On The Road Problems

June 2007

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Summer is officially here... phew... we have had some crazy temperatures already!! - I was at another auto jumble this week, and seeing as it was only about 20 miles away... I took Daisy. The drive there was brilliant. Nice weather, open roads, and Daisy being a perfect lady :)

Until that is, we get to the turn off to the event... where we were presented with a 20 odd car tail back, all waiting to get in to the show, so I slot in behind them... and wait... then we crawl along at 2 mph... then wait... then crawl... then wait..... then crawl.... You can see where this is going !! - Daisys temp get higher and higher. Getting to the event entrance, I am presented with a field, and a 4% hill to climb to a parking space!! - Daisy, by this time is coughing.... and about to stall....... I turn immediately right (to the dismay of the stunned army cadet that was directing traffic) and parked in the 1st space I could find. I kindly pointed out to said cadet that Daisy was a 50 year old car, that was about to stall in the heat, and if I didnt place her right HERE she would stop her self in amongst all the other cars trying to gain access to this field, thereby stopping all access to this field until she cooled down in about 1 hours time.... Fortunately, he had common sense, and shouted to his CO that "This old car will be parking here Sir!"

I must admit, that this was the 1st time that I have ever suffered from Fuel Vaporisation, I know that it is a common subject amongst us side valvers, but so far, I had escaped... until now :( Basically what happens is the engine is starved of fuel, because by the time the fuel pump has pumped the fuel up that very long pipe... the heat as evaporated it !! I may invest in some heat shield tape, and cover the fuel pipe to the carb.

Daisy has done about 1500 miles or so, since the engine rebuild, so I thought that I would give her an oil change. Oil changes on Daisy have always been a nightmare, basically because it is almost impossible to do an oil change without making an oil stained mess of everything... this is because 100E's use the paper oil filter system.

A very messy affair when you need to change the oil, as the whole unit must be detached from the engine. So........ I found this

Its an adaptor, to change the paper cartidge filter to a nice modern spin on spin off type. This one coverts Daisy to a Mini (any mini from 59 to 92)  filter. So this paper one gets binned !!... I found the company advertising in Practical Classics Magazine, it did not list a web site but did list contact details

Flexolite - Flexible s/s brake hoses, s/s fuel & oil lines etc

Brockhill Farm,
Mathon Road,
Colwall,
Herefordshire,
WR13 6EP,
UK,
Tel: 01684 541941
Fax: 01684 541841

I phoned them up, asked if they had an adaptor for a 57 100E, and they said "yes". Excellent. Was almost 50 quid mind you !! - But I think that is worth it, especially when it does not alter Daisys design in any way. I have kept the old filter cover, so if I ever want to put it back, I can, just a simple bolt to undo :)

And replaced with this  COOPERS Z25 high quality spin on cartridge. Oil changes should be very easy from now on.

---------------------------------------  updated 15/06/07  ---------------------------------------------------------

Well...... I spoke too soon !!! Coming back from getting a few bits of shopping from the local Tesco, Daisy starts to 'kangaroo' all over the place. She finally stalled about 3 streets away from home, and refused to start :( So it was time to push..... bloody hell I was knackered!! The way that Daisy was acting, it certainly felt and sounded like the fuel pump may have finally given, especially seeing as it was struggling the other day at the show, so, seeing as I had an electric pump in stock... now was the time to fit it.

12volt Electric Fuel Pump

www.ebay.co.uk

£45.00

I also needed to get some hose, as I did not want to use the original copper pipe given the heat problems I had at the show. Halfords was as good as any place, although a motor factors would be cheaper. I went for the 7.6mil stuff

Just make sure that it is fuel hose, and not water hose!! You dont need much, I only bought 1 meter, and that was ample.

Now, where can the new fuel pump go.... I know that Daisy has a large engine bay, and a small engine... but.... decisions decisions...

1st of all I need to cut the old copper pipe away (leaving enough to clip on too) and also stop the fuel flow. A G-Clamp on the main fuel in line stops the petrol leaking. I checked the old pump, and it did seem ok... the well was full, and petrol seemed to be getting to the carb... but, I was on a mission now... no time to stop and listen to reason... must fit pump.

Disconnect the old one .. You can leave it in place for originality.

This new pump is a bit bigger than Daisys old one.... cant put it in the same place... Bugger.

Well... decision made... temporarily remove the window washer bottle, and use its fixings.. perfect.

Thought I would add one of these, its an in line petrol filter, dead easy to fit (just add it to the fuel IN line) and filters out all the rubbish, and for the sake of £3 its a good buy. You should change them once a year though..

Ok, connect the new OUT line to the carb (jubilee clips required)

As the new pump is an electric one, it needs to be wired in.. I will cut back the excess wires when I have her up and running, you can break in to any system that uses the ignition, you dont want the pump on all the time, only when you are using the car !! :) One thing to mention, as Daisy is + earth this could be a problem for some pumps, so make sure you check. The pump I am using is completely isolated, so as long as you earth it.. it should be fine (screw the holder to the car )

And the inline filter to the IN line, and then to Daisys main fuel line. Just look out for the direction arrow on the filter, it tells you which way to fit the filter... This one looks wrong, but it is in fact correct for the flow of petrol.

OK, all done...

So did this fix Daisy........... NO... AAAaarrrgghhhh.... Thank you Daisy.... up to your old tricks again!! It has taken me almost a week to get her back up and running, she just would not start. I have changed Sparks, points, cap, arm, HT's.... I have had the carb off, the float out.. gaskets replaced.....and still she would not start. In a fit of desperation, I changed every single earth point.. new wire, new washers.. and made sure that it was a good tight fit to the body work, and TAA DAA............ she runs like a dream once more. Phew.

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