Bonehead move

[MontanaDiver]

Last Fall I had noticed the cold enrichment system on my strombergs was not working. PITA to start cold and in MT, it is cool in the Fall. I had completely overhauled the carbs in 2017, replacing everything. This time I was looking to clean the enrichment discs and reset the floats to eliminate additional carb issues. Minor overhaul went well and the carbs went back on the engine. I turn the ignition to the on position to fill the carbs and it started right off. I let it warm up to set the idle and adjust the metering rods in the dash pot. Everything was starting to gel and I shut the engine off to try a hot soak restart.
The engine restarted and I went to recheck the idle and thought I was running a little rich on the right side of the engine. I made some adjustments and the engine was really responding like it should.

Then she just died! No restart, so after 3 tries, I hooked up the timing light to rule out an ignition problem. Spark was ok, so now we’re back to fuel. Fuel pump running fine, so I stopped for the evening. The next morning, I start all over again and the fuel pump is doing its thing, but the fuel return valve isn’t clicking. I started to check for fuel pressure at the return valve and no pressure. Easy Peasy….must be a plugged fuel filter. NOPE! I took an break and came back an hour later.
Did I mention that the fuel gauge sending unit had failed, so I didn’t fill the tank in the Fall, so I could replace it. I had done that earlier, and yes the new sender turned on the low fuel light. So we can either say it was an epiphany or stupidity that I realized that running the engine long enough to get to operating temperature and then setting the idle and adjusting the metering rods caused me to run out of fuel, DAMN!

Note to self. Keep the fuel tank 1/2 full before starting engine/ carb work.

She is back to running like she is supposed to and she is in the first car show of the season this weekend. Indoor show due to the sometimes Winter conditions in Montana in April.

Why is my Jag a Woman…..because she always demands to be the center of attention and doesn’t care how much I have to spend to indulge her peculiarities, Sounds exactly like my wife!

[DWW]

[AussieEtype]

From you description of how it stopped "Then she just died! No restart, so after 3 tries" I would have said no electricity. Reason being when there is a fuel issue it normally does not just stop but coughs and splutters a bit then stops and may even fire up for a second then stop - lack of electricity stops everything straight away.

The lack of fuel and no coughing and spluttering may have been as a result of the car not bouncing around so not giving a warning signal about low fuel.

Now who has never run out of fuel - in my younger days it used to happen quite a lot in quiet remote areas - was the fault of the young lady in the passenger seat

[MontanaDiver]

Thanks for attempting to justify my bonehead move. Probably why I suspected ignition issues first. While I was diagnosing the fuel issue, I eliminated the under hood metal fuel filter that had been installed by the previous owner. Kinda silly to have two. Was the perfect time to remove it as I checked fuel pressure there, thinking I might have a partially plugged fuel filter.