123Ignition

Installation is really straight forward, it’s basically a straight swap. In fact it took longer to work out what curve to use! The instructions give a list of curves with their advance at 2,000 and the max advance at a set RPM. Looking up the test data in the workshop manual reveals the following for the Mk1 2 litre:Idle - 8 to 10 BTDC

2,300rpm - 22 to 28 BTDC

4,200rpm - 30 to 36 BTDC

With this data I worked out that I needed curve F. I made a little tool to help with this too; 123ignition curve-o-rama

The car seems to hold idle much better now - there is a definite improvement there. However everything still needs to be looked at and tuned up properly. I have an old high power Flamethrower coil which I may put on there - might give the plugs a bit more bang.

I’m really enjoying doing all these small bits on the car - when you’ve had a massive project sitting over your head (namely the Spitfire) things get a little daunting. I’d forgotten what it’s like to work on a car - and although they’ve only been small jobs I’m regaining the confidence I built up with my first Spitfire. If there is a break in the weather tomorrow I’ll fit the air horns I have and make up a loom and relay pack for new headlights.

New Wheels

Today James delivered the wheels and tyres I’d bought off him. Decided that I may as well fit them straight away, so on they went. They’re real mag style Minilites with the steel inserts and heat treatment for competition usage. I was in two minds to paint them gloss black and get the rims cut - but they’re in good condition already and it seems a shame to mess them up. When they get to the point that they need a refurb I will get them done this way.

At the same time I fitted my new Motolita 15″ dished steering wheel - so much nicer than the horrid thin standard one!

Fettle Day

Today I changed the springs inside the dizzy - made a huge difference to the way the car runs. Not surprising considering it must have been going to maximum advance on even the lightest throttle openings.

I also decided to clean up the warning light cluster as the “chrome” paint was half rubbed off. I dismantled it before putting the plastic parts in to a bowl of hot water and washing powder. 10 minutes later the paint had dissolved and I was left with a nice black piece of plastic. Using a white paint pen I carefully blotted the letters back on - the result is one very nice looking light cluster.

La Carrera Shakedown

We were due to do La Carrera Caledonia in Tim’s GT6 - however plans changed rapidly when we lost drive on the M25 about 10 minutes in to the long journey up to Barnoldswick.

After calling the recovery truck at around 11am I made a plan to get back home and prep the saloon - the route involved clambering down a steep motorway embankment, walking along a river and ending up in a random industrial estate situated somewhere in Waltham Abbey.

I got home and fettled the Strombergs that I had managed to disable the week before by trapping the diaphragms - checked everything else over - filled it up with fuel and got the front tyres balanced. And then I waited. And waited. It was just past 3pm when Tim phoned to say that he was just being picked up by the recovery vehicle. I set off for Staines and encountered exactly the kind of traffic you get on the M25 on a Friday afternoon.

I got there just as they were arriving to drop off the GT6 - it was hastily pushed on to the driveway and we decided that we may as well not lose the whole weekend. So off we set to Barnoldswick.

The journey was very quick and easy - in fact it was very comfortable in the cooler temperatures. We got there around 8pm to a cheer by all those waiting in the car park.

The next day was the typical 6am start and blast up to Gretna services for the start. We quickly fixed the broken temp sender in the car park and got on our way. A good blast around the roads with Dave and Tom in the Spit 2PI. Nothing much to report on the first day apart from the weather was decent in the morning, the car flew along, and stopped quite well after a self-made dicey moment with Midget and a narrow bridge crossing. A meal in the evening topped off a great days motoring and I went to bed early as not to suffer too much fatigue the next day.

The second day it was pouring down with rain, and I was rather glad to be in the saloon as opposed to a soft top. The second day always has better roads - narrower and more twisty. I had a good thrash chasing a Mini, though I don’t think it was really trying too hard! The torque of the 6 pot helped me up hills - but the tyres let me down on anything resembling a corner. In fact the tyres were a little scary on anything but a grippy dry piece of road! They are pretty old by the looks of things and really need replacing - but I can’t bring myself to buy 13″ tyres when I want to get some 15″ wheels. The evening came as we had a good dinner with a fantastic speech and awards by Jim.

Monday started at 7:30am for our trek back home - it’s then that the trouble with the car started. It would run fine but then start misfiring before cutting out. The ignition was checked and rotor arm changed - and the car worked fine again. Until we got to a hill and it did the exact same thing. If you let off the throttle it would continue working again. Fuel supply issues were deemed the problem and so we checked the pump, but no problems there. Then we took off the fuel filter and it was plain and obvious what the cause of the problem was! Obviously the inside of the fuel tank has started to corrode away and fill my filter with crud. That was removed and the car came back on song again. Somewhere near Oxford the car started to play up again, this time the pump was full of crud. Only to be expected, Tim cleaned it out and we got home.

The car did really well and I was very impressed, especially considering pretty much zero prep work was done to a car that has hardly moved in the last few years. You can’t really expect it to do 1600 miles flawlessly - and it pretty much flew along all the way. That auto box really has to go though - they are totally hideous for spirited driving!