Lumpy Engine/Bad Fuel

[GHill]

Hey All

My neighbour is in advanced discussions re the purchase of a plus 2 - he really would like an engine expert to discuss (or even better go with him to view) a car local to us (its on the surrey/london border).

Some background:

- Lots of history comes with the car including lots of engine work - although all of it 15-20 years ago,
- The car then stood for a long time in a lock up (& the last two years on a drive under a cover)
- When the car was turned over recently it ran and continued to run very lumpy e.g. just about keeping idle and variable revs etc
- The vendor puts this down to stale petrol ( and some more was put in but no noticeable change to the engine running - the pipes were taken off of the carb and fuel drained).

Question:

In your learned opinions:

- can the stale petrol cause the symptons discribed?
- how quickly should the engine return to a reasonable state once new petrol is put in the tank?
- currently no fuel additive has been applied (and the head hasnt been converted to run on unleaded), would this improve how the car runs (Ive read several opposing forum posts on this)?

Als if there is anyone available with suitable engine skills to go with my neighbour this weekend I know that there is expenses/wine/beer in it for you.

We have already checked the block numbers etc and all seems original and generally the car looks like an honest car with cobwebs in all the right places etc.

As always thanks for you input Y'all

Regards

Gareth

[twincamman]

Wow .check the chassis first thats more important than a simple motor?.. ..with a car that ignored and left to its own devices for that length of time the first thing I do is put new points , condenser and fresh plugs and new wires , drain the tank ,check for Schmitz rust and dirt in the tank and flush the lines and fuel pump just for a start these cars are simple to work on and are built to break on you and they will ,?but you will be into rubber donuts ..brakes .. new tires .. a motor rebuild ?may be a tranny ?running gear is Triumph Spitfire? gt 6 most parts are available from the Lotus suppliers like Dave Bean ?R AND D enterprises etc etc but being from over ome you have a larger supply base than we Colonials ???have a look then report back ....ed

[billwill]

Dave Bean is in America, Ed. This car is in the UK.


Ed is being over pessimistic there, but it is important to check the chassis for rust especially the suspension 'towers'


Buying a car that has been stored so long, will take a lot of effort and money to bring it back to prime condition.

Fuel may have dried out in the carbs leaving sticky residue in the jets causing lumpy running.

[twincamman]

Ach laddy your bein a wee bit too canny wi yer dole .......if I'm about to buy a hyper sports car I will check and replace most everything that can cause a problem or put me up a tree ....I didn't on my bag pipes and they almost killed me with inhaled mould and alien things living in the bag that found my lungs a great place to thrive .cant assume anything now days .and we of Scots descent should appologise for introducing The Great Highland Bag Pipe and Golf to the world ..Ed

[denicholls2]

As others have hinted, lumpy running is going to be fairly low on the list of things that cost money and will need attention that affect your willingness to invest. In turn, it has two likely causes:

- Carburetor issues (might be as represented, but you'll need to do more than buy a tank of fuel to address.) Start by ordering carb rebuild kits and reading up on how-to.

- Valves not sealing properly. A leakdown test will give a good indication of the state of the cylinders.

There's at least a 10x difference in cost to fix between the two.

A car that has been sitting for over a decade usually started sitting for a reason. Do you know it? The most likely reason is that it needed more work than the owner wanted to engage in at the time. This is actually of more concern if there was significant work done before the car was parked, because it could be that work wasn't done properly. Few people invest heavily in a machine so they can park it.

As noted, the cars are easy to work on. But if you're not mechanically inclined, you need to do a bit more thinking unless the wallet allows outsourcing.

[Elanconvert]

90% of fuel problems are electrical......

fred

[mbell]

I'd put it down too old fuel, carbs needing a "re-build" (aka clean) and would benefit from a refresh of the ignition system.

Hard to know what state the engine is in, a compression test, leakdown test and oil pressure should give am indication of the state of wear and if a rebuild is in order.

As said if car has been sat for a while there a decent amount of work to be done before putting it on the road. Nothing hard or too expensive if you do it your self, brake rebuilds, clutch hydraulics, fuel lines etc.

[GHill]

Cheers guys. As always sound advice - will pass it on!!

[billwill]

Tell him to join this forum.

[Galwaylotus]

Check for vacuum leaks as well - especially at the carb-to-inlet manifold mounts. If it's been sitting that long I'd get carburetor rebuild kits, strip them down and rebuild.

[twincamman]

well you can bet the car wasnt moth balled because it was running too well ??so take it from thereand .Since this is the most exciting post in the weeks of my return ??.see ya later mooks .ed