Queensland P76 Private Owners -

To many readers I have a story to tell nearly every week of my adventure in my cars.
: Last Sunday I took the white executive out to Willowbank with a couple of people on board to checkout the facilities available to car clubs at Willowbank.
: The Holden Sports Car Club hold Motorkhanas a couple of times a year where you can take young beginner drivers to hone their skills.
: I had arranged to visit Willowbank and see what was happening.
: Picked up my guests in Brighton and headed out of town.
: The trip was fine, the car performed well and I decided that I needed to fill up at the servo near the Caravan Park at Willowbank.
: Leaving the servo, headed off toward Willowbank, got about a kilometre down the road and the car engine stops.
: Luckily the road was quite wide and we pulled comfortably off the road.
: This was very unexpected.
: I got out, pulled the bonnet and then tried to work out what happened.
: Turned the motor a number of times and stopped.
: "I really hate automatic cars as you only have one battery to use".
: Once it runs out of energy you don't go anywhere.
: First thought was maybe bad fuel, so took off the top of the filter and pressed the accelerator and looked for fuel being pumped into the throat of the carby.
: Nothing.
: So I checked the filters, top one near the inlet of the carby was empty, so down to the bottom filter near the petrol pump but could not tell if petrol was there.
: Out with the tools, took of the flexible pipe from the metal pipe leading from the tank and fuel was getting through.
: Into the boot again got the can of fuel out and put some down the throat of the carby and started the engine.
: Life appears for a short time and then silence.
: Checked for fuel again in the carby by pressing the accelerator, no sign of fuel into the carby throat.
: Pulled out the filters, reconnected the lines still no good
: Must be the petrol pump, so I went back into my spares in the boot and pulled out an electric fuel pump and some lengths of fuel pipe, clip etc and put it into the line before the fuel pump, and then when supplying power to the pump succeeded with fuel flowing to the carby.
: Started the car, was going great but after half a minute, revering the motor it stopped again.
: Electric pump kept running, by the time I checked the carby found that the petrol was again getting to the carby, then maybe it was the return valve on the side of the carby, so off with it and on with a new one, no good.
: This was starting to get upsetting, so we called for reinforcements for the other side of Brisbane.
: Not to be beaten I decided that the problem was inside the float area.
: Took out the needle and seat, could find nothing unusual, so off with the top of the carby to check the float.
: So when I went back to reassemble the carby had a spring in my hand and was not sure where it went.
: Went and found my manual only to notice it was a Gregory version for the L6 motor, SU carby and no Stromberg type. Guessing, found that it belonged under the accelerator pump diaphragm.
: Float look to be working properly.
: After putting it all back together, had the electric pump connected to the accessories side of the fuse box gave it another go.
: Low and behold the motor start and runs beyond the couple of seconds.
: So taking this as a good omen packed up and headed to Willowbank, arrived one and half hours later from when we broke down.
: Time does fly when having something to do.
: The father of my passengers’ decided he would wait for his partner to arrive at the entrance of Willowbank. I took my young passenger with me into Willowbank complex, down the side of the drag strip to the advanced driver’s area.
: Quite a lot of young people there so tracked down the organisers, had a look at what was going on and fill in the paperwork.
: This was going Ok until I checked the time.
: My schedule was shot so off we went back to find the father.
: We found the support vehicle was lost in Ipswich to so felt prudent that that we head home.
: Let me say that once I got into Ipswich, located the support vehicle and heading back to Brisbane the car went like a "hairy goat".
: Any hill caused the engine to run out of fuel, using the hand break to hold the car in position until the electric fuel pump had refilled the carby bowl, then restarted the motor and drove on.
: I feel also that I had some vapour lock too.
: Leap frogging up hills and cruising on the flats I got the car home.
: The support vehicle stayed behind me in the “thick and thin” of the traffic.
: Since the weekend I have found that the fuel pump arm had fallen apart due to the pivot pin working its way out of the housing.
: A brass cap holding the pin in had fallen out.
: I have changed the needle and seat with a spare carby and all is running OK again.

: I suggest you carry a couple of spare fuel filters, length of new petrol pipe (remember there is two sizes), clips, maybe a fuel pump and a drum of fuel. If you want to carry an electric fuel pump and wish to isolate your mechanical pump you will need to cut the metal pipe that runs across the front of the engine down near the fuel pump. (This because the fuel pipe has a screw fitting on the end of the pipe.)

Queensland P76 Owners Club Inc. 2007

Breakdown – Have faith and you will get home

by Yowee - Jan, 2007