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Engine's all back together now, but I'm short by two 32mm pipe joiners to get the uprated cooling system all connected up. I''ve ordered a couple but they won't arrive until about Wednesday so I won't be back on the road til then.
Can't wait as the engine should have a new lease of life. In addition to the 1mm carbon encrustation I've scraped off everything and the valve springs being fitted upside down I also found that a couple of the rocker to valve clearances were way out too. One was more than double the gap it should have while another had almost no gap at all. It's these little details that sap power.
I just hope I haven't messed up during the rebuild, like fitting the cam 180 degrees out for example...
Unfortunately I've failed to get my engine running, so I'll be going to Cholmondeley Pageant of Power (CPOP) in the tin top. Oh the shame
I'm completely stumped at the moment, it turns, sparks at 13 degrees btdc on no.1 plug and sucks fuel but just doesn't even try to fire. Phil J has made some suggestions regarding the cam/distributor orientation that I'll be mulling over until I take another look at it next week.
The most likely cause is that I might have got the cam sprocket misaligned with the crank sprocket as the timing mark on the latter was so worn I'm not certain that's what it was. The Haynes manual shows a thick slot cut into the face of one tooth on the crank sprocket, the only mark I could find was thinner than a human hair, invisible to the naked eye and only apparent through a watchmaker's eyeglass.
Oh, and my wife has offered the helpful advice that I probably shouldn't have messed with it. Damn it, she's probably right.
Good luck with finding the solution, I have no advice I'm afraid, except that an old mechanic once told me if it had fuel and a spark at the right time, nothing could prevent an explosion!
This is, of course, for a four pot, but the method can be used assuming that your new cam profile and timing are symmetrical.
Thanks for the link Ox. Frustratingly the advice stops at the point I was at a couple of days ago - everything was set up as per the Haynes manual but the rotor arm was pointing at plug no.4's lead when it should've been pointing at no.1. I've since realigned the cam and distributor sprockets which were both out of kilter, and I have a spark on cylinder no.1 at 13 btdc when its inlet valve has just closed, but still no start.
I've ordered a compression tester to see if I'm losing cylinder pressure somewhere, and failing that it'll be a strip down back to a bare upper block and start again, hopefully with someone who knows a bit more about Triumph motors than I watching my every move.
On a lighter note, I've given my radiator shroud a haircut to assist with cooling once I do get the blessed thing running again -
That should help the rear radiator with the cooling issue and save 1/2oz of unnecessary weight to boot!
Will be off line for a few days now (no wifi at CPOP I'm guessing), but I'll post some pics of the event next week.
Thanks for the link Ox. Frustratingly the advice stops at the point I was at a couple of days ago - everything was set up as per the Haynes manual but the rotor arm was pointing at plug no.4's lead when it should've been pointing at no.1. I've since realigned the cam and distributor sprockets which were both out of kilter, and I have a spark on cylinder no.1 at 13 btdc when its inlet valve has just closed, but still no start.
Are you 100% sure that the piston is actually at TDC when you think it is? It's quite simple to make a TDC gauge from an old spark plug with the centre drilled out and a thin rod passing through it that can rest on the top of the piston. It's easy to think the piston is at the top when it's not (I should know....).
I have a spark on cylinder no.1 at 13 btdc when its inlet valve has just closed, but still no start.
If you are getting a spark on No1 just after the inlet valve has closed then your cam/distributor timing is way out. The correct spark will occur with both valves fully closed and the piston nearly at top dead center or as you state 13 degrees BTDC (static timing set up) on the compression stroke. Check here for a simple explanation if you are not familiar with the basic's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGj8OneMjek.
The engine has four strokes in each complete cycle, STROKE 1 induction stroke fuel drawn in - inlet valve open with piston traveling down, inlet valve closed when piston near the bottom. STROKE 2 compression stoke both inlet and exhaust valves closed and piston traveling upwards, at about 13 degress (static reading) BTDC spark is applied and fuel ignites. STROKE 3 expansion stroke expanding fuel forces the piston back down. STROKE 4 exhaust stroke the piston travels back up with the exhaust valve open, the exhaust valve closes just before the piston reaches TDC and the inlet valve opens to allow fuel to be drawn in when the piston travels down again on the induction stroke. Hope that makes sense.
