etype v12

steve have to say it was about 5 days in all with waiting for parts,wish i had time to get away but my job is automotive and i am only employee,sole bread winner ,but i want to take a picture of car and post it but my wife is away with digital camera. anyhow those plugs that were removed were white and were correct champions,maybe your right needs to be richened,spoke with stew jones he told me since i took off all air pollution devices long ago i should now be using earlier needles. b1bh are the proper ones,as i said before car allways passes with no problems on state test but i think i am going to change needles as i am too concerned about those plugs they really should be coffee cream and never have. will let you know how they do after next week. by the way used digital thermo meter on thermostat housings car running at 180 on left and 183 on right bank love that radiator!!!

Jory,

You're unbelievable! All that in THREE DAYS??? It took me a whole winter to do most of that on my old '72. Three day!!??!!

Glad to hear the car is running well again. The HE conversion on the ignition is a very worthwhile upgrade. I think you're going to really enjoy that. I put an aluminum radiator in my old '72, and it solved the cooling problems there as well. Just watch the mixture on the carbs. If it starts running lean, you'll see increased engine temps, even with the alloy radiator.

So, now that it's running really well, bring it down to Atlanta for the Challenge Championship next week!

Regards,
Steve

to stew,pascal and steve just wanted to say thanks again for your help with my 73 etype v12 after alot of hard work 3 days worth and 2500.00 ,the beast lives again! started with plugs,wires,cap rotor,complete igition upgrade to xjs distributor,coil,ballist,amplifer from sng barret,new fuel pump and filter,new alloy radiator,thermostats,hose kit,oilchange filter,called jag doctor and ordered gm alternator conversion works great by the way,changed belts,installed wilwood front brake conversion pads rotors,and calipers,lower ball joints upgraded and greased suspension.opened tank and found no sediment what so ever!!!!. even changed the return valve on drivers side of car,removed top of carbs no problems with diaphrams or needles,everthing was perfect,adjusted timing to 12 degrees idles at 600rpm,washed my hands went for test drive,everything was great,or so i thought,.WELL all was not great,yes the car was better in cooling,braking,charging,idle quality,but after a very short time guess what you got it same damn problem. Took a big breath and just sat down and thought,what did i miss. WEll i went back took the carbs completely apart,when i took the first one apart nothing was wrong not one bit of tarnish the float was perfect needle perfect,like brand new,i got very mad but when three others had stuck needles i was overjoyed,installed new ones and went out again all i can say is WOW!!! THANKS AGAIN

BTW, I'm sure I don't need to mention this, but it's worth saying -- if you do this yourself, BE VERY VERY CAREFUL when working with the gas tank. Needless to say, you should do it outside. Be very conscious of things that could cause sparks. Gas fumes can build up very quickly and can be very dangerous, and spilled gas can be very hazardous, to you and the environment. If you don't know what you are doing, take the car to a shop that does, let them drain the tank and do the work.

Steve

Jory,

You may have a more basic problem than the carbs (though they likely need to be cleaned at the very least and probably rebuilt). There is a mesh filter at the bottom of the pickup tube in the gas tank. If the gas tank has not been opened, and if you have never opened the sump drain to get the junk out, you may have a clogged pickup tube. I had this exact problem on my '70 FHC when I got it. Over time, the crud in the tank built up in the pickup tube along with corrosion from the moisture. It cut the fuel flow down to nothing, so the pump was pumping away but the carbs were being starved.

I'd suggest opening the tank, pulling the pickup tube out and checking it. You might be surprised. You may also find a lot of rust and debrise in the bottom of the tank. If so, drain the tank, remove it, and take if to a shop and have the tank boiled out and relined. At the same time, either replace the pickup tube and mesh filter, or rod out the tube to be sure that it is perfectly clean on the inside.

There is also a chance that junk has built up in the mesh screen filters in your carbs. That will cut gas flow down too. The only way to get to therm is to pull the carbs, and if you are going that far, you might as well rebuild them. You can do a "light" rebuild yourself (not difficult). If you want a full rebuild, consider contacting Joe Curto in College Point, Queens, NY. He does a great job and they come back looking and working better than new. NAYYY, just a happy customer.

Hope that helps,

Steve Weinstein
former '72 E-type 2+2 owner
'70 XKE FHC
'69 XKE OTS

defintely lack of use issue... these car don't like to sit. the more i drive mine, the better it runs!

carbs are due for a rebuilt, must be all gummed up... don't forget the return valve on the left bank on the V12, check that first. if it sticks open it will dump too much fuel back to the tank, causing to run on the right bank only... stikcing close, it could force pressure to overcome the floats/valves. you can try adjusting the spring a little. or if you suspect it's sticking open, clamp the return hose shut and see what happens. i did that once on a long trip as an experiment... it worked. i adjusted the spring 1200 miles later. didn't want to open the valve on a hot engine...

Pascal Gademer
72 E-type 2+2
00 XKR Coupe

stew i do not remember the last time i had them apart for floats,today i did alot of work on car have the illinois state emissions to deal with so i am trying to get car perfect,maybe your right i rebuilt them around 1981,like i said car never really gets used no time to really enjoy it, do you think 1 or 2 may be sticking,checked diaphams tonight look perfect plenty of oil in dashpots needles are flush with surface have allways left them there and car has allways past that was 2 years ago. i will take apart tomorrow and see if they are hanging up that would really be great.thanks again jory

Jory,
Its time to rebuild the carbs. Floats may be bad, amoung other things. This is a somple task, if you are a bit handy with tools, and can read instructions.
Stew Cleave
JOCO Chief Judge
'69 E-Type 2+2
'01 S-Type
and other LBC's