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Spitfire Spit was running great

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doates

doates

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Took the Spit out on Saturday for about 20 miles; ran great, hit 70 on the freeway. Put it in the garage and yesterday would not start. Finally got it running well enough to get it out of the garage and it died, very difficult to start. Messed around with the carbs and got it so that it will start, run fast for 2-3 secs and then die.

Specifics:
HS2 Carbs now set at starting point - idle 1-1/2 turns in, mixture 12 flats out

Dwell - 40* or 0.015" point gap
Timing - hard to tell but not too far off

Any ideas

Thanks in Advance

Dennis
 
Need more details on "would not start".

But ... after running great at 70mph, I'm betting you've got crud in the fuel lines and/or carb jets. Old fuel tank, bumping along on the roads at speed - loosens up the sediment. Which is then magically pumped along the lines to the engine.

Check fuel filter. Then further along the line toward the engine (pump, bowls, jets, etc.).

Just my two cents.
Tom
 
It sounds like you have already addressed all the ignition settings. Therefor, try to start the engine again. As soon as the engine stalls/dies, remove the float bowl lids on both carbs and see how much (and if) fuel is in the bowls.
 
I agree with all who said fuel problems. I have the same problem with my Herald every few months. Gas eats the crud off the inside of the tank and it goes everywhere. I need to Por15 the inside of the tank one of these days.
 
I had the same issue with my spitfire tank. But I found all the coating from the PO who redid the tank came off and clogged the fuel line. I ended up cleaning everything I could out and then had a 1 inch long pipe installed into the tank with holes drilled in it to let gas through and this way the sediment would sit on the bottom of the tank and not clog up the intake. I can't run the car dry now and always need to make sure I have a gallon left in the tank but the issue went away.

The real fix would be to have the tank boiled out again and relined but this works for now.

This is a trick they do in old farm trackers when new tanks can't be gotten or you need a quick fix.
 
Dennis, if it makes you feel any better the TR8 just had the same thing happen....

You'll get it sorted, just remember only one change at a time.

Keep us posted on how you are getting on.
 
Dennis,

If you've got good fuel flow, check out the condenser. Plug an ignition wire on a spare plug and see if you get a strong blue spark. I went through several bad/weak condensers that made a weak, yellowish spark.

Aloha - Jeff
 
Thanks Everyone...I won't be able to get to it for a couple days but I will be looking for plugged up stuff and weak sparks. I will let you know what I find.
 
I promised to report back and I feel like I could start the thread all over; with the same title. Changed the fuel filter, cleaned the carbs and float bowls, blew carb cleaner backward through the jet and changed the float valves but no obvious crud build up. Solid white spark on the plugs. Reset the carbs and it purred like a kitten. Took it for a little drive and it was running so well that I was thinking about taking for a spin in the country but I needed more gas. Just as I was thinking about turning around to get gas it hiccuped and then died, got it started but with barely enough power to move the car. Stalled several times in two miles and then suddenly started running great again, then just a block from home it died and I couldn't get it started again because of my starter solenoid dying. So I had to have it towed home (1 block, uphill).

My neighbor, an MG owner (but I don't hold that against him) suggested maybe the fuel pump.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance

Dennis
 
You might try opening the gas cap. You'll be testing the gas tank ventillation. If it's not venting properly, a vacuum will build and inhibit gas flow to the fuel pump.
 
Could be either, but sounds more like electrical to me. Fuel pumps rarely 'fix' themselves, in my experience, but wires that only conduct sometimes are almost common.

How did the spark look when it wouldn't start?

Not too uncommon for the wires to the points to break internally, since they flex constantly. That includes both the hot wire from the side of the distributor, and the ground wire to the point plate. Take them loose and check the resistance, while pulling gently on the wire.

The TR3 was running kind of poorly, thought maybe it was time for new points; then it wouldn't start at all in the rain the other day. With the hood open, I spotted a tiny spark between the distributor cap and one of the clips! New dizzy cap & it's been running great ever since.
 
Somewhat less likely, but I've personally experienced both:

1. coil on its way out; breaks down internally as it heats up but is fine again once it cools down

2. small bit of something floating around in the gas tank that occasionally makes its way to and effectively blocks the outlet
 
Hey, Dennis. Could be the fuel pump - especially considering the fuel in the tank was low.

While it's not happened to me, it also sounds like a coil problem as reported by others. It gets hot and spark becomes intermittent.
 
It appears that it was the condenser; either the connection at the points or the condenser itself. The condenser wire and the coil wire are held in place by the spring on the points and that seemed kind of funky. When I changed the condenser I made sure that these wires mated properly. Now it is running like a new car. I have put about 40 miles on it stopping and restarting and everything is smooth.

What does a condenser do?

Thanks for all the help

Dennis
 
doates said:
What does a condenser do?
Click to expand...
Basically, it keeps the spark from jumping the points instead of the plugs. The voltage on the low tension side is much lower than the high side of course, but it still shoots up to several hundred volts when the points have just barely begun to open. Without the condenser, it will jump the tiny gap and bleed off energy from the coil that would otherwise go into firing the plug. You may still get enough to fire the plugs in open air, but under compression (inside the engine) it won't be enough.

The spring on the points is actually the conductor out to the points themselves, so the coil & condenser wires need to be in firm contact with the spring. A loose or bad connection there could cause just what you describe. In addition the condenser has to be securely grounded. I've had the screw work loose and cause similar symptoms.
 
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