Ressurecting a 126 BIS

[RossH]

I'll start with some background: I just bought my first 126 Bis and am trying to get it running after 3 years of non-running and neglect from the previous owner.  He said it used to run fine, then one day it just didnt start (would turn over and not fire) and has not run it since.  It's a J reg.

I have replaced the battery, added some fresh fuel and have started looking for problems.  It is sparking fine, but there is no fuel getting to the carb.  When I followed the fuel tubes back, i found there was no fuel getting to the fuel pump.  I checked the fuel hose with a quick suck and the foul taste proved there's no blockage.  

So my question is: what to do next?  The fuel pump does put out a tiny puff of air when you turn the engine over, but it's barely noticeable so I'm thinking that may be the problem.  I'm thinking of refurbishing the pump with a new diaphram and seals, can anybody give me any advice on this? Is it worth it or should i just look for a new pump?  

I suspect I'll be needing parts:  I'm in north London, can anybody reccommend a good dealer round here, or a mail order service?  

Thanks for reading this far, and thanks in advance for any replies and advice!

Ross

[bis13]

change the pump and push rod it should sort your problems. any motor factor will get a pump and rod . beware of the brakes cos after so long a lay up they will need a good look at to work nicely. good luck .its funny you live in dalston i was raised in hackney (homerton) and went to school just down the road from you(hackney free).

[Chris Lakin]

welcome to the forum

yep almost 100% certain its pump, is it an orginal pump i.e. does it have a brass top? Dont bother refurbishing it, only £20 new
ricambio international www.ricambio.co.uk in surrey.

regards

Chris

[RossH]

Thanks guys, I'll get a new pump and pushrod and will let you know how I get on!

[Bruce]

mine won't start either, was running up till the start of this year, then just wouldn't start. no fuel was getting through, replaced pump and pushrod, but no change (now have spare of both, as ones on where perfect). Next job is to drop the tank and put new pipes on as the present ones are split. been putting job off for ages as dropping tank is major job for me these days. usually get work done at garrage but as i can't start car would be to expensive.

[RossH]

While waiting for my new pump to arrive the other evening I had another go at getting my newly christened "Enzo" working, and managed to get the engine running with no new parts!

I unhooked the fuel inlet pipe before it reaches the pump, and unhooked the pipe going to the carb so i could see if there was any coming out.  I then filled up a squeezy bottle with fuel and started squirting it through the filter (which is clear, and very useful to see if there is fuel moving / bubbles in it), into the pump.  It took a lot, maybe 150ml before starting to come out of the carb hose, so there was definitely an airlock in the pump.  

So I hooked it back up, and after a few attempts of squirting fuel into the carb, it fired and started pulling fuel up from the tank!  It's now running well, and I have a brand new pump and pushrod that I also don't need!(seriously, £13 for a 6" stainless rod?!)

You could see a lot of air coming into the fuel pump, but at idle this did not affect fuel supply to the engine.  it was obvious from the bubbles that i would have to replace the old braid-covered hoses all the way down to the fuel tank.

This might be useful info for you Bruce:
Lowering the tank was not too hard - I left the filling pipes attached and just un-did the 3 bolts holding the tank on and lowered the tank just enough to get to the pipes.  The pipes are held on with crimp clamps, which it's easiest to cut off with some wire cutters.  I replaced them with regular screw-on clamps, but some advice here:  do them up with the clamp screw facing down, rather than upwards which would be easier, otherwise there isnt enough space between the tank and the chassis to get the tank bolted tight back on.  Then just lift it up and bolt it back on. The tank isnt heavy, but having a trolly jack underneath it was helpful for holding it in the right position.

Now when I said "just un-did the bolts":  while undoing them, 2 of the 3 threaded studs from the chassis sheared off.  Needless to say there was a lot of swearing that day!  I didnt use any WD40, and my advice to others woiuld be to soak the area in WD40 the night before and be very careful when taking the bolts off.  It's better to avoid the 2 hours i have just spent drilling out the studs and putting in and sealing new bolts into the chassis.

Apart from that, it was pretty easy considering i'm an inexperienced amateur in car maintenance.

[Chris Lakin]

well done mate

you cant be much of an amateur, i made the mistake of dropping my whole fuel tank when renewing my fuel lines, but this gave me a good oppotunity to waxoyl the tank but i was on my own when it came to fitting it back again, was a bloody nightmare!

regards

Chris

[RossH]

Yeah, that tank would be hard to get back on on your own!  

Next steps are that I need a new exhaust and tyres all round.  I found an exhaust at a shop in Clapham for £65 which seems pretty reasonable and plan to pick it up this week.  Does anybody have any advice on the cheapest way to get 4/5 new or at least decent tyres?  eTyres.co.uk do a delivery and fitting service for £33.90/ tyre, which seemed pretty reasoable but it's still going to add up.  Anybody know of a place doing a deal for all 4 wheels?

[Chris Lakin]

http://www.tyresave.co.uk/newtyres.html

there was an even cheaper company but cant remember the site.

ive knows a few peopl use this company they have said some positive things about them.

regards

Chris