Hoover Bit is part 18 in pic. If it's gone missing, cooling air will be lost from the bottom of the oil cooler doghouse. https://www.ratwell.com/technical/Microfiche/t200800.gif
I’ll double-check on the flywheel. The PO said it was lightened, but he also told me the van was rust free! So I don’t trust anything I learned from him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You remember correctly...I’m no mechanic! However, I intend to learn how to tune this engine as best I can. The gauge logic is as follows: •Oil Temp = overall engine health & temp •CHT = Cylinder Heads aren’t cooled by the oil, so they need their own gauge, and are more vulnerable on a 1914cc •AFR = mixture does affect Cylinder Head Temp, so has to be kept in check. I could get 4 CHTs for the price but that won’t tell me what my AFR is. Placed on one side I’ll know what the AFR of a particular Carb is •EGT = Cheaper than AFR, won’t tell me AFR, but it will tell me if my mixture is the wrong side of Stoichiometric. On the other Carb i’ll know if that side needs adjusting •Oil Pressure = because I don’t want to use my Rear View Mirror Gauge again to know i’ve got an oil leak! This is all assuming that a tuned engine eventually goes out-of-tune. Until I can tune it myself at least i’ll know, well in advance, if it needs to be done by someone else. I’ve really just geeked-out for a few weeks on a ton of web info...it could all be cut & pasted-regurgitated rubbish for all I know. As for an External Oil Cooler, we want to see how the engine runs before going down that path. My engine seize wasn’t heat-related directly and the Pistons & Barrels were actually fine. Heads changed because there was much older damage to them. I just want insurance really, and things that will help me tune in the future. I’ve read conflicting info on Rolling-Road tests, so didn’t delve any further. Seems most Kad owners tune it themselves just by feel. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’d read you have one of these and recommend them. I’ve searched for a UK supplier but can’t find one. Thanks for the heads-up on #18. I’ll check Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Used to be a supplier in the UK that sold velocity rings for about £35. Think they stopped trading . Worth a google. There's CSP or Awesome Powdercoat in the US have them. Have a google for Hoover Bits. I got mine from a bloke in Canada who makes them in his shed. Easy enough to make your own though: the plans are out there on the internet (possibly on Ratwell). If it's missing, cooling air meant for the oil gushes out the bottom of the doghouse, which isn't ideal. They either rust in half or get thrown away by "aircooled specialists". With a ring, Hoover Bit and your oil filter dangling in breeze, unlikely you'll need an external oil cooler IMHO. My 1776 barely reaches 85-90*, which isn't really hot enough.
Doesn’t look like I have the elusive Hoover Bit. Without it does that mean lovely cool air will spill out over my cooking cylinder #3? Can get one from the States for £29. The Velocity Ring from EU for £111. That’s getting close to an External Oil Cooler price. These potential additions might have to wait until we know what temp it does actually run at - as you say, sometimes not even hot enough really. I imagine both options are an ‘engine out’ job. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You could make one - easy enough. If you’ve got a doghouse fan shroud, there’s nothing special about #3. A bit of a VW myth.
With that set up , if you want to play tuning then having your own AFR setup means you dont have to keep driving to the nearest rolling road, but can take it round a regular route and observe it. Rolling roads are not representative of real world driving . They tell you about power produced while accelerating - you cannot sit e.g. at 4100 RPM for 10 seconds then drop or increase the engine loading to represent a slight incline down or up on a fast road, an RR relies on measuring the rate at which you accelerate or decelerate a mass to calculate torque and power and make a pretty graph, not how the carburettor adjusts mixture with pedal pressure at fairly constant RPM as the engine load changes. E.g. I see between 12.5:1 and 16:1 AFR on my engine while trying to drive on a motorway at a fairly constant speed. I would go for cylinder head temperature sensors - the difference between regular running and hammering it is very quickly noticeable - my attempts on hills in a 1641 show temperatures at an arbitrary point on my heads go from e.g. 110 to 125 degrees C in a mile or so. Meanwhile, the oil with a cooler changes maybe 5 degrees C after several miles. Even a slightly flickery oil pressure and a slightly higher temperature can be an early warning of the oil level going near the bottom mark on the dipstick.
That’s pretty much the reasoning for discarding Rolling Road in favour of me learning to tune the engine myself...armed with a variety of information. With CHT on #3 (myth or not it has to go somewhere ) and AFR for #3 & #4, then EGT for #1 & #2...plus Oil Temp & Pressure for the overall engine i’ll have everything that I need. The readings will all be relative, but they’ll help my gain a good understanding of the engine. The research alone has and it’s a rational behind buying the 123+ Tune Distributor. EGT (I think you have one) is a cheaper option than AFR, but anomalies apparently are an early warning of all sorts of nasties. The plan is to just drive within the tolerance of CHT and Oil Temp. These aren’t “worry gauges” in my opinion - quite the opposite. I drove in ignorant bliss before and it’s cost me dearly!! Everything else is more of a long-term investment. At a cost that just means no coffee for a year, or no Solar Panels. So basically that means no solar! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, I have some. Mixed opinions on them out there, but with gauges I can at least experiment. Air flow is a whole nother realm i’ll dive in to later on with this thread. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There was more than a hint of sarcasm in my post, but @PanZer has a chance to prove or dispel this urban myth, assuming he fits some of the gauges being considered.
Ha ha that didn’t come across - my modern mind needed some kind of emoji as a hint. The biggest question of our generation may finally be answered: To Earz or not to Earz? Don’t expect an answer until the end of the summer though. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I daren’t ask what is! Makes sense what you said about the barrels also being closer together. Not read that anywhere else. As for the Cam Followers, this is what I got sent when it was being taken apart... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Surely a 2nd hand supplier like mega bug (02083177333) would have a Hoover bit, possibly even a velocity ring. I'd try and get them on and fitted before the engine is installed.
