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New Owner.... struggling!

I’d be happy to help as it’s not far from me. Especially in (but not limited to) the better weather. Whenever that is. :lol:
 
Please do, as long as i have the time, it’ll be a pleasure helping make a 40 well again.
 
Thanks s for the help gents. Lets see where they get to in the next couple of days.

Think i'd best upgrade to a supporter.
 
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You don’t have to be a supporter. Just get a few more posts under your belt. Post up some pics of the truck. Some funnies, that sort of thing. It only needs 15 I think.
 
Hi James, welcome, looks like a nice 40, always good to see more of them, sounds like you have a fuel issue, back in the day when mine had a 5.7 V8 SBC chevy in it, i thought i upgraded the fuel pump with one of those red top fuel pumps, bigger carb etc but turns out as i throttled it it starved the thing of fuel so went back to a standard old plastic one which cured it all, then gave up with the V8 and went diesel, your issue although seems a PITA sounds like a cheap one to fix, just need to find an old school mechanic who doesnt need to plug it in to tell him whats wrong with it, you will find some really good help on here, i think there is a meet in April at Lincombe which i hope to get out for, perhaps see you there, cheers Jon
 
Finally fixed, turns out the carb was full of dirt, had it cleaned out!

Sadly now fitting what I hope is just a weak battery, grateful for any battery recommendations.
 
Finally fixed, turns out the carb was full of dirt, had it cleaned out!

Sadly now fitting what I hope is just a weak battery, grateful for any battery recommendations.
Great the problem is fixed. Bosch and Varta batteries as well as Yuasa are good makes.

Could you expand on the weak battery bit? There's ways to tell if a battery is bad, take it to SES on Durban Road and they’ll test it for you and sell you a new one onlybif it needs it. Or give it a good charge on a Ctek charger.

I do hope you’re going to be able to bring this cruiser to see me when it’s done. :) or even before when I can cast my eye over the electrics for you if you wish.
 
Great the problem is fixed. Bosch and Varta batteries as well as Yuasa are good makes.

Could you expand on the weak battery bit? There's ways to tell if a battery is bad, take it to SES on Durban Road and they’ll test it for you and sell you a new one onlybif it needs it. Or give it a good charge on a Ctek charger.

I do hope you’re going to be able to bring this cruiser to see me when it’s done. :) or even before when I can cast my eye over the electrics for you if you wish.

The truck is now back with me in Wimbledon. Had a good drive back up the A3, having only 3 gears wasn't as bad as I expected. Cruised along at 80km/hr hitting 100km/hr a couple of times no problem. Had the biggest grin.

Before leaving we'd taken it for a drive and had played around with the radio. On restarting after 5mins standing we had to turn the radio off to get it going. The garage had already suggested a new battery but I don't think they checked it.

I've had a mate jump start me over the weekend, but also had times when no one to help and had to leave it, but then it would start 20mins of several hours later. It sounds like the battery isn't turning the motor over quick enough, and drains away after several attempts. Earlier today I got it going but didn't let it run, turned it off but couldn't get it going again.

I did manage to flip the bezel all by myself!

Would have been great to have you help out, sadly Bognor is a bit far. Would be a good summer run though.

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It’s not far from Chichester :icon-rolleyes: !

Sounds like a new battery is needed but try giving it a charge on a Ctek. Is it 12v or 24v start? One or two batteries?
 
Truck running well now for two weeks especially with nice new battery. Sadly developing a miss fire over the last few days so guess i'll be educating myself under the bonnet this weekend.
 
Maybe time for some new plug leads and distributor cap/rotor arm. Used to be a cheap change when leads and caps were common items. Looking in the dark for signs of arcing is one trick, spraying a fine mist of water over the leads and dizzy cap another. Look for any change in engine running when doing this. First stop for me would be to take off the dizzy cap and thoroughly clean inside and outside looking for any black lines. A light squirt of WD40 inside and out does no harm. If leads are old then they’ll benefit from change. If plugs are old, same there. Worth checking the gap and adjusting if necessary. Plugs wear over time, the spark erodes the contact surfaces and as the gap increases, the Voltage needed to jump the gap increases accordingly, resulting in higher and higher electrical stress on the insulation which eventually breaks down, especially if worn or cut.
 
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Maybe time for some new plug leads and distributor cap/rotor arm. Used to be a cheap change when leads and caps were common items. Looking in the dark for signs of arcing is one trick, spraying a fine mist of water over the leads and dizzy cap another. Look for any change in engine running when doing this. First stop for me would be to take off the dizzy cap and thoroughly clean inside and outside looking for any black lines. A light squirt of WD40 inside and out does no harm. If leads are old then they’ll benefit from change. If plugs are old, same there. Worth checking the gap and adjusting if necessary. Plugs wear over time, the spark eroded the contact surfaces and as the gap increases, the Voltage needed to jump the gap increases accordingly, resulting in higher and higher electrical stress on the insulation which eventually breaks down, especially if worn or cut.


I think I need to visit Sussex for a crash course....

Thanks again for pointers.
 
You coukd always get a new set of plugs, NGK of course, and try them to see if the running improves. If no better then swap them back and put them in stock for the next service.
 
You coukd always get a new set of plugs, NGK of course, and try them to see if the running improves. If no better then swap them back and put them in stock for the next service.

New plugs ordered.

Ended up with the AA out. Truck judders when initially getting going but normally runs fine after 5-10mins. Yesterday it didn't and wouldn't get up the hill on the way home. One or two of the plugs have dark ash like deposits on them and when tested by removing each HT lead there was at least 3 that were not sparking (no diff when lead disconnected). Managed to clean them and get the truck home but still the odd miss fire.

I'm hoping its just the plugs, although I'm concerned why only one or two of the plugs are covered in the black ash, isn't this indicative of the engine running rich, and if so why only certain plugs? Or is it 'rich' as the plug isn't firing?

I checked the distributer, was clean, and opened the carb which looked okay. The HT sequence is correct but based on my Haynes the position of the leads on the dist cap isn't the same (manual has 1 nearest the engine (4 o'clock) whilst mine is one closest to the radiator (6 o'clock). Maybe an issue with timing?

I also noticed that whenever there is a significant misfire (normally before warmed up) the indicators play up.

Still a long way to go on the learning curve but i'm progressing!
 
This is looking more and more like an electrical problem. What happens with the indicators? It’s possible the coil is breaking down. It’s also possible there’s a loose connection somewhere, or the points aren’t set right. Many possibilities but without being in front of it, difficult to know for sure.

Did you do the tests I suggested last time?
Do the plug leads look old? It’s not 100% certain a dizzy cap is good just checking visually but. I wouldn’t worry about the positioning as long as the cap is on properly.

Plugs first then let’s see.
 
This is looking more and more like an electrical problem. What happens with the indicators? It’s possible the coil is breaking down. It’s also possible there’s a loose connection somewhere, or the points aren’t set right. Many possibilities but without being in front of it, difficult to know for sure.

Did you do the tests I suggested last time?
Do the plug leads look old? It’s not 100% certain a dizzy cap is good just checking visually but. I wouldn’t worry about the positioning as long as the cap is on properly.

Plugs first then let’s see.

Success, I think. New plugs in makes a big difference... running on 6 cylinders! And starts with one turn of the key.

Hoping the plugs were the issue rather than something else causing the plugs to misfire.

Will see how she goes then think we’ll plan a drive down south.
 
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