I have mentioned in several occasions how the Previous Owner of my car was less than honest when he said several things about the condition of the car, the maintenance of the car, even the year of the engine is not what he said it was, and that could cause me quite a lot of trouble come April, the first time I take it for SMOG testing.

After a year I'm still finding things he lied to us about! The only thing he told us that was absolutely true is that the car is a Jaguar. I'm so used to encountering his lies by now that I don't even go storming through the house shrieking, "LIAR! LIAR!"

At this moment I have a fuel issue that's getting worse as time goes on. The PO bragged about how 'they' plumbed both tanks together so there was no switching involved and the engine draws from both tanks. Well, maybe it did at one time 25 years ago but it doesn't work that way now! Only the gauge in the Left tank works but as they were *Supposed* to empty equally I didn't worry about it much in the beginning.

Now, however, I might put 9 or 10 gallons in the Left tank but less than 2 gallons in the Right one. This is a worry because my effective range is less than 200 miles as opposed to 350 miles that it should be and I have to be constantly watching the fuel gauge like no other car I've ever driven!

So today we jacked her up to see if there was a kinked line or what. We discovered that there is indeed a 'Tee' where both tanks are plumbed together but it looks like the PO had Nothing to do with it! It looks like a FACTORY, OEM TEE, far too neatly done to be anything else!

Now we're thinking they didn't even remove the old in-tank pumps and the engine fuel pump is having to suck through the OEM pumps. Perhaps that's why the Right tank doesn't draw, because something is wrong within that pump like a partially stuck anti-back flow valve; IF it's still there which wouldn't surprise me one bit!

I'll just add the gas line issue to my growing list of items to address if we ever have Winter here. That list is already so long I may have to declare Winter about November 1 and just start tearing things apart.
(';')

 

Along with the electrics, the fuel system in these cars is one of the most character building aspects of ownership. The tank switching, return switching, does it switch at all, internal pumps, external pumps, level sensors with a mind of their own, all seemed to be designed to frustrate. Hopefully you can wrestle it to submission and get to something that is relatively simple and works.

 

I recently bought an 87 series 3. I love the car and the ride, however i have discovered a leak on the right tank after i fill it with more then 3 gallons. The left tank works great but the sending unit is bad so i fill the left side, zero the computer and watch the fuel used screen. When it hits about 10.5 i soon expect a stutter as i run out of fuel, quickly switch over and know that i have 2.5 gallons to find more fuel! Alittle primitive but it works until i can replace the tank and sending units!
Daniel

 

LnrB:


Could it be that pulling through the in the tank pumps works OK!! But, as the PO Tee'd them together, I don't understand why only one tank delivers fuel?
Tis not unusual to use and electric pump at the tank to push and a mechanical pump at the engine to draw.


But, as an S1, it was a carb'd engine, I think. So, still carb'd, things ought work just fine.


Is the SBC older or newer than represented by the PO ? If newer, not an issue if rthe car was a carb car. if FI to Carb. done for...


However, older SBC's are so similar that any SMOG guy will never note it. And, it must've bveen OK enough for the referee to pass on it and put on the decal with the bsr code to be used in the annual inspections.


So, keep the c note, not that you would do such a thing. Actually, with the newer SMOG test stuff, it is a bit tough to pull a fast one. Unlike the older days.


My son's neighbor shop had a little unregistered Fiat that ran really lean and would pass SMOG tests of old easily. So, when t was time to SMOG a fire eating race car, just sub in the Fiat. Son never went for that dodge. Savvy enough to make most anything smog well and still run like the very d....


Carl

 

Lnrb
YOu have a 76, right ? Around that time the fuel pumps were fitted in the fuel tanks and the changeover switch just turned one on and the other off. I think there was a non-return valve in or near each pump to stop fuel passing from one tank to the other. As a carburettor car, there is no fuel return line, that came in with the fuel injection. The fuel system on your car is quite simple compared to the FI cars, so I would try to get it back to stock if you can. Later pumps were in the trunk behind the spare wheel, covered by a cardboard panel. The in-tank pumps are no longer available, so best to update if you can. Whilst Charlie Allthumbs may have not been a very good owner, age too, takes it's toll.

 

Steve, all the switching was done away with at the time of conversion in 1986. That's one thing the PO didn't lie about! Only the left tank gauge works so I might be able to get the right gauge working this Winter.

Daniel, if we didn't plan on taking some long trips I could continue doing what I am now; just fill both tanks when the left one gets down a bit. This is a pain though, and I need to know about what the expected range is.

Carl, Nix is a Series 2, 1976; the serial number on the engine says it's a 1975 engine. I'm finding it encouraging that all older 350s looked mostly alike. If they don't check the engine # I'll be OK. I certainly don't intend to suggest that to them. If they check the number I could be deep in the soup! Hopefully you're right and they won't go that far. But it must not have been FI or the local agency wouldn't have passed it for sale before we bought it.

Fraser, this fully explains what I found under the car; both tanks plumbed together at the factory, pump brackets and holes in the boot walls for return hoses, none of them ever having been used. I'm also glad to know I didn't miss something when I didn't find any return lines.

I don't think I want to fool with 3 fuel pumps. If I decide to install an electric fuel pump it will be forward of the Tee I found. If it's possible I would like to remove the old pumps and have a pick-up and gauge sending unit in each tank but if that goes like everything else in this car it won't be possible without a Whole lot of work.

