Club Triumph

Biggest improvement after the exhaust is a decent cam - that is a can of worms in itself - TR5 is very good as an all rounder as you have found - if you want a bit more top end punch you can try the Newman hybrid (special order) - Nick has details - bit lumpier but very torquey especially with a 2.5

With the much less machining needed for the 2.5 I could probably splash out for a cam. Is the Newman available in australia? I know heavy things like that will cost a lot in shipping. Is there still anyone in Oz that does cam grinds for these cars? I noticed Wade Cams is no longer.
Will that cam need to be revved to great heights to get the most out of it? I dont want to go too much above 6000 just for longevity sake. Alsohow will it go with the PI?
Cheers, all the advice is a big help.
Josh

Cam is 40-80 70-30 PH3 inlet and PH2 exhaust - you need to get it ground on a new blank at Newman and best to used heavy duty steel followers. You need to contact Newman - Nick may have details of who best to talk to there . About 350 quid I think but haven't bought one recently - postage isn't too bad.
Will give a healthy increase in power from 3000-3500 to 6000 with excellent low down characteristics on injection when using a 6-3-1 manifold. Might need a little more fuel top end but has same overlap as a TR5 cam so idle comparable

I think it's Ken Newman I usually speak to.  He's always been very helpful.
Can PM you his email if you want.

Cam choice is really down to what you want from the car.  Not quite sure whether you stripped the engine due to an issue (oil use, blowby?) or to specifically mod for more power?  My PI with EFI, headwork, TR6 exhaust manifold and standard "132" cam gave damn near 150 bhp and 160 lb/ft from about 1800 - 5000 rpm.  The TR5 cam you have should give more.......  I doubt the EFI gives any more power than PI.

Nick

Thanks guys.
The rebuild is just because the engine was getting a bit tired and I dont think it had the compression it should have. I feel the bottom end should be in good nick so I can get the head shaved etc.
I'll see what kind of condition my current cam is in and think about the Newman one depending on how it looks.
Cheers

Nick could you please pm me Ken's details? I think I need to have a chat to him about cams.
Cheers

Ok guys, engine is on the stand and today I got all the pistons and cam out among a few other things. The pistons look pretty good really, they have wear on the sides that rock in the bore, which I dont know is a deal breaker or not. All the rings were free. I have noticed a very slight lip at the top of the bores and the cross hatching seems much fainter in the top half of the bore. The pistons came out through the top easily though so it cant be too much. I'll measure the bores when i get it fully stripped but I think I might find taper.
The lifters all looked pretty good except for number five which you can see linear wear mark- like the lifter had not been turning.
The cam looked good until I noticed the wear on number 10 in the pics- to me it looks like it's just started to wear through the hardening, which I cant imagine is a good thing. There is some wear in some of the others lobes as in the pics but nothing else like above. Im thinking it's probably stuffed though. It was a cam ground by Wade Cams and not an original tr5 (only says 563a on the cam and the receipt and I cant confirm if this is tr5 specs so far). In case it cant be seen clearly in the pics the wear has a golden colour to it and can definitely be felt with a sharp scriber. Anyway if it is stuffed Im pretty keen on one of those Newman cams, even if it will cost a bit.
Crank is definitely a cross drilled one on standard shells and all the big end journals look really good, as do the shells so a win there too. Big ends are standard size, along with the mains.
One question though, about the spigot bush on the back of the crank- My crank had one in the back of the crank and two, one inside the other in the actual fly wheel. They were all loose so I'll be replacing them, but what's the go with having three? Ive only ever seen one in other cars.

I had a look through the book of receipts from the PO and he rebuilt it in 97. I reckon it's done pretty well to have this little wear in almost 20 years, not that it's been driven that much.

Any feedback on the cam or anything else would be greatly appreciated
Cheers
Josh

Here is the wear typical of some of the other lobes

Also of note, the wear on the cam is on the closing ramps. I would have thought it more likely on the opening ramps or the tips. Could the wear, particularly the bad patch be a symptom of the lifter leaving the cam ie valve float/ bounce?

Hello Josh,

I just rebuilt my engine (same early cross drilled crank) and that has one spigot bearing bush, also loose. As it doesn't really work hard I used Locktight to refit it. There should only be one, in the crank. Is it possible you have a wrong gearbox for your engine and the input shaft is too short to reach the crank bush, just a guess?

Alec

Hey Alec, Yeah I was thinking that. The gear box is originally out of a 2500tc so I guess with all the short and long back cranks etc it could be wrong. Does an early crank require a longer input shaft? If so does anyone have a pic of one so I can compare it to mine?
Cheers

This is a Mk1 crank - sticks out 16mm or 5/8"

Mk2 crank is basically flush - ie 5/8" shorter

Gearboxes are basically the same although Mk1 longer input shaft for a bigger spigot bush - they are however interchangeable

The Mk2 has a 5/8" thicker flywheel - much heavier

Thanks Andy. I think maybe the PO has had the flywheel modified. The crank is the long back type and had a spigot bush in the end- just floating about loose. Then when I pulled the fly wheel off I noticed it also has a bush in it. I reckon he's had it machined so a gearbox with ashorter input shaft can be used. The car was originally an auto going by the numbers if that makes any difference. Anyway I'll get it sorted.
Any advice on the cam wear?

I got the rest of the engine apart today, no surprises. Im not quite sure what to be looking for as far as crank journal wear- there is no scoring or anything but you can see where the shells have been running. I'll give it a measure for size.

Cheers

You need to get the crank measured with a micrometer for ovality

What cam is in it - proper two ring TR5/6 or a reprofile?

Any pitting or scuffing of the lobes is bad news - what do the followers look like

Thanks Andy, i've got all the measuring tools, just wasn't sure about the look of the journals- ie they are not mirror smooth but dont look worn either.
As for the cam it is a repro one done by Wade cams. Followers dont look bad at all. I think I have cought this wear right at the beginning. I think it's weird though that the wear is on the lowering side of the cam and doesn't start until about 5mm after the peak.

Quoted from andy thompson

You need to get the crank measured with a micrometer for ovality

Thanks Ted I'll check it out. At least my oil pressure was pretty good previously so it shouldn't be too bad. Ive been doing my research on how to gauge the finish of the journals along with where to measure and what sort of tolerances to look at. I had a quick measure of some of the pins and journals tonight and everything i saw looked good, but I'll do it properly on the weekend when I have a bit more time. As for blueprinting the pump, I have not measured it yet but noted there is a bit of wear on the end housing which i have seen from another video can be lapped out  and reduces losses a lot. Im hoping that's all my pump needs.
Thanks for the advice,
Josh

I would recommend the pump is blueprinted to Chris Witor's standard.  He carefully matches parts and get machining done to ensure everything within tolerances but not cheap.

MUT

Thanks Ted. I have the old Vizard book on tuning Triumphs and am pretty sure it gives all the blueprinting clearances. I have two pumps so I will measure both and may be able to mix and match parts too. I measured the other pump I have a while ago and remember its clearances were pretty good. But like I said before I had good oil pressure before with some pump wear and bearing wear. I think I need an oil cooler for hard use too as the pressure at idle does drop a bit after a good thrashing, but I think it;s more the hot oil's fault rather than the pump.
Cheers

What does Witor do to the pumps, Ted?
If the rotors are worn, there's nothing to be done except find another, or make one (!)
You can smooth a worn end plate by lapping it and the body on fine emery cloth on a sheet of glass.

The Haynes manual gives the acceptable tolerances:
Inner/outer rotors - <10 thou
Outer to body - <10 thou
Endfloat - <5 thou

John