fuel flow problems

Hi Nick,  thanks for this excellent advice - all these sensible suggestions had been tried at various times during the extended period when I was suffering from these problems. After fixing the electrical fault and previously making everything else as good as possible I now have a car that wants to go. The final thing that really released its power was to slightly change the route of the two tail pipes (previously they were partially obstructed by the rear bumper) and now I have a car that goes as fast as I dare to drive it (limited by the brakes, tyres, road and traffic conditions and a sensible rev limit for such an old long stroke engine) - the national speed limit, up hill, is easily attained with lots of power in reserve.  I just need to sort out the cooling system next - but I am getting close with that as well!!  all the best  Dave Posted by DaveT 07/10/2013 04:44:39

Have you eliminated a leaking manifold . Posted by ErnestConstable 12/10/2013 12:10:50

Dave - have/did you ever finally sorted out your issue to your 100% satisfaction?  One of my own personal peeves with online forums is that often the original poster finds a solution, of interest to many, but then never post the findings.  So, curious of your current status.  With thanks and best regards. Posted by johnlayzell 16/02/2014 13:46:21

Hello John,  As reported above, I still "have a car that goes as fast as I dare to drive it (limited by the brakes, tyres, road and traffic conditions and a sensible rev limit for such an old long stroke engine) - the national speed limit, up hill, is easily attained with lots of power in reserve". We drove 100 miles each way to the Brooklands VSCC driving trials a couple of weeks ago - no issues to report, except it makes such a fantastic noise going through the Dartford Tunnel and continues to surprise motorists in modern cars!  This winter I have refurbished and made new veneered pieces for the dashboard etc, modified the cooling system (reluctantly, I have removed the incorrect thermostat and installed a manual tap in the bypass route to maximize cooling in the summer), repaired the hood in 2 places, shampooed and cleaned the carpets, so hopefully have moved on from poor and unreliable running for the next few months.  [url=http://s129.photobucket.com/user/bstbn/media/IMG_0022_zps61f0d48d.jpg.html:nvtva5uu][img:nvtva5uu]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p234/bstbn/IMG_0022_zps61f0d48d.jpg[/img:nvtva5uu][/url:nvtva5uu]  Now I am distracted from the Alvis, starting to put my Jensen 541R back together. Posted by DaveT 16/02/2014 17:12:55

Many thanks, Dave!  Great to hear of your progress.  Well done!  I'd love to see a photo of your bypass manual tap, to see if you've done a better job than my rather industrial looking solution.  Best wishes, and good luck with the Jensen. Posted by johnlayzell 18/02/2014 03:43:29

Hi Dave,  I had what looks like a similar problem on my 20 SA during the recent 1000 Mile Trial. It happened twice, in both cases going up on a steep hill, where the car would not develop enough power to climb up the road...  I was towed up on one occasion (to save the clutch that was being punished during the attempts...) and after realising that fuel was reaching the carbs inlet pipe, a gentle knock on the carbs with a wood hammer seemed to have cured the problem.  The (provisional) verdict was that the float on one of the carburettors was getting stuck preventing fuel access to two cylinders...  The problem is being further investigated now. Posted by desousa 10/08/2014 18:46:10

Hi,  next time it happens try to provoke a possible electrical fault by putting the headlights on at the same time. This is not guaranteed to identify an electrical fault, but if the engine flutters and splutters even more when the electrical load is increased, then you need to look for a loose electrical connection somewhere. otherwise I would be looking at the float chambers or the ignition.   Also, when you point the car uphill the fuel level around the feed pipe may be lower than normal within the main fuel tank - a partially split fuel feed pipe out of the tank can give trouble. When the split is above the surface of the petrol, the pumps tries to suck in air instead of fuel. Try going to fuel reserve to use the other feed pipe, but make sure the bottom of the tank is not full of debris first! Alternatively keep the tank topped up. Posted by DaveT 11/08/2014 11:43:32

Dave,  Have you had the balance pipe apart? There are gaskets underneath the clamps which can fail/age. It isn't unknown for these to cause problems. Nice and accessable, so worth investigating.  Cheers  Angus Posted by Angus D'Arcy-Drake 13/08/2014 08:25:00