Need some urgent help

For one im extremely skint, just bought my Mk1 had to pay £300 for unexpected break down cover as i broke down

So i already knew the  brake master cylinder was gone, didnt realise how much of a problem this was till i drove it, even though we were going to risk it going home from Sheffield to Wales
I did forget about this :/

Secondly the car cuts out constantly, every roundabout/junction, even with the choke out

Third, were going, come from a junction car lost power all of a sudden started miss firing, then cut out, got it going again and was just missfiring, so phoned AA
And came home on back of truck

AA man said, its missfiring at ignition, i know the carbs needs tweaking

Can anyone guide me to sorting the missfiring issue out please

And also Does anyone have a unused Brake Master Cylinder i can have, i really cant afford one and need the car safe ASAP

Cars a Black Mk1 3 door, 1.1 with a webber carb, it does look to have recent new alternator, dizzy cap, and battery, guy selling has said it did, have new leads, plugs, rotar arm, condensor and backbox

ok sounds like a common one, check the filler neck for signs of corrosion, then check for a fuel filter in the fuel line in the engine bay. make sure both are fine and clean

sounds like fuel starvation or fuel contamination rather than misfiring. Dean is spot on ,check the filler neck , if its shot itll get water and rust particles which may have got thro to the carb.
if the fuel level was low that may exacerbate the problem

fuel was low, but it did this on a full tank, ive got a new filler neck and tank anyway
and it does have a filter, maybe it could just do with replacing ?
Thanks for the input

luke_mk3 said

fuel was low, but it did this on a full tank, ive got a new filler neck and tank anyway
and it does have a filter, maybe it could just do with replacing ?
Thanks for the input

the filter obviously wont stop water gettng thro so when changing filter you may seen signs of h2o

goood luck, keep us posted see if we can get it sorted

luke_mk3 said

fuel was low, but it did this on a full tank, ive got a new filler neck and tank anyway
and it does have a filter, maybe it could just do with replacing ?
Thanks for the input

changing the filter is always a good place to start, just because you cant see any water,dirt doesn't mean it isn't blocked, my old rocco would cut out on left hand bends, and that turned out to e water collecting in the bottom of the filter and only getting through on left handers. changed it and problem solved.

i also changer the filler neck too!

well started it up today

Miss firing still not constantly :s
Cut out still when standing
will have choke in it doesnt even attempt, choke out it lasts 10-30 seconds and  cuts out?
Engine still not warming up

OK update

It ran fine for the past few days untill tonght

The carb has started playing up again, but it comes after

The car starts missing, and looses power? :s
Everything sounds right
Was abit to dark to check anything when i had to pull over on the abergele straights, but could Oil/Anti Freeze be a cause to this at all?
Really want it sorted for the weekend!

just a thought but could this be carb icing? do these problems occur in cold weather? if you allow the car to stand a while does it then start to run properly? in which case it could be icing. check all the electrical connectors on the carb.

NO car runs fine when cold
The missfiring problem mainly occures when doing around 60 at dual carrige way speed, starts off on one :/
But buy then the engine is fully heated, can see the temp drop and i just know its coming

luke_mk3 said

The missfiring problem mainly occures when doing around 60 at dual carrige way speed, starts off on one :/
But buy then the engine is fully heated, can see the temp drop and i just know its coming

luke thats when when carb  icing commonly occurs! when your at speed with a hot or cold engine!

ahh fair enough :L
Well im off to bangor tomorrow, and hopefully some of the lads there can guide me where to get it sorted locally, where can i get this solved?
Thanks Luke

OK been thinking it through and reading up on carb icing (from wiki)

The car warms up, then the carb must get a blockage at speed? So this prevents fuel going through the car, when the car starts struggling i pull the choke out, as it helps and now ive just thought about it, and the extra fuel the choke is putting in forces through the blockage or seeps through it to feed the engine,

Sound about right yeah?
SO how do i get rid of it?
Any suggestions?

Other people seem to think its the idle, but myself and a boat engineer thats on my course think if anything it idles to high.

I hope im nearly there to sorting it out finally

dunno if this helps but when i got my 1.1 on solex carb it sits on a rubber gasket… (not smart) mine had been sat for almost 5 years and this in time had gone brittle and tore.

because of this it was blowing the air from the inlet out the split so it was over fueling.

pull a plug out and check it, if its black then wiggle the carb, if it moves a little too much get hold of crazy quiffs and get a new gasket.
also change the fuel filter as this can only help

unfortunately on mine i needed to change all the electrics and the rubber fuel lines in order to realize the carb needed a bit of a clean up and a new gasket. runs like a dream now and i did all that for under 60 quid its not what you know, its who

so yeah check the gasket. you may not be able to see if its torn unless you whip your carb off.
take it off, (mine was two 13mm bolts) and in the rubber gasket if you see the tear on the inside, buy another one.

again mine was a solex carb so yours may be different. failing that, pull the carb apart and drop the jets in nail varnish remover for half hour. works a treat for cleaning


hope this helps…

Ok well after a week of odd troubles its kicked off bug style again, i have no idea whats up with it at all
My dad seems to think its flooding the carb with fuel as other people thing its carb icing, my local garages have no idea what carb icing is. so there no use so how do i get it fixed, im loosing paitence with it

Its fine on towns but i couldnt even get it to 40 without it going today
Same problems
It looses power, then picks up jurking etc

luke_mk3 said

 my local garages have no idea what carb icing is. so there no use so how do i get it fixed, im loosing paitence with it

theres a suprise!!! does no one know anything about carbs anymore! all anyone wants to do is plug a laptop in and let the computer fix the problem! makes me despair!
sorry to hear your still having troubles, only wish i could get my hands on your engine! so much easier to diagnose in person!

carb icing, my explanation, hope it makes sense!
 carb icing occurs in periods of cold and humid weather, ie icy fog, cold evenings etc. when the fuel vapourizes in the venturi you get a temp drop ordinarily this is not a problem if warm air is flowing in. however the cold humid air increases the temp drop and causes the moisture in the air to freeze and form ice crystals in the venturi which block the jet stopping fuel flowing, leading to lose of power and can stall the engine. thats why you may be able to start and drive but once up to speed the problems start. you can pull over stop and wait an few mins and heat from the engine will thaw the carb so you will be able to continue until the carb freezes again.
 so how to cure it. well a standard engine, as in straight from the factory is equiped to prevent this. the pancake filter has a pipe to the front with a flap in it controled thermostatically so in cold weather it takes hot air from on top of the exhaust manifold.
 is all this in place and working?   
 most not all carbs also have a electric heater in the carb to warm it, is this still connected and working?
 i know of webbers which didnt have one fitted! in fact i have one and its a pain in winter! this is how i learnt about icing. at one time you could buy a mini electric blanket to wrap round the carb to keep it snug and warm!lol.
 hope this helps, as i say it may be icing hard to tell with out seeing the engine.
best of luck luke.

Thanks there Dan

Well its a webber doesnt have a pipe, but anyway its booked into a garage which do know a little about cars, one we have always used too
Master Cylinder is being stripped down and repaired
Carb will be getting looked at, hopefully all sorted
and anything else thats needs doing will be done!

Did this ever have a resolution?

I have never had a problem with carb icing on any car, and I have used the golf on days reaching -12c

TT