Series IIa Motor Rebuild.

[Ferg]

I have had the 2.25 petrol motor of my old girl rebuilt. It runs a Holden Stromberg single barrel carburettor and extractors and has done so since I purchased it a few years back now. The motor is similar in specification to the Turner Engineering motor (9:1 head, 2.5 camshaft, 30 thou oversize pistons). In fact, I bought a lot of the parts directly from Turners. Now, the engine is together and running, but not very well. It appears to be over fueling and has even less pick up than it did before the work was done. I have had everything rechecked by my engine builder (compression, etc) and in that respect all engineering appears to be fine. Standard running specs are 600 RPM at warm idle and 6 deg BTDC. My question is - do these specifications still stand or should they be changed in some way to reflect the modifications and if so, to what? Anybody's help would be extremely appreciated. The car has been off the road for seven months and it is my only car and (was my) daily driver.

[JDNSW]

Assuming that is the static timing, it should be advanced from that for 9:1. Advance the distributor with it idling for the best running and give that a go.

Also make sure that both centrifugal and vacuum advance are working.

Apsrt from these, especially if it seems to be running too rich, I would suspect the carburettor, possibly something dried out while not used, or if you overhauled it, incorrect assembly (but I'm not familiar with the Stromberg).

[Ferg]

Thank you John. Frida Turner (of Turner Engineering) replied to the same emailed query not 10 minutes ago and suggested that the timing should be in the 3 - 6 deg BTDC range. Without being familiar with the carb on the vehicle, she too suggested that it's all in the timing. I exchanged the carb for a rebuilt model a couple of years ago so it should be fine, except for the over fueling problem but, of course, sitting idle for 7 months was never going to do it any favours. I see you're from the Central West. I'm a Blayney boy myself.

[goingbush]

The timing mark is irrelevant with your mods. But the strobe should at least tell you if the vac advance & mechanical advance are working. AS JD says, advance the distributor for best running whilst its idling ( rev it too, to make sure there is no backfiring etc) , go for a drive , if it pings back it off a little, If it does not ping under load advance it some more. Make sure the choke is not stuck on.

[Phil B]

As the other have said your mods will mean it should run further advanced than normal.
Mine with the same mods runs 8 degrees advanced.
I put a Weber on mine to solve the overfuelling Stromberg but that may not be necessary in your case. My Stromberg needed an overhaul and the new Weber was offered instead.

[Ferg]

I was just going through my Haynes manual and it states that the 7:1 head should be around 6 deg BTDC and the 8:1 head should be around TDC. I guess I'll start there and see where it takes me. Thank you all for your input, it's been enlightening and appreciated.

[Gippslander]

Before you go too far when you are checking timing you should remove vacuum advance hose from distributer and block it. Then start engine and idle it whilst you check the advance and adjust until engine is running easy. If you go too far it will start to sound like it is labouring not enough and it will sound dull. Check degrees with strobe light bringing engine up through the revs you should see a change in advance this is the mechanical advance weights moving the points plate in the distributor. If you do not see an advance check the distributor plates for free movement, you can do this easily by manually rotating the rotor button left to right the internal springs should return the plate back to original position each time. Then reconnect vacuum advance pipe, restart engine and check advance you will see a larger reading as you rev the engine if the vacuum advance diaphragm is working.
As for the flooding the first thing to check after the choke being stuck on is the needle and seat condition and the float level either one of these things can cause flooding.

Good luck Gippy

[Ferg]

As the other have said your mods will mean it should run further advanced than normal.
Mine with the same mods runs 8 degrees advanced.
I put a Weber on mine to solve the overfuelling Stromberg but that may not be necessary in your case. My Stromberg needed an overhaul and the new Weber was offered instead.Hey Phil, having endless issues with my carburettor, distributor and coil having been replaced. Is your Weber the dual throat model or the single throat?

[Phil B]

Single barrel.
I’ll get you the model number if you like.
It did tend to run a little lean out of the box but that was easily fixed with the next size up main jet.
Been running for 3 yrs now with zero adjustment.
Have you advanced the timing?

[B.S.F.]

Single barrel.
I’ll get you the model number if you like.
It did tend to run a little lean out of the box but that was easily fixed with the next size up main jet.
Been running for 3 yrs now with zero adjustment.
Have you advanced the timing?
How many miles /kms and under what conditions ?
.W.

[Ferg]

Yup, advanced the timing to between 8 & 9 deg. Hard to tell with no definitive marks. The model number would be great thanks.
Single barrel.
I’ll get you the model number if you like.
It did tend to run a little lean out of the box but that was easily fixed with the next size up main jet.
Been running for 3 yrs now with zero adjustment.
Have you advanced the timing?

[Phil B]

Ok
I’ll find it st the weekend

[Phil B]

How many miles /kms and under what conditions ?
.W.

It’s on heritage plates so maybe 5000km? Not sure exactly.
Mainly road with a few easy tracks.

[Phil B]

Ok
I’ll find it st the weekend

This is the kit I have on my 2.25 p S3
Hope this helps

[Phil B]

Not sure if the photo attached so I’ll try sgainhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/504af00d64c6e07c947ebd9afeaa1235.jpg

[Xtreme]

........................ go for a drive , if it pings back it off a little, If it does not ping under load advance it some more. ........................

This is how I used to time my Series IIA/III's and found that it was best to use 3rd gear under load to check for pinging.

