31 replies to this topic

[dklawson]

When you've paid, say, £250 to enter a rally, plus hotel costs, fuel for the event an 'on-event' insurance it's a shame to have to retire with a failed petrol pump.

Aint that the truth.

My father-in-law still races his Formula-Vee in vintage races and I work as his mechanic and crew. On SO many occasions he has insisted I NOT fill the fuel cell because he was sure he had enough for the next session or race. On at least half those occasions they have had to tow him in because "the engine died". It was ALWAYS lack of fuel. Now I ignore him and top up ever time. It's a small fuel cell so the weight savings of NOT topping up are not justified. Running out of fuel during a race is simply terrible for both him and me.

Edited by dklawson, 18 January 2013 - 12:47 AM.

[rally1380]

To finish first...first you have to finish!

And if its a case of fail safing the fuel system with having a substitute pump then at the mere cost of £45 it's got to be worth it.

Of course there are 100's of other things that can go wrong!!!! like getting lost

[Cooperman]

I dfon't do it, but some rally cars have a second coil mounted next to the first coil. That way it takes a few seconds to change over the 3 or 4 leads to/from the coil. I usually just carry a spare and the idea is that I can quickly tie-wrap it to the first coil if the first one fails. I have two tie-wraps taped to the spare with duct tape all ready. I also carry a condenser, spare set of points, spare rotor arm and a spare set of new plugs and some electrical wire made up with connectors on each end.
Other parts I normally carry in the car are as follows:

Several split pins
A wire coat hangar with the end cut off
Some garden wire
Roll of duct tape
A load of tie wraps
A roll of insulation tape
A couple of exhaust clamps of the right size
A ball of strong string
Spare bulbs for heads, spots and navigation lights, etc.
Spare fuses of all sizes used
Some jubilee clips of different sizes
Spare set of wheel nuts
Some UNF nuts & bolts in the 3 main sizes
A fan belt
A tin of 'rad-seal'
2 spare wheels with good tyres
plus, of course a decent tool kit including a big hammer.

I put the bits in metal tins and store them in the rear side pockets where possible, or strapped into the boot for larger items including the tool kit roll.

[Ethel]

I'll stick up for regulators...

The pressure at the pump isn't always the same as what reaches the carb. Accelerate hard, brake etc, and the weight of the fuel in the line between the pump & carb has an effect. A regulator near the carb will give more constant pressure.

[jackx998]

I'm running an electric fuel pump on my 1330, I'm wondering about those regulators you guys are on about, where can I get one?

[Ethel]

Malpasi, stole mine off a scrap Alfasud, I don't suppose there are many of those about now, but sure there'll be plenty of regs online

[rally1380]

Regulators available from most places....minispares do them, but i've ended up getting mine from Demon Tweeks.


Cooperman.....i've thought of one thing missing off your spares/parts list.....my dad advised me to always carry the original metal oil pipe that sits on the front of the engine. His reasoning was that when you stuffed the car into the nearest hedge and put a branch through the cooler you could bypass it and still carry on. I think he had a heavy right foot and liked making friends with the scenery!!! An easier way would be a joining pipe to connect the cooler hoses together.

[Cooperman]

Regulators available from most places....minispares do them, but i've ended up getting mine from Demon Tweeks.


Cooperman.....i've thought of one thing missing off your spares/parts list.....my dad advised me to always carry the original metal oil pipe that sits on the front of the engine. His reasoning was that when you stuffed the car into the nearest hedge and put a branch through the cooler you could bypass it and still carry on. I think he had a heavy right foot and liked making friends with the scenery!!! An easier way would be a joining pipe to connect the cooler hoses together.

Yes that could be a good thing to carry and is quick to fit. I've not smashed an oil cooler without doing so much damage that we were 'out' anyway! Last oil cooler I smashed went back and took out the distributor cap as well.

[rally1380]

Regulators available from most places....minispares do them, but i've ended up getting mine from Demon Tweeks.


Cooperman.....i've thought of one thing missing off your spares/parts list.....my dad advised me to always carry the original metal oil pipe that sits on the front of the engine. His reasoning was that when you stuffed the car into the nearest hedge and put a branch through the cooler you could bypass it and still carry on. I think he had a heavy right foot and liked making friends with the scenery!!! An easier way would be a joining pipe to connect the cooler hoses together.

Yes that could be a good thing to carry and is quick to fit. I've not smashed an oil cooler without doing so much damage that we were 'out' anyway! Last oil cooler I smashed went back and took out the distributor cap as well.

good point....i think his was only minor damage, just a well placed branch pierced the cooler. He said he tipped the oil back into the engine, popped on the pipe and continued on his way (not sure how well they did though.

I always carry garden wire now....had an exhaust fall off on our way over the hardknott pass up in the lakes (mega road) and had to 'borrow' some wire from a fence to get us home.

[Cooperman]

The Hardknott & Wrynose passes are awesome at speed (i.e. flat out) at night.
The Illuminations Rally (Historic) used them as competitive sections and I must say I always enjoyed the challenge. I caught and passed a Volvo 123GT over there in my dear little Mini.

[rally1380]

That rally is one for next year after we get the hang of things and shake the car down on a few selected (local) events this year.

[Jordan18]

hoping someone could help I'm looking to get a electric fuel pump for my engine I'm not sure if its a tuned 1275 or a 1380 as i have no spec list but it has a very lumpy tick over, i have a diff 44 carb. what sort of fuel psi should i be looking at and should i get a fuel regulator as well if i get a bigger fuel pump ready for the future?

 

thanks,

Jordan

[nicklouse]

You want about 3 psi at the carb.

[Cooperman]

The normal Facet road pump will work very well. As Nick says a 3 psi regulator mounted just before the carb is a good idea.

[Spider]

You won't go wrong with one of these;-

 

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