SBriggs

Hi Anschauer First of all let me say that I am not adept at working on the car myself (I am sure you have guessed this by my posts) and that I have always, fortunately, had proper mechanics to do the work for me. No, I have not had the car dyno'd, but I should do, perhaps a job for the summer. I had an aluminium flywheel made for my Lotus and the difference was considerable (please bear in mind the original was from a Ford Cortina!). The throttle response is instant and it makes changing gear more fun. They are not for everyone (stalling quite easy), but I like them. The one for the BMW came from the US (I can let you know where if you are interested) and I am also pleased with it, although I am still struggling with the engine set-up. Balancing of the entire bottom end should be a given, whatever one does during a re-build. I can imagine it is more important with a lightened flywheel. It seems to make the engine more responsive and smoother. As an example, I sometimes think the 911 has stalled at traffic lights there is so little vibration. The same goes for gas flowing, which I think is the same as port and polishing. As I understand, this is a very easy and cost effective way of increasing power, as the other post confirmed. If you look at a head before and after, it seems obvious one should do it. The most difficult decision is whether to change the cam as this seems to require specialist work to the injection system, which is harder to find in Europe (you have a few options). The jury is out on this one. Carbs seem to be much easier to adjust to variations to the engine such as the cam. I hope the above helps. Your forthcoming trip sounds fun, you don't happen to be anywhere closer to Warsaw do you, it would be good to meet? Regards Sean

Hi Is the resister something that can fail? My 02 suddenly started to run badly with no apparent reason. Mechanic thinks it may be electrical. The resister is about the only component that hasn't been replaced! When you say that it reduces the power, do you mean the volts, apparently I now have 4 volts. SB

Hi I was fortunate to find a pretty mint '73 Tii in white that I exported from your shores to Poland and can confirm one of the replies that a stock properly set-up car is great to drive. Some thoughts though. I have the original size aluminium wheels upon which I have some correct size new Michelin road race tyres. I like the softer compound. They look quite narrow, but I think it suits the car and the road holding is I suppose as the designer intended it to be. I should say though that I installed sports springs and dampers that are about 1 cm lower than the standard European height. I read somewhere that US cars had slightly higher suspension for regulations to do with the height of the headlamps, which I thought might adversely effect the handling. I also installed a slightly thicker front anti-sway bar, can't remember the size now, but it's as close to the Alpina period upgrade as I could find. I bought a period smaller Momo Le Mans steering wheel on Ebay. The car has lovely road manners. Now to the engine. This was taken out as I decided to remove the extra US spec. side lights (and the rubber strip down the sides) and have the car repainted. The engine was stripped and whilst it was in excellent condition we installed a hotter Schrik cam (I think the 296 or thereabouts) and an aluminium flywheel, gas flowed the head and balanced everything. The pistons were the none original 10:1 compression, which is fine as 98 octane fuel is readily available here. Not sure the cam is worth the bother as I have now established that to get the most of this the inside of the fuel injection system needs to be matched and the the two best places to get this done is in the US! You guys are lucky with the specialist people you have to hand. Regardless, as it is now, we think the performance is better than my stock 911T, which has a 2.4L engine. The inside was also in pretty good condition but I installed new headliner and covered the seats and side panels in leather. Perhaps not original but they are more comfortable than plastic and it looks good. The next job is to find a LSD as I find it's too easy to spin the inside wheel. The question is whether I upgrade to a 5-speed box, which will have an impact on the ratio I choose. Lot's of advice and thoughts on the forum. good luck with the re-build. SB

I have a problem going from 3rd to 2nd gear in as much as it does not engage easily (only at low revs). Is there an inherent weakness or anything obvious I should be looking for? All other gears going up and down work just fine. There are no unnatural sounds coming from the gearbox, I have only noticed that the gear leaver is not rigid and can spin around.

It seems like a LSD is a useful upgrade and I have read a few threads about the merits of the 3.64 versus the 3.91 ratio, with a few other options thrown in. I have a '73 Tii US spec with a rebuilt engine. It has 10:1 pistons, 292 Schrick cam, aluminium flywheel, fully balanced bottom end, original size wheels and tyres, original 4-speed gearbox and easy access to 98 octaine fuel. I assume I have the original ratio. What ratio would you recommend? Aardvarc have both 3.64 and 3.91 that are being offered with modifications so they are a simple bolt on. I seem to remember reading good things about Aardvarc. Ultimately, I would like to add a 5-speed transmission but I think the transport costs to Europe would be too high, maybe next winter.

My car suddenly started to run roughly, like it was only running on 3 cylinders. This engine was rebuild not so long ago and most if not all of the engine electrical components were replaced. The only thing we did not touch was the wiring loom. My mechanic says that there is only 4 volts flowing through the system. I am sure he will figure it out, but any words of wisdom?

Hi Can anyone recommend someone to refurbish my steering box, preferably based in Europe? It works, but is a little heavy and there is little showing of the adjusting screw. SB

Justin and Ray Many thanks again for your help, much of which I'm afraid is over my head, but Pawel the mechanic should be able to understand. I have had a look at the Innovate web site and there are three o2 kits: Basic LM-1, RPM LMA-2 and Auto Box LMA-3. Am I looking at the correct things and which one do you recommend I buy? Regards Sean

Guys Many thanks, I am sure I have enough leads and suggestions for us (really my mechanic) to resolve the problem. I shall post the results in due course. Regards Sean

Ray Yes, it is hunting. I also notice that when I take my foot off the gas pedal with the clutch down, the revs do not drop immediately, which is odd given the lighter flywheel. I had not seen those links, thank you. No idea what plugs are in there, but they are new! Thanks for the advice. Regards SB

Justin "The pump will probably fall behind after about 3k or so when you get some lift and never be able to keep up". Does that mean I need amore powerful pump? Regards SB

Excuse my ignorance but what is "hunting at idle"? I am not sure it is running lean as the mechanic has checked the plugs and they look fine, it's even running slightly cool (just below the half way mark), which I don't think would happen if it was lean. The timing is fine and I assume the springs are fine as it was ok before the re-build. We haven't checked the CO2 yet (the CO2 meter was burnt in the fire) but it's due the road test next month so I shall find out then. With regards the flywheel, I was hoping it would not effect the idle (I have an alluminium flywheel on my Lotus 7, which is 4 cylinders 1,500 cc and that runs fine), but if it is, can it be exchanged without removing the engine?

I assume you have heavy steering? Don't forget, as I did, to check the mechanism on the other side of the steering rack. I have read somewhere that this is frequently overlooked. Anyway, mine was dismantled, cleaned and greased, this made a huge difference. I also filled the box to the top, needed to as it has a slow leak!

Hi Still struggling to get an even idle and smooth running at lower revs. At higher revs its fine, although it feels like I am not getting all of the power out of the engine, if that makes sense? My feeling is that its the throttle linkages as at idle there is a very even increase and decrease of the revs. Also, before the engine was re-built everything ran just fine, so I suspect it is not a case of worn bushes. By the way, what is a wide-band 02 sensor and gauge? Regards SB

Hi Thanks for all of your suggestions. In case anyone comes accross this topic in the future, part of the problem was a lack of oil in the steering box, which was easily resolved. However, what really made a difference was the removal, cleaning and re-greasing of the mechanism on the other side of the steering rack (can't remmeber it's proper name). Finally, I also found out the car has a sports steering box, but with the standard size tyres it's fine for me. Regards SB

Hi I recently put on narrower original size tyres at the same time I changed the steering wheel to a slightly smaller one, I was hoping that the two would cancel each other out with regards the weight of the steering (although they are road race rubber so stickier than normal road tyres). I need to check that the mechanic checked the oil though and I suppose it could be full of grease, good point. Thanks for the advice. SB

Hi My steering is heavy and loose so I am looking to either restore or replace the box. All the various connecting rods and joints have been checked and are ok. I came accross www.carsteering.com through eBay who have refurbished boxes for USD 395 with a USD 200 refund for the old box. Has anyone tried these? Regards SB

Thanks for all of your comments, I shall translate to Polish and go through them with my mechanic. I should have added that before the engine was dismantled it ran like clockwork so the only major changes are the new cam and flywheel. What surprises me now though is how deceptively quick it is compared to modern traffic.

Hi. After the purchace of my 1973 Tii (US spec) I decided to re-paint. Took the opportunity of having a look inside the engine. Re-built with Schrick 292 cam, gas flowed head, JB Racing aluminium fly wheel and fully balanced bottom end. It has raised grand piano pistons and the compression ratio is 10:1. The other parts are just fine as it must have had an engine re-build in the last 5,000 miles or so. There is clearly lots more power, it starts easily enough, accelerates just fine, but is lumpy and the revs vary on the idle. Whilst it does not feel "camy", it runs badly at any constant level of revs when driving. I noticed some comment on other links about the vacum advance, could this be the problem? Any help would be appreciated. To be fair to my mechanic, I took the car away before he had time to properly have a go at setting it up, couldn't wait to drive it again. Anyway, before I give it back I would like to be able to give him some help, we are both new to 02's. Regards SB

Does anyone have any recommendations where to buy a Prototipo in Europe (including the correct boss)? I know they are much cheaper in the US but there is a 30% import tax to Poland and shipping costs are much more than they used to be. Regardless, perhaps I should properly compare prices in the US, any recommendations? SB

All Thank you very much for your help. SB

Thanks. Sorry to be so slow, but are you saying that I am already at 10.0:1 or do I still need to save 0.5 mm off the head? Also you say my pistons are probably the 9.0:1 but they look like the 10.0:1 or the 8.6:1 shown on the link you supplied. The measurement I have for the piston is 84.7 mm (close to the 84.7 mm in the diagram) so maybe I already have the 10.0:1 pistons, is that a possibility?

I meant to say the CH measurement. I also have the E12 head.

Thanks for this. I think I have established that the MC measurement is 31.1 mm. I hope this is correct, explaining what I want over the phone via a third party in Polish may have lead to a mistake! If you can tell me fom this what the compression ratio is I would be very grateful. Regards SB

I am trying to work out what the compression ratio is for my 1973 Tii (US spec). The engine is stripped and there are nearly new grand piano pistons (I believe this is what they are called) with 88.97 stamped on the top, I assume this is the diameter. The distance between the top of the top of the piston pin to the upper part of the raised part of the piston is 35.9 mm and the distance between the bottom part of the skirt to the top of the piston is 84.7 mm. The cylinder head is 128.53 mm as opposed to the standard 129.0 mm. I have read that 10:1 is a good ratio for a standard road car with high octane fuel. The only modifications are gas flowing the head, full balancing and a JB Racing aluminum flywheel. Any advice would be appreciated. SB P.S. I also have a standard cam, should I look to a 294 Schrick (or any other manufacturer for that matter)?