new owner

[alex1234]

hi iam a new bulldog owner and i was wondering if there were any owners local to cheshire as i have a fuel problem and need help,ta alex.

[istreatf]

Hi Mr 1234 - and welcome to the forum.

I expect (and hope) that you will find a few local Bulldog owners to you, but in the meantime maybe you could let us all know what type of Bulldog you have, ie is it Marina or Cortina based, and the size/type of your engine? This might help when trying to sort out your "Fuel problem". What exactly is the problem? There are certain problems related to the Marina base that I may be able to help you with by email/this forum.
I hope that you have a long and happy relationship with your Bulldog, and don't forget to join the Pilgrim Car Club!

[alex1234]

hi iam a new bulldog owner and i was wondering if there were any owners local to cheshire as i have a fuel problem and need help,ta alex.

hi its marina based with 1800cc 1982yr,ive renewed petrol pump,tank sender,fuel line,and filter,what happens is car runs sweet for 20miles and then cuts out!lack of fuel.none in the filter!but it you what a few mins it will fill up and start to get you home.ive renewed everything,any ideas .ta.

[istreatf]

One possibility is that there is a vacuum in the petrol tank. I suggest taking it for a drive, when it stops quickly nip round to the fuel filler and take it off. If it come off with a substantial sucking sound then you have the answer. Filler cap has to be vented!
Try that and let us know one way or the other then we can see what else we can come up with - could also be vaporisation, but that is less likely although possible.
Good luck and please let us know.

[John dee]

Hi Alex and wecome to the gang
I agree with Ian that the tank venting is most likely the cause and hopefully you are currently contemplating a new cap or you are staring at your dremel deciding where you should pop a hole.
However if this is not the cause then another one I would check out is the float needles in your carburettors float bowl. Depending on which material they are made of,  (some brass some plastic some rubber) they have a tendancy to stick in the closed position. Its less likely than ians tank vacume idea however as the fuel filter should still be full.
Another fault that I have had, only applies if you have a marina tank and sender(probable) and the car has stood for some time with little or no fuel. The steel pick up pipe can corrode above the petrol line and leave a pin hole.
This can lead to all sorts of strange effects because the car may start and run because of the angle its sitting at and then continue to run as the undulations in the road let it get a sip of fuel now and then, but then a smooth section or down hill/up hill/cambered section will starve the carb. However because the SU has its own fuel resevoir and the length of the fuel pipe from tank to pump is also a reserve. this means that the car will pack up about 2 minutes after being starved and will take away the logic of "It stalls when I accelerate hard or drive up hill".
I have had this effect twice and both times it was a marina pick up pipe. One in a mk3 dog and one in an actual marina. The holes were practicaly microscopic.

Happy tinkering
John Dee

[alex1234]

hi iam a new bulldog owner and i was wondering if there were any owners local to cheshire as i have a fuel problem and need help,ta alex.

hi all i have vented the cap,the new fuel pipe is 6mm internal should it be bigger!!!

[istreatf]

I am pretty certain that 6mm (or the imperial equivalent) is the OD of the sender/outlet of the fuel tank, so it should be OK.

[alex1234]

hi renewed everything!!!car runs but when you switch off engine you can watch the fuel in the filter dissapear?where has it gone the filter should be full.help !!!!!!!!!!!

[istreatf]

Are you saying that you have managed to get rid of the original problem, ie the engine cutting out after 20 miles?
As far as the filter goes, what position is it in? If it is near the carb after the pump in a vertical position then the petrol might well filter backwards towards the pump and tank. In any position higher than the tank it could well seep back into the tank, but should the pump stop it? My thinking is the same as yours though, it should stay full up. Try mounting the filter in a horizontal position rather than a vertical to see whether that makes any difference. Can't say I have noticed whether mine stays full or empties - it always looks only half full whenever I have looked at it, even with the engine running.

[alex1234]

hi dads going to run round tonight in to see if she stops!!!!!

[alex1234]

hi still stops after a run out ,about 25 miles.help!!!! carn't renew anything else i dont think?

[istreatf]

I wonder whether the no fuel in the filter is either "normal", or a herring rouge. When it stops, we need to find out whether there is petrol in the carburettor. If not, then we start to get into the realms of fuel vaporisation perhaps. If there is petrol in there, then I think you need to look at the electrics. Oh no here we go again. Kit car rule number one, if there is a problem with the electrics it will be an earthing fault. Rule number two, if you can't find a fault with the earthing, then it is definately an earth fault. Rule number three, if rule one and two have been ruled out, it is definately an earthing fault. Why 20-25 miles though? My money really was on the vacuum in the petrol tank theory, but if you have ruled that out (which might have explained why the petrol in the filter is being sucked back), are the distributor/distributor cap/points/condenser/rotor arm/plug leads/plugs OK? Change the rotor arm anyway. Condensers are a black art and could easily be the source of your problem, as are plug leads and distributor cap as they can deteriorate electrically and look perfectly good from the outside. I had to change to "cold" plugs as my engine cut out when standing in heavy traffic for more than about 15 minutes, as well as loads of other mods. One thing nobody thinks about is that the petrol we get nowadays is designed (formulated?) for modern engines and our old fashioned engines don't like it much. Just look at some of the classic car websites to see how they get around the various problems, like fuel vapourisation which is caused by the new fuels.
On the earthing front, check your earth strap to the engine, and, thinks, do you have a ballast resistor in the ignition circuit? If so, is it overheating?
I still think it is a vacuum in the fuel tank!!!!!!!!

[John dee]

Got to agree with the sage mr streatfield again.
I know its costing you time and fuel to test it, but if you run it untill it stops again, jump out and open the fuel filler. if you hear it suck then there you are!

[alex1234]

hi,all i have solved my fuel problem ,removed the tank last night and it was full of crap!
loads of sand and a six inch strip of silicon !!I ran it last night and it was sweet as a nut!
I went to stafford show today and lo and behold i was on my own,I was the only pilgrim
on the site !!where are all you club members ?
Only i wont be going next year ,no burger vans and just a few stalls selling bits and bobs.
Allso wanted £10 to get into hall,rip of   !!!
I did not pay as came in car ,still a lot of cash...
alex .

[Nigel Haldane]

Yes I thought it was steep for passengers what happened to £6 or £8 and as their was stuff all inside it was not good at all.