You need to determine if the cam shaft is in time with the crankshaft i.e. are the valves opening and closing at the correct time in relation to each piston position, the use of a dial gauge is good however remove all the spark plugs, then put a small rod (pencil or wood dowel is ok) down No1 plug hole bore when the piston is near to the top of it stroke (don't let go and drop anything into the cylinder), use the visual movement of the rod to determine when the piston is at TDC. Then set the distributor drive up as per page 42 sub section 60 in Haynes manual, it shows the position of the offset drive slot, the distributor can then be fitted and you can check the static timing.
Hope this helps if i lived near i would of offered my help but the Norfolk broads is a little to far.
Thanks for the advice everyone: Gary, I'd already consulted Phil and I've been mulling over his thoughts over the weekend; Martin, you've pretty much confirmed part of what Phil said; and Swifty, you're absolutely right, the inlet valve should be closing at the bottom of the intake stroke, not the top of the compression stroke, which leads me to believe that the cam sprocket isn't aligned properly. Will strip it down tomorrow and try again, too knackered today after the drive back from CPOP.
Will post some pics of that once they've downloaded...
Sounds like the cam sprocket's out of alignment to me, the Kenlow fan they'd selotaped to the front splitter must've fallen off as it wasn't there when it crossed the finish line later -
I want one, in fact, I want this one as it's got my collar number on the plate -
Anyone recognise this? -
Out of the moderns on display (and on the track) this one blew me away -
As did this (I've not really liked any Lambo since the Miura, but I could be tempted in this colour) -
Now we're talking, beautiful race prepped Fulvia -
And a Stratos (replica) -
No twin cam or Alfa V6 in the back though, this one's running a Thema 8-32 motor! -
Anyone know where the crank sprocket timing mark should be in relation to the woodruff key on a Vitesse/GT6/2000 crank? I'm guessing mine's worn off and I've aligned the cam to a random tooth on the sprocket that just happens to have a scratch on it.
Looks like you had a good day out T, CPOS is only up the road from my Man Cave but unfortunately the need to crack on with the Ribble and the Wendy house build on Fathers day meant I couldn't make it this year. Were there any Tigers there?
Sunbeam Tigers or furry, stripey bundles of claws and teeth?
Either way the answer is none unless you count the stuffed animals that were prizes on the hoop-la stalls.
It was a pretty good day, the evening entertainment on Saturday was also excellent if you like classical music. I do but my 12 y/o lad got a bit fidgety after half an hour, although we both loved the spectacular fireworks display at the end.
The car show is only about 10% of the size of Goodwood though, but the paddock and track are far more accessible - our tent was pitched just 20' from the track and it was nowhere near as crowded.
I'd probably not camp there again - there were far too many loud mouthed to$$ers having arguments about sod all through the night - and as we weren't that far from Liverpool their favourite word seemed to be fokkhin. This was shouted repeatedly after a couple of them managed to set fire to the entire contents of their tent at 2am, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect on the pile of smouldering sleeping bags and clothes that they were shouting it at.
Also hope you have the extra power released that you wanted!!
Do post your findings.
Oh, the relief!
It appears that not all cams are oriented the same. The Haynes manual advised lining up the slot marks on the cam and sprocket when reassembling the cam and timing chain, which I did. They don't assume you're replacing the cam with one from a different model though, and the mk2 cam I have had its slots in a different orientation to the slot marks left on the back of the wheel by the mk1 cam. 180 degrees out in fact.
So, a few electrical connections to sort for the coolant booster pump, then back on its wheels so I can set up the timing and mixture outside without giving myself carbon monoxide poisoning, which would be bad.
Ha ha! Yes, that's a regular thing round these parts what witlh Marham, Mildenhall and Lakenheath all nearby. I worked on jet fighters for years but I'll always prefer the sound of a proper piston engine. Especially after it's failed to start for a month...
. Talking of numbers mine was 226 but that's going back 25 years 
