Exhaust Notes
Newsletter of the St. Louis
www.SLTOA.org November
2007
November Meeting, Tuesday Nov. 20th, 2007,
7:00 PM, at John Lamberg’s,
14148 Cross
Trails Drive , Chesterfield MO 63017-3309
Arrive anytime after 6:00 p.m. ; meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. The club will provide grilled hot dogs and
hamburgers. Attendees may bring a dish or dessert to share, your beverage of
choice and lawn chairs.
Presidential Ramblings, by Craig Madsen
Fall finds
me scrambling, four out of five weekends out of state - Parents day at son
Brian's College, several weekends helping my folks get moved and dragging more
Triumphs home and a Saturday installing equipment in
November will find us at VP John Lamberg's residence on the 20th. The club will give the dogs & brats one more go around this year. Buns & condiments will also be provided. Bring a beverage of your choice and a side dish if you'd like, we never seem to go hungry do we?!
I'm looking forward to this years Christmas party (Dec.7) I'll be hammering out a formal invite to our friends in the MG & Healey clubs. Santa is working on a surprise for all those hard working elves this year so be sure get your money to Bonnie so we can get the number of attendees to the folks at Bevo Mill.
This years party will also include the "Rob Your Neighbor" gift exchange, gifts not to exceed $20.00 in value, you may bring as many or as few as you like. I'll see if I can commandeer Carl to make sure everyone that brings a gift gets a ticket. Don't miss the fun!
I've
learned this year that I can't save every Triumph automobile that I see, nor is
it healthy mentally to acquire an excess of these vehicles! There needs to be a
thinning of the heard. So the first to go will probably be the blue coup
followed by the burgundy spit. If anyone is interested let me know. I hope to
next year be able to focus a little better - more work done on fewer cars,
that's the goal! That being said, all those closet
presidential wanna be's, this
is the year (March) I'll be passing the gavel. In the interest of keeping
things Fresh & entertaining, I believe it's the right thing to do. One of
the reasons for not permanently picking a meeting venue in the last 2 years is
in the interest of our membership which is scattered across a large area.
Another was that not everyone likes everything about any given restaurant,
food/ beer/ location/ etc. One thing the majority seem
to enjoy is our gathering at the Bevo Mill for
Christmas so, I hope that's a tradition we'll carry forward! I'm not saying I
won't do it again, I just don't want things to get
stagnated. We've got a great, growing membership which I would like to
increase. If a position was available for a Membership Chairman, I might be
convinced to take on duties in that capacity! Remember that car show I wanted
to get started at
The Fun will continue! Winter brings the Polar Bear Run, countless restoration (full & partial) projects, I'm still working on getting Ted here for an informative chat. But for now, take a breath, another look at the leaves, and get ready for the Holidays!
Hope to see you at Johns! Craig Madsen
STLOA Annual Christmas Party!
When: December 7th - Time TBA (evening)
Where: Bevo Mill -
Costs: $10.00 Per person, Subsidized by
the SLTOA Treasury
Events Dinner provided, Cash-Bar available,
"Rob Your Neighbor" Gift Exchange($20.00 Max Limit) Optional
Bring
as many or as few as desired.
Payment: Bonnie David
Make your reservation by mailing
your check today!
Lucas Night Rally
This years
Lucas Night Rally will be held on
Charlie Key
314.428.9335 britcarguy@aol.com
Photos from John Manke’s TR250 battery box repair:
Quote from John, “I am proud of how it came out. This is the
first body work I have ever done and it is solid as a rock. No more bondo!”
Continuation of SU Carburetor Tips, Introduction note
by Creig Houghtaling
Jim Taylor is a retired design engineer with over 40 years experience rebuilding SU carburetors and fuel pumps. The following is a continuation in a series of articles on the most common problems that Jim has observed in carburetors that come to him for service.
The following article is reprinted here by permission from Jim Taylor. Please refer to the April SLTOA newsletter for Karl Schmitt’s introduction of Jim. There are several articles that will be reprinted over next several months in this newsletter. Make sure you keep the April and May copies available for reference back to the detailed SU drawing.
