Kr1s Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Hello again everyone It's getting closer to the time when I try to get my father's nice 1980 2.0SR Berlinetta Coupe back on the road, and I'm trying to anticipate what parts could cause a catastrophic breakdown and prepare for it. One thing that occurs to me is the fuel pump. Does anyone know if these are prone to failure, and whether they are available to buy new anywhere? It's something I'm thinking may be worth carrying as a spare. Just in case anyone's interested, the car has stood in a dry garage for the best part of 30 years, but it was driven to be MoTd around 8 years ago. Things I plan to do immediately are: 1. Inspect for corrosion 2. Check tyres 3. Drain old fuel and replace fuel hoses 4. Replace tank breather hoses 5. Inspect brake hoses 6. Get spare radiator hoses 7. Turn engine over by hand before attempting to start (I'll do plugs/points/timing/distributor cap/HT leads if required) 8. Change engine oil and filter 9. Probably get an MoT test done If there's anything fundamental I'm missing, please feel free to comment! Thanks Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 If it's still original, non electric ignition, a dissy cap, points, condenser, fuel pipe, fuel filter, maybe plug leads if you have not changed them. Easy start, new plugs, fuses, basic tool kit, But honestly, I've been driving a swell serviced car for 15+ years, and no issues. Mechanical pumps can be got new, generally no issues, but you can change to electric pump if concerned. Just like any other car, if all mechanics are well maintained, it's gonna be no different. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutty2006 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 I’m hoping the fuel wasn’t sitting in the mechanical pump for too long as any ethanol in the fuel will have potentially eaten the rubber diaphragm inside it. You might be ok though. Best to test it, if it works straight away you may have got lucky. Stale fuel in my Carlton for 15 years has eaten everything apart from the injectors and tank. Those are probably next. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Sutty2006 said: I’m hoping the fuel wasn’t sitting in the mechanical pump for too long as any ethanol in the fuel will have potentially eaten the rubber diaphragm inside it. You might be ok though. Best to test it, if it works straight away you may have got lucky. Stale fuel in my Carlton for 15 years has eaten everything apart from the injectors and tank. Those are probably next. Strange as there should not have been any ethanol in the petrol 15years ago. Could be an additive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutty2006 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 51 minutes ago, Jessopia74 said: Strange as there should not have been any ethanol in the petrol 15years ago. Could be an additive I think it’s been around a lot longer than we think. Especially E5. Just 5% is enough to gradually chomp the rubber bits away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 just changing all my carltons hoses to r9 at the moment. this led to the crumbling of the pump mounting bracket which ive made a copy of the original from galv. damper is ok but ive wire wheeled it and rust killed it anyway. most awkward bit was the tank outlet pipe. original 1985 pipe is a moulded right angle jobbie .12mm. thinking normal hose with spring reinforcement for the bend. seems ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutty2006 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 16 minutes ago, cam.in.head said: just changing all my carltons hoses to r9 at the moment. this led to the crumbling of the pump mounting bracket which ive made a copy of the original from galv. damper is ok but ive wire wheeled it and rust killed it anyway. most awkward bit was the tank outlet pipe. original 1985 pipe is a moulded right angle jobbie .12mm. thinking normal hose with spring reinforcement for the bend. seems ok. Yes that 90 degree bend is a pain, even my local hose supplier couldn’t help with that. I just moved the pump across as far as I could to make the bend less and it seams to work ok. But that spring idea is good. Might have to look for some stainless spring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kr1s Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, Sutty2006 said: I’m hoping the fuel wasn’t sitting in the mechanical pump for too long as any ethanol in the fuel will have potentially eaten the rubber diaphragm inside it. You might be ok though. Best to test it, if it works straight away you may have got lucky. Stale fuel in my Carlton for 15 years has eaten everything apart from the injectors and tank. Those are probably next. This was partly my concern, hence the question. I have no idea when my dad would have last actually put petrol in it though 😆 Edited March 23, 2023 by Kr1s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutty2006 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 22 minutes ago, Kr1s said: This was partly my concern, hence the question. I have no idea when my dad would have last actually put petrol in it though 😆 What’s the worst that could happen? Fresh fuel in a can and run the pump off a pipe into the fresh fuel. If it runs ok, the pump will be fine. It might last 10 minutes, or 10 years. To be honest, they aren’t that common to fail for being sat, unless there’s a lot of crud in the tank to bring up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Wonder is it rubber is getting worse, took 18 yr old track rod ends off a golf, replaced them last year, the rubber boots lasted a year🥵🥵🥵 rubber boots fell to bits, I think the 18yr old original items where fine, changed them as new was cheap, wish I hadn't now 🥵 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 41 minutes ago, ®evo03 said: Wonder is it rubber is getting worse, took 18 yr old track rod ends off a golf, replaced them last year, the rubber boots lasted a year🥵🥵🥵 rubber boots fell to bits, I think the 18yr old original items where fine, changed them as new was cheap, wish I hadn't now 🥵 Did you change for OEM though? there is a difference with ‘OEM quality’ lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutty2006 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 14 hours ago, ®evo03 said: Wonder is it rubber is getting worse, took 18 yr old track rod ends off a golf, replaced them last year, the rubber boots lasted a year🥵🥵🥵 rubber boots fell to bits, I think the 18yr old original items where fine, changed them as new was cheap, wish I hadn't now 🥵 Seeing a hell of a lot of this in the motor trade. I work on Mercedes trucks. An Actros built 2014-2018 never any rubber issues, but all the ones built 2019 onwards all rubber components are failing. Ball joint gaiters, roll bar bushes, a frame bushes, cab mount bushes. Terrible quality of rubber now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 Yes OEM, it's the rubber is the issue. Seen a car destroyed in a storage tent, seems the dehumidifier dried out the rubbers in crumpled dust, destroyed, hoses, seals, trim, everything. Seen someone having issues with donuts recently, and tyres and just falling apart. Don't think it's all down to ethanol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.