Alfre Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 RayI forgot to mention that the flaper valve on the bottom of the iner tank.Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfre Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Ray for some reason all I wrote did not show missing is [must seal when pumping] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 No worries about the vac tank Al. I have just completed a full rebuild of mine so have a pretty good idea how they work. It's not linked to the starting problems I have been experiencing which is more likely to be either damp electrics, flooded carb or bad ground. (Or a combination). Snow'd in at the moment - even my 4x4 is struggling!When I get chance I will try out all the suggestions and hopefully report back with some success.The strange thing is that the car wouldn't start despite my drying everything out as best I could with paper towels (all I had at the time) and got a spark at the plugs with fuel in the carb and choke out fully. With plenty of compression it should have fired up. Nothing had been changed from when it last ran. I will also check that there is no water in the cylinders - either condensation or a gasket leak.It will probably fire up first time! Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfre Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Rayhave you checked if the plugs are wet? With all you have done they may need to be warmed to dry out.I live in what some call the snow belt of the eastern end lake Ontario nominally at this time of year we have three foot of snow on the ground as of today we have no snow but it is cold, right now it's 15F.Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcar Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 I have just noticed that you are in England, talk to Anthony Bryant, Brundish, Suffolk. He has lots of experience with early Dodges and he is not all that far from you. You can get his phone number from Directory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gundog99 Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 " The coil and condensor are O.K. I am sure" I think you need to make absolutely sure these are working properly. How new is the battery and is it heave duty?just because it turns the engine over does not necessary mean the car will start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 (edited) Yes Gundog I probably do need to be more certain about the coil and condensor before making assumptions. I tested for a spark by placing a plug against the head and turning the engine over by hand. Although there was a fat spark at the plug, there is no way to be sure that the spark will not be suppressed under compression. While the coil primary winding may be checked easiy, the secondary can fail by shorting internally but this usually only happens when hot or under load rather than causing a cold start problem. A check should read about 3 to 3.5 ohms for a non ballasted 12 volt coil or 1.5 to 1.9 ohms for a balusted 6 volt coil but what it is for a standard 6 volt coil I don't know. There was a good 6 volts passing through the coil with the ignition on and the points closed and opening them produced a small white spark so I would assume from this that the condensor is O.K. If it had been faulty a large cracking blue spark would have shown that the condensor was failing to absorb the spark energy while the points were opened as it is designed to do.As a testing regime this is pretty unscientific; so to continue in the same vein, I have a new coil and condensor as a substitute! The battery is a recent Lincon classic type - in fact I have two of them which I linked together to give me a better chance.Thanks for your input,Cheers, Ray. Edited January 20, 2013 by R.White (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'm no expert Ray but I suspect you are on the right track with trying a substitute coil and condenser. I do know what you mean about trying to get starting fluid in there too... I've always had a 'thing' for E-Types. I had an opportunity to buy a very nice '70 roadster back in 1985 (when I was 25) for $12K. That was a lot of money then I guess but I was closer to affording it then than now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Mike, when the E type was out of fashion years ago I could have had my choice of them but a good one now will cost a fortune; I would go as far as to say that allowing for inflation, the cost would be more now than when they were new! I have worked on jaguars of different kinds and have to admit they are an aquired taste; but for me, the E type has a strong attraction. They have their faults, I think you would agree, but personally I feel the styling was compromised when they introduced the series 2. The headlights had to be raised to meet U.S. regulations but ironically they were far more effective lights than the enclosed ones had been. Due to the particular nature of their corrosion, an E type is probably not a good car for the home mechanic to restore and although mechanically straightforward, as I said before, they can keep you poor!............ but if you have a 'thing' for E types I would recommend the JDC of which I am an hon. life member.Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Ray I agree totally with you on the series 2. It was a retrograde step from the integrated look of the original headlights. Even worse was the series 3 where the flared the front wheel arches and added the large grill. I don't think I would touch one with advanced corrosion. I imagine you would be very prone to distorting the monocoque without the proper fixtures when welding. And then there are the V8 conversions that were popular here! Talk about sacrilege... How did you become an honorary life member of JDC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Mike, you are correct about the E type needing specialist equipment to tackle the rot in the body tub. Another thing is distortion in the front subframe which holds everything forward of the scuttle. The hood is so long nearly all these cars have shunted something and it doesn't take much to turn them into a wreck. Why anyone should fit an alien V8 when the 5.3 litre V12 cars are readily available ???????....About 25 years ago I was greatly honoured to be offered life membership of the JDC for some work I did for the Austin Swallow Register for whom I produced a newsletter. Jaguar evolved from the Swallow Coachbuilding Company who built attractive bodies onto the humble Austin Seven in the 1920's and 30's and surviving Swallows are always welcome at JDC events. The best things in life are free and there are some things that money simply can't buy! Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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