There is only so much you can triage in the field. Emergency responders try to stabalize their patients to get them to the hospital. After an unsuccessful attempt at surgery in the field, that became my modus operandi this week. Today, the Rover is off to the car hospital; before we get into that, let me take you back a bit.
For the last month the engine has been struggling – not idling and backfiring a bit. After I got the sage advice: “its never the carburetor”, the attention turned to the ignition system. In these older cars, the ignition is a remarkably simple process tied to some rather complex mechanics. As the engine turns through its rotation, parts inside the distributor rotate to open and close an electrical circuit. When that circuit is closed, it sends a spark to a particular spark plug. The parts that open and close are called “points” – two small round metal discs about the size of match heads come together and pull apart several times a second as the engine moves through its firing sequence. These little guys do a lot of work.
Points, plugs, wires, the coil – all go together in a carefully timed sequence to add one of the three essential components of the combustion engine: fire (the other two being fuel and air). When any part of that system is off kilter, things get wonky. After replacing the points with new points, there is a delicate manipulation to ensure that the gap when they are open is not too wide and not too narrow. After gaping the points, it is all about timing – when do they open and close as the engine is turning. Too soon and your timing is too fast and the engine burns too much gas (running rich). If they open and close too late, the spark may not come in time and the engine may not fire at all.
After hours and hours of tinkering, I had one of the proudest moments of Rover ownership. For 10 minutes the engine ran; pretty rough at first but then it was dialed in to a nice smooth-ish idle. It was never quite perfect and something caused it to stall. But there is proof:
That brings us back to moving the patient. Despite my best efforts, the breaks are still out – a problem that is increased in complexity by decaying bolts and old break lines. The engine, even when running, was not running well. This thing needs professional help. We decided to enlist the help of a trusted mechanic with old Rover experience. The only catch- he’s 2.5 hours away. Today the Land Rover is getting loaded onto a flat bed truck and headed to Lynchburg.
With any luck, it will be back to purring like a kitten and in the kind of shape where a novice can learn to baby it, rather than trying to resuscitate it.