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36211

General Discussion Area / Re: Six months today

« on: 29 March 2009, 12:37:23 »

It is six months since I smoked my last fag. A big milestone for me as I had been a 40-a-day man for 35 years. Still on the gum but I doubt that will kill me and £10 a week for gum is certainly better than £10 a day for fags.


My next big one is Easter, when I'll have been without booze for five years.

No fags..............no booze.......does not sound very exciting ......I'll bet that you eat All Bran for breakfast as well

 

 

36212

General Discussion Area / Re: Six months today

« on: 29 March 2009, 11:37:00 »

Well done. You've done the really hard bit now! [smiley=thumbup.gif]  

I think you need to be/have been a smoker to realise just how difficult it is to quit.

36213

General Discussion Area / Re: Don’t forget to set your clocks forward

« on: 28 March 2009, 19:54:15 »

why dont they just leave it alone. no need to keep putting them back and forward, how many other countries do it, i guess everyone does.

They've tried just about every combination over the years, left them alone and even moved it 2 hours - don't know which way though :-/.
It's OK for you suverners to suggest leaving it alone, what about Hamish McSporran up in the Highlands?  :-/    

SWMBO really did book a driving test for a Hamish McSporran

36214

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 28 March 2009, 21:58:56 »

Having got the help of someone who knows what he's doing   ........  I fitted a 'new', known to be OK, coil today, got my HT leads the right way round (someone must've have switched them because I haven't since it last ran and it ran the first turn of the key touch of the jump leads on the starter!    


I just need to do some GRPing on the body! :-/ :-/ :-/

36215

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 27 March 2009, 10:15:19 »

......
You cant polish a poo!

Thanks Mark!  :-?      

36216

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 27 March 2009, 00:48:52 »

The robin engine is quite good....its all alloy (head and block) and can be made to go quite well.

The exhaust was a weakness on them with the manifold ports often being half the size of the head ones and the exhaust passing through a few tight 90 degree bends shortly after exiting the head.

Easy enough to get to rev to 9000rpm

But sadly mounted into something that corners like a bar of Palmolive

You're dead right about the exhaust manifold, it's as right angled as you could get.

You can't say that yet, as you don't know what it's fastened to. I haven't got cart springs at the back, coil over dampers, 5 link plus antiroll bar for me.


And it's (should be) orange.  

got to be my favourite then the Bug!!!!

It is indeed Graham. I WILL do something with it this year .......        

sighs,
 deliver it to swindon???

There's a restored one on eBay ...... clicky

36217

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 20:29:52 »

The robin engine is quite good....its all alloy (head and block) and can be made to go quite well.

The exhaust was a weakness on them with the manifold ports often being half the size of the head ones and the exhaust passing through a few tight 90 degree bends shortly after exiting the head.

Easy enough to get to rev to 9000rpm

But sadly mounted into something that corners like a bar of Palmolive

You're dead right about the exhaust manifold, it's as right angled as you could get.

You can't say that yet, as you don't know what it's fastened to. I haven't got cart springs at the back, coil over dampers, 5 link plus antiroll bar for me.


And it's (should be) orange.  

got to be my favourite then the Bug!!!!

It is indeed Graham. I WILL do something with it this year .......        

36218

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 18:50:00 »

.....
Have you managed yet, I will have a handbook for a car with point's, also don't forget the insulating washer, catches loads of people out, especially these days....
 

I'm still at work Mike  

36219

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 18:49:11 »

The robin engine is quite good....its all alloy (head and block) and can be made to go quite well.

The exhaust was a weakness on them with the manifold ports often being half the size of the head ones and the exhaust passing through a few tight 90 degree bends shortly after exiting the head.

Easy enough to get to rev to 9000rpm

But sadly mounted into something that corners like a bar of Palmolive

You're dead right about the exhaust manifold, it's as right angled as you could get.

You can't say that yet, as you don't know what it's fastened to. I haven't got cart springs at the back, coil over dampers, 5 link plus antiroll bar for me.


And it's (should be) orange.  

36220

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 18:42:50 »

So its the Robin 850 engine?.....and is it the original coil or any old shite that was lying about?

No it's not the original, it's one I had lying around! As said I must have a compatable coil somewhere as I had it running before ...... a while back now, but it has run.

36221

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 16:09:30 »

What engine.

Reliant 850  

You should also set them based on dwell and not gap as the breaker operating cam in the dizzy will be worn.

I'm not that acurate at the minute. I just want to run it to start with  . Worn? Perhaps, a bit, but it's not actually that bad. I intend to bin the contents of the dizzy at some later stage to a later electronic dizzy ... eg Aldon    

36222

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 15:10:17 »

......
Large pinch of salt required as it's a while since I've played with anything that had points.

Kevin

You and me both.
I'm sure that some on this site weren't even around when I last set points    

36223

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 14:45:01 »

Many coils require a ballast resistance in the LT feed to the coil. Although this is sometimes shorted during cranking to aid starting with low battery voltages, it is actually done to give a higher impedance feed to the coil which builds the charge in the coil faster, reducing the dwell time over a coil designed for 12 volts directly.

Anyway, such coils have a very low DC resistance so will flow much too much dwell current without a resistor in series. My guess is that this is your problem. Sounds like the wiring is fine.

Sometimes the ballast resistor was built into one of the LT leads meaning it could easily be discarded unwittingly.

Kevin

Thanks Kev, I'll see what other coils I have. We're talikng 60's technology here though .......      

36224

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 14:43:06 »

I once owned a MK1 Astra Estate.....................on a 1983Y plate..................as far as I 'am aware this was one of the last cars to be fitted with contact breakers points.

If memory serves ............I would set the "heel" of the points against the high point of the cam in the dristributor...............then set the points gap to 15 thou.............with a feeler gauge.

I would use a home made light bulb .............with croc clips .......in order to find out exactly when the points started to open.

I would line up the timing marks on the engine first ....by hand ...........as I did not have use of a strobe light.

I can remember the actual setting of them, having a MkIII Cortina in the dim & distant past has engrained the method in my memory.

36225

General Discussion Area / Re: contact breakers/points

« on: 26 March 2009, 14:40:09 »

This might help Andy http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5jNS4NubpR4C&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=how+is+the+condenser+and+contact+point+wired+in+a+cars+distributor&source=bl&ots=JBWzhkjhUB&sig=jQscohu2CPG_wTlcnTzHu2ef1uE&hl=en&ei=uHbLSa2ND4qUjAeyoZzzCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA125,M1

Thanks for that Rob ..... I'm not quite surehow different mine is, but it gives me something to compare.