Hello everyone. It's late September already, and that means the collector car driving season is starting to wind down here in NW Ohio. So, I thought that I would bring you up to date on some of Miss Tillie's adventures so far this season!
On our 2017 schedule was a first time show for us...the 30th annual Michiana Brits British car show in South Bend, Indiana. This show is held on the campus of Saint Mary's college, just across the street from Notre Dame University. Since South Bend is over 150 miles from our home, Rhoda and I decided to make it a two day trip with an overnight in Middlebury, Indiana.
The Das Dutchman EssenHaus is a great place to stay and the Amish Style food is outta this world!
During the first leg of the trip, to Middlebury, we stayed on the back roads and Tillie ran just fine for over 120 miles.The morning of the car show, we only had to go about 30 miles from the hotel, but Miss Tillie was not happy.... The air/fuel gauge was showing a "rich" mixture but we pressed on until only about 5 miles from the Saint Mary's campus, when, in the middle of a big intersection, she stopped running and would not restart. Two guys came to our assistance, and we got Tillie pushed off to the side of the road. When I got the hood open,there was gas coming out of the float chamber vent tube on the middle ZS carb. It appeared Tillie had a stuck needle valve, so I tapped the float chamber, then waited a few minutes before trying to start her. Luck was on our side, as Tillie fired up and we made our way to the show. Once at the show, conversations with other British car owners convinced me that I did have a stuck needle valve and that it was most likely a fluke and not to worry.
BTW, we saw many terrific, classic British cars at the car show.
Tillie did provide us with a Best in Class award, but I was still concerned about the trip back home. We decided to take the Indiana/Ohio turnpike (I-80) and give her the old "Italian Tuneup"...75 mph for 150 miles! That seemed to work as the air/fuel mixture was back to normal and all seemed good when we pulled into our driveway (whew). My wife said that she knew that I would get us home OK!
Here is a photo of the "three darlings" as I have begun to call my triple Zenith Stromberg Carburettors (note the British spelling of carburetor) ;-)
Well, a few weeks later, another road trip found us 80 miles from home when the dreaded "rich" condition again reared it's ugly head! This time it was the rear ZS that was showing signs of a stuck needle valve. To add insult to injury, a thunder storm passed though the area, and we ended up driving 20 miles in the rain before getting clear of that mess! I again tried tapping the float bowl, but no joy. By judicious use of the throttle, I once again was able to keep Tillie running until getting us home.
On the way home, my lovely wife gently suggested that perhaps it was time to get some professional help regarding the "three darlings".😊 I agreed, and the next morning contacted the 6-Pack ZS Carb guru, Ken (Poolboy).
Ken agreed to give the carbs a through going over to try resolve not just the flooding issue but a persistent problem with erratic idling.
Off the car and on their way to Mississippi
Less than 2 weeks later, the UPS driver dropped off this box with the "three darlings" all snugly packed and ready to be re-installed.
Ken reported that he found 2 of the carbs had the wrong gaskets on the TBV (throttle bypass valve), and the third carb was missing it's TBV gasket... accounting for the erratic idle. Ken did not find a "smoking gun" that would have caused the stuck needle valves, but he did replace all three with new ones and put some of his "special touches" on the chokes and TBVs.
Ken suggested I put a shutoff valve between the fuel pump and the ZS carbs in addition to my shut off valve back under the fuel tank. Shutting off this valve will prevent overnight flooding from residual fuel pressure. I also used this time to replace the fuel filter and change out all the rubber fuel line hoses...just in case !
The red handled fuel shut off valve is installed.
Finally, this seemed to be a good time to install a fuel pressure gauge.
The "three darlings" installed and ready for the K&N air filters and the acid test...road miles.
Well, gentle reader, I'm happy to report that other than "leaning out" the mixture a bit, which Ken advised might be needed, Miss Tillie has gone over 300 miles with no ZS carb issues, and I couldn't be more pleased. She now idles at stop lights like a good girl, and the flooding issues are gone.
If you know of some poorly- behaving Zenith Stromberg Carburetors, don't immediately assume you need to replace then with something else... instead, think about contacting Ken Dolhonde (a.k.a Poolboy) on the 6-Pack web site, or email him at kencorsaw@aol.com, and let him work his magic !
Finally, here is a short video clip of Miss Tillie in action following a recent car show in the
NW Ohio, area!
Happy Autumn Motoring !
