micmak

The pump does indeed look new. The car had a full restoration and has only done just a few hundred miles. I will take the bowls off tomorrow and check once again for slivers around the needle valves. If making gaskets out of cornflake boxes will suffice, then that will be my next step after tomorrow’s sliver search! .....Mick.....

I will check for that tomorrow too.

OK Guys, it seems to be everyone’s opinion that the fuel mixture has no impact on the overflowing problem. As the mix seems pretty nice now, I will leave it and look elsewhere for the cause of the problem. The floats are moving freely, on both carbs. They were when I had the carb bowls off a couple of months ago. A couple of months may sound like a long time ago, but it is only about 10 or 12 miles ago! Everything seemed ok at that time. When this originally happened, it was the LHS carb that was overflowing. Today it is the RHS carb. When I had both bowls off before, they were spotless. The mesh in the fuel pump is spotless. And, if there was dirt keeping the valves open, surely they would leak 100% of the time that the engine is running? But there is only a leak when the choke is pushed off and the engine is warmed up to normal running temperature. It seems to me that when the choke is pushed off, there is less need for fuel. But the pump is still supplying the same volume of fuel as when the choke is calling for an excess amount. So, could it not be that the pump is supplying too much fuel for normal warmed-up operation, resulting in spill over? If I were to add gaskets between the block and the fuel pump, where would I get them? Rimmers or one of the other suppliers, or can you make them up yourself? How do I decide how much of a “space” I need between the block and the pump to reduce the pressure? I am guessing its matter of trial and error? Maybe, before I go down that road, I might take the bowls off again and measure the float height. Maybe I should eliminate that before I go messing with the pump.

Well guys, I was out playing with the car again today. It started perfectly. It ran with much less choke than before, which indicates to me that it was indeed two lean before. Now that it is running a little richer, it doesn’t need as much choke, and it can run with much lower revs when the choke is on compared to when it was leaner. So far so good. I was able to gradually push in the choke as it warmed up. When I reached the point where it was warm enough to run with no choke at all, it idled just beautifully. I let it run for a few minutes. Then I noticed drip, drip, drip, once again. I examined exactly where the drip was coming from and it is indeed from the air filter. I had a good look at the brass jet housing on both carbs, they were both dry. I turned off the engine, removed the air filter, and took it apart to let the air dry it all out. Then I looked back at the carbs, only to realize that this time it was actually the front or RHS carb that was overflowing. It gave the impression that it was the left-hand side carb, but in actual fact, the front carb was really drenched in fuel all around the air intake port. I guess it was puking out there and trickling down the housing of the air filter to its lowest spot, which is closer to the left-hand side carb, and dripping from there. So, as I said yesterday, I am back to square one with this problem. I started this thread because of an overflowing carb bowl. And here we are back at the same problem again. What is causing this? I wish there was some way to throttle down the fuel pump. Or is it just a matter of turning back the jet screw a tiny, tiny bit again until I reach that sweet spot between running well and overflowing? By the way yesterday, when I adjusted both carbs, I only opened the brass screw jets, about a quarter of a turn. I suppose logically, I should turn it back the opposite way about an eighth of a turn. Unless some of you have some other solution.

Thanks for the positive comment, Doug. I'm not sure if I agree with you; I often leave the car for days or weeks without touching it, so I am not as dedicated as you suggest! Thanks anyway! .....Mick.....

Good idea. At some time in the future, I think I will put a tap/valve at the tank end of the line. If the line is ever damaged along the length of the car, I can shut off the fuel and replace the line. It probably would have been a good idea for the tank to have a built-in tap/valve on the supply line coming off it. Today, I had to deal with trying to slip the line into a section of hose while the fuel was pouring out all over my hands and sleeves and onto the floor. Messy, but there was really no alternative. …..Mick…..

Sorry dougbgt6 and Pete Lewis. You both chimed in as I was writing my response to Ian T and johny. You both raise good, logical points. I don’t know if the fuel is coming from the air filter or not. I was frustrated and cold and I didn’t care to spend any more time there looking. I will take a more detailed look tomorrow. Thanks Guys. .....Mick.....

Well, you are both putting doubt in my head!!!! I don’t think I loosened the jet assembly and I don’t think there is a leak from the o-ring there either. But it IS possible. As I said, I'd had enough at that point, so I turned it off and gave up for the day.😆 I will re-examine it tomorrow and see exactly where the fuel drip is coming from. Thanks for the encouragement, Guys! .....Mick.....

