The Triumph TR-4, the best of the Sport Triumphs.
I also decided to convert the ignition to an electronic system for dependability.
In addition I decided to convert to a distributor that I could buy parts for at local Auto Parts stores. I had a spare Lucas 25D4, a DM2P (the original type for this car), a 45DE4, and a 45D4. The 45D4 and the 45DE4 were the easiest to get parts for locally, but I had tentative plans for the 45DE4, so the 45D4 got the hardest look.
The 45D4 gave me 4 more degrees of advance, all in the mechanical, and it came in about 300 to 400 RPM later. This allows me to run the idle and low RPM timing a little more retarded for better economy, but when I get on it and wind it up a little I get the same total advance as the original distributor set up for power.
In addition to the Crane XR700 electronic ignition, I installed a Crane PS40 coil. The wire set is one for a 1972 MGB, but most any four cylinder wire set should work.
The instructions for the XR700 said that it could be installed in a Lucas distrbutor in less than an hour. And I am sure that somewere there is a Lucas that matches the optical sensor. But not mine (any of them). Every one of my distributors would have required the same kind of modification to the advance plate for the optical sensor to fit and operate properly. And although a second installation would go very quick, the instructions did not mention what to do in this case, so the first one was a learning experience.
What the problem was was that the shutter disk was to short and the advance plate to wide to allow the shutter to pass through the optical sensor properly. I had to take a grinder to part of the advance plate to get a proper fit. But the good news is that the modification did not impact the ability to return the distributor to the original configuration if I want.
The switch to electronic ignition was well worth the meager effort required. I gained four or five miles to the gallon (about 2 Km per Liter) in fuel economy, and the performance is better. It is a win-win modification.
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