Happy New Year-The adventures of Miss Agatha

[jlaird]

As some of you know I had been having problems with Miss Agatha missing at about 3 to 4K.

Weather has been awful here most of Nov. and Dec. Today is lovely so............

I tried to start her and go for a dirve, no go......

Gave her a shot of starter fluid and she would go for a bit...

Came in had lunch and pondered..... Ahhhhh.

Went out unstuck BOTH jets......away she went, just lovely.

Had a nice ride, no miss, she was trying to tell me something.

I wonder, I just wonder if I need new valve seats, they are orginial as far as I know. I have never never had the needle valves stick on cars I have had before and sometimes they would sit for six months when I was TDY.
Maybe it is this "new" fuel. Running stable now, maybe it will not happen again.

 

[GeeBee1]

Jack

me umm dinks she wants out more. :wink:

Pat

 

[John Kuzman]

Happy New Year Jack! I brought my '60 Bugeye to my FL home in Bonita Springs in October. Came back down in early Dec. and started the Bugeye. Ran terrible. Needle on rear carb was stuck. Never had this issue in OH or anywhere else. I do think it has something to do with the ethanol % in the FL gas.

 

[aeronca65t]

I'm with Pat.

Drive it more. Stuff works better when you use it more often.
That's true about a lot of things.

Enjoy your nice day! It's 10 degrees F here with 25 MPH winds.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, the new stuff is crap especially w/ ethanol. I'ne been seeing depostis in tanks I've NEVER seen before no moatter how long it sat up. Just bought 10 cans of Sea Foam for the lot of 'em.

 

[texas_bugeye]

Jack
Mine would some times stick after using choke-fast idle. But only the back carb. After a real close look see the jet does appear to have a slight shiny spot to it . not sure but I think I may have happened when I installed the 12G295 head.
used some brasso on the spot that appeared the shinyest and it seems to be ok.
I didnt use the choke until the swap so using it maybe the best fix of all!

 

[bugimike]

Happy New Year Jack!! It's been a bit nipply down here this season, hasn't it!! Good to hear you got Miss A out and about!

 

[cdsmith]

It use to be that every now and then I'd get a rough idle at start up, so I would get out and tap the top of the carb bowls (mainly the rear one) to get things loose...

Now it is just part of the "check list" before each drive... And yes I need to drive it more! Lots more!

A Happy New Year to all...
cd

 

[DrEntropy]

It ~is~ the ethanol, Jack. With our humidity, the "interface" where the fuel and atmosphere interact the stuff will cause an ugly deposit. Greenish-white and crusty. Check your metering needles and jet orifice too.

Just went thru four Strommies on a V-12 Jag a few weeks back that sat for a while (out on the Gulf shore, no less!) and it was absolutely craminated.

Sea Foam or Stabil additive and more run-time. :thumbsup:

 

[texas_bugeye]

Craminated really ... sort of like goopafied?

 

[DrEntropy]

Yup.... just "crustier"

 

[tdskip]

Wow - the ethanol blend reacts that badly in such a short time?

 

[DrEntropy]

About a month and it ain't good fuel anymore.

 

[tony barnhill]

Try letting a Jaguar sit with some of it in the tanks!

 

[DrEntropy]

The aforementioned E-Type sat for almost a year with half-full tank, no additive. The guy expected it to light off and just GO. feh. Drained the tank and found rust, sediment and water. Carbs were so cludged up hey wouldn't pass fuel thru the float needles and the metering jets appeared green with patina. Nasty.

 

[tony barnhill]

My '87 XJ^ sat a couple months with both tanks full.....first few miles of either tank weren't fun miles...as soon as I got them both down to half tank, I added 92 octane & blew 'em both close to empty & added STAYBIL until I refuel.

 

[RickB]

When I parked my Sprite for the winter I put a can of seafoam in the tank then ran it around town enough to get it up through the carbs.

It sat in near zero temps earlier this month, then after Christmas we had a patch of dry sunny weather. I got the car uncovered, gave it some choke and she fired right up!! I guess adding something to the oil also wouldn't be a bad idea. Should I use Seafoam for that too? I'm a true believer now!

 

[tony barnhill]

I would.

 

[RickB]

I would.

That's good enough for me Tony, I'm off to buy another can.

Any recommendation for how much to add to the oil in a "standard" Spridget? Does it help in the oil of a driver during winter?

Consider our winter can range anywhere from about -12F here to around 45F & and raining constantly.

Here's a picture I took of Snoqualmie Falls on 12/12/09:

 

[DrEntropy]

Use the recommended ratios on the package and you'll be fine. :wink: