A Royal pain the dukes return

[Festa662]

I aqquired an 84 series 3 from a proceeds of crime seizure in oct last year
B983SKR (The Duke) as i recently found out is an old friend of this forum
and still has the oil metering pump held on with vice grips and a g clamp
As per a previous thread by the old owner who i tracked down and spoke
On the phone to last night top bloke who was glad id saved The duke from
The crusher, however body wise theres not a lot of good metal to crush a
Strong wind and rain storm would dissolve it like a far eastern alka seltzer!
Im planning a full resto and would appreciate and tips from users who have
Already completed or are ongoing with their 7,s im currently having cold start
Issues ive changed plugs,dizzy,rotor,leads, set ignition timing, new battery
And a known good carb sealed a ton of vacumn leaks but still poor starting
And when it did start ran at 1k but the next day will not start and floods
Any ideas would be appreciated
All the best uncle fez

[codge]

If it's not roadgoing and can't run under load it might continue to give starting problems? I find that they can gas up ever so easily if stopped when cold. It needs to do a dozen miles or so to get good and hot. Then next day it should be fine.

Try something called 'Engine Start' off ebay. Squirt that down the barrels for a couple of seconds and it should start if the engine is OK but just gassed up.

Air Filter - I pressume that's OK?
Fuel Filter (At the fuel pump) could be blocked.

Plugs. Make sure they're NGK BR8ET or Denso equal (WBR 25 or something like that) for normal starting and running.

Choke is working right? With respect, have you got the hang of it? On our car it's full choke only in the depths of winter and rarely use full choke even then. Normally 3/4 choke for rest of year, if it doesn't catch first time put less chokey on, not more.

All the above without knowing much. If you're a greybeard car wizz I'm sorry. Comments for help not a put down.

[Festa662]

The plugs are ngk and correct however the choke thing i wasnt aware of
Ill give that a try the fuel filter seems clear but will probs change anyway
Its the engine start the same as easy start ? The air filter seems clear but again
Will swop out anyway the engine never gets past a quater on the temp gauge
The viscous fan is fine however it looks as tho its had a universal tstat so
Poss opening to early, do you know the stat temps?
Thanks for the reply fez

[codge]

Yeh, experiment with the choke but go from less choke to more choke while you're doing it, full choke on a cold engine can easily gas it up, particularly in summer. If you think it's gassed, put choke fully in, squeeze the throttle gently down (gently to hold back the accelerator pump) and crank it over for half a minute. Then half choke to try again.

Yes, engine start = easy start.

Temp gauge wants to be up around mid point, on here we've previously figured that as being around 80/85 C

[Festa662]

Ahhhh thats were i went wrong i was blipping the throttle pedal and on full choke with a cold engine no wonder it wasnt idling v-well and blooming flooding however when i do run it i always run for at least 20 mins but if its not reaching operating temp then thats a big issue however my choke takes an age to return which would coincide with the operating temp being low i think ill have a couple of hours this weekend fettling and see what happens thank you!
Fez

[Lucky]

If it's been stood I'd definitely suspect the fuel lines and/or filter might be contributing to running problems. Even though my fuel at the carb looked clean, I poured a load of what looked like molasses out of the filter when it got changed

As to the choke, reckon Dave's spot on. I seldom need full choke more than a few seconds, even in winter. I never bother with letting it return itself, I find I can pretty much push it home before I've gone a mile from cold.

[KiwiDave]

With regard to water temp, I'd be looking at the thermostat first. Halfrauds may not be good for too many things but they will give you this .....
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_256266

Comes with a gasket too, not a pretty gasket but a gasket nonetheless.

[Festa662]

If it's been stood I'd definitely suspect the fuel lines and/or filter might be contributing to running problems. Even though my fuel at the carb looked clean, I poured a load of what looked like molasses out of the filter when it got changed

As to the choke, reckon Dave's spot on. I seldom need full choke more than a few seconds, even in winter. I never bother with letting it return itself, I find I can pretty much push it home before I've gone a mile from cold.

Stood around ! this car has done more staning around than a lady of the night . It was in rx motors for about 5 years sold to
A guy in york hence the duke then sold on then seized by to police more standing around ready for the day i bought it oct 12
So guess you right that fuel filter could be contaminated so ill change it up !
Ta fez

[Festa662]

[quote="KiwiDave"]With regard to water temp, I'd be looking at the thermostat first. Halfrauds may not be good for too many things but they will give you this .....
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_163451_langId_-1_categoryId_256266

Comes with a gasket too, not a pretty gasket but a gasket nonetheless. [/

Ill buy a stat this weekend and try it for that money u carnt go wrong! Ill hammer out a gasket a pretty one lol
It has had a different rad fitted of a primera
Which is quite large poss an over cooling point ill block that of and see if i can get operating temp !
Ta fez

[codge]

Doubt the rad will affect things. An oversized rad is no bad thing, the stat takes care of the engine temperature regardless, allowing water out of the engine at the top only when hot enough.

If you're on idle on the drive then that might not let the engine work enough to get hot......just a thought.

Glad we're making some headway.