I said that I would never buy another Fulvia ....

[frankxhv773t]

Can't you use an infra red thermometer instead of having to borrow the jam thermometer?

[stanley sweet]

That tube is incredible.  So that was fitted when you drove it back from the UK? Going back a few photos to adjusting valves etc - after you undo the locknut what tool is used to adjust the clearance? I would have imagined there would be a slot for a screwdriver in the top or a small nut shape. It seems to have just 2 flats. Do you still just use a spanner? I'm trying to find a very good article in an old VL about servicing a Fulvia. It explained adjustment very clearly but what does 'on the rock' mean? One day I might be brave enough to check mine.

[Jaydub]

Stan, "On the rock" means :-  when the piston is at Top Dead Centre on the Exhaust stroke ie after the plug has fired and the piston has gone down the cylinder on the firing (power) stroke and back up to the top again, the Exhaust valve will almost be closed and the Inlet valve is beginning to open. So with a spanner/socket on the crankshaft bolt,if you were to turn the engine backwards and then forwards the same amount at the TDC position, you would get the valves rocking (one closing/one opening) "on the rock"
Regarding the adjustment you can use a small spanner/adjustable on the 2 flats of the adjuster.

[Jaydub]

Simon, out of curiosity, when you timed up the cams did you leave the timing stock or did you advance the inlet cam a few degrees to take advantage of the bigger valves? With it breathing better you can sometimes gain a few BHP that way.

Regarding the oil cooler, normally the hot oil comes out of the engine, through the cooler and back into the entry of the filter so that the cooled oil is filtered before it goes back into the engine. That`s the way it`s done on a dry sump system so I don`t think it will be any different on a wet sump system.

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks for your comments

Frank, an IR thermometer is on my Christmas list 

Stan , I use a dinky little tool for the tappets that came from Harry many years ago. It is a 2 inch knurled disk with the tappet-adjuster shape cut into the central hole, so you set the gap with a feeler gauge, holding the tappet in place, then tighten the 10mm nut with a spanner - I'll show it in a photo tomorrow.

Re tappet tool, I think that Omicron have remade them ??

Re oil cooler, I agree with your oil flow suggestions, just wondering which banjo is the in and which is the out - being lazy really because I could probably work it out if I dig out the diagrams !

Another day attacking weeds in the vines so not much in the garage, but I did find a couple of spare manifolds and "reaped" the studs using the 2-nut technique. Refitted with loctite

Another question - should I just use the big-carb set up ?? - I have the manifold and a set of 45 Dellortos ......

Only joking , because to answer your question, I am staying with standard setup until I know that the engine runs as is. At some point in the future, I may want to change things, but for the moment keeping it pretty tame and using what I have

[ColinMarr]

Here's a photo of the valve tool that I had (and sold a year ago). It really did make clearance setting a joy to do. Mine was supplied by Peter Gerrish, but I think it was made by Ken Couzins, as were a lot of Harry's special tools.

[stanley sweet]

Thanks John for explaining 'on the rock'. I found the old VL article last night. It was written by Tanc Barratt and David Griffiths in the Jan 2007 issue. It went through a general Fulvia service.

Colin - I can see how that little tool would allow careful adjustment.

[davidwheeler]

That is how you time a Lambda and an Aprilia.  Whatever happened to valve overlap?

[fay66]

There's been a discussion about this tool in the past year or so, which if I remember correctly is available from Omicron.
Brian
8227
 

[simonandjuliet]

I spoke to Andrew at Omicron and he said that they have had them remade and there is another batch underway because they are currently out of stock. About £10 (plus vat, postage) each

[fay66]

I spoke to Andrew at Omicron and he said that they have had them remade and there is another batch underway because they are currently out of stock. About £10 (plus vat, postage) each

Thanks Simon, I'll place, an advance order.
Brian
8227 

[Jaydub]

David,
 not sure what you meant exactly but if you meant the period I described ie,when the exhaust valve hasn`t fully closed and the inlet valve is opening (they are both rocking and both open) that is valve overlap.

[davidwheeler]

I have always understood it to mean that the inlet opens some time before the exhaust closes which stuffs more mixture into the cylinder, something that has been used in high performance engines for many years.       Open/close at the same time, which is what you seem to be describing is very conservative and not strictly overlap, or at least only a couple of degrees.   

[Jaydub]

David, I didn`t go into the actual overlap period, just that they are both open at the same time. But if you want specifics then the inlet valve opens at 28 degrees before TDC and the exhaust closes at 28 degrees after TDC, that is 56 degrees of overlap which is pretty good for a road engine (1600 Fulvia ). Obviously race engines can have more but it`s not just the overlap that gives more power, but cam profiles which determine speed and duration of opening and of course the amount of valve lift.

[simonandjuliet]

A few minutes today to do the timing (static) and finish and paint a few other bits

Nearly ready to go in