Triumph Repair: ignition ab14 lucas, exhaust setup, valve timing

Question
i just recently bought a 74' spitfire. I am a novice mechanic but i greatly enjoy learning and enhancing the performance, i have cleaned the carb, cleaned and polished ports, flushed radiator, changed tranny oil,i have also worked on the valve timing, what are some things that i can do to the car to increase performance without the need for a large bankroll- the car also came with an ab14 Lucas ignition amplifier i don't know how to hook it up can- it has a white wire-white wire with black strip- two male connections on side. thanks-

Answer
Earl,

There are a couple of things you can do without opening the block.  Most basic is to improve the breathing capability.  This means more air/fuel into the engine and less restriction getting the exhaust back out.

Common carb swaps are replacing the single Stromberg with either a single SU 1.5" carb or with the european spec twin 1.5" SUs for the Spitfire.  

Some of the vendors carry a nice 4-2-1 exhaust header and there are lots of options for the exhaust setup itself.

As to the Lucas Ignition amplifier?  If you have the points setup and it's working correctly I wouldn't bother with the Lucas amp.  Find someone rebuilding their later car and trade/sell the amplifier to buy toys for your car.


Cheers,

Jim