XV. AFTERMARKET PARTS - SU CARBS
Unfortunately, the people assembling aftermarket carb kits don't always appreciate the significance of the original specifications, or in some cases just have poor quality control. Two items come to mind:
1. On the H series carbs the upper jet bearing copper washer is supposed to be 0.016" thick. Many aftermarket kits have this washer 0.025" or even 0.033" thick. This holds the complete jet assembly down farther away from the needle than intended and defeats about 1/2 turn of the mixture adjustment nut (ability to lean out).
2. Jet orifice sizes arc 0.090", 0.100", and 0.125" in diameter. I have made a set of pin gages to check these orifice diameters. The typical smaller gage is 0.089" diameter on one end, is 2" long, and tapers uniformly to 0.090" on the big end. When the small end is inserted in the orifice the gage ideally should become snug about 1/2 way up its length. If it slides all the way through I don't use the jet. An orifice 0.0005" too large, and many are, may give you trouble in leaning out the mixture enough.
XVI. HD CARB SLOW RUN ADJUSTMENT
On the HD series carb the throttle plate is completely closed at idle with slow running being controlled by a needle valve by-passing the throttle plate. The choke lever actuates a fast idle cam which opens the throttle plate slightly during cold starts. The fast idle screw should have about 1/2 turn clearance from the throttle lever when the choke is in the off position. Do not set normal idle speed with this screw. Use the slow run needle valve.
XVII. GROSE-JETS FOR RACING
The virtues of Grose-Jet float valves were extolled in a previous article (#VIII.) The standard SU-301 Grose-Jet used for essentially all of the SU carbs, except the HGF series, has an orifice of 0.084" diameter. This is satisfactory for most normal use. For racing applications where full throttle accelerations or full throttle high speed runs are needed with the bigger carbs such as HD-8's, an optional 0.099" orifice is available. Specify SU-301-0.099".
XVIII. AIR CLEANERS - SU CARBS
The inlet flange on SU carbs normally has 4 holes drilled in it. The two holes on the center-line are for mounting the air cleaner. Two holes slightly above the center-line are vent holes bringing atmospheric air to the underside of the piston. These vent holes must match with holes in the air cleaner shell or mounting plate. Since many of the pancake air cleaners are symmetrical, they can be installed upside down thus blocking off the vent holes. Be sure air cleaners are installed right side up with vent holes matching.
XIX. HS SERIES CARBS
The HS series carbs as used on BJ-7 Healeys and most Sprites, Midgets, MGB's have a small rectangular lug cast on the side of the body. This lug engages a slot in the float bowl rubber grommet to determine the tilt of the float bowl. Due to accident or rough handling sometimes the lug is broken off. It may be replaced with a 5/32" diameter x 3/8" long roll pin. Drill a 5/32" hole x 3/16" deep, drive in the roll pin and set in LocTite for good measure. It works adequately.
XX. PINCH BOLT ORIENTATION - SU CARBS
Throttle return spring clips, interconnecting throttle shaft "W" couplings, and interconnecting shaft levers are all anchored to their respective shafts with a pinch bolt. The clips, couplings, and levers all have a recess to retain the pinch bolt head and prevent it from turning. Always install the bolt head in the recess with the nut and plain washer on the smooth side of the fitting. When orienting the fittings on their respective shafts always have the nut facing up so it is readily accessible to a nut driver for making synchronization adjustments on the carburetors.
XXI. FLOAT BOWL ORIENTATION - SU CARBS
On the H series carbs, float bowls are mounted to the carb body with a single mounting bolt. The float bowl will pivot around the mounting bolt. Correct orientation of the float bowl is at right angles to the carb body. Fiber washers used with the shouldered mounting bolt will essentially lock the float bowl in place. Rubber grommets used with the later straight sided mounting bolts will allow the float bowl to inadvertently be moved. Don't let the bowl be swung too far towards the rear of the carb or it will foul the spring return clip on the throttle shaft. Carb kits frequently contain both fiber washers and rubber grommets to accommodate either type of mounting bolt. Don't intermix fiber washers and rubber grommets on the same bolt. You may not be able to compress the rubber sufficiently to get the fiber washer to seal.
