The castings of the engines varies a lot. The metalurgy of the time
allowed for large variances. I have had ultra low mile engines needing
to be bored over. Some metals being softer. Also if You have been having
head gasket problems replace Your head bolt washers. I am under the
impression they are hardened. They get replaced with anything then dont
stand up thus seeping shortly afterwards. Also stay away from the head
resurfacers using the belt sander style. Also You glue guys get that
darned rtv blue out of there. Its cold, Iam sick, and that sucks. Cool
at 70 degrees--arggggggg Later Dave the Wave




        
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Frosty Wave bloke is right.

When these engines were built Triumph were using thousands of component suppliers. As well as the metalurgy there are differences in the routing and size of the internal waterways and this is probably what makes the biggest difference. One clue is the weight of the cylinder head - can be big variance between two with the same part number. Also the cylinder head gasket can make a difference, some of them don't have all the waterway holes drilled.

You can't do much about any of the above (unless you have access to a shed full of engines as is common in the UK) but check ignition timing carefully and any play in the distributor shaft (which affects timing) If the timing is too far advanced then the engine will run hot and it often is set wrong - I can't remember the exact numbers but on Amphicar it should be about 7 degrees BTDC whereas on later Spitfire engines it is more like 13 BTDC.

David C

ps - yes don't use glue - just check surfaces are flat using a sheet of glass.





        
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GORDON IMPORTS INC.. The world's largest source of Amphicar parts and accessories. Visit our new website today.