it lives! (but missing slightly at speed and wont start when hot)

Tom Woods uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Air leak on the inlet manifold?

As suggested, check for inlet air leaks first then try getting the carbs balanced, especially if the linkages have been disturbed. Disconnect the elbows and airbox, disconnect the link between the 2 carb throttles, set each idle screw so that each carb is sucking equally (for a rough guide, look into each carb with a mirror and see how much the bottom edge of the piston is raised off it's stop by), adjust mixture screws (needle height using special tool if strombergs) until the revs just rise almost imperceptibly then drop slightly when the carb piston is raised manually (small screwdriver etc) by about 1mm. Once that is done, adjust as required and re-connect the link between the 2 carbs. If the linkage has the "lost motion" adjuster, set it so that one carb just starts to open very slightly before the other (sounds daft, but that gives the best response without surging when rolling off and on the throttle at low speed in traffic) then refit airbox and elbows. This method of adjusting the mixture will be pretty damn close to correct, maybe requiring just a small tweak (evenly on both carbs) come MOT time. As for timing, strobe it with the dizzy vacuum disconnected and the pipe plugged, I'd suggest 6 degrees BTDC @ idle. Badger.

Dont think ive got any air leaks. Would they cause hard starting too?

Not having the brake servo pipe connected confused me for a couple of minutes but i realised why it kept stalling after i reversed it back into the drive and almost demolished stuff when it didnt stop very well!

Thanks badger - may give that a try - though im about to LPG it and the LPG installers will set it up for me after i install it so i could be lazy and just get them to sort it ;)

If an carb inbalance would cause it then it is most likely the problem

- Ifixed the linkage for the pedal and the hand throttle while it was off. It had a lot of play before and didnt pick up the linkage for the LH carb sometimes as it moved to the side. It always picks it up at the same point now.

hmm. not sure if the vac advance is working. I couldnt suck it and move it. Will try the vacuum pump on it later. Will try 6. i stupidly didnt look at what it was set to before pulling it apart! (though i put the dizzy back in with all the leads in the correct position rather than it being one lead out as before and was dead chuffed when it started first try!

Is it very difficult to check the timing on a 101 ? I have painted the balance weight black on my 110 V8 and marked TDC and 12 BTDC in white paint so its clear to see with the strobe. Makes it quick as you like to get it in the right ball-park once you have a running motor. If you leave the dissy partly tight, you can twist it by hand as you watch the strobe. Then you can fine tune by advancing a bit at a time and driving it, and then back off a few degrees when you hear it start to pink. If you run Shell V-Power it will take more advance !

there is another problem. You didn't forget the thick black heat insulators that separate the carbs from the manifold ? Does it have a mechanical fuel pump working off the timing chest ? These are better dumped in favour of an electric pump. There is a tendency for the fuel line to boil to vapour and the pump doesn't pump very well if it gets vapour (especially as the normal route for the fuel line is between the exhaust manifold and the block - at least it was on the P6 Rover - which had a mechanical pump in the 70s). This causes hot start problems and even breakdowns in traffic.

Worst V8 I came across was in a P5, I spent ages playing with the timing and the carbs, but couldn't get it to run right. In the end it was the cam timing chain was out - not my doing, but tricky to diagnose.

How far have you had it apart ?

Steve (in Cheshire)

timing doesnt seem too bad to check. There are markings on the crank pulley which i wirebrushed off while it was apart. 3 btdc has been marked with paint.

Didnt have the carbs off the manifold and the insulators are still in there. There is a leccy pump in the tank on the 101. I do have multiple fuel filters though, one with a renewable element which i have never even checked. might do that..

left the block and timing cover in one piece as i couldnt get the crank pulley off. Just had the heads off basically.

Tom (almost in cheshire ;) )

Assuming the timing is OK, the V8s don't seem too fussed about loads of fuel (if the spark is OK), so the lack of hot starting could be a lack of fuel or excess of air (if it is rich you can normally tell by the lumpiness and the black smoke). Presumably you have a manual choke, so if its an air leak or lean then a bit of choke will immediately pick it up, if its fuel shortage then it will at best give a short improvement.

Water mist in the dissy will always cause problems, and is a weak point that all diesel fans can ignore. If you have a little then it bites you after a stop, if you have a lot it stops the vehicle dead.

I had mine once play up terribly after being parked while I went away on a winter holiday. The spark went to pathetic, I closed all the plug gaps down to 10 thou and managed to get it going well enough for 250 mile trip back home, but changed the coil when I got back. A few weeks of sub-zero temperatures seemed to have been the end for it.

I changed my 110 V8 over to fuel injection since then, so don't have to worry about carbs any more. But I remember that rattling them around during a strip down can stir up muck in the float bowl (but I am sure the military have lots of filters), and the oil in the dashpots can escape - I was always topping mine up.

The list is getting quite long - one more is HT leaks. Normally spottable in the dark and most prevalent on damp mornings. As I told a guy I work with - "The sparks should be on the inside of the leads" ! Leads should also be routed through the 'combs' to stop them talking to each other - but I have never known this to be a problem.

Steve

I have set the timing properly to about 6btdc, fixed the vacuum pipe to the dissy cap that i think was leaking and tightened up a couple of loose spark plugs and now it seems to be fine!