Iain T

As far as I can see fuel enters via the slot in the disc and is then collected in the cavity created by this disc and the separate dished disc, when the assembly is further rotated fuel exits via the graduated holes to both carbs. Therefore fuel can escape by various routes a) poor fitting/scored disc to carb body b) poor seal from disc to dished disc c) along the shaft to the outside world through worn outer body sleeve. I have adjusted the fast idle to give about 1300 rpm max as before it was over 2000 which is not within spec. However it may be that this small lift in the throttle spindle is, in my case not, enough to suck all the fuel out of the 'disc chamber'. I have a Huco low pressure, 2.1 psi I think, fuel pump which shouldn't make any difference so I will give the fast idle a tweak to get more sucky sucky! It is difficult to know exactly where the fuel is coming from, I suppose the last port of call is to take the carbs off and see if the pick up tube rattles (apparently that's a good omen) and if there are any other obstructions. Good point is the new Burlen diaphragms give a nice even tick over and pick up but having fuel around a hot exhaust manifold is not ideal even if the leak looks as though it does stop when the choke is pushed in. In writing that is does rule out a leak between the rotating disc and the carb body. I'll report back tomorrow, had to do one of my two days a month back at work today.......I thought I was retired! Cheers

The whole design seems flawed as I would not expect mating bare metal parts to, over time, maintain a seal. Plus there is nothing to stop the fuel from creeping up the brass (there's no seal) shaft then out of the outer body...barmy. I'm going to try a seal and washer behind the dishes disc. Fuel seems to be getting to the rear carb, not sure about the ball valve in the pick up pipe. As that involves taking the bowl off I'll try the seal first to rectify what seems to me a poor design. Watch this space!

I have pertronix Flame thrower 2 coil which gives a bigger punch than standard (well big enough shock to jangle your gonads if mishandled) so hopefully OK. I've used Green Spark before I'll order from them.

It is these pixie steps that make our cars more reliable. Iain

Roger, you've converted me I'll try the WR78's. There are there are enough other things on the car for me to tinker with/stop falling off/breaking.......etc Iain

I have recently stripped down the choke mechanism on my 150 CDS as part of a campaign to reduce the amount of engine cranking from cold. The discs are now in the correct orientation and I cleaned up all surfaces with 1500 wet and dry however the mechanism is leaking petrol. It may always have done so as the front cab always had a soggy bottom but I would obviously like to sort it out. If I now take it that the nice flat polished surfaces ( I used our quartz kitchen worktop as a flat base for the wet and dry, don't tell the wife) are petrol tight the only way fuel can escape is down the brass shaft. Over the years although there is a bush in the outer housing the shaft fits in there like the proverbial p***k in a bucket. It seems the way to stop or reduce the leak is to a) re-bush but that will only reduce it b) fit a grommet and washer between the spring and dished disc thereby stopping the petrol from creeping up the shaft c) fit a ring gasket on the shaft between the actuating lever and the outer body. Before you ask I do have a gasket between the cab body and choke. Has anyone else experienced this? As always any other suggestions welcome (just keep them clean'ish) The clocks running who will answer first Pete, Doug, ANO? Iain

Done a bit of digging re multi-electrode plugs and as the spark will always fire to the path of least resistance ie the closest electrode I can't see the advantage. Perhaps as there are more electrodes when one wears the next one takes over to give longer non maintenance life but having a classic car is all about tinkering. Agree with Pete don't buy anything with R suffix just play around to get the correct temperature plug for how you drive and the tune state of your engine. I have NGK BP6ES on my Vitesse, standard is BP5ES for a Spitfire 1500. Iain

I agree with Mjit, it depends on how far you want to go and how deep your pockets are. I would have gone for a 123 distributor but they do not make one with a rev counter take-off, for me the Pertronix has been very stable. Nick I like the look of the multi-electrode spark plugs, I'll put them on my Christmas list!

I went for pertronix Ignitor 2 on my vitesse, again from Aldon. Phone them and they will advise on various systems. Smooths out tick over and gives a big spark so you can open up the plug gaps.

Pete, I'll try that tomorrow. I can feel the road rumble through the footwell and steering wheel. Only slight but when new the car was very smooth and quiet. I've had several BMW's and normally no trouble but this one has had two recalls and loads of niggling problems. The tyres have only done 1500 miles but I will be going back to tyre company.

The new diaphragm from Burlen arrived today in its Zenith bag, covered in baby talc and gossamer thin. A few months ago when the bought the service kits from Burlen the diaphragms were loose in the boxes and quiet deformed, perhaps they were not new? The little voice in my ear said at the time 'don't fit them' but I didn't know how old the ones in the carbs were so I went ahead.....bad decision. Today I fitted the new diaphragm to the piston that was holding off the bridge and all's well, drops to a clonk and stays there. I'll be talking to Burlen tomorrow to see if I can blag another one out of them because to my mind it was their bad quality part that's at fault. The 2 from Chic should be here tomorrow and I'll compare with the new Burlen part. Now I only have to refit the choke mechanism and attempt to start the engine (with lots of cranking) then adjust. On another note has anyone any experience fitting 7B needles on a Vit MK2 with Phoenix 6-3-1 exhaust, gas flowed head and hotter cam? The carbs currently have 6AC fitted. Possibly sorted one problem but my modern BMW 4 series has developed a grumbling road noise from the front end, I've had it 4 wheel aligned, new horrible Pirelli run flats (it's done 40k miles), known service widget problem on the steering and finally today new wheel bearings.....nothings worked. I will take it somewhere else to see if the front end alignments are ok and the tyres not scrubbing, I can't see any wear as I now rarely use the car. Plus the cruise control warning light that has been coming on almost since I bought the car new has now been diagnosed by a BMW specialist as the SZL unit and cost several hundreds of pounds!!!! However the BMW dealers could never find the problem...'cos it was under guarantee and it would be at their cost!!! Lying cheating BMW main dealer buggers. I feel much better after that rant modern cars are just too damn complicated. Time for some rum! Iain

will do interweb posty thingy said should be with me Friday.

