Is it still a project when I haven’t done anything yet

[BernieParticipant]

Larry,

If you have the early carb then I would assume you also have the long cylindrical air cleaner, as shown in the manual.  When I got mine the felt filter element was so contaminated with accumulated muck that it was literally solid.  I tried washing with petrol but that made no impression and, in the end, I obtained new felt and remade the guts.  I could not get the correct thickness of a suitable filter grade felt so I used a double thickness of a thinner material.

I am not suggesting that a clean filter will solve the problems that led you to start this particular topic but I can assure you it will make for much more efficient carburation when you are running.

B…………..

[Paul BarnardParticipant]

Probably not relevant,but if it is so hot with you Larry, could fuel vapourisation be a factor.

By the way, Larry, thanks for the help on the oil filter – mine is now fitted – I used an MGV8 remote unit and a standard spin on filter. I’ve routed mine back into the rocker cover with a spreader inside, for the time being. It all works, though I was concerned that teeing the filter off the line to the gauge might drop the pressure reading so I fitted a flow restricter and adjusted it to give me the maximum pressure reading on the gauge – only a very slight adjustment required.

Apologies to all for this minor hijack!!

 

.

[Larry LewisParticipant]

Thanks for the advice- Bernie, the carb has been professionally rebuilt with a new kit from Jose Franssen. I learned a while back to not mess with carbs much after I screwed one up and made the car run worse. I may take out the jets one at a time and check them. The car does have the long cylinder air filter and has the felt element and I will try to replace it, it’s pretty greasy. Maybe a double layer of a furnace filter might do it. I really don’t want to install an aftermarket filter like a K & N. Davy- regarding John Gillard, yes, he has an amazing amount of knowledge of Tractions and unlike a lot of people I know is very willing to share his know-how. I have been coming to London to work for him twice a year (April and September) for about 6 years now but since he is moving out of London, that will be coming to an end I am sure. Paul- I like your oil filter set-up- one thing about using the toilet paper filter unit, it can get messy changing out the element. With those, however there is no effect on oil pressure as there is an orifice on the entry side.

[Larry LewisParticipant]

I called John Gillard the other day, he says it’s carburation. He agreed to sort it out, so my carb will be making it’s second transatlantic journey. Regarding aftermarket air filters, I went to a hot rod shop here and they do have a unit that will fit on the end of the long cylinder so I may eliminate the felt and have a modern filter. It may look odd but at least it will work and hopefully there will be less intake noise. I need to measure the space in front of the cylinder (sounds like War of the Worlds, doesn’t it?) and see about the clearance between it and the radiator and the bonnet but they have one with a 4 inch outlet and is about 3 inches high so that ought to work.

[Larry LewisParticipant]

I brought the carb to John Gillard when I went to London last month. He checked it and found nothing wrong but did suggest there might be a vacuum leak. I reinstalled the carb and the car fired right up and runs perfectly at idle. Weird! I have not driven it yet as the weather has turned poor here so it may have to wait until spring. We should have some decent days yet before it all shuts down for winter. But at least I have something to work with. I plan to get the rest of the car painted as the roof and boot lid have already been done so that might be done this winter and then the interior.

On another note, I did make a trip to John’s new place in Kent. It’s a former industrial building that is now full of cars and parts, still to be sorted out on racks and such. There is a mezzanine floor and a fork lift truck to lift things up there on pallets. I knew that he had a lot of parts there on Old Kent Road, but I had no idea he had this much stuff! It’s astonishing, really. I think he emptied out another storage building but am not sure. There’s a former office block which he will fit out for living quarters. It’s near a place called “The Hop Farm” if anyone is familiar with the area. Speaking of hops, there’s a former oast house right next door that is now a home.

[Larry LewisParticipant]

I finally, finally, got this thing running right. I removed the air cleaner and adjusted the timing so it would run without backfiring through the carb. Running well, the temp got up to 80 when it was idling while I put air in the tyres, once I had it in motion, the temp dropped down to 70. Adequate power, no backfiring! Happy day! Now I just need to make a new air cleaner element. Will conventional felt work? I was thinking of taking the felt out of the tube entirely and attaching a K & N air filter to the front end. That would look peculiar but it would work. Maybe. First I’ve got to find someone that sells felt.

