Morgans with Atomic 4

[pknier]

We have a 1972 35' classic sloop Morgan with an Atomic 4...raw water cooled, pretty much original, have only replaced alternator...she runs great, very reliable and pushes her along at 6.5 at 2000 rpm's. Not envious of any one.

[gary gerber]

1970 Morgan 33

Own a 1970 Morgan 33 w/ Atomic 4 we purchased in 1975. Original Atomic 30hp engine just installed new carburetor and new Vetus exhaust system in 2005 ( article in current issue of BoatUS DIY magazine ). Built a removable cockpit dining table for my tiller steered Morgan, featured in SAIL back in 2004 and soon to featured in BoatUS DIY magazine.

Sailed the New England coast for thirty years now permanently down on the Chesapeake Bay.

Just completed the installation in the forepeak of my Morgan a 5000 btu 110v ac air conditioner. This installation will be featured in the first issue of BoatUS DIY magazine in 2009.

[DaveG]

Morgan's with Atomic 4

Gald to see all these Morgans with the original motors.

I have been rebuilding a 69 Morgan 34.

Just got the motor running after almost 4 years on the hard.

Replaced Carberator, Exhaust, Fuel Pump, High Output Alternator, Fuel Filter, rewired the entire motor thanks to all the kits/parts/advice from Don.

Added Air, Spark, Fuel, and away she went. Had a bit of trouble with the reversing gear, the motor didn't want to run in reverse, every time I tried it would stall...I had to use a bit of elbow greese and the starter motor to get it running in reverse.

Now I need to consider Fresh Water Cooling, I'm still cooling with raw water which I'm sure is not a great idea.

Can't wait to see you A/C installiation. I want to do that but was going to put it in the hanging locker so I can vent to the V Berth and the salon at he same time.
Dave

[oceanwatersailor]

New Morgan Owner

Hi folks,

I have a Morgan 1969, 33 I purchased last year and it came with Atomic4. Serial number 200923.

I have been having problems getting the back two cylinders to fire.

Have changed the plugs and have checked compression.

I am thinking of fuel pump and possibly ignition/timing. I am getting spark but seems to be low.

The fuel pump looks like it was an after thought by the way it was installed. It is an electric pump but does not seem to be installed correctly or maybe not the right one.

What kind of fuel pump do you have on your Atomic4?

Also I want to put a PERTRONIX IGNITOR II on the motor to see if that helps. Has anyone used one of these?

[ndutton]

The popular electric fuel pump is the Facet Gold-Flo cylindrical pump as offered in the MMI catalog. I have one and it's been a rock solid performer.

The added features of the Ignitor II™ electronic ignition compared to the Ignitor™ (the usual A-4 EI) is lost on us due to our low RPM. If you decide on an Ignitor II™ system be sure to read the instructions carefully, particularly any advisement about maximum amperage. I don't know if it's any different than the Ignitor™ but look for it. It's really important. Really.

Also if replacing the coil, I recommend an oil filled rather than epoxy filled for better heat tolerance and as close to 4.3Ω internal resistance as possible. You'll find the Pertronix Flamethrower coils max out @ 3Ω spec, usually measure 10% greater, 3.3Ω. This will have an impact on system amperage and likely require the addition of a ballast resistor.

[Loki9]

Make sure you don't have the #3 and #4 plug wires swapped. It's easy to do.

[romantic comedy]

if the two front cylinders are running, then it is not the fuel system. It would be more specific to each cylinder. Th eignition system is running two cylinders, so it should have spark at least to the distributer cap.

I would go with the idea that the wires are swaped. Swap them, even if you are sure.

next is valves and compression. You checked compression? what was it?

[oceanwatersailor]

Thank you ndutton ...good info on the coil!

As for the plug wires I think I did swap them to test but don't actually recall so I need to try this again.

I remember the compression to be all cylinders around 80 +/-.

I do remember that because of the last two not firing the exhaust would have fuel in the low part (10 degree angel after the manifold exit) and that's when I found a hole in the exhaust pipe. Dripping fuel down started to have a strong smell and making this job more dangerous.

I have a picture of the exhaust and the plug wires

[JOHN COOKSON]

Try reversing the order of the spark plugs on the vey improbably chance that the last two (3&4) are defective and not firing.

Also the numbers on the spark plug boots indicate somebody has moved them around. Or something.

I get vertigo when I look at the picture but it looks to me like the distributor is 180* rotated. As best I recall #1 terminal on the distributor cap should be furthest from the engine.

TRUE GRIT

[Dromo]

oceanwatersailor
. as stated earlier your distributor placement needs to be addressed , I.d find top dead center on # 1 pull the distributor and replace it so #1 plug boot is facing furthest for the block .
Looking at your pic. the wiring firing order I come up with is 4312 or 2431 not 1243
rick

[roadnsky]

I'm with Dromo (sorta)

The difference is that I see your firing order in the pic as correct.
But as Dromo said, it looks like you may have the distro off in it's orientation.
NORMALLY, #1 would point away from the engine.

FROM Don:
"NOTE: On late model engines, it's most convenient if the tip of the rotor is pointing directly away from the block at the TDC of the number one cylinder. In this orientation, there will be proper clearance between the distributor cap and the alternator belt..."

I've also attached a PDF for "Finding TDC" for your reading pleasure.

[ndutton]

In a way Dromo's firing orders are all correct. In every example he offered, #2 fires after #1, #4 after #2 and #3 after #4. As long as #1 fires when #1 piston is at TDC it doesn't matter which distributor cap post is designated #1.

The convention of #1 being furthest from the block is certainly worthy in terms of uniformity and as mentioned, belt clearance.

[Dromo]

Dose it not look like #1 wire is near the block on the distributor and # 4 is furthest away form the block , like the distributor is in backwards
Is that possible ?

[Loki9]

Dose it not look like #1 wire is near the block on the distributor and # 4 is furthest away form the block , like the distributor is in backwards
Is that possible ?

There is no "backwards", as long as you have the firing order correct for the orientation that you are using, it will work fine.

[Dave Neptune]

The factory!

There are teeth on the distributor gear (not sure how many but it is now "X") or "X" many. Once you have TDC on any cylinder you can start from there. The number of combinations like that are 4 times X. If you want to use #1 cylinder then there are only "X" number of proper locations.

The factory picked the position they did only for consistent assembly at the factory. In this way when the engine was ready for the distributor to be installed on the assembly line they put it facing the way they did so when it went to the next steps things were consistent.

I've worked on literally hundreds of engines from 1 cylinder to 16 or even a bunch with none. About the only ones I ever found to be in the stock orientation were the ones that had never been touched.

There is no right or wrong, right is the points open or the trigger trips on number one cylinder at TDC and the WIRE for #1 is on the lug the rotor points to. It's simple once the idea sinks in.

Dave Neptune