeds.
For those who have not had the opportunity to work with ocsillocope
displays, these early type engines which use a coil ignition system
will idle with the coil producing approx 6000-8000 volts, as this is
all thats needed to jump the plug gap. When this engine is
accelerated under max load, the plug gap requires much more voltage
to jump the gap and the coil must then make about 17000- 30000 volts.
The amount of actual volts is somewhat variable and is affected by
several things such as comp. ratio, cam timing, engine heat, air temp,
humidity and the "accumulated spark gaps" which are at the plug and
rotor.
If a "resistor type non-metallic plug wire " has been yanked or
pulled it creates little gaps inside. These accumulated gaps also
have to be added to the total amount the spark has to jump.
The "scope" reveals all these problems and shows which plug wire has
the problem as well as all the other ignition firing happenings.
If radio static is no problem, the use of wire core ign wires is
always the best play on these engines because the old Lucas coils can
work at max affectiveness with metal wire.
Resister plugs also add to the affect of too much gap and they cause
the coil to make higher voltage at cranking as well as throughout the
driving range.
Some people feel these higher voltages at the plug translate into
faster starts and more power.
This may or may not be true ! One thing which is true......running
the Lucas coil at higher voltage outputs continually......makes it
hotter inside and this does have an affect on coil life and failure
!
We used to say.......dynamite does not explode stronger when lighted
with a blow torch than with a match.
When the spark leaps the plug gap and the air/fuel mixture is correct.
......there is no proof that the explosion will be stronger with a
higher voltage hotter spark.........in simple engines with simple
combustion chambers.
Throughout the years we have had many race engines as well as street
engines with dual plugs (the last in the USA was the 1941-42 Nash 6
and 8 cyl OHV engines. When Nash resumed production in 1946, they
deleted the twin plug by simply blanking off that side of the chamber
and running water around it in the usual manner. Their horsepower was
advertised as "unchanged " from the twin plug design !
Rolls Royce Phantom-2 engines also had twin plugs on a straight six.
Their reason was quite different in that they employed both battery
as well as magneto ign choices but they "suggested running only one
system at a time because there was no gain in power when both were
opeating. When I worked for Rolls I told everyone to run both
systems all the time as it helped prevent fouling of the inactive
magneto plug when using the coil system.
Aircraft use twin ignition for safety requirements but in the case of
BIG BORE engines, there IS A GAIN with twin plugs firing.
Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and a host of other race type engines have found
that with extreme rpms and cluttered combustion chambers (pent roof
pistons etc.) that twin plugs which light the fire at opposite ends,
do make more power but ONLY because a single plug makes poor power in
that chamber and at high rpm. Jaguar experimented with twin plugs on
C and D types and ended up using a single properly placed plug
because their chamber location was OK as originally positioned.
---------------------
With the advent of emission engines which run VERY LEAN mixtures,
there is a big requirement for a large hot spark to ignite this
mixture reliably (this is need NOT found in Sunbeams, which run old
fashioned rich mixtures),
GM and other makers adopted the electronic ign back in about 1972 and
this starts, idles and runs at very high voltages.........and........
the plugs are set to usually a gap of .060" to provide this long and
hot spark which is needed.
The stock Lucas coil with a proper condition distributor WILL fire
the Alpine engine perfectly, up to about 6200-6500 rpm and possibly
even a bit higher. This is beyond what you should be turning with
these stock engines anyhow !
Race prepped engines can rev higher and would require ignition suited
to the higher rpm.
Dick T.
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