Well Guys, it feels like the more I work on this little car, the more it likes to play tricks on me. I reinstalled the fuel filter today. I opened the pump and the gauze/mesh was clean. I put it back together and started the car. It started ok as usual, and as it warmed up, I pushed in the choke. I didn’t go for a drive as I was covered in petrol after putting the filter back. It was inclined to stall with less choke, so I just let it run on a bit of choke until it was really good n warm. When warmed up, it was still inclined to die with no choke. I gave it a little more fuel on the bottom jet adjuster of both carbs, and it seemed to idle better. I had to bring down the idle speed a little. I reached a point where I felt that it was running quite well. As I stood there looking at all the throttle and choke linkage, what should I see only drip, drip, drip from the bowl of the LHS carb!!! Back to square 1!!! This is what I started this whole thread for; an overflowing carb bowl. I suppose it is possible that a sliver found its way into the float valve, but I doubt it. Last time, there was nothing there. Also last time, it was the same LHS carb. I suppose I can open it up and see again. Is there any other reason for the carb to dump fuel? Is the pump too strong? Perhaps the LHS carb was ok before I adjusted the jet allowing more fuel in? Perhaps I should turn it back and leave the RHS carb as it is; a little richer? I might do that tomorrow and see what happens, I dunno. All I know is that I had had enough when I saw the drips of fuel. I turned the car off, closed it up, put my tools away and went inside to wash and clean myself up!!!! Enough for now! .....Mick.....

Wow! OK, I will take another look in the morning and make sure the clamps are doing their work properly. Thanks for that. …..Mick…..

Thanks Pete. Yeah it has a metal top with a nut in the centre. I was just afraid that if I opened it, springs and all sorts of intricate parts would fly out all over the place. But if it is serviceable, I will clean it up as you described. Thanks. .....Mick.....

Hi Guys, I have not had a chance today to reassemble the fuel filter in the car. Hopefully tomorrow. But I wondered about the fuel pump. If so much dirt was in the filter, and if tiny slivers of rubber can get through to the carbs, is there any need to take the fuel pump apart and clean it too? Can it be taken apart at all? Is there any point? Just wondering….. Thanks. …..Mick…..

Thanks Guys. I have washed the filter and all its parts. All the pieces are sitting on a radiator where they will stay until tomorrow, at the earliest. I didn't see any rubbery slivers among the dirt. When I had the carb bowls off a few weeks ago, there were none there either, so I think I am ok in that regard. It is hard to say if the sandy-looking stuff is rust or not. But just in case, I guess the old idea of never letting the fuel tank get really low, now applies more than ever. Let's hope that this will solve my problem, although I have my doubts as fuel was still getting through the dirt in the filter. But only time will tell. I hope to get a chance to reassemble it tomorrow and get some fresh fuel for a test. Thanks Guys. .....Mick.....

Hi Guys, Since I got this car and realized it’s problems, I have suspected fuel starvation. What I couldn’t understand is how it was ok at times, and really bad at other times. A few days ago, while increasing the idle to stop the engine from stalling, I noticed the fuel filter was not filled with petrol. I thought that it should be totally filled at all times, so much so, that you could hardly tell if it was empty or full through the glass. Today, I decided to take it out. Little did I know that all the fuel in the tank would puke all over the place, but I managed to get a piece of hose on to the line and stop the hemorrhaging. I lost lots of fuel onto the chassis and onto the floor of the garage. And so on to the filter; It was far from clean. As you can see in the pics, there was a lot of cloth/fabric-like bits in it, almost like carpet fluff, along with sand-like bits. In the last pic, you see all the dirt that came out onto a clean white piece of cardboard. My question now is how do I clean the filter? I was tempted to literally rinse it out under running water and leave it to dry indoors near a radiator for a day or two before assembling. Is that good enough? The filter doesn’t seem to be damaged or dirty beyond a good cleaning. What should I do? By the way, I looked at the hose at the top of the tank to see if it was perished as Pete suggested, but it is new looking and in good condition.

I have had mice nests made from that pink fibreglass insulation stuff. I found it stuffed in behind the front grille during 3 separate Winters. I have had the same insulation under the gearstick housing, and I have had it in the valley of the V on a V6 engine. Luckily, the mice never did any actual damage to the cars. All that activity happened in spite of having snap traps, sticky pads, dryer sheets and mothballs all over the garage floor. I had the dryer sheets and some mothballs inside the cars too. From my experience, it is not possible to eliminate mice, because more and more seem to move in to get out of the cold. But you may be lucky and keep them to a minimum.

Thanks, Iain and Pete. I hope to have the opportunity to take a look again tomorrow. .....Mick.....