I understand quite a lot of deterioration can happen in the years since the restoration/conversion and I don't blame the PO for that. It's a nearly 40 year old car!! Of course some things no longer work correctly! But there are still so many things he told us with a straight face that have turned out not to be true, things he HAD to know about because he tried to hide them, that his name has become synonymous with Liar in this house.

But today I gave Nix the most brutal test I could think of. The left gauge read just a hair under 1/4 so I put the mower gas can in the trunk and we took off for town determined to find Nix's effective range; exactly how many miles before it sputters out of gas. Well I didn't find it.

At 275 miles we were near our favorite local gas station and I put 8.85 gallons (US) in the right tank! This is astounding as I've Never put that much in that tank since I've owned the car!

In the left tank I put a bit over 12 gallons (!!) so it was drawing off the right tank for some time as the left tank was Past empty! 275 miles is quite a respectable distance and we would probably need to unkink ourselves before that anyway.

This is Great News! True, it made less than 14mpg but some of those miles were over 100 (I had to test my new tires)! Here is one more hurdle successfully overcome, making me Way more comfortable taking this car just about anywhere, just about any time.
(';')

 

I'm hearing ya mate. I almost bought an xj40 from a bloke who seemed shady. then after I ended up with my fathers s3, and joined this forum, I found an add for the very car I almost bought from the very owner. except with a completely different description. I bit my tongue and just chuckled to myself. less trouble than the urge to put a brick through the ****** face I fought off haha

 

Spoken like a true Aussie.

 

and never forget when a seller says: "Rust Free", it almost always means that "there is no charge for the rust".

 

LnrB:


'Don't sweat the small stuff". Follow up: "it is all small stuff:.


Your car went to a special Smog referee in the past. that referee was charged with determining if the swap was in accordance with the regulations about engine changes. It must have passed! Unless, he got a "C" note!!!


But, it got the all important decal with the bar code. Mine is on the rear left door, No room on the front door pillar. Check NIX. If she has it, all is well.


As to the number on the block, almost meaningless. A rebuilt short or long block may have been used. And, the intake,. carb, ignition and exhaust and the emission gear all in compliance. that gets a pass. If it got a cam change at rebuild, it was stock or close to it and thusly passed the sniff test.along the line Not lilely as you would note a wide duration grind.


Caveat: should you go to SF or the Sierra's, don't park side saddle with full tanks. The upslope tank will drain into the downslope tank and spill over!!!


Sidebar: I watch a couple of the "Judge" shows from time to time. My interest in law has survived retirement. The tales of woe as to buying used cars is amazing. some real "woolies" told by sellers. AS is where is is the usual law. Puffery OK. Outright misrepresentation is fraud and will break the deal.


And, oddly some don't even take a test drive, much less get a mechanic to check it out.


However, the judges don't seem to recognize that some twenty year old cars are hale and hearty.


As I live in CA, I wish mine were older and smog exempt!!!


Way back when, my then barber was about ready to give me his pristine mid seventies Cadillac. it was an ill fated diesel. Busted crank shaft, again.


For a fleeting, moment. I thought. Slick. I'll do the same to it as I did my Jaguar.
Install an LT1 and trans. Diesels of the period were/are smog exempt. Yahoo!!


No not again, the travails of getting another one right!!!


Carl


"D

 

haha guilty.except I don't drink and I hate afl

 

I just saw my second AFL game,it was this years Grand Final. I remember now why I hate AFL. The first game I saw was the 1983 VFL Grand Final between the Hawks & Dons.
I went to that game with my brother,had no idea what was going on and never saw AFL again until last weekend at a mate's BBQ.

Elinor, you have. lol.

 

LnrB, I feel your pain. The PO of my Jag filled the cooling system with 50% coolant and 50% stop leak just to sell it. It took the entire winter (and yes here in the great white north winter officially starts November 1st, it says so on my seasonal plates) to clean out the crud. There was 1/8 in of plaque restricting the entire flow, not to mention sensors ruined and thermostat stuck. If he had only been honest and left the leak, I could have fixed it in an afternoon. Just thinking of the work I had to do last winter makes me want to look for a brick.

 

Carl, she does indeed have a BAR sticker on the B pillar. It's quite obvious nothing has been done with the engine since I've owned the car so I'll stop worrying about that. Besides, husband is worrying about it enough for all of us!

I'm familiar with parking on a hill with a full tank. I did that once, not Nix, and there was no damage done except for the wasted gas. I was a starving student at the time, brain programed for learning such lessons quickly. I've never done that again.

If my car had been built a mere 4 months earlier it would be 1975 and SMOG exempt! But Alas.....

Clarke, are you saying I repeat myself? LOL That merely shows how strongly I feel about people lying to me.

Jeff, I can see someone doing that. What a Giant pita that must have been for you.

A new engine fault was recently discovered; the vacuum advance was seized. The PO might not have known exactly about that, the item probably dates from 1986 like everything else regarding the restomod. The engine had pretty good performance to around 5000 rpm anyway, but it has always felt a bit like I was pulling a trailer. Not only that, I was only getting around 14 mpg and I've learned while hanging out in here, that's abysmal!

Over the weekend husband bought a new unit. There was some question of the part # so he just got the most common one as there seems to be nothing special about this particular 350.

He done good! I left the trailer feeling behind yesterday, the first opportunity I had to drive her since installation. I'll be listening carefully for pinging but so far so good!
(';')