Now I need to install a starter relay as I can not insert the pull cable into the starter switch. I have no idea why but when I had that working I really could not pull the handle enough to engage the starter, so a relay it is.

[Larry LewisParticipant]

I have a question regarding fitting the felt element- In the air cleaner, what I have is pretty greasy and crusty and it sits kind of loose and baggy inside and I assume intake suction pulls it tight against the inner part of the filter housing, the part with all the holes. Should it not be wrapped tightly around the inner part? Maybe held in place with tie wraps? Any advice would be appreciated.

[BernieParticipant]

Going back, you confirmed you have the long air filter so I am now confused by your latest comments.

The filter “element” in the cylinder type is simply a sheet of felt wrapped around the inside of the cylinder retained by two spring clips.  If that is what you have I suggest you start by removing and soaking it in a petrol bath to shift the Shhhh… you know what,  and then refit it once you are confident it is “clean”.   But, if it is so badly contaminated that it will not clean up,  then, as I said before, replace it with new felt.  If there is a problem I still have the original felt from my Legere and could do a sketch for you.

If you have a different filter with a replaceable element you could try cleaning it with petrol but replacement would seem the better route to follow.

B…….

[Paul BarnardParticipant]

LarryI expect you have already thought of his and put the idea aside –

In the past, I have used an ‘industrial filter foam’. It is available in sheets and in various thicknesses and was always easy to keep clean. In a past ‘engineering’ life, occasionally I would have to make up intake filters for compressors and the like using expanded metal and this foam sheet. It has a slight stiffness and can be shaped and then glued if required. I’ve attached a couple of rather poor pics of some I’ve recently used to make filters for a pair of DCOE Webers. Hopefully, you can see the density.

 

Cheers

Paul

[Larry LewisParticipant]

The filter element has no spring clips, it just sits inside the housing, fairly tight against the perforated inner part. I assume that is how it’s supposed to be fitted. Isn’t the filter basically the same as on a 15/6? On Jose Franssen’s parts list for the 15/6 it shows a filter element that looks like a circular zig-zag arrangement but they don’t list a replacement element. Time for some ingenuity, I suppose.

The foam sheet in the pictures looks like it ought to work well. I imagine I could find something like that easily enough. The felt that I have is heavy with crud and is practically solid so I don’t think washing it with petrol will help.

[Larry LewisParticipant]

I went to the garment district of Toronto and bought a piece of felt. Held on with tie wraps on the entire length of the inner tube. It works, all is well. Now I just have to install the starter relay and it’s road-able, then off to the body shop to get what hasn’t already been painted sorted out. Then the interior. Thanks for any and all advice!

[Larry LewisParticipant]

The starter relay is in, operated by a Lucas push-button to keep it all in the family. It worked out well, no regrets. Tomorrow it goes to the body shop to get the doors, bonnet and wings done. New rubber wing piping and new grommets for the rear bumper brackets. I’ve removed the wing spats and door trims as well as the “F” that sits on the right rear wing with an oval surround. I will polish the hell out of all that and reinstall when it’s done. It should be done by the end of the summer and then the interior goes in.

[ChrisParticipant]

Looking forward to seeing the photos, Larry. It’ll be good to get it done in time for the winter 🙂

Chris

[Larry LewisParticipant]

Back in the body shop it’s strictly bad news. the last time the car was restored, I assume in the 1970s or 80s, on all four doors, new metal was welded over the top of rusted old metal and now the “new” metal is rusted too. So, all four door skins and inner frames are on order but I don’t think this car will be out of the shop this year. Oh well.

 

[Larry LewisParticipant]

I had trouble posting the link to the Flickr account- Hopefully this works- there are 4 new photos posted.

 

[Author]

Posts