Went to the Uxbridge Auto Show today after the Chorlywood Show yesterday. Uxbridge is a good show but the organisers are fairly incompetent when it comes to getting the exhibitors vehicles into the site and this year was the worst ever. Crawled along for about an hour in a queue of classic cars with an increasing number overheating or breaking down as we got closer to the exhibitors entrance. Finally got past the last check point and the engine that had been running sweetly just died
Engine bay was very hot even though the lid had a prop to allow more air in. I suspected the dreaded condenser so started some usual checks, power to coil & distributor, spark at the points. Got a spare spark plug and took off no 1 lead to test for a spark. My wife turned on the ignition and pulled the starter but almost as expected no spark. As I was planning my next move , changing the condenser, all of a sudden smoke started billowing out of the engine bay. I grabbed a full bottle of water and squirted it at the source of the smoke which tuned out to be the new twin spark coil I had fitted. I knew it was very hot when the engine packed up and I think that combined with the ignition current tipped it over the edge and I can't believe how much smoke it made. Changed the condenser for another used one I had then a fingers crossed pull on the starter bought no joy so as expected the coil was totally shot. I went looking for inspiration around the few auto jumble stalls there and the best I could do was buy two new dry coils Ford I think, then got creative. Fitted both with a plug lead to each one, overcame so real connection problems with the bits I had available connecting across the - & + terminals. Pulled the starter and the engine fired up straight away but running rough and no real revs. Suspect condenser so changed for the other spare I had . Engine started and ran much better but joy was short lived as it would not rev. Next try was to run one coil but shorting across the ht leads to try and get a twin spark effect but would not run. Next try run on one cylinder which worked at first but got worse as I tried to drive with the other plug removed to lighten the load on the engine. So after some hours I had to concede defeat and use the breakdown service. Delivered home I fitted another new twin spark coil and discovered that the experiments had screwed the other condenser so fitted a new one and broom broom
back in business.
Sad that the challenge did not work out but over the hours I met more Polish guys and families that I had ever met before in my life. All telling me about their motoring history in Poland, sitting in , around and on the car taking pictures so not all bad
