Newbie, I know, the car deserved better.

[Mahesh]

Put the plate into the ultrasonic cleaner for 20 minutes,

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Still cant see any numbers, I thought there would be a 7, 9 or 11 somewhere.

[MIG Wielder]

Many thanks, but I cant find the number you need, I took the base plate out, do I have to separate the two halves ?
Also whilst the plate is out, I gave the shaft a waggle, and it moves around 1.5 to 2mm left to right, is this correct ?

Think there has been a problem here in the past, as the two screws holding the base plate seem to have worn heads,
either someone has been over tightening (seems unlikely, these were loose too) or they had problems removing.

Hi Mahesh, That baseplate is made like that and can't be separated. Both halves should come together as a replacement. There are 2 types listed, but I'm not sure what the difference is. Yes, 1 - 2 mm of side to side movement is quite a lot; it means new spindle bearings. Mart found some replacement phosphor bronze bushes from another part of the Triumph range. More important is the up and down movement of the spindles. It should be very small. I think this is why some of the magnetic coupling electronic ignition units are a bit intermittent.
The distributor number is stamped on the side of the casting together with the date code near the vacuum advance pod.
Tony.

[Mad Mart]

The pic is good enough Mahesh, I don't need the number. As Tony said, if your shaft is moving that much then you need to replace the bushes or get another dizzy. I did find that the crankshaft spigot bushes were similar in dimensions but I'm not sure if they could be used here as they are a different material. James bought some recently I believe, but not cheap. I'll have a look at the dizzies I have, I'm sure most of them don't have that much play. I do have a dizzy c/w Newtronic (Piranha) electronic ignition if that's any use to you.

[Mahesh]

Thanks for that Tony,

I checked the up and down movement, but it's only 1mm, 1.5mm tops, should be ok ?

But having the base plate out of the car (and cleaned up) I tried one of my M4 screws, and that
held very well, whereas the one from the vehicle and magnetronic kit did not.

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So for now it seems that I may be able to make some more progress, and should not need a new
base plate for now, (Thanks Mart).

I've read that these magnetronic units like a steady 12v supply, should I put in a DC to 12v DC regulator,
or just take a ign linked 12v feed ?

[Mahesh]

Might as well ask the stupid question,

Do I need to keep that piece of string (shoelace) on the base plate, I can't see it doing much
other than just being there, as the plate cannot advance to its full length, and the points and
condensor are no longer present ?

[tony g]

The string is a wire to earth the moving part onto the non moving part. I would keep it

Tony

[Jon Tilson]

Yes take a 12V feed from the fuse box ( non fused obviously) , not coil + if you are still ballasted and with a magentronic you
dont really need to be.

Jonners

[James467]

Have you got the lumenition blue coil?

If not I recommend you get one!

Oh and dizzy shafts suffer from bad lubrication, the feeds get blocked by dirty sludged up oil, when the bushes start to break up it wrecks the shaft which are not available any more.

[Mahesh]

Thanks James,

I've been looking at that blue coil, but was hoping my old lucas sport would last a couple of weeks for testing.

Will clean out the dizzy insides and have a closer look tomorrow morning.

[James467]

Will clean out the dizzy insides and have a closer look tomorrow morning.

You're opening up a can of worms there!

I have a spare pair of bushes that I can put into a late body for you if your shaft is ok, I also have a spare shaft if yours is shot. You'll just have to build up the rest.

[Mahesh]

Only going to wipe down and get the magnetronic in, primary objective is still the carbs.

[Mahesh]

Gave a little wipe inside the dizzy to remove the sludgy oil grease mix, and put in some fresh
multipurpose at the moving sections.

Took out the vacuum unit to check functionality and gave it a minor clean at the same time.

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The pic is after cleaning !

However rain has scuppered any further work for today

[MIG Wielder]

Hi Mahesh, The " bootlace" wire is actually a thin braided lead designed to be extra flexible to guarantee a good earth connection from that base plate to the dizzy body. Check its d.c. resistance with an ohm meter while wiggling it around to make sure it is still a good connection. Then carefully screw it back down into the distributor body together with the baseplate.
The ultrasonic cleaner sound good ! What fluid do you use in it ? I remember at work we used something called Arklone (?) which worked well on electronics.
To answer your other question, yes, I think about 1mm should be O.K. for the up and down free movement. I couldn't find a spec; on this in the workshop manual.
Tony.

[Mahesh]

Thanks for the reassurance Tony,
I've only come back this evening and will hopefully
do some checking in the morning, rain permitting.

In the ultrasonic I haven't got any specific fluid yet,
all I'm using at the moment is water and three drops
of washing up liquid or a dash of degreaser, followed
by a quick dry under the hand dryer, seems to work
fine, and even the first set of steel bolts I put in for a
test are not showing any signs of rust.

[Mahesh]

Managed to connect up the magnetronic this morning.

Only one spark, then nothing, engine turns but thats it, checked the gapping,
and fit, all ok.

12v going to the module, earths are all present, coil has its voltage, but I have
to be in the works premises now (200yds away).

The Lumenition blue coil (MS3) should arrive today, may change this evening and try again.
Hopefully the magnetronic module is not faulty, if no joy, back to contacts for the time being.