Moss Motors, Ltd

Hey all,

 

I have a 1980 MGB.  The engine is a '77 or '78 I think.  Anyhoo, it runs like a champ most of the time, however we'll be sailing along and it will just die.  It's very random.  Sometimes right away, other times after 15 miles or so.  I've changed out the fuel pump and filter, loosen and removed the gas cap to see if I'm getting a vacuum, but nothing helps.  Sometimes when it stalls, it won't resart right away.  Sometimes it does.  Driving me nuts.  Any ideas from anyone would be appreciated.  May it's not a fuel problem, maybe it's a spark problem?  Vapor lock? No clue.

Thanks!

Crank, does it spit and sputter before dying or just suddenly quit running ?

Do you loose any electrical when this happens?

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On their death bed, nobody ever said, "Gee I wish I'd spent more time at work!"

'68 Sprite 1275
'76 Midget 1500

No it just quits running.  Then it spits and sputters. After I get it restarted of course.  Sometimes after it dies it won't restart so I wait.  After a few minutes it will restart again, spit and sputter, then die.  But not always.  Sometimes it fires right back up, goes 15 miles then suddenly dies again, no warning.  Electrical seems to be working fine.

 

Thanks!

No electrical seems to be working fine.

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 Hi I had the same problem and it turned out to be my coil. As it heated up a wire or a contact inside exspanded and broke apart and continuity was lost but as it cooled back down and contracted back contact was made again and it restarted and run again until it got hat and so on. Might be worth changing your coil or just try a different one if you have a spare one. Hope this helps.

What type of distributor are you using? Could it be possible you are using the last operating Lucas OPUS distributor in the world?

If not OPUS, I would still suspect the distributor/coil since it is so sudden and  you have already replaced the fuel pump and did the fuel cap test.

Thanks a ton guys, I will give the coil thing a try and report back.

 

Have a good weekend.

When you replace the fuel filter, did you flush out the fuel line? Last time this scenario happened to me, I disconnected the filter, ran the fuel pump with the fuel line into a coffee cup. To my horror, a cloud of soot bursted into the cup. Everything is fine since then. Which made me wonder if those fuel additives are too good for a 49 year old fuel tank & fuel line...