Triumph Repair: 79 Spitfire Distributor replacement, electronic fuel pump, delco remy distributor

Question

Alan,

What manual are you reading?  I'm working off the Bentley Manual for the 1975-1980 Spitfire... they all have the same basic distributor drive gear setup.

As to the ignition setup:  On a points ignition you get spark when the connection to ground is BROKEN via the points.  Any of the aftermarket electronic setups should emulate this arrangement.  

If it's not running then you might insure the fuel delivery from the fuel pump to the carb is working correctly.  A simple check is to disconnect the fuel fitting at the carb and put the line into a can while a friend (or your father) cranks the engine for a few seconds.



Cheers,

Jim
------------

Jim,

I am using the Bentley too.  The drive gear is right according to page 108 fig A.   I then arranged the plug wires like the figure on page 26 figure 10.  The only way to get my engine to run was to arrange them like the bottom figure on page 145.  If you look at my rotor button, it is in line with the distributor drive key, not perpendicular.  It sure baffled me.

As far as the fuel delivery, the previous owner installed a electronic fuel pump.  It is delvering fuel fine.  I do need to check the pressure to make sure it is not too much.  I also think the float area of the carb needs cleaning and adjusting.  

Regards,

Alan


Answer
Alan,

Do you know which distributor body was used for the Pertronix setup?  

The early Triumphs used the Delco-Remy distributor with mechanical tachometer drive.  The later Triumphs went to a Lucas distributor.  The thing is... a lot of english cars used the Lucas distributor in various forms... one possibility is the core distributor was for a different setup.  That might be one reason the rotor arm is in a different position relative to the distributor drive.


Cheers,

Jim