New Member in South Africa

Ian McNee

New Member
Greetings to you all. I am in South Africa and have been a P6 owner for the past 40 years or so, I am 81. My first was a ‘73 I saw languishing in a used car lot. Its Mexico brown bodywork was well banged about, its odo reading was in doubt but the interior was ok and it ran well. I think the dealer was glad to see it go, even at a low price. I took it to a body shop next door, had its scars repaired and a full re-spray done. When the dealer saw it emerge he said he could kick himself. I put a lot of kms on that lovely car, not without some typical problems though but that was back in the early eighties when parts were available here. I got married in ‘85 and my new wife took to the car too.

In 1988 a dream came true, my wife saw an ad. in our local ‘Car’ magazine for a ‘74 3500s in biscuit beige, with just 39k on the clock and in mint condition. It was expensive but proved to be irresistible. I should point out here that the 3500s moniker was a SA marketing trick, they were all automatics. All P6s in SA came with 2000 style wheel covers. For a while I ran both cars but somebody wanted the original one so I let it go.

My car has now covered some 64k kms and is still almost mint. For the past five years or so I have been driven nuts with the fuel vapourisation bugbear, being scared to go anywhere in case the weather turned hot, when the car would stop. It has the lower comp. head and later HF carbs but lacks the take off punch of the earlier one. I assumed that the ethanol in the petrol was at the root of the problem. I tried so many different solutions, including fitting an electric fan (ex BMW) and fuel lift pump. All flattered to deceive, I was desperate. Last week I resolved to find out once and for all, what the problem could be and that is when I came across this amazing forum. I promptly applied for membership, was accepted and found what I was looking for.

Yes the pipe from the carb tower was blocked. The initial test run, went well, I let the temperature get high by idling with the fan off, then leaving the engine to heat soak for a few minutes. The engine starting promptly, idling well and responding immediately to accelerator inputs. I am awaiting a hot day now to really prove my nightmare is over.

Note re. BMW fan. I bought it at a scrap yard very cheaply, I don’t know what model BM it came from but it seems adequate and importantly, it just fits between the front of the 3 row radiator and the grill. The engine feels smoother and is quieter without that horrible fixed steel fan. Also front of engine access is wonderful without the fan and cowl.
 
Welcome
The fuelling issue can also be the connecting supply pipe between the carbs, if it is looped low and touches the intake manifold then the fuel will boil. Undoing the unions and rotating the pipe so it loops forward instead of down will cure it. Try one fix at a time though to find the exact cause.
 
Welcome
The fuelling issue can also be the connecting supply pipe between the carbs, if it is looped low and touches the intake manifold then the fuel will boil. Undoing the unions and rotating the pipe so it loops forward instead of down will cure it. Try one fix at a time though to find the exact cause.


That's true for the HS6, but won't work with the HIF6, and as (IMHO) the HS6 should be removed and thrown in the skip to be replaced with HIF6s it won't ever be useful in my world....
 
Thanks guys for the input. I did a test run today and find the engine transformed. The carbs are HIF6. Now to tackle the back brakes and deDion boot.
 
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