A puzzle

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

The Alfetta was running well, except for cold starts.  The points
were a bit pitted, so I put on a Crane electronic ignition in lieu
of new points.  It ran great for 20 minutes.  At a light, it stalled.
Any attempt to restart it would get it lit, but it would die after a
few seconds.  Thinking something had gone wrong with the newly fitted
ignition, I triple checked everything, and determined I had a weaker
spark than before.  OK, plugs were old, wires were old, coil was old.
Perhaps coil was overwhelmed by the new electronic parts.  Fitted new
parts all round.  Timing (static) is spot on and I have a fat blue spark.

However, no change in the problem.  It starts, and runs for a max of
10-15 seconds.  If I touch the gas, it will rev then instantly die.
If I don't touch the gas, it will start and reluctantly run very roughly
for a short time.

Fuel pump works and I can hear and feel fuel running through the lines,
including the return line out of the SPICA pump.

According to Braