Austin 850 performance conversion

[DomMINIque]

Awesome story so far Abri!

You've got loads of knowledge about these little cars. Your passion is definetly there!

[abri]

Thanks guys. Since the last update I've decided to take the car to someone with a timing light and more SU carb expertise than myself. We set the timing and ended up stripping off the dash pots and giving everything a thorough clean with some very fine grit sandpaper inside the dash pots and around the carb pistons. I was amazed to learn how well those pistons fit inside the dash pots when they are perfectly clean so that they pretty much create a seal with which the engine vacuum can play to result in the right amount of lift.

We also spent quite a bit of time comparing needle profiles used in twin H1 setups of various BMC cars and decided I should try M6 needles to see if I can get rid of the slight hesitation I had on pull away. Having said that, after the tune up, the car is running very nicely and idling perfectly smoothly - something which is quite important to me on the 850 because it's so much more civilized to drive (yes, slow and quiet).

I'll update again when I've tried the other needles.

A new development is that the car's oil leaks are becoming quite a bit heavier. The one from the clutch seal has got me a bit worried. The plan is to pull the engine out near the end of October when the shell will go for a respray. I hope the seals last until then because I do drive the car quite a bit.

[minitim]

Glad all is getting sorted Abri. Expensive but exciting times lying ahead. Fresh paint is just the start of things.
You'll find yourself refurbishing and painting many other things in the process too, else it will look out of place.