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Austin 10/4 ignition problem.

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austin10_4

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Hello all,
New member here so im not sure if this is in the right forum or not, if not please move it!

Anyway, I currently own a 1934 Austin 10/4 in very good condition, apart from a slight ignition problem.
When the engine is cool, it will start fine, usually first time and will run perfectly fine ince hot. However, if i then cut the engine, for example to fill up at a petrol station, i cannot start the engine again until the engine has cooled down to a sufficient temperature. Once it is cool, it will start fine again and run with no glitches.

I would be grateful if anyone had any ideas what could be causing this. I have checked distributor points, leads and sparks are in good condition with a strong blue spark.

Thank You.
 
I dont think its fuel related, although it could be. The original thought from a mechanic was fuel vapourising from the carbeurettor but, since applying a heat shield around manifold pipe, carb and insulating the fuel pipe, there should be no problem. Also, upon inspecting the carberretor, there is plenty of fuel in there when it cuts out, and i sometimes end up flooding the engine when trying to start.
 
well, going back to Otto's heirarchy of needs - fuel, air, spark, and timing....

you say the spark is good when this happens.
you have fuel in the bowl when this happens
I assume airflow is not a problem.
I assume this is a manual choke and that's not a problem.
Gotta be timing? A distributor advance plate sticking?
 
i appreciate all the help guys. I dont know much about timing, only that it is complicated to sort out. Would bad timing be affected in hot weather though? this problem only occurs during the summer/warmer months.

The vehicle was stored for just over a year in a cold garage before i took charge of it, and after changing the points in the distributor due to corrosion, could this problem be related to the coil?
 
austin10_4 said:
after changing the points in the distributor due to corrosion
Click to expand...

that's kind of where I was going. The points are attached to the distributor advance plate, which may be corroded and not be moving freely.

if this is a warm weather problem, though - I'd suspect fuel problems like vapor lock (but you said you checked to make sure there was fuel in the bowl....) could be fuel boiling in the float bowl ("percolation")

Maybe next time it happens you could use some kind of freeze spray or ice pack (i.e., bag of frozen peas and some duct tape around the carb) to cool the float bowl and see if it starts?
 
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