Hi everyone in Jaguar land, I just picked up a 1964 Mk. II 3.8 that has been sitting since 06. It will turn over but not fire up for more than a few seconds. The electric choke unit is spewing gas after a few cranks. Is this normal or is there a blockage due to old gas varnishing things up? Im new to these SU carbs and am pretty sure they could use a servicing. Is the electric choke a problem item too? I will be posting pictures of this car which is in excellent shape. Thanks, Paul T.

 

I think you're going to have to take the whole assembly to bits and put in new seals etc, (carbs and autochoke). The auto-choke was notorious even when the cars were in production. Many people installed an on-off switch on the dash to bypass the automatic bit.

Also contact/try this firm who make new parts for the system.

Burlen - Burlen Fuel Systems Ltd

Note that there should be drain tubes at the bottom of the inlet manifold to drain away surplus fuel.

Yes, there can be a lot of it around at start-up on these old carburettor systems !!