XXII. TEFLON SLEEVE BUSHINGS
The HD-8 carbs fitted to the BJ-8 AH are equipped with teflon SLEEVE bushings. These minimize shaft wear and are easily replaceable. About 90% of the BJ-8 carbs I see have shaft wear less than 0.001" and thus do not require new throttle shafts. Replacement of the teflon sleeves will restore a good fit The sleeves are furnished flat and must be rolled, much like a cigarette paper, for installation. The sleeves are kept from walking on the shaft by split retainer rings on each side of the sleeve. It is imperative that the person disassembling the throttle shaft assembly knows that the split retainer rings are there and must exercise diligence to assure that the rings do not fall out and become lost The split rings are not available anymore. Many of the replacement teflon sleeves are not precisely cut (they are too large) and thus the edges will overlap each other or the retainer rings causing binding. The proper dimensions in the flat state are 33/32" on the long edge and 17/32" at right angles to the long edge. The sleeves may be trimmed with a straight edge and an X-Acto knife.
XXIII. SPRING ANCHOR ORIENTATION
The helical throttle return springs used on "H" series carbs and HD-6 series carbs are anchored to the body with a brass spider-like anchor having five fingers. The outer end of the spring is anchored to the shaft with a clip and pinch bolt. On the "H" series anchors the two long fingers must straddle the throttle stop lug on the carb body. On the HD-6 series anchor, which is slightly larger, the wide gap between the lingers goes over the wide lug and one long finger must bear against the thin lug.
XXIV. FORK END
Jet levers on the HD-6 carbs are connected through a threaded choke rod with a fork or clevis on each end. The rod length must be adjusted by screwing the fork ends in or out so that with the jet levers in the full off position the clevis pin will fit easily through the hole in the lever and fork end. The fork end is formed out of fairly thin metal so the threaded hole in the fork end has only about three threads. It is essential that the lock nut be tight against the fork end to prevent vibration from ruining the threads in the fork end and on the rod.
Classified Ads: Contact Creig Houghtaling
at 
, the
address listed below, or
314-401-7817 to place a free ad in this newsletter.
1972 Triumph GT6
for sale -- This is a car that my father in law and I did
a rolling restoration on about 7 years ago. The motor is rebuilt with higher
compression pistons, fast road cam, rebuilt carbs and
a
The car comes with lots of spare parts. There are two engines, a transmission,
two differentials, starters, alternators, complete front and rear suspension,
spare carbs, complete spare exhaust, windshield,
doors, rear hatch and glass, wheels, guages, brand
new rotors and boxes and boxes of odds and ends. Way more
than I could list here.
If you have a spitfire use the spare parts to make yourself a Spit6.
I love the car and hate to see it go but I have too many other toys and some
looming bills. It has always been in the garage since the restoration. The last
few years have been in a heated garage. For the car and the truckload of spare
parts I will take $6500 or best offer.
Dan Trigg 636-244-6669
For
Curt Shepard, Vice President, Love Funding Corp, 212 S. Central #301, St.
Louis, MO 63105 - 314-512-8566,
314-922-3121 Cell
Great! I ended up
selling the car to the
For sale, TR6 parts Engine,Transmition,driveshaft,differential,Front
suspension and steering components,rear suspension
swing arms,complete heater,Carberators,intake
manifold and air covers,Complete windshield andframe,door windows, doors, front lt. fender,fiberglass
rear fenders and running boards,trunk lid,4 wheels
w/center caps and more. All components from 1972 TR6.
Call Fred Lenkman @636-926-7880
Arlie King has a
set of TR3 spoke wheels and tires for sale, Call today to get a really low
price. Please call him at 636-677-0545
I’ve got a new supply of Castrol GT LMA brake fluid. $10 for a quart. $5 for a 12 oz. Creig Houghtaling 314-401-7817
Creig Houghtaling, Editor
www.sltoa.org