vinda saax Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 My Vitesse has a 2.5 litre saloon engine fitted (in 1972)I dont get a lot of time to drive it but when i do there is never any fuel in the glass bowl reservoir so i have to disconnect the fuel line and suck the fuel through which always results in me getting a mouthful ! thus creating a reluctance to drive what is a lovely fun car.Any ideas as to what I can do to avoid another mouthful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Flinn Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 Vinda Welcome to the Forum, your Fuel pump should have a Priming Lever at the bottom, if you operate it up and down for a few seconds until you see fuel appearing in the Glass chamber the car should then start after a couple of turns on the starter? I used to have to do this with my Vitesse if I left if for any length of time, as the Fuel would drain back or evaporate, never did know which? Regards Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 As Gary says, there's a manual prime lever. No need to disconnect anything. Even without that, a battery conditioner should leave you always with enough charge to crank it for the twenty or thirty seconds it needs to prime on the starter. That approach also helps feed some oil round before the bearings see any stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 Keeping the tank pretty full when left should also help and reduces corrosion in it as well. However if left too long it's more petrol to go stale😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 you may not have have a priming lever ???? then an electric low psi pump would solve the lack of whatever the reason if you do have a hand prime then the engine may need a short turn to get the pump off the cam or the lever will do very little as the pump diaphragm is held in its down position. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 If you decide to go down the electric fuel pump route I’ve fitted a Huco and it works well , you get the comforting tic tic tic when the ignition is switched on , I can post the installation instructions if you want Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 1 hour ago, vinda saax said: My Vitesse has a 2.5 litre saloon engine fitted (in 1972)I dont get a lot of time to drive it but when i do there is never any fuel in the glass bowl reservoir Is there any smell of petrol? My Delco (with the glass bowl) has started to leak; the rubber seal appears to have perished and if you look at the body of the pump there's always wet fuel seeping out. After a few days the bowl is empty, but it's not leaking fast enough to make me spot a leak straight away. I'm trying to source new seals at present, so will update in case anyone else needs any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 Vinda, I have drain back on mine as well, a couple of days and it's OK, but a week and it's noticeable. A month and it takes 30 seconds of churning unless I use the self primer. There's no damage done in 30 second's churning, the oil will come up just as quickly as if it started straight away. All you need is a charged battery, you might like to think about a trickle charger. Alternatively you may try a refurb kit, the pump is not supposed to drain back, but I've not had great success with them. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 do make sure the short hose to the top of the tank/reserve lever pipe is secure they are often unseen . go hard and suck air . poor choke operation will also stop a cold start , check on strombergs the disc holes are clear , if it has a later carb with a winter /summer choke stop that its set to winter and on SU you really do drop the jet fully . pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 37 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said: Alternatively you may try a refurb kit, the pump is not supposed to drain back, but I've not had great success with them. I've done a couple of glass bowl pumps with refurb kits over the years (actually both for the same car, though it had an engine change between, which meant the original pump no longer fitted). I found it to be an easy and effective job both times, no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 Also just to add the carbs tend to evaporate the fuel due to the heat under the bonnet after you have used the car. Just walk around a line of Vitesse and GT6 at a show on a hot day, you can spell the petrol. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 It’s just me then ☹️ db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 45 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said: It’s just me then ☹️ db Doug, I can confirm the lack of fuel at the pump, the time gap appears to depend on if its cold or hot weather. Shorter with hot weather. Again refurbed the pump and it made no difference. I agree the delay does help pump the oil up. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinda saax Posted March 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2020 On 27/03/2020 at 11:34, Gary Flinn said: Vinda Welcome to the Forum, your Fuel pump should have a Priming Lever at the bottom, if you operate it up and down for a few seconds until you see fuel appearing in the Glass chamber the car should then start after a couple of turns on the starter? I used to have to do this with my Vitesse if I left if for any length of time, as the Fuel would drain back or evaporate, never did know which? Regards Gary Hi Gary I think I tried that but not sure, its been a good few months since I drove it,but ill give it ago tomorrow.Fingers crossed! Thanks for your feedback. Vinda 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 I put an in line fuel tap just before the fuel pump to stop this. Also works as an imobilser. Just remember to turn it to 'open' before you try to start up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 You could put an inline electric solenoid petrol valve from a LPG conversion before the pump. I fitted one to my parents Alvis 12/50 Ducktail and it was operated off the oil pressure switch so the car wouldnt start till it had oil pressure after it had been standing for several days/weeks/months. It also had an electric fuel pump as we relocated the tank to the dickey seat area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 2 hours ago, ahebron said: I fitted one to my parents Alvis 12/50 Ducktail Nice!! Am I correct that they didn't have a fuel pump originally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 7 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said: Nice!! Am I correct that they didn't have a fuel pump originally? Original tank sat above your feet and gravity fed the carbs. When they bought that car it could not climb the hill out of Dunedin so it got shipped to Wellington. It kept running out of fuel, but it must have had other problems as these cars have been driven up hills many times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinda saax Posted April 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 thanks for all the feedback every one. I got it started and had a drink at the same time! in doing so i noticed fuel coming out of the bottom of one of the carbs,I will investigate and see if this makes it easier to start, meanwhile its running beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted April 11, 2020 Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 10 hours ago, vinda saax said: i noticed fuel coming out of the bottom of one of the carbs Vinda, There's current thread on here about fuel dripping out of carbs, might be your problem to, worth a look! Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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