Triumph Acclaim

Oh well we will have to agree to differ all round then.... Our experiences are obviously based on far too small samples. I got a friends daughter into a nice looking dark blue acclaim hls that threw a cam belt on her twice in 6 months...it didnt do much for my reputaton a s a seller of cheap reliable cars. Didnt have a dolly in to sell her at the time. Sounds like your Dolly was one of the rusters with a dodgy water pump, wapred head woth seizing studs and weak back springs then. Oh and you proably had a shagged intermediate steering shaft too...:-)

Mine otoh has a TR7 engine, o/d box, spax shocks and sprint rear springs on

175/70's all round....that could explain a lot.... Oh and sorry to Ken for mistaking you with Bill Davis. Must read the header better next time. Jonners

My Girlfriend saw an Ital on the A71 the other day. It was doing 30mph and being driven by a very old man. I think he was probably still trying to get it home from the dealership...

Richard

Showing my ignorance - what's CVC?

Budgie

Actually CVCC - Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion.

More info at

I think it's something to do with the combustion? My memory is really rusty and Google isn't helping me, but IIRC it's something to do with the design of the head. A lot of US sites refer to it as the CVCC, but the generation of Civic I'm thinking of always had a badge with two capital Cs and a capital V.

"Controlled Vortex Combustion Chamber"

There we go ;) And the early 1.2s didn't have it.

You'll have to take my word for the badge, but I clearly remember asking about the writing and being told it was because they had 3 valves per cylinder. Which would appear to be wrong ;)

Or perhaps not. I just caught PJML's answer and looked up, and does this imply a 3-valve design?

"auxiliary inlet passage for the rich mixture to a tiny supplementary inlet valve which admits it to a precombustion chamber very much like that of prechamber compression-ignition engines."

Richard

Yes, it was a 3-valve-per-cylinder setup - an early form of stratified-charge combustion, developed to comply with the Californian Air Resources Board [CARB] emissions regulations in the early-1970s, at a time when the home-grown auto industry were bleating that the new regulations were 'impossible' to meet!

The Honda Civic is the car which virtually *built* Honda's reputation as a carbuilder in the USA.

around in a 1970 2.5PI at the moment and am mightily dissappointed with the handling. I recall a 1970 Triumph 2000 a few years back being a lot snappier in the corners, yet I *know* the current car has newer everything. Must have my rose-coloured mind goggles on... ...now all I need is a scrap 2500s for the anti-roll bar, power steering and carbs ;-) As I remember the big Triumphs were always quite sensitive to tyre fit. I had a go in a STag with a rover V8 and polybushes all round recently. The owner said he was amazed at the difference the polybushes made, especially at the rear. Maybe you should try some? I would also be lothe to change the PI setup if its all working. IIRC the best mod is to fit the bosch pump of an E28 BMW 525 or up...not something Ive ever done myself but I know a man who has in a TR6.. Thought the 2.5PI's all had power steering? SHouldnt be too hard to source. Jonners

Hi Ken, I've only owned Mk1 2000s, and I've not really done much more than nominal mileages in Mk2s to have formed a valid opinion, but a recent conversation with another enthusiast was quite enlightening, He had a Mk1

2000 and a Mk2 2.5PI. He considered the PI to be a big cruiser, while the Mk1 2000 was much more chuckable on the A and B roads. Much of this was doubtless down to the longer body of the Mk2, but it occurred to me later that there is a substantial weight penalty with the longer throw crankshaft of the 2.5. I don't know offhand how much difference this makes, but a number of GT6 owners I've spoken to have found quite a difference in handling after fitting a 2.5 in place of the 2L. Just a thought, Cheers, Bill.

-- Rarebits4classics .......just what you've been looking for

PO Box 1232 Calne Wiltshire SN11 8WA United Kingdom

Might do - I'm better off trying to achieve more than 15mpg at the moment though :-(

Ha! How much time have you got?

Nah, it was an option - standard on the 2500s. Obviously the tightwad that specified my car didn't see the point. It's okay though even with a smaller TR7 steering wheel fitted.

Cheers Jon.

Maybe a perception thing as the wheelbase is the same length and narrower at the rear on the MK1...

Agreed - it can make a big difference, especially when the 2.5PI in question is certainly not flogging all the horses it should. It's a PI so I'd like to keep it that way but...

All the cures you can suggest? Probably been there and done that - and bought the test gear. A lot of the doubt comes from buying KMI rebuilt injectors and finding them to be less than good - to the extent that I had to send 2 back they were so bad. The replacements and the rest are not, I suspect, that much better. Without clearing this up I'm farting against thunder. PRV pressure has been re-adjusted, pump is a-ok complete with cooling coil, metering unit is a rebuilt one, engine vacuum is on the button according to spec...result, waffly pick up and 15mpg with black plugs. Leaning off the mixture makes it run like a dog.

...Sorry, rambled on a bit there - was this about Acclaims? ;)

We all like listening to you Ken...well I do anyway.

15mpg does sound like a good reason to twin SU it...or 3 twin choke webbers maybe..:-)

Jonners

Yeah, I know. It's a swine. I'd feel better if I didn't understand how these things ticked, but I do, and I've tried everything short of getting the metering unit rechecked. It's not cheap, and the history on the car notes that it was a recon only a few hundred miles ago :-(

Just had a thought: I'm wondering what effect worn butterfly spindles would have - I've balanced the inlets as much as possible but one or two seem a "bit keener" than the rest...I know that bad synchronisation would have dreadful effects but this ain't that bad...

Now, where are those triple webers?

A friend's dad always enthused about a 2.5PI he had owned for some years. His best quotation went something like this: "I don't know why people had problems with the injection, it was reliable with bags of power. Mind you, it was only doing 9mpg when it had blocked injectors". Now my own experience of the Lucas injection is limited to recreationally reading the workshop manual, but knowing that you've had problems with the quality of rebuilt injectors it might be worth investigating. Cheers, Bill.

-- Rarebits4classics .......just what you've been looking for

PO Box 1232 Calne Wiltshire SN11 8WA United Kingdom

Yeah, I reckon I'm in denial. After spending nearly £150 on the things just

*wishing* or *assuming* they're now okay is possibly an act of faith I can't afford. Thanks.

Air compressor on standby...

In article , Jon Tilson writes

Well it was certainly rusty, even after the previous owner had given it a complete body transplant! As for the other matters, no the engine was actually a good'un. I had to take the head off once to fix a coolant leak and the studs were really easy. Water pump was new, too. And the steering shaft on the 1850 was fine - it was my old 1500 that had a knackered one.

'Twas Mon, 11 Aug 2003 11:47:08 +0100, when Richard Kilpatrick decided to declare:

I know where there's a 1985 Mazda 626 coupe on offer. No MoT, needs new discs all round and steering rack gaiters. Winsford, Cheshire if anyone's *really* interested. Pretty rare, when I owned it and needed new rear pads, every factor told me it must be an import. It isn't, it was sold new by Tunbridge Wells Mazda (but they had no pads in stock). Luckily 929 ones fit... Oh and it has a '666' registration number :o)

Del

-- STOP PRESS - Microsoft buys Electrolux and finally manage to produce something that doesn't suck... To email me, you must remove YOURCLOTHES

Oooooh... bugger the rest of the car... 666 reg. I'm sold ;)

*grin*

mid 80s 626 coupes aren't terribly exciting, but yeah, if all it needs is disks and gaiters, it should be saved. I prefer the old Mitsubishi Sapporo pillarless coupe.

Richard

Just hope it doesn't need a rear brake calliper - bit of a sod to get hold of, so i'm told

Phil