A little while ago, my 75 Spitfires engine had a vacuum line that was
split. After the obligatory vacuum line joke from my local auto store
employee, he procured a length of the correct size and I managed to get
the engine running again.

I was pondering this weekend while I was on a road trip (Sadly, not in
it) just how much of the lines and bottles up there are really
necessary?

Howard <pnhnt (AT) insight (DOT) rr.com> wrote

You can get away without a bottle - my Triumph 2000 hasn't got one, my PI
has. But if your Spit has a bottle fitted, I would keep it.

The difference is that if the engine cuts out, the vacuum stored in the
bottle will give 4 or 5 fully power assisted stops, but without it you get
one stop that is nearly power assisted and after that, no assistance. You
can't do cadence braking on slippery surfaces without a bottle either
because the vacuum doesn't have time to recover before you reapply the
brakes.

Jim

Jim Warren wrote:
Does a Spitfire really need a servo at all? My Vitesse's brakes feel
fine without one, so I wouldn't see it as essential on the lighter
Spitfire with the same brakes.

I would have to double check, but I don't think I have vacuum assited
brakes. Which migh explain all the capped and plugged lines at the
valve cover.

Thanks Jim.

R/
Howard


Jim Warren wrote:

Yippee,

Yes, I am in the US. Columbus Ohio.

The vacuum line I replaced ran from the carburater to a filter in front
of the radiator.

As for the smog control, Well, the air pump was gone when I got the
car, and it runs fine. I would like to simplify as much of the car as I
can.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it did not come with vacuum assist
breaking. But there have been a few days where I could have used it.

I will visit the web site you suggested.

Thank you again.

R/
Howard


Yippee wrote:

Yippee,

Thanks again. They are hammering away on all sorts of topics. I might
be able to get an word in.

For the non- US cars is there a schematic/diagram for what it should
and should not have. I have a Haynes manual, but I think it is about 20
years old.

Thanks again.

R/
Howard


Howard wrote:

"Howard" <pnhnt (AT) insight (DOT) rr.com> wrote

On Thu, 06 Jul 2006 17:27:55 +0200, Yippee
<yippee.107 (AT) intuh (DOT) net.invalid> wrote:

_Some_ of the US market Spits ("50 state" ? version) are described.
Californians had even more kit in there, some of which isn't listed. If
you're working on a re-imported Californian Spit, this can get
confusing.

Has anyone ever seen a vacuum bottle to provide vacuum for a servo on a
car as light as a Spit? I haven't - I've had plenty that powered
ancillaries such as aircon flaps or doorlocks, but the only brake vacuum
bottles I've seen were on older Jags with Dunlop brakes.

DISCLAIMER: I'm in the US with a US-Spit('79)

There's no vacuum brake assist in the Spitfires(correct). on the GT-6 they do
offer an aftermarket vacuum brake assist, which is of course pricey.

As for smog equipment, I am no stranger to that. Since emissions testing stopped
in my state, I removed the air pump, switched to a 4-2-1 exhaust, and a plain
intake manifold(for a Weber DGV). I do have the 2 carbon canisters and the
breather system to go back to the fuel tank, however.