The V8 Owners Forum -

Hi members... i have recently fitted a Rover 3.5 V8 into a car i have built.
The engine came from a Landrover and got SU carbs with the bowls underneath the carbs, never seen these before.

The problem i have is that engine starts first time everytime, runs for 10 seconds or so then stops. Seems to flood up. I have noticed the coil gets warm after several attempts of starting.

Anyone had these sort of symptoms before?

I have no choke on it and fuel is pumping up to carbs by electric pump.

I have tried different coils and the little white box near coil, and new leads.

Any help would be appreciated
Thank you
ratrod504

Are the carbs correct for the exact engine? Needles etc need to be the right ones.

If it is starting from cold readily with no choke, they are too rich for whatever reason.

If genuinely flooding have you checked you spark plug colour/how wet? If flooding, along side correct needle and jet sizes and settings, do check the float settings. SU's can be temperamental if floats not set correctly and will simply flood...though, have you carb overflow pipes to ground?

Also, what SU type/model are they 2no HD6, HS6, HD8 or HS8's? I have the SU Reference Manual for all SU's made and can confirm jet, needle, springs, float cam shoes, diaphragms et al. Of course, this info' is readily available on Burlen Fuels website.

If coil's getting warm/hot and it feels too hot change for a known good one + never hurts to have a spare.

If you have points, the coil will get hot if you leave the ignition on without the engine running.

Chris.

Make sure you have pressure regulator on the fuel supply as an unregulated supply can overcome the needle valves and over fill the float bowls.


What ignition system - OPUS ? Do you have a good spark after that 10 second period