Help - Series 3 stalling at startup

Hello, This is my first post! After just two weeks with my 'new' 1984 Series 3 2.25 petrol which had £3k of work to address what were likely to be the most likely things to fail - it is now failing at startup. I turn the ignition on, it fires up ok, put it into gear and the engine just stalls within a few seconds.

I went into this with my eyes open, but having paid quite a bit for a thorough inspection and preventative fixes I was hoping I would at least get through the summer without a breakdown. Worse still I'd hoped that I would have more time to play around and practice before having to try anything major myself. If anyone has a basic checklist I could run through before spending even more money, I'd be enormously grateful.

Rory

Petrol in the tank?

Have a look at the series 2 manual in case of trouble
The series 3 manual also has a decent section on petrol issues



What did you get done with your £3k

A bit more info like your rough location and level of mechanical ability would help. Cheers.

Can you just expand a bit - eg. does it stall as you are engaging clutch or does it happen after the vehicle has actually moved off, does it rev smoothly right up through the rev range without the gears engaged or is there hesitation, is there any noticeable drag on brakes after handbrake disengaged or does it roll freely.

Ok, does it just do this when the engine is cold or when hot? Does it do it with the choke in, out or both? Does the engine rev when you press the accelerator or cough and splutter?

Sounds like you need some choke until it warms up. Otherwise is it running rich - black sooty smoke from exhaust?

RorySeries3 said:

Hello, This is my first post! After just two weeks with my 'new' 1984 Series 3 2.25 petrol which had £3k of work to address what were likely to be the most likely things to fail - it is now failing at startup. I turn the ignition on, it fires up ok, put it into gear and the engine just stalls within a few seconds.

I went into this with my eyes open, but having paid quite a bit for a thorough inspection and preventative fixes I was hoping I would at least get through the summer without a breakdown. Worse still I'd hoped that I would have more time to play around and practice before having to try anything major myself. If anyone has a basic checklist I could run through before spending even more money, I'd be enormously grateful.

Rory

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Not being mean. But paying £3k out means nothing. A Series 3 is a classic car using tech from before World War 2!!!

Therefore it will always potentially need some fettling. It just how that tech works. If you think this is unacceptable, then classic cars probably aren’t for you.

Have you ever owned an old car before? Specifically one with carbs and points? Ultimately you would serve yourself well to learn how these work, so that you can diagnose and fix yourself rather than lump out 3 grand to someone else.

As others have said, do you have fuel? Have your tried putting any in. The gauge could be faulty?

I seriously hope this isn’t a case of not using the choke!!!

You then need to figure out if it is fuel or electrical. Does the vehicle idle? Can you rev it? Have you left it ticking over to warm up and does this make any difference?

What carb are you running? Is it a cheapy Chinese knock off or an original? Has it been rebuilt recently? Do you still have points or have you converted to electronic ignition? The latter should be far more reliable.

In reality there could be many things wrong. Although I’d doubt any of a serious nature. If it is none of the above it could simply be the tune/mixture on that carb. But a knackered carb may always give issues. Dodgy or failing coil. Fuel pump problem.

In any case there are probably a lot of things to check to then help narrow down what is wrong.

Not been back for 2 weeks probably scared him off

steve2286w said:

Not been back for 2 weeks probably scared him off

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Nothing there to scare him off, all helpful suggestions.
With more info there are quite a few things a novice can check with help on here.
Part of the enjoyment of owner a Series is "fettling" it on a evening (sounds kind of rude!)