[TR] Bought a can of Gremlin Be-Gone

[TERRY SMITH]

Quick recap:  TR3 was running smooth, then fluttering for several runs, then the fluttering turned into stalling, but all intermittent.  Couple of times during the trouble-shooting, attempts to start the engine met with a solid clunk and nothing more.  


What I found:


1)  Couple of years ago, the carburetor linkage dropped and shorted the starter hot cable to ground.  Completely melted through the linkage rod.  After replacing just the linkage, car started and ran fine.  Looking deeper this week, though, I saw that the insulator between the positive cable and the starter had cooked.  I don't think that it was malfunctioning because there were no sparks or battery drain, but I did put a thick rubber washer under the cable to the starter.  


2)  The ground wire on the distributor plate had frayed so just a few strands were holding it on.  Replaced that.  I'm assuming it affected the strength of spark.


3)  I've never encountered this and can't explain it.  My carbs are brand new rebuilds from a famous company.  Doesn't matter who.  I'd had them do that several years ago, then simply stored the carbs in the garage without opening the box because I wanted a replacement set ready for when the ones I ran started sucking air at the throttle shafts.  I'd put these on the car because the originals were leaking.  When I was diagnosing the intermittent engine failure, per Randall's suggestion and others I sprayed carburetor cleaner into the intake ports and the car started (briefly).  I could now rule out spark.  And I tested and knew I was getting gas. 


I took the rebuilt carbs apart, checked float levels and all that.  All good.  Then, with the float bowls completely off the carb, I blew through the fuel inlets.  The second carb closest to the firewall tested good, with air going through.  The initial carb, though, has some kind of blockage.  Nothing was getting through.  With the float chamber lid off, the same test came out good, so the float needle valve was working.  The issue, then was some blockage in the float bowl mounting bolt, the one with the hole that lets gas feed the jet assembly (remember, the bowl is off the carb).  I tried taking the float bowl mounting bolt out, but it's froze solid (again, this was a professional rebuild).  I haven't taken the time to seriously break it down yet.  


In the end, I simply replaced the whole float bowl with one from the original carb, reinstalled everything, and the car is back on the road running again smoothly and with power.   What I can't figure out is how a bowl mounting bolt could get blockage when the orifice for the float needle valve is so much smaller, unless some detritus was left behind in the float bowl during the professional rebuild.  


No knock on the rebuilder, though.  They did some heroics for me in the past.  


Thanks, everyone, for your help with all this.


Terry
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