Chris, if you don't want to tackle it yourself speak to Richfield Speedograph they refurb instruments but be prepared to pay! I have a Ford type 9 gearbox in my Vitesse and they (Richard if I remember) supplied a right angle drive so the speedo cable wasn't bent to so tight a radius it kept on snapping. One of the many issues I had with the hapless quality of work I had at Jigsaw and had to sort out myself.

Thanks Pete, I'll buy the ones from Chic. I must say yet again thank you all for your help.😁 Iain

Pete, yes I found them but are they any good or is another leap in the dark. I will see how the new burlen diaphragm fits, hopefully today.

Just remembered today is Sainsbury's day! There's also a Halfords on the same estate. You can see from the photos the ridge in the diaphragm is a series of flats (remember the old threepenny bits?) so to my mind this gives more resistance to the required up and down motion of the piston. This ridge should be round in plan view to give even resistance. This raised piston and dodgy diaphram problem probably accounts for my uneven tickover? Doug, looked on Ebay etc and can't find any OE spec parts if the diaphragm from Burlen doesn't work can I purchase two from you? PM me if it's possible. Cheers

Keeps my wife amused, she says I'm a silly arse......I know I am. Haven't owned a classic car for 15 years, I am remembering the pain! Now if I could only remember what day it is.....

Why is it always one step forward and two back, and I still haven't tackled the poor starting!

However I will try refitting the cap to see if I can get the piston to stay down.

Thanks all, I seem to have the Midas touch on buying 'quality'crap. I screwed the tops down evenly, the piston doesn't stick it just bounces back.... I'll take a look on eBay for OE spec diaphragms.

Just spoken to chap at Burlen who said 'never heard of that before and I've been here 12 years'. Well he has now! I changed over the front and rear piston/diaphragm assembly and the rear carb with the front piston assembly drops then bounces back..? The front carb with the rear piston assembly drops down and stays on the bridge so it must be a problem with the front diaphragm. With the diaphragms removed both pistons drop to the bridge. I assume as both kits came from Burlen the diaphragms are made in the same injection mould tool but perhaps the material mix varies giving different properties. I have ordered one new diaphragm from Burlen as I don't know what else to do. Shouldn't have played with the carbs but I get bored and I wanted to give them a good clean up so I thought why not. Well they are now cleaner but don't work properly! Iain

Yep, jets are centred and springs fitted, although I haven't checked they are the same length, strength etc. Just read Pete's posting on 'spot the carb' thread and it seems I have one diaphragm made from 'elephant condoms' because it clonks down then rebounds. Even with the dampers out the front piston is harder to push down than the rear. I should never have changed the old ones they were gossamer thin and no holes, the new ones are from WW2 condoms! Burlen are supposed to be a good supplier, any idea where I can buy some thin and floppy diaphragms as I threw my old ones away.....grrrrrrrr. Iain

Dear Forum Still trying to sort out why my Vitesse Mk2 is a pig to start from cold. I have managed to work out how the choke mechanism disc on the CDS is oriented so that when rotated fuel goes through the disc slot and then the (now cleared) two sets of graduated holes let fuel through to enrich the carbs. But on refitting the choke mechanism I noticed the piston on the front carb is not sitting on the bridge but some 3+mm high. The rear piston sits on the bridge. I took the caps off both carbs and both pistons fall to the bridge but as soon as I put the caps on and lift the pistons the front piston does drop to the bridge with a clunk but then 'rebounds' back to about 3mm high of the bridge. The rear carb piston drops, clunks, and stays there. Although this may not resolve the starting problem but to me both pistons should be equal??? I have seen posts saying the thickness and quality of the diaphragms varies but both are from new Burlen kits. I have double, double checked the diaphragm tabs are correctly located it just seems the front diaphragm is too strong. Am I being too nitpicky? Iain

Just following on from the club music theme earlier in the posts. If I am correct then the front carb is not working properly. I have my own issues with the 150 cds choke mechanism on my mk2. Iain

Hi Paula As it's cold and damp today I'm trying to get out of cleaning the car so I thought I'd surf the forum. I'm no expert but looking at your video it looks like I can see the needle retaining screw hole on the left hand carb, in that case I believe the piston is 90 degrees out. The two slots at the bottom of the piston should face the inlet manifold in which case the retaining screw hole is facing the side of the carb? If it is wrong then the diaphragm is also not seated correctly. I'm sure 'the experts' in our forum will either shoot me down or agree. Iain PS in the late 60's/early 70's I used to go to the Westcliff Hotel Essex as they had some great groups there, Focus (Dutch), Vinegar Joe (early Elkie Brooks), Roxy Music, Can (German) etc. Then there was also the Kursaal Southend, I saw Hawkwind in about '71/72 and they still had Stacey naked and daubed in body paint dancing on stage....aaah the memories!!!!