LeonV

A caliper, pen, paper and 10 minutes should do it.

EXACTLY! Triples have dedicated runners to each cylinder. This is an inherent advantage over SUs because of better mixture distribution between cylinders and a stronger signal for resonance (harmonic) intake tuning. There are also less pumping losses because of the fixed venturi design, so there are performance benefits to Webers outside of WOT operation. Correctly tuned, they will get better fuel mileage as well.

The combustion forces on the head are magnitudes greater than the static weight of the engine. Each head bolt can literally support tons, let along a few hundred pounds.

Look under your car and it will be clear.

Properly tuned, triples will always make more power than SUs. It has been done, thousands of times. If you're looking for dyno results, search hybridz.org.

It's easy if it already has a US title. If not, it will be a little tougher. Did you import the car yourself or buy it from a US owner?

Glenn made a good list. On a car that's been sitting that long, assume all rubber is dried out. This means hoses, bushings, and hydraulic seals (brake & clutch master, clutch slave, wheel cylinders, calipers) need to be replaced/rebuilt.

The alternator pully does the tensioning. There is no dedicated belt tensioner on the L-series.

I concede!

You should see my refrigerator...

Nice write-up, Wade!

Great pics, I need to get out there someday!

I don't know, but the ebay Champion that I got is a 2 row.

I've had more than a few words with that pin. Had to use long pliers to (blindly) get it in there. Not fun.

I isolated my Aluminum radiator using nylon washers from the local hardware store. Cools better than the stock one with a hole in it...

Music? The only music we should hear is the straight-six symphony!

No problem! Just make sure you know which octane rating the manual is giving you! It can be RON (Research Octane Number), MON (Motor Octane Number), or AKI (Anti-Knock Index). RON and MON are experimentally determined using test engines, with MON being a more stringent test. Pumps in the US use the AKI rating which is the average between the two, whereas Australia and Europe use RON. RON will always be higher than MON, and what you see at US pumps is the average of the two. Just make sure you know which rating the manual is going by. FWIW, Turbocharged engines typically require higher octane fuel, but if the manual says 91 RON then 87 AKI is just fine.

No, there will not be a 20hp gain, nor does it affect WOT operation. Vacuum does not "climb" at higher rpm. At WOT, there is no manifold vacuum, it's completely open to the atmosphere (besides intake pressure drops). I agree with Zed Head's sentiments, you'll notice some gain in part-throttle conditions but that's about it. Fuel economy should slightly increase. Put a timing light on it and test, it's not that hard.

One must also realize that diluting gasoline with alcohol will drop the stoichometric mixture point. "Pure" gasoline is 14.7, while E10 is ~14.2. As alcohol content increases, AFR must be enriched. The chemical makeup of ethanol has a hydroxyl group (-OH) which oxygenates the fuel, thus requiring you to dump in more fuel when compared to using "pure" gasoline.

Careful with tightening to what feels right. I did that the first time around and had a strong driveline vibration from loose driveshaft bolts. The second time around I still didn't use a torque wrench, but tightened them as much as I could with an open end wrench. All is good now.

FWIW, I would set the cam "straight up" and go from there. Technically, you can start from anywhere, but straight up is as good a place as any. Steve had it right in post #9, set it to #1 and drive. You can then go by seat of the pants, but that's a crapshoot, so the dyno is your best bet for learning and improving anything in this case. OP isn't building a race engine. If you're not willing to dyno the car, then it doesn't really matter. Set it to 1 and go, it'll drive just fine.

Ok... Cam retardation/timing variance happens, but I'll repeat that what's better for him is not necessarily for you. The article's purpose is not solely to tell you which hole to put your cam into. :tapemouth Well then, it appears as though you made quite the exaggeration in your original criticism of the text then, yes? You were annoyed by his thoughts on what the cam holes are "supposed" to be for and felt like ranting? Yes, in order to be proficient at reading comprehension you must have some critical thinking skills and be able to "read between the lines" a bit.

I see where you're going with this, but why get "offended". I could care less what the guy does, he can be a ballerina for all I care. That's not what makes his statements right or wrong. I don't know how much timing is retarded at high rpm, but it sure does not stay constant. Nowhere did Brown say that the design is "wrong" but that it has certain flaws, just like any design. Unfortunately, in the case of the stock chain setup in a high-performance L-gata, the flaw does affect performance. Kameari didn't create their custom chain tensioner for no reason... In Brown's case, it was "better" to slightly advance the cam, but it is up to the end user to determine how much this matters to them. Will the stock chain limit your 7000rpm, 200hp L28? Probably not. Will it limit a 9000rpm, 350hp L-series? Most definitely! Brown is right (don't know about the numbers, but as far as the physics of it are concerned) but it's up to you to decide how applicable it is to your case using whatever method you like.

I've never had a stud break, but patience is necessary. Heat helps a bunch as well. Go slowly, and if the stud doesn't budge then don't force it. That just means you need more rust penetrant and/or heat. Once it's loose, twist it out and if it gets tight then turn it back in a bit (like tapping a hole), and then back out. Rinse and repeat.

Yeah, the 3 holes are for powerband adjustment... what else would they be for? I don't think you're understanding that statement correctly. To paraphrase: cam timing inherently retards as you accelerate the engine. The cam sprocket has holes to advance the cam. If cam timing is too retarded, advance the cam. I don't see any issues with the statement. There is no mention of how much it is retarded, but in order to know that you'd need to dyno your own engine to figure out how much advance is needed.