strange occurences in 76 midget

[kmcormick9]

maybe you guys can help me out with this; i was stopped at a stoplight in the midget today, and when it turned green i started out like i normally do and the car just cut off. when i finally got it started again (using the choke) i had to use a lot of throttle to get it going again. the car shuddered and hesitated in first and second. it felt like the clutch was slipping but the car kept pulling. when i stopped and checked the carb, my fuel filter was empty.(no gas)
a few extra notes, occasionally i now hear a pop from the general area of the carb while im driving. i also do not have either a heat shield or an air filter at the moment
any ideasof what this might be?

 

[kmcormick9]

i drove home and it did not start sluggishly until i was almost home (20 min drive)

 

[Andre the Giant]

There are a lot of possibilities. I had similar problems on my 79 Midget. My problem turned out to be the choke assembly was loose and it was causing the carburettor to run incredibly rich. In your case it could be that the fuel pump is going bad.

Here are a few questions about your situation.

Do you smell a strong fuel odor when the car is running?
Does the car run poorly when cold, warm, or all the time?
Do I understand that you're running without an airfilter?

 

[kmcormick9]

i just put a new fuel pump on it a week ago, i hope its not bad yet. i never smell any fuel except when i just start it. my chrome filter assembly was damaged by a shop and will no longer go on so for now i have no air filter. the car came with no heat shield.

 

[Webb Sledge]

My dad had a problem like that in his 1983 Mercedes 190E. It could be that your car is to lean or to rich, and then when you give it gas, it either gets to much air or to much gas. That's only if it isn't idling right though.

 

[William]

Take a peek at the sparkplugs-their condition (colors at the electrode end) can tell you if it's running rich. Most shop manuals have pictures of plugs in different conditions. Also, make sure that the fuel lines going to and from the fuel pump are in good shape-when I replaced the pump on my old '76 Midget one of them got damaged, and wasn't passing as much fuel as it was supposed to.
-William

 

[Dave Thielke]

I had a similar seeming fault on my 75 Spit and spent a lot of time and frustration on cleaning and replacing filters, fuel hoses, resetting the carb etc. Finally updated the Lucas electronic dist. & cured the problem.
However, if you just replaced the fuel pump and this started and the downstream filter is dry, I would sure suspect the fuel pump again as Andre sugested.
Good luck & have fun.
Dave T

 

[wolfman]

Couple of comments, don't know if they will help. First - Went through a similar situation with my 76 Midget. A few different things compounded it. Dry (or appearance of dry) fuel filter - Not necessarily a problem - mine runs with about 1/4 - 1/2" of fuel in the bottom. Remove the fuel line from the carb, run it to a can, is fuel delivered? Attach a pressure gauge, what is the delivery pressure?
Fuel pump - New is not necessarily good. I replaced 3 before one worked. Again is fuel delivered to the carb and at what pressure? Heat shield - don't know how critical it is on a Zenieth - replaced mine with a weber - No heat shield and on the advice of Weber tuning, I did not attached the coolant heating line to the manifold.

To continue with the fuel system - my fuel delivery now became intermittent. Two other things to check - Is your tank ventilation system plugged or restricted? Restricted will cause it to run fine until you get on the gas for a distant and a vacuum builds in the tank. When was the last time you replaced the charcoal in the canister, or have you converted to a vented gas cap. Last but not least - What is the condition of the inside of the tank. Rusty? have some larger junks? The suction pickup line has a fine screen covering it. If this is plugged it will restrict flow. I ended up removing the screen, and cleaning/coating the tank. Caution it is a bit** to remove the screen and once removed, you should put a filter on the pump suction. That should take care of most fuel delivery items (oh ya, clean, blow out, and or replace the fuel line. It is small and can be kinked or partially blocked).

The ignition comment is also something to look at, you said this happened when taking off from a light. When stopped, the heat concentrated under the hood. A weak ignition system will give very similar indications, especially a weak coil that is starting to break down.

Just a few observations and personnal experiences.

 

[StevenA]

Try ALL the suggestions above...all good ideas. But, get that filter on there. Mine runs very different with the air filter removed...most of the time it runs worse. I worked on one of my Bs over the weekend and had the filter removed; it "gulped" until I replaced it and adjusted from there.

 

[kmcormick9]

thanks guys. i replaced the fuel filter today because that was the only thing i coud be motivated to do.......

it was gross and some black fluids were dripping out of the old one. i havent had it out today but if that doesnt do it, i will start by adjusting my mixture and spark