P6 stopped after 30 years lives, although doesn't start!

C

cfcrotweiller

Member
Hi guys,

I bought a P6 V8 which was stopped for 30 years. It had half the engine missing so I had to buy the remaining parts to build it up again. I did not do any big servicing, just changed oil, dizzy, plugs and I have managed to start it but only with fuel directly into the carbs.
I have gone through a few suggestions, but what I haven't done is service the carbs at all.
Once the car warms up a bit, it idles by itself. It's starting which is the problem. When however it is warm, I pull the choke and the revs increase. So this 'seems' to be working correctly.
Idle screw and choke screw set to what I think is stock settings.
It tires to start, but doesn't really have enough to tick over by itself.
I turned it on today (fuel directly in), let it warm up and then had a little fiddle. I turned the idle screw down to the minimum but the idles would only really go down to about 900rpm.
I also noticed that the right carb (looking from the front of the car), was hissing (sucking in) more air than the left one. The piston in the right one seemed to be slightly more open than the left too.

Any suggestions as to what to do? Dashpot oil in both.

Thanks
Andy
 
what carbs are fitted the HS6 or hif? bowl at the side with feed pipe jet are HS6.

sounds like the HIF's, I would give them a service or at least a good wash out in case old fuel has gummed them up.

Poor starting could be a number of things including a worn camshaft, tappets etc. If the valves don't open enough it is a pig to start but will run apparently well. start with the carbs and ignition/timing.

Colin
 
cfcrotweiller wrote,...
I also noticed that the right carb (looking from the front of the car), was hissing (sucking in) more air than the left one. The piston in the right one seemed to be slightly more open than the left too
Click to expand...

Hi Andy,

It would be a really good idea to rebuild the carburettors completely, fit new seals, piston springs, floats etc, that way you have a known position in terms of where they are. With oil in the dashpots you can then balance the carbs in terms of suction so that both draw the same volume of air. To do this the idle adjustment screws are altered in turn to achieve the desired outcome. Ideally, if you have a carburettor suction tool for providing a visual indicator, all the better.

Ron.
 
Hi guys,
Thanks for the suggestions.
As the car was bought with half the engine, I was mainly concerned in getting the complete engine together and getting it started.
Good news is, I got it started by itself today after a good 4 hours of thinking and experimenting!
I found out that the valve under the needle in the carb was not dropping when the choke was being opened. Basically, it was stuck and would not move when the choke cam moved. I took both carbs off, reset the mixture nut under the carb and just screwing the nut loosened it up and I was able to clean it and lube it correctly.
So, after many many problems and attempts at starting the car by itself, it finally now started by itself! Fantastic progress. Brakes are non existent as the brake fluid cristalized in the 30 years it stood still. So this is the next step for me!
 
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