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Both my 2 Litres do not have fans (which is original) but they never overheat, not even going uphill in low gear in tropical temperatures.
But the radiators of the cars are enormous, the waterpumps function as they should and, very important that, I use modern (pink) coolant – and THAT makes all the difference.This reply has been reported for inappropriate content.
A belated reply: On my 2 Litre Lagonda’s (one with twin SU carburetters, one with single side-draught SU carburetter and both with their original Scintilla GN4) I have always used NGK AB6 and never had any problems (and I never worry about the gap, just use them as they come out of the box). These are readily available.
My pleasure; glad to be of help. My manual is about the METHOD of valve timing; I used the Newman camshafts as supplied by the Lagonda Club as an example – for other type camshafts different values should be applied but this simple and accurate method remains the same of course.
Hello David and everybody; I send David an email with the manual attached but here it is again; by all means let me know if there remain questions; it’s a simple one-page explanation which you can print and take with you to your garage.
VALVE TIMING PROCEDURE OF THE LAGONDA 2 LITRE ENGINE, USING AS AN
EXAMPLE THE NEWMAN CAMSHAFTS PROVIDED BY THE LAGONDA CLUB WITH
27 ° VALVE OVERLAP TO BE SET FOR INLET VALVES OPENING AT 15° BTDC AND
EXHAUST VALVES FULLY CLOSING AT 12° ATDC.
©Hans Eekhoff Revised Edition 2023.
1. Remove front floorboards and count the number of teeth on the flywheel (usually 118) and calculate
how many degrees one tooth represents (with 118 teeth this is practically 3° per tooth).
2. Turn the flywheel and determine TDC (Top Dead Centre = the highest point) of No. 1 (front) piston
(the flywheel might already be marked). Mark the flywheel with a thin line and “TDC” exactly opposite
the fixed reference point on the bell housing. Use quick drying white paint, Tipp-Ex or a white felt pen.
3. Then mark the flywheel:
a. with a thin line and the letter “A” at 15° before (5 teeth to the left of) TDC.
b. with a thin line and the letter “B” at 12° after (4 teeth to the right of) TDC.
4. Remove the timing cover, both rocker covers, all but No. 1 cylinder inlet and exhaust rockers and the
timing adjustment plates of the inlet and exhaust camshafts (the latter is attached to the fibre magneto
gear) by removing the three ¼” set screws of each.
5. Set the No. 1 cylinder inlet and exhaust valve tappet clearances at .006″ – .008″ and make sure that the tensions of both timing chains are correctly adjusted (about ¼” slackness – see page 39 of the Lagonda 2 Litre Instruction Book for the procedure).
6. Turn the engine so that the “A” line on the flywheel is exactly opposite the fixed reference point on the bell housing and then turn the inlet (n/s) camshaft, from the front, anti-clockwise until you feel the cam touching the rocker arm of the first inlet valve (in other words, if the camshaft is turned further, the valve will start to open). The camshaft can be turned very easily and should move independently from the sprocket wheel and timing chain which stay in place, but it may be necessary to slacken the locknuts first and free the timing spiders a bit, while making sure that the holding keys do not drop out.
7. Refit the inlet camshaft adjustment plate, using the Vernier adjuster to align the holes for the set
screws. Make sure that the camshaft stays in position against the rocker arm and when the adjustment
plate is fixed, mark this position with Tipp-Ex on the plate and the engine; around the 8 o’clock position is the easiest spot.
8. Turn the flywheel to the “B” line and again mark the position of the inlet camshaft adjustment plate.
This will be about 3/8″ further anti-clockwise from the first mark you made.
9. Turn the exhaust (o/s) camshaft, from the front, clockwise until the cam touches the rocker arm of the first exhaust valve (in other words, when turned anti-clockwise, the cam would have just gone past the rocker arm and the valve would just be fully closed).
10. Refit the exhaust camshaft adjustment plate with fibre magneto gear, making sure that the camshaft stays clockwise against the rocker arm. Use the Vernier adjuster to align the holes for the set screws.
11. Everything should now be set with the flywheel on the “B” line, the inlet adjustment plate on the
second mark that you made and the exhaust camshaft clockwise touching the rocker arm.
12. Because of play in the sprocket wheels and timing chains a correction might be needed. Turn the
engine a few times, set the flywheel on the “A” mark to correct the inlet camshaft position (as in 6) and
the flywheel on the “B” mark to correct the exhaust camshaft position (as in 11), using the Vernier
adjusters.By the way, turning the track rod on my car does not do anything as the threads on both ends are regular right-handed. I therefore had to undo one track rod end and turn it in one whole turn, which then resulted in the required total toe-in value of about 45 mins. I wonder if this is just on my car or do all track rods of 2 litres have the same threads ot both ends?
In view of no reactions (except yours of course – thanks!) and because, miraculously, there exists no data sheet for the 2 Litre Lagonda car nor its engine, I had to find out for myself.
It turns out that the total capacity of the cooling system of my 2 Litre Lagonda (which certainly will be similar for all other 2 Litres) is 18,5 Litres or 4.88 Gallons.
The toe-in value for the front wheels should be between 15 and 30 mins. (which equals between a quarter and half a degree).
I intend to keep all these figures and produce a useable data sheet within the forseeable future.Thank you for taking the trouble to reply! Interestingly, Julian Messent reckons it’s roughly 20 litres – which is rather more than 2 gallons; more than twice as much actually!
I need to know as I use pre-mixed coolant; so much better than water with anti freeze.
About the aligning – the car shakes at the front when driving at medium speed; I hope it’s just a matter of too much toe-in.
Wheel aligning is tomorrow – I will remember your tip of 1 turn toe-in and see if that works.
Julian reckons it’s 3mm (does that correspond with one full turn of the treck rod? Could be).
Anyway, I’m sure with these data I’ll be able to sort it all out.
Again, many thanks!Thanks for your reply! I asked Julian Messent and he emailed “NGK B6”. Indeed probably a typo and he meant AB6.
And NGK AB6 are indeed the plugs that are now in the car but I would like one step warmer, i.e. AB5 (if such a plug exists, I cannot find it on internet. Have you any idea which plug, like the AB6 but warmer, would fit, i.e. with the same length and width of the thread?