Clipper Cab, Problems

Today I got up  looking forward to going to a car show with the Mrs, half way to the show the engine cut out, no coughing or anything just cut out and now refuses to start. a few weeks ago the engine cut out for a second or two while driving but started again and continued without stopping. I fitted a new coil yesterday and went for a ten  mile test drive without a problem. The dizzy cap and rotor arm all look like new, recently fitted a new starter motor and fuel pump ( the filter looks like there's plenty of fuel getting through) .
 Its appears to be electrical but where to start, Icant find any broken or loose wires anywhere, the guy from the recovery garage said it could be my HT leads but I think it isn't going to be that easy although I will replace those.
   So the car is now looking sad sat in my garage. I just thought Id ask if anyone had any pointers that I can look at when I get time next weekend.
BTW its a 1.8 with a webber carb.


 Hope you've all had a good weekend. Thanks Steve

How old are the HT leads, dissy cap and rotor arm? Have you looked inside the dissy cap for damage/worn contacts and the rotor arm?
If you are buying some new HT leads it's worth buying a new dissy cap and rotor arm as well. I replace mine every 2 years but my car is a daily drive and I need it to get to work.
How old are the spark plugs?
When the car stopped did the dash lights come on or did everything go dead?

Having oh so similar problemswith my carb 1.3. I Changed coil (twice) the condensor 3 times, dizzy cap (used Beru their excellent) rotor ,leads, mechanical fuel pump. re-set points (were pitted and wrong gap) checked timing. 4 times broke down, 3 of which were misfire (all cylinders) then stopped, last time just as if ignition switched off no misfire..  Each time started after waiting a few minutes! sometimes re-occured. but normally fine. Runs say between 2- 200 miles no problems! then at random stops again. Thinking its heat/wiring/fuel related…looked at general wiring and needs redoing… Changed all ceramic fuses, no change. Have meticulously checked Weber carb and not at fault. Checked all vacuum pipes, all correct and no leaks. Strangely I changed all plug leads (again) yesterday for another new identical set and it ran lovely-yesterday. Need to disconnect fuel pipe and blow gently back into tank to see if blocking. Need to do usual investigation of rust in tank ,has in line filter and all looks clean. I know I am going to get there but its pretty frustrating! I need a wiring diagram for a 1980 1.3!!! Rubjonny??

John rubjonny as above!  

check the battery, oil and water lights. do they come on with ignition and stay on while cranking (oil light may go out after a bit as oil pumps up)

Yes Rubjonny they do in my case. Have found rust particles in the fuel so looking at that too.
Thanks.
Marcus.
Apologies for robbing the original post Tankerman!

righto clear out the rust and see how you go, the lights working while cranking suggests the ignition switch is ok, but you may want to run a live feed from the battery to the coil live side (with black and/or purple/white wires, terminal labled + or 15)

if that helps then the ignition switch cant supply enough voltage or there is a problem with the power feed from the switch to the fusebox/coil. alarm/immobiliser is a top suspect if you have one

Thanks Rubjonny!
will do what you suggest as it removes a lot of the guesswork. Will hook it up so that if it fails again will  then connect this into the system.
On the fuel side I blew gently into line from tank and it was pretty much blocked- then it released suddenly-, and, I could then hear my air bubbling in the tank. New filter in line  and had a drive out and it went without missing a beat. (On reflection, it was after filling up that the problem first occurred).I will still do the magnet in the tank trick.
Also should soon be getting an unworn original  Bosch 205G  distributor which should help things too.
Thanks again.
Marcus.
 

Sorry for the delay but here's an update on my running issues. I replaced the coil and the petrol pump and everything was ok for a while. One day we decided to go to a car show and just got out of town when the car cut out again and refused to start. eventually got towed home and left it in the garage for a couple of weeks . then it started straight away, ran perfectly for ten mins the cut out and refused to start.
  This week a local auto electrician came and had a look, we got it started then it cut out as usual. he traced the fault back to the hall effect sensor  in the distributor, probably due to heat over the years.
  So I started to look for a new distributor but everywhere I phoned I was told it is now an obsolete Item.
   Ive now contacted a firm who I used to build me an electronic ignition dizzy for my V8 Westfield, Ive used them a couple of times now and the service is brilliant, they could have replaced the Hall effect sensor for £45 but they are going to recondition my dizzy for £145 this is a full rebuild with new parts and blast the metal parts  so itll look like a brand new unit. the company are called H&H ignition solutions ( nothing to do with me but definitely highly recommended) I will let you all know how it goes. I removed the Dizzy today, will post to them tomorrow, they recon on around a weeks turnaround.

Finally I have got the Cabby up and running and all seems well. I replaced the Ignition amplifier module (£25 Ebay) and fitted my refurbished Distributor  that H&H Ignition solutions did for me. (£145) Fitting was a little fiddly but following a few tutorials I managed it and was able to set the timing with a strobe gun.  It seems to be running really smoothly now. I went for a 10 mile test drive with no issues so Im hoping its problem cured.
  While I was waiting for the parts I removed the fan shroud, sanded and resprayed it and gave it a new replacement sticker.  Im now hoping the weather improves so I can have a good run out.