[Ferg]

Looks like the 341CH. Thanks for that. Paddocks stock them so I'll get straight onto it.
Not sure if the photo attached so I’ll try sgainhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/504af00d64c6e07c947ebd9afeaa1235.jpg

[Ferg]

I couldn't even get it in 2nd gear under load without it loading up. It's okay down my street but around the corner and up a very slight slope it dies in the arse. Nothing else left to replace after the carby.
This is how I used to time my Series IIA/III's and found that it was best to use 3rd gear under load to check for pinging.

[Phil B]

Have you checked your valve timing?

[Ferg]

Yes, that was part of the checks I did with the engine builder to ensure the engineering was correct and the issue lay elsewhere.
Have you checked your valve timing?

[Phil B]

Ok
Good luck with the carb swop.
Regards

[Gippslander]

The I had a similar problem with a rebuilt engine many years ago, and after reading your post today I remembered the cause. I don’t know how long your engine was out for repair and the reason for the rebuild so I may be off the mark but is your exhaust system causing a restriction. The symptoms are similar lack of power and black smoke under load also if run long enough engine temperature can rise, quickly and very high as the engine cannot get rid of the heat. The engine also cannot breath and will not pull in a full charge of air due to valve overlap which occurs at the end of the exhaust stroke. At this time the exhaust valve is held open just long enough to assist in drawing air into the cylinder with the inlet valve just opening.Sounds silly but in normal operation the exhausting gas will create a small vacuum in the cylinder thus assisting in purging the cylinder and drawing in the air fuel mixture.
So before you do too much more check exhaust flow, it may sound good idling in the yard but can be blocked, a drive up the road with someone following should tell you it will sound restricted. If you canÂ’t do that another way is too install a mercury manometer into the exhaust manifold or a water manometer in to the inlet manifold and check flow. The inlet manifold should show a vacuum when running, after checking inlet vacuum during a drive up the hill then disconnect the exhaust and retry if there is no blockage the vacuum will be the same or very similar if there is a big difference I would suspect a restriction in the exhaust.
And if using a manometer in the exhaust manifold you will se a high reading if the exhaust is blocked.
Hope this makes sense and assists you Gippy

[Ferg]

That sounds like a definite possibility Gippy. I'll grab my neighbour this afternoon when I get home and see if his observations can shed light any light on your theory. Thanks for the heads up.
The I had a similar problem with a rebuilt engine many years ago, and after reading your post today I remembered the cause. I don’t know how long your engine was out for repair and the reason for the rebuild so I may be off the mark but is your exhaust system causing a restriction. The symptoms are similar lack of power and black smoke under load also if run long enough engine temperature can rise, quickly and very high as the engine cannot get rid of the heat. The engine also cannot breath and will not pull in a full charge of air due to valve overlap which occurs at the end of the exhaust stroke. At this time the exhaust valve is held open just long enough to assist in drawing air into the cylinder with the inlet valve just opening.Sounds silly but in normal operation the exhausting gas will create a small vacuum in the cylinder thus assisting in purging the cylinder and drawing in the air fuel mixture.
So before you do too much more check exhaust flow, it may sound good idling in the yard but can be blocked, a drive up the road with someone following should tell you it will sound restricted. If you canÂ’t do that another way is too install a mercury manometer into the exhaust manifold or a water manometer in to the inlet manifold and check flow. The inlet manifold should show a vacuum when running, after checking inlet vacuum during a drive up the hill then disconnect the exhaust and retry if there is no blockage the vacuum will be the same or very similar if there is a big difference I would suspect a restriction in the exhaust.
And if using a manometer in the exhaust manifold you will se a high reading if the exhaust is blocked.
Hope this makes sense and assists you Gippy

[Gippslander]

Well how did it go we’re you able to resolve the issue, I hope you have would be great to hear a result.

gippy[smilebigeye]

[Ferg]

Sorry Gippy for being tardy with my reply - I've only just seen your latest comment on the post. To answer your question accurately, I'll give you as much background into the vehicle that I can. When I first bought it, I drove it into All Four X 4 Spares to show Pete the owner. I've owned a number of Series Land Rovers and have dealt with him for many years. One of his comments, that I didn't think much about at the time, was that it has the 4 cyl firewall and motor but has the 6 cyl engine bay. I guess someone replaced the rusty front chassis half with what could be easily found. What this means is, of course, that it doesn't have the standard 4 cyl aircleaner set up and the radiator is further from the motor so the top radiator hose is stretched and the bottom one is from an entirely different vehicle. It also had a Stromberg carb and standard Holden pancake aircleaner. The accelerator setup had also been modified from linkages to cable (which snaps in awkward vehicular situations on a semi regular basis, but that's a separate issue). The new Weber carb was a simple fit but, of course, set up for linkages. Half a day stuffing around and I made up some new brackets and got it running. Next is the aircleaner wouldn't fit. It interfered with the carb linkages but a bit of research later, I found an old Mustang low profile carburettor hat would fit and enable me to run tubing to the Donaldson air cleaner now bolted to the passenger side mudguard. The vehicle seems to be running fine, and a partially blocked set of headers was not an issue. The timing seems to be a touch out and the fuel mixture on the new carburettor could use a tickle. As such, I've decided to put it on a tilt tray and send it to a bloke with a dyno and experience with modified carburettor motors. I'll get him to sort the old girl out perfectly and get the settings from him so I can maintain them as such. I'm also a touch curious as the how far out my current settings are vs a good dyno tune.