Austin Healey BJ8 hitches a ride
We’ve been chasing an apparent fuel delivery problem in this right hand drive Austin Healey 3000 Mk III. Initially the car responded well to having all of the fuel line clamps tightened, a common enough problem with any number of cars regardless of whether they have mechanical or electric fuel pumps, and in fact we also checked this pump by substitution. I personally ran 25 trouble free miles including on the Interstate. Luckily, this failure occurred while the car was still in our hands.
- Timing up a 948cc Sprite cam
In the process of trying to suss out our the problem, Reilly cleared the pump-to-carb and pump-to-tank fuel lines with compressed air. Often times this will turn up evidence of debris creating a blockage. By removing the fuel gauge sending unit we had seen visual evidence of an inner coating having been applied to the tank, so we drained it and the fuel came out clean. Much of the time the coating will come out in sheets when you do this.
Butch checks E-type half shaft U-joints
Not so with this tank, but we pulled it out anyway, and discovered a coming & going restriction in the pick up tube, probably a sheet of the stuff intermttantly flopping over the gauze strainer. A new tank goes in tomorrow.
I have been working downstairs putting together a 948 cc Austin Healey Sprite engine, and Wednesday I timed up the APT bump-up cam. A close observation of that picture will also reveal that the timing gear has been strengthened by the additon of an IWIS duplex roller chain & sprockets. I have it timed for 2 degrees advance over a split overlap.
Reilly & Patrick haul out a V12 E-type engine
Meanwhile Butch continued to chase down the unacceptable rear hub play in the series 2 E-type featured here last week. Even after having correctly set up the taper roller bearings in the rear hub carriers, play was still present. It turned out to be the universal joints in the differential half shafts. These need to be spot-on because the half shafts are also the upper members of the rear suspension.
While these are a brilliant design feature of the Jaguar IRS, they need to be checked and kept well greased because a U-joint failure could quickly become a catastrophic suspension failure. A word to the wise.
'A' series & Compact 'A; series overdrives
Weekends are when we get to work on our own stuff sometimes. In this last picture the engine is coming out of Patrick’s series 3 fixed head coupe which he’s changing over to a four-speed manual with the interesting addition of a late ‘Compact A’ series overdrive. Although Jaguar never fit overdrive to the E-type, rumor has it that the 2+2 body shell will accommodate it and we’re gonna find out. The unit going in is just visible between the blue engine tilter and the ratchet on the end of it.
