cutting out - maybe a tune!

G

golfball5

New Member
Hi
Can anyone help! I've just bought my first classic and it is a P6 3500V8 auto,J reg,62k on the clock.I paid £1200 for it!To make it mint, it would need a respray but it still turns heads!
I've been after one for years and finally took the plunge 3 weeks ago,since that time it has had a new radiator fitted which cost £79 and it drives great.
The problem is that after I've drove it for about ten minutes and the engine settles down without the choke,the tick over of the car goes down to about 500 revs or less then it either cuts out or I have to rev the engine to keep it going and sometimes it struggles to start again.The engine sounds great when I rev it and it does not misfire or anything of that nature.
I'm not a mechanic and a friend at work who is a HGV fitter says it may need new points.Can anyone help!
I've not joined the club yet but i will do,it's just that owning my first classic has not started great but I know there is not much wrong with it! :( :D
 
Well done! It's good to see another new and enthusiastic P6 owner. My advice with any new purchase would be to get a full service done.It will give you a clean start and often replacing all the service items can cure some of those niggly little running problems. Also you will know that the oil has been changed etc. more to the point, that there is oil in the diff and transmission and nothing else is about to fail/break/fall off. Even if you bought it with a service history I would still do it again,it may have been done but you don't know how well.
 
Hi Harvey
Thanks for your reply,when I bought it I was told it had a service in February and it had the leather treated which cost £160!
A friend of mine has just had a look at it and he reckons the carb just wants setting a bit higher.I do know someone with a computer tuner at his garage.I'll take it from there!
Thanks :D
 
I think a bit of mechanical sympathy is more use than a computer tuner on a P6 ! Someone who knows how to set things up to compensate for the inevitable wear and tear on the carbs , distributor etc

Simple things first - have you got any oil in your SU's ?
A good clean up , balancing of the carbs , checking the points and timing should sort you out
 
Any computerised tuning machine is only as good as the bloke who's using it.There seems to be a perception that expensive machines get better results, this is certainly not the case.
Late vehicles can only be done with computers,that's why most of us on here like older cars!
 
THE BEST TUNING TOOLS FOR CLASSIC OWNERS ARE OUR EYES AND EARS.AND SOME OTHER SENSES!!"6th" OH!! AND A GOOD SET OF THE SPANNERS!!!:D
THE ONLY TIME A COMPUTER WILL GET NEAR MY CAR IS TO POST A PHOTO OR TWO,OR TO BUY SOME BITS FOR IT
IVE ALWAYS HAD CLASSICS SINCE I PASSED MY TEST IN "77",
I ONLY STARTED USING COMPUTERS A YEAR AGO,BUT ONLY FOR THE WEB,EMAIL,EBAY,AND OF COURSE, THE MANY FORUMS ON CLASSICS!
I USED TO :angry: AT THEM,STILL DO OCCASIONALLY!!
FIND A GOOD,RECOMENDED,CLASSIC LOVING/OWNING!! LOCAL "OLD SCHOOL" MECHANIC.
HAPPY MOTORING AND WELCOME TO THE :p :cool: WORLD OF THE REAL CARS :D.....ENJOY!!!!!!!
 
Modern engine management is slowly killing the old skills needed for these cars, setting dwell, timing etc just aren't done anymore.

The one computer/machine that will be handy is an exhaust emissions tester, its the best way to see if the carbs are behaving, and to ensure your not leaving a trail of unburnt fuel down the road :p
 
Hi everyone
Just to let you know that a friend of mine reckons the carbs need balancing which will be done on Monday,I will report back to you!Apperently he has experierience in this area!
I'll be giving the computer tuner a miss :D
 
I would recommend getting a colourtune and airflow meter- was a bit dubious about the colourtune but it is a lot better than the lifting pin method which I never found to be very accurate, and a co meter is not much use with twin carbs, except to check that it will pass an MOT. Also worth considering electronic points which stopped mine cutting out- I could never get mine to run well all of the time on points even though there was no obvious wear in the distributor.
 
The v8 auto i just sold had a similar fault.

Does the car stall when you put it in Neutral or just drive?

I have checked the mixture with colour tune, which was fine. I increased the idle and it was a bit better but still stalled even at higher revs.

The problem was down to a missfire on the drivers sider rear cylinder.

Good luck

Colin
 
Hi
Just to let you know,the carbs were running too rich and there was no gap on the points,these problems have been resolved and it is running great.
I bought a chrome back box from the Sheffield Transport Festival a couple of weeks ago for £29,this has been fitted and it sounds grrreat and the car has not lost it's dignity because the backbox is very small and is hardly noticeable :D
 
Great news, and only simple faults. :)
I had what sounds like a similar back box on my 2.2TC and it just added that little extra tone, perfect.
 
Choke warning light,should come on if choke is out as engine temp rises. I had a look in the workshop manuals I've got and for some reason they only show export dashes, which have AED's and so use it as a fuel reserve warning light.If you've got a handbook it should have details in there.Hope this helps.
 
Hi Harvey
Can you elaborate,are you saying that this orange light indicates that I'm low on fuel because at the time I had 1/4 of a tank showing at the time! ???
 
Sorry if I confused matters by mentioning about the fuel reserve, if you have a UK spec car it will be a choke warning light, and will only come on (if it's working correctly) if the choke is out when the engine has warmed up.
 
The best thing that ever happened to the choke warning light on mine was having the bulb blow! :laugh: It used to have this annoying habit of turning itself on well after the engine had warmed up, with the choke pushed in. I have no intention of fixing it! :;): It was nearly as annoying as the Maestro that used to talk to you :D
 
What did it say ? "My wheelarches are rusting away" ?
Are there any left on the road ? I knew someone who purchased a MG Maestro Turbo Tickford and it was kept virtually concours. Wonder what it's worth now ?
 
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