help i can,t get my triumph going

[andymex]

 :(hi just found your forum hope some one can help,
 i recently got my first british bike ,1968 triumph 5ta
i,m told it has a 1961 engine it has boyer type 3 elec ign

first ride i had a bad oil leak  r/h timing cover i removed and resealed  but  am not sure on setting  the magnet position
i have down loaded info from boyer but i dont fully understand how to set to fully advanced position,
it currently trys to start  and on occasion fires up
for a few seconds then cuts out  

run out of things to try   cheers if you can help andy

[L.A.B.]

Maybe a little more info could be useful here as a '61 engine would normally have a distributor unit containing the points and auto advance (fitted behind the R/H cylinder) rather than the timing cover exhaust cam driven type used from 1964-on.

Is this a distributor type engine that has been modified to use the exhaust cam arrangement? What is the engine number? Is it between H18612 and  H25251 (1961 year).


Basically you need to set the crankshaft to the fully advanced (BTDC) position, (is that what you do not fully understand how to do?) and then the loosely fitted Boyer rotor is positioned so that the white paint mark on the rotor can be seen to line up through the hole in the stator plate (observing the correct clockwise rotation position is used) with the stator plate positioned in the middle of the adjustment slot range.
The rotor retaining bolt should then be tightened down and the engine started up. It should be strobed at the required RPM setting, the final adjustment being made by moving the stator plate.
So it will be necessary to make some timing marks somewhere (if it is a 'modded '61 engine?) and TDC position needs to be found so that the full advance position can be marked. If you aren't sure how to do this then you could say.

[andymex]

hi and cheers for you interest
the distributor hole is blanked off and is useing the exhaust cam driven type cover ,the engine no. is
  h24032
 if i set the engine to tdc with a timing stick and then sight it through to the the white dots  on the rotor  this would now class as full advance  position ?
i will try this  and let you know how i get on cheers andy

[L.A.B.]

if i set the engine to tdc with a timing stick and then sight it through to the the white dots  on the rotor  this would now class as full advance  position ?

No, TDC is not full advance, as the crank/piston position needs to be set to *I think* = 38 degrees before top dead centre = BTDC (according to the later setup info for timing cover points models?).
Your earlier engine's timing would, I believe, originally have been set by piston distance BTDC but in the *retarded* position (much closer to TDC) by using the timing stick, the Boyer rotor needs to be set at full advance. So TDC needs to be found (preferably using a timing disc and piston stop) and the TDC and full advance positions marked somewhere (generally on the alternator and rotor) so that the Boyer can be set exactly with a strobe.
It is not possible to set the Boyer accurately by the static method alone.

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The timing info I have for the distributor models is: piston = 1/64 inch BT(D)C fully retarded, and the auto advance range is 30 *crankshaft* degrees, so the fully advanced position will be 30 degrees before the 1/64" BTDC position.

As this engine appears not to be to standard spec then this figure may need to be adjusted slightly for optimum running?