29-08-2017, 09:40 PM
I have one of the Accuspark distributors supplied by Ruairidh which was fitted at the Scottish A7 Club rally at Guildtown. Initially it worked well but quickly developed a misfire. On the way home I reverted to the DK4A that had been fitted before.
Ruairidh supplied a replacement trigger unit and with that fitted all is well.
My car is a 1929 Fabric Saloon which I use extensively. It does go surprisingly well though I don't know quite why as the engine is almost standard. Bronze updraught carburetor and low compression head, though it is the later version and I believe it has been skimmed slightly before I got it. I have the higher ratio 'Andes' 2nd gear allowing 40+mph in 2nd gear.
Typically the car would cruise between 40 and 50 mph on normal roads. Slower up hills and quicker down. With the new distributor the performance is improved in all respects. It runs more smoothly, picks up better from tickover, pulls better at all speeds and is faster.
I have manual advance/retard and the correct timing point is now very easy to establish. Retarding the ignition slightly the engine goes 'flat', advancing it and it goes harsh. This is now clearly defined whereas before the range was much wider. I put this down to reduced timing 'scatter'.
I have several test runs to establish performance. Long fairly steep hills that mean a change down part way up. The point at which I am reduced to 30 mph and change down shows how well the car is pulling.
One of these hills climbs up from Darnick to Melrose and runs into a 30 limit at the top. I used to change down before reaching the 30 limit. Now I don't need to and I carry on to the top still pulling top gear comfortably at 20mph.
The other test is going South on the A68 towards Edinburgh, the long climb up Soutra Brae. It's about 3 miles climbing up to 1200ft. I used to have to change down on the steepest section getting towards the top. Now it clears it dropping to about 35mph on the steep section. Over the other side it then went down faster than the car has been before. Previous highest speed downhill was 57/8 on the speedo (which agrees with my Sat-Nav within 1mph). This time the needle went past 60 into uncharted areas. Probably 63/4.
Overall the improvement is very significant in all areas.
Ruairidh supplied a replacement trigger unit and with that fitted all is well.
My car is a 1929 Fabric Saloon which I use extensively. It does go surprisingly well though I don't know quite why as the engine is almost standard. Bronze updraught carburetor and low compression head, though it is the later version and I believe it has been skimmed slightly before I got it. I have the higher ratio 'Andes' 2nd gear allowing 40+mph in 2nd gear.
Typically the car would cruise between 40 and 50 mph on normal roads. Slower up hills and quicker down. With the new distributor the performance is improved in all respects. It runs more smoothly, picks up better from tickover, pulls better at all speeds and is faster.
I have manual advance/retard and the correct timing point is now very easy to establish. Retarding the ignition slightly the engine goes 'flat', advancing it and it goes harsh. This is now clearly defined whereas before the range was much wider. I put this down to reduced timing 'scatter'.
I have several test runs to establish performance. Long fairly steep hills that mean a change down part way up. The point at which I am reduced to 30 mph and change down shows how well the car is pulling.
One of these hills climbs up from Darnick to Melrose and runs into a 30 limit at the top. I used to change down before reaching the 30 limit. Now I don't need to and I carry on to the top still pulling top gear comfortably at 20mph.
The other test is going South on the A68 towards Edinburgh, the long climb up Soutra Brae. It's about 3 miles climbing up to 1200ft. I used to have to change down on the steepest section getting towards the top. Now it clears it dropping to about 35mph on the steep section. Over the other side it then went down faster than the car has been before. Previous highest speed downhill was 57/8 on the speedo (which agrees with my Sat-Nav within 1mph). This time the needle went past 60 into uncharted areas. Probably 63/4.
Overall the improvement is very significant in all areas.
Jim