The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hi everyone,

Ive recently registered on the forum and taken the plunge and gotten myself a pretty nice looking sprint (reshelled using an 1850). It carries the 1850 number at the moment, but I also have the original sprint shell (VA17276).

I also have a TR6 and a Jensen Interceptor, so Im pretty handy with the spanners and not scared in getting stuck into things (as you tend to have to with 60-70's UK cars!)

Its a one owner car, been sitting in a farm shed for ~ 3 years after overheating and blowing the head gasket.
Luckily, I live in a dry country (Aus) and WA (Western Aus) is pretty dry most of the time. Luckily it was stored in a dry, open shed on a concrete slab, so best conditions for it really to survive.
Rust is virtually non-existent thankfully.



Anyway..to my question.

Im not familiar with the sprint engine. Unfortunately part of the reason why it was a bargain is that the top of the engine was in bits (head off but assembled).
I have the workshop manual here and have spent that last few weeks putting it back together when I can find time.
Ive gotten to the point today that I tried to start it up but it wont fire.

I have a spark, I have fuel..at least to the carb bowls and the float valves appear to be working as the pump runs and clicks off when they are full but im not convinced the jackshaft is timed correctly as when the cam and crank are on their marks, the rotor arm looks to be too far past the #1 lead pickup on the cap.
The manual is very vague about how to set the jackshaft (talks about a line being between 2 bolts) but I think I may have got it a tooth out.

Is there any more accurate way of checking the jackshaft position in relation to the timing marks?

Thanks for any help people can be. I hope to get the car up and running soon

Cheers

Andrew

Hi Andrew, welcome to the forum mate. Lovely looking car there
Re the jackshaft lining up its not really that important if you can time the dizzy separately .
Are you happy that the cam timing is on the marks (crank at tdc and cam notch aligned with not in cam bearing) If so, set up to tdc on No1 and look at where the rotor arm is pointing. If miles out, pull the dizzy out and rotate til its near where you want it to point and use the dizzy rotation to get it close. Start and check with strobe and adjust

Tony

As Tony says - the slots on the dizzy are arranged so that you can get it right as the slot range just exceeds the diffference
between teeth. Its obviously best if you can get the firing point in the middle so you can adjust either way.

The crucial thing though is that the timing chain and tensioner are set right and if you have changed the tensioner be sure you have
the correct reynolds one. Pads do detach on the cheaper Rolon ones with disastrous results. If the head is off and the cam chain sprocket wasnt supported or the engine turned a lot there is a good chance its moved out and that does move the timing via
the jackshaft as you say...

Jonners

Thanks for the welcome guys and the info...like i say Im not familiar with the slant 4 engines, so Im reading the manual and applying basic principals and what I know of engines as I go. Nothing too 'out there' but a few things (like the 16v arrangement) threw me for a while while I got to grips with how it worked!
Thanks both as well..both your names have appeared in many searches I have done...and ended up with the answers I needed. Its nice to be able to say cheers for taking the time to put down info so that others can benefit from. Goes for everyone that contributes on here mind..so its a general thanks all round

Tony...makes sense now....but removing those #%$^ distributor bolts!!
Is there a 'knack' or do I need to make up yet another special tool 'part 3189753' also known as unobtainium!
Think I may need to invest in some crows feet spanners as its the only way I can see of getting to it.

Jon..yep Ive read the sagas of those Rolon tensioners. Annoyingly I had been given a brand new Rolon type with the car bits, but since reading peoples stories of the pads coming adrift...Ive ordered one from SNG that people have linked to.
Fortunately the cam etc was all secured correctly using the spigot on the top of the cam sprocket and I doubled checked the crank and cam marks are lined up after rotating the engine a few times with a socket on the bottom pulley/damper so Im 99.99% certain the cam + crank are correctly timed.
Visually however, the contact point for #1 on the cap vs. the position of the rotor arm is almost too far past #1 (rotating anti-clockwise). Its more of a 7 oclock position rather than 8 (if that makes sense?).

Anyway..sounds like Im at least on the right track. Having sat for a while it could be lots of other things mind...the next thing to check over are the carbies as they may be gummed up and so need a strip down and rebuild. They dont leak however which in my previous experience tends to indicate carbs that need a rebuild.

Cheers

Andrew

Andrew, If you replace the hex head bolts that hold down the distributor with allen head
screws then you can use a ball head allen wench . Much easier to remove and replace.
Doug

Yes but its also possible to get at them with a short ring spanner. You get good at finding a way in round the back for one and under the manifold for the other. Not nice when its hot....

Can you see how far the tensioner is out? No more than 1cm....or it needs resetting - cover off but worth it.

Jonners

Could have sworn I just used a 3/8 drive socket with a woggle bar?

1/4 drive for me works well, need a magnet handy just in case

Tony

not for me..1/4", 3/8" too big.
The body of the dizzy gets in the way on the drivers side bolt.
I have a cheap 7/16" ring spanner that it going to meet Mr oxy acet tomorrow and get bent up into Triumph special tool #666 .
Actually a bit of digging sees a few Triumphs having this problem and there is a special tool for this:



Im just too tight to buy one

On another note however....shes alive!!! Fired for the first time today after going through the basics again. It wont idle but runs OK but I need to check the timing (as the dist has been all over the place).
I think the carbs were a bit clogged with old fuel so the could probably well do with a trip down and rebuild....hmmmmm another $200 for a kit ..maybe next payday.
I Think one of the first mods will be the Saab radiator. It gets too hot here in summer to mess around so a cooling system in top condition is a must.

Cheers

Andrew

I'd just clean out the float bowls and the drive it with new fuel.

wiki SU tuning guide may help. Sorry I lost my bookmark to this...
will try and sort that.

Jonners

The Dolly Wiki is HERE which contains Jonners' words of wisdom

Thanks guys,

For other peoples reference, the SU guide Jonners has written is here:-

https://dollywiki.co.uk/wiki/SU_Carburetor_Tuning

Another question..

Rimmers currently have 15% off and list a number of SU rebuild kits for the HS6/Sprint:-

AUD545
AUD661, AUD680, HZX1501/2
FZX1257

For my engine/VA# (17276) apparently I should have the waxstat type...but I dont.

Is there any way to positively identify which type I need from the carb body?
Does anyone know what to look for otherwise to differentiate the different types?

Thanks once again..

Andrew

Its very common to remove waxtstats and replace with the older fixed jet.
The bits of an SU that wear are the throttle bushes on the older type. These can be recognised by the separate
throttle return springs that hook on to a bar on the manifold. If these are your type and the car has done more that 50k miles
you will need rebushing I suspect. Symptoms are an air leak meaning you cant get an idle speed down much below 1000 rpm.
If you have the later type with concentric coil return springs its very unlikely you will need new bushes. Then the bits to replace
are the float valves and look at the jets which do also wear oval.
Other than that its just gaskets.

Not sure the Rimmers "kits" are the most cost effective way of solving potential problems. I'd be inclined to get bits from SU
direct or Burlen which used to be the company name for all the SU stuff you will ever need.

Jonners

For SU stuff I have found it best to speak to Burlen or Andrew Turner who are both excellent and know all there is to know about SU carbs. They won't sell you stuff you don't need and will give good advice.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20838

Here's some alternative info.

Jeroen