Bigjohn

Are you sure you want "plough bolts"? I have an MW and can't recall seeing a plough bolt on it. There are loads of coach bolts though.

Can anyone recommend a type and if possible a supplier of anti-freeze for my Bedford MW?

I have an odd pair of filler caps that are very similar to yours...... I wonder which sort is correct for each typo of MW.

Mine runs to the front of the engine, up and past the front end of the rocker cover then over to the carb.

Not saying that's correct but that's how mine was when I got it.

I purchased one from Chris Morter.

It was a duff coil but I changed the plugs to Champion as well. She purrs now!🙂🙂

I thought a Spitfire had a magneto :undecided:

NEWS FLASH!

This problem has gone all the way to the engineers at the BBMF. They say "it's the coil".......apparently they had a similar problem on a Spitfire recently although I suspect that it wasn't discovered mid-journey!

Try putting your old plugs back in and see if that cures it.

 

Mike.

The old plugs were binned long ago when I replaced the leads and distributor.

Looks like I'm after new plugs as well then!

Hi Pete, they're copper core.

It could be a faulty new distributor but it seems odd that it suddenly went on two plugs. We were getting the occasional very weak spark on the no1 pot.

My hunch is that the coil is very old and tired and that all the sparks are weak and that plugs 1&2 are the worst affected.

It won't break the bank to change the coil and see what happens.

Yeah, we tried all kinds of swapping and the plugs were only wet with fuel as you'd expect.

My only thought is that the coil is on the blink - the plugs, leads, distributor and rotor are all new (less than 200 miles).

After a perfect run to this weekend's event, we had problems getting the our Bedford MW to run properly from the start of the return journey.

Several stops and a lot of head scratching showed that there was no spark on the front two plugs EXCEPT (and this is the nutty bit) when we held the plug cap in close proximity to the terminal of the spark plus.

The spark could be heard arcing from the inside of the plug cap to the nipple on the end of the plug, when this was happening the engine ran fine. However as soon as the cap was pushed onto the plug the engine ran rough as the plugs stopped sparking.

To get home we secured the two plug caps just off the plugs with wire so they could arc to the top of the plug.

So why would a spark plug fail to work when properly connected to the HT lead but work well when there is an arc between the plug cap and the plug?

I fitted a temperature gauge to mine a couple of months ago. It's supposed to have one and it's really good to know what's going on.

Interestingly, I finally got round to fitting a thermostat this week. On it's first test run since, the water temperature went up and down like a yo yo and water was pushed out of the radiator cap! Thermostat's back out again now. I figure that I'll use the grill cover to hold the temperature up while I find out what's causing it.

Mines pretty early, not got a date on the body yet but the fittings indicate it's early.

Have a look at the April issue of CMV magazine.

Yeah, mine has flat iron bent to an angle on all the edges.

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My strategy based on a bit of research is that I will mix in a small amount of diesel with my unleaded petrol to raise the vapour point and reduce vapour locking.

I will start using Frosts to neutralise the effects of the ethanol.

Hi John

 

I've just lowered the water level in the rad to around 1/4" above the fins , started it up and ran it for around 15mins no water forced out , (bit happier now ) .This might sound stupid but is it normal for steam to escape from the rad cap when its stopped ? , not being conversant with the MW and this type of rad cap set up I was wondering if this was normal.

 

Dave

Mine doesn't steam at all. I was quite carefull to set it up as per the drivers manual. I assume your radiator filler has the castellated ring that compresses the spring underneath?

Although it's not a certainty, the fact that it happens once the engine has warmed up suggests that it's likely to be over full. It could be expansion of the cylinder head bolts when they're hot but I doubt it.

Deffo check that they're all torqued down properly as that's an easy hit.

when I first ran mine it did the same thing and I was suprised how much came out. I now keep my coolant level about 3.5 inches below the top of the filler.

It doesn't sound good.

I'd check the torque settings on the had first.

Does it do it from cold or only when it warms up?

Have you over filled the rad? If you have then it will expand and exit through the cap.

Are there any additives around that will neutralise the ethanol?

Following a discussion on the Bedford MW owners Facebook thread, I thought I'd throw this question open here.

What additives (if any) do you put in your fuel for wartime vehicles?

It seems that lead replacement is not required but some people mix in some diesel or paraffin to reduce vapour locking. I'm wondering what mix ratios people are using and what I should be wary of.

Thanks folks, now ordered from Marcus Glenn.