mystery tacho , scrounging & SW5?...

mystery tacho , scrounging & SW5?...

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tim-d

Original Poster:

528 posts

223 months

Monday 29th May 2006
quotequote all
Have just spent the last day or so keeping the boss company in her quest to make megabucks of ebay (its working too!!) frequenting local boot sales and have come home with some astonishingly cheap bits & bobs e.g unused W & P central locking kit - £2 (seriously), unused timing strobe £1.50 (works too), NOS set rear OE cooper emblemed flaps £1 but also bought a really nice tacho for an extortionate £1 - 80mm in 4cyl neg earth 12v 0-8000rpm with adjustable tell tale - I haven't ever seen one like this before so wondered if anyone can ID where it came from - brand is "talis" - almost a perfect facsimile of the aftermarket smiths item - nothing on the net whatsoever - a little more dedicated rummaging and goodness knows what would have popped up (just reached patience threshold and wanted to maim to next elbowing granny!)

Doing really well lately on the scrounge went down the local scrapper last week - spotted a fresh kill - a '72 austin 1100 (64K on the clock - goodness knows why it was scrapped for all intents & purposes very good condition aged classic)- ahead of me yet??? so says to doddery old chap that i need an a series head for an exchange unit - he insisted it was an austin 1300 as it had a red engine - so I didn't see fit to correct him - came away with a mint '295 head with absolutely perfect set of pressed rockers (no shaft wear at all and rocker faces as new), rocker cover (just to keep it clean) obviously I hadn't taken enough sockets / spanners to get manifold & carb off so took that too, and just because it would be rude not to had the rad expansion tank with rad blanking cap and the dizzy - £20 quid the lot (chuffed all the way home) - it was too good to pass up but now find myself with 4 '295's - but building a hybrid 1275 injection! - ebay here we come!

After a little ebay recycling to raise a few bucks going to address my wants list I'm debating choice of cam, have an unused MG metro one already but others under consideration are either 266 or SW5 - all seem to rave about this one - anyone fitted one? is it really that good? (engine std bore 1275 spi, mods comparatively tame - maniflow LCB with single box RC40 (cat binned) and ramair filter and may shell out for duplex timing gears and 1.3 roller rockers too...............)