Triumph tales from the West of Oz: September 2012

Running report 2100EFI

Managed to get a snippet of sound on the phone driving home last night - need to mount the camera and find a quiet road - this was in rush-hour!

Also need to open the back window as this only gives the induction noise from inside the car and not the mad howl being left behind.

Unfortunately my Lambda probe seems to have had a bit of a breakdown - need to recalibrate or replace it. So no fine tuning at the moment - I will hopefully get to the Dyno next week - its done a good 1000kms now and seems nice and loose.

2100 EFI Running-In report

All good so far. A few self-induced moments of anxiety - mostly caused by yours truely wiring the thermo fan to run in reverse and hence sending the temperature soaring when it was running. Easily solved but I still think the fan is too large for the application - it pulls 19 amps and is larger than the radiator is tall at 16"! It causes the idle to stumble when it initially kicks in which I have fine tuned and mostly eradicated but the ultimate solution is a two speed 14" fan which is in the post.

Retorqued the head and reset the tappets on saturday. I was impressed with the headstuds - they all needed exactly the same amount of re-tensioning at 45-deg. They are torqued to 80lb/ft (ARP 206-4205). Tappets are set to 0.018"

The engine is running very well - both torquey and revvy. From cold you can here the forged pistons - just a gentle slap but after about a mile they are silent.

The power/torque goes absolutely bonkers at 4500-5000 and will rev to 6500+ with a mad snarl and ever increasing urge. I have been a little gentle at these high revs (only about 93MAP) and haven't hit the limiter (set at 7300rpm). I have the mixture set for 12.7 AFR full load and currently using 32 deg advance.

This engine is running a hybrid GTT 42A cam that gave great results in a TR6 and it also seems to really work well in the smaller engine. Driving to work and not using more than 3500rpm it just feels like a normal engine - no hissy fits , no flat spots and good torque from 2000rpm. As you build the revs the power just builds progressively until the step change at about 4500 when all hell breaks loose. Got a few looks yesterday of extreme puzzlement as the staid yellow saloon with an exhaust note like an pre-war ERA howled past.

Need to get another couple of thousand kms on it (about 600km so far) and then I'll try it on the usual dyno - should be interesting . Using the car everyday now which soon piles on the miles.

2100 EFI - First impressions

Well I been driving the 2100 for three days now and it copes fine everything I've thrown at it. It had a wierd airlock issue where it sat at 100deg for 20 mins before I could stop and check the coolant - opened the cap and it burped and went to 80deg immediately.
Power and torque is excellent - pulls well from 2000 starts really building at 4200 and is bonkers at 5500-6000. Should go to 7500 but need to check it over, retorque and do the tappets and get another 500 +miles on it before a real flogging. Exhaust note is very Nigel Gair PLL110L so mission accomplished!! That was the inspiration back in 2004

Engine Swap-over - it works!

Started first time - very rich - soon sorted that out. Very smooth and eager to rev. Sounds a bit bonkers but the neighbours probably don't appreciate running the cam in at 10pm - Done now anyway!

Will map it on the road tomorrow afternoon after the day job.

Job almost done :-)

Steering components being sorted - used my last NOS Stanpart TRE :-(

I remember now why I prefer manual racks - lifting the crossmember with the rack attached into position when you have a new rubber coupling being unhelpful is not really a one man job - didn't have any choice though and managed with a bit of lateral thinking. One school boy error was taking all the spacer plates out of the engine mounts (2000 = shallower sump) but then worked out that I needed one spacer for the PAS pump to fit.
FWIW I am using Stanpart HD (stamped) engine mounts that I got from brother Doug ages ago - they have been oil soaked for years and after a quick tidy up still look and work like new.

Engine Swap-over Part 4

Old lump out after breakfast

Stripping the old motor

Old thrust bearing carrier (2000/2500) and Dolomite 1850 carrier. Worked except that slippers from clutch fork needed grinding down 1mm (on the non thrust side)

Lightened Mk1 PI flywheel and vitesse flywheel - PI flywheel is actually a touch lighter. Vitesse one is standard weight. So shouldn't be any worse in traffic.

Gearbox cleaned - they do get grubby don't they! - a few weeps addressed with PTFE tap. Overdrive wired onto second gear. Required so I can legally hit 7200rpm in three gears LOL

Engine ready to shove back in.

Helper Ken ... and Humph turned up too ... thanks to all including my wife who helped me drag the old one out on one of her baking trays!

It's in after a bit of a struggle. Started to re-attach stuff but beer and curry intervened at 5.30pm

New lump happily bolted up.

Luckily I have Monday off. I need :

A new high pressure PAS hose
Bulkhead steering column bush
A shorter fan belt - 2000 pulley!!
New seals for my spin-on adaptor or perhaps a temporary fit of the original filter bowl until the first oil change.

Also need to get the rack swapped over and set up and a few more bits and pieces but very happy with what we achieved today.

Engine Swap-over Part 3

Into the filth zone today - the usual accumulation of oil and grit that 8 years use and associated leaks brings

Engine almost ready for dropping - just need to remove the front and rear mounts and lower to the ground

Trigger wheel extracted from the 2500 and modified and fitted to the 2.1

Dulux rebuild for the PAS pump

Viscous fan is going - 10 inch electric fan going on.

Very buggered PAS rack leaking and rattling with valve body worn too - got a rebuilt on to put back in :-)

Obviously the rubber coupling is buggered too ... as is the poly bush through the bulkhead.

I have a new coupling in NOS bin but will need to grab a bush on Monday from Markich

That's it for the day - 4 hours work and I stink of petrol :-) baby sitting tonight...

Engine Swap-over Part 2

OK - quick session after supper Manifold side - leaving the exhaust on the block for removal but inlets off so I can drain the block overnight.

That was simple - hope this set of pipes really makes the 2.1 howl....

Coil pack and alternator off -

Right thats it for the evening - will get the underside prepped and suspension off in the morning - don't want to get completely filthy tonight. Should have the block and gearbox out for lunch.

Engine Swap-over Part 1

Hope to have this running 2100EFI by Sunday .... Friday afternoon - 4.30pm Just driven home from work in the 2500. Firstly get the car in position - luckily the white PI started first time after a 7 week slumber. Drop the oil from the sump and gearbox and get the crane in position.