Hi Folks, well, here I am again in a place that I thought was behind me. I thought I had resolved my fuel mix/ignition timing issues from a few weeks ago. I parked the car then, and I had not touched it until this afternoon, some 5 or 6 weeks later. The car started fine, but it seemed to need a lot of choke in order to stay running. I drove off and gradually eased off the chock, as you do, and continued to drive. When the temp gauge reached the half way area, I pushed in the choke completely. The car didn’t like that, and it started to feel “lumpy”! I decided that all was not well, so I figured it might be prudent to return home. I pulled over the side of the road to make a U-turn, and as soon as I came to a stop, the engine died. It didn’t want to restart! I gave it some choke and it did eventually start. But in order to keep it idling, I had to keep the choke out and the engine running really high. I headed for home. On the way, I slowly and gradually pushed the choke in. Again, the car didn’t like it. While driving along, I put my foot on the clutch and the engine died immediately. I released the clutch to re-engage the engine and it came back to life, but felt terrible with no choke. It died two more times when I was turning corners and had my foot off the throttle. The only way to get it started again was with almost full choke. I finally got home, and there was no way the car would idle without a lot of choke and with the idle really high. I played around with the idle and brought it up to the point where I could push the choke off. It idled, but not very smoothly. I suspect some sort of fuel starvation issue, otherwise why would it demand so much choke? There was no overflowing at the carbs or anything unusual looking. So, my question to you experienced experts out there is: What has happened since I last drove the car a few weeks ago? It wasn't perfect back then, but it was better than today. What has changed? And how has anything changed at all? And finally, what should my next step be? I never did establish if the timing was correct before I adjusted by ear a few weeks ago. I suppose that should be my next step, and then consider the fuel adjustments. But I am open to any ideas or suggestions. Thanks. .....Mick.....

Well Pete, I have a similar situation here at home. I am in a rural area, and my nearest neighbor has a large barn with 7 or 8 horses, in for the Winter. It is located about 350 or 400 feet from my house. I had my garage extended at the beginning of this year and it has many, many gaps and openings. The walls of this part of the garage are constructed with corrugated-type steel sheets. So, at ground level, there are openings at each “fold” of the corrugated grooves. In the last few weeks, it seems to turning into a mouse highway! I doubt if I will ever completely solve this problem. Being in the countryside, I would expect some mice to come in from the fields at this time of year seeking warmth. But with the horse barn so close, and with double the number of horses in it since last Winter, I suppose this problem is magnified. I just hope that the wiring, carpets, upholstery etc. in all the cars remains intact. I will get everything I can to kill and/or discourage mice. .....Mick.....

Yikes! I have not seen any rats, thankfully. But mice can be very destructive. I have seen cars that were destroyed by them. So I plan on doing everything I can to get rid of them,and discourage any new ones from invading my garage.

I used the sticky pads in Canada too, They are ok, but i didn’t find them any more effective than a snap-trap. The dryer sheets didn’t stop mice for me. They MAY have reduced the numbers of mice, but I certainly still had the problem even though I used dryer sheets all over the place. I used mothballs too. The smell from them deters mice, but I still got SOME mice even though I had dozens of them all over my garage. I guess all I can do is employ all of the methods and see what happens.

I tried them before. Unfortunately, they need a clear line of sight in order to work. What I mean is, the wheels from your car will block them from “beaming out”, if you know what I mean. Anything that is on the floor of your garage, will block them. So in theory they work very well. But in practice, in a garage situation, they just don’t work.

I tried the cat option years ago. It didn’t work. The cat never caught even one mouse, and to my absolute horror, I saw her one day climbing up onto the roof of one of the cars, scratching her way into the paintwork in the process. I gave the cat away the very next day.

Hi Johny, Thanks for mentioning me in relation to the wheels. To answer your question: nothing has happened! I have done nothing and I never found suitable wheels. In the meantime, thanks to a recurring hand injury, and the weather getting colder, I have done nothing to any of the cars for weeks. I have not even started them! Maybe I will get the inclination to take them out in the next few days, if the roads are dry. I am suddenly concerned about the cars too, because I saw a mouse in the garage. I caught him, and then a second, then a third, etc etc. In total, I have caught about 10 in a week. I just hope they have not chewed anything in the cars. I had problems like this in Canada years ago, but I was lucky in that they never actually damaged the cars. I don't know if mice are more harmful or less so on this side of the Atlantic. But what can I do except keep trying to catch them.

The ET figure seems to be blank, Johny. Strange....

I don’t know the seller at all, so if I go ahead, I will be putting my trust in him and hoping for the best. He has 165/70 R14 tyres on the rims, and they look to be in good condition. Below is a photo of the inside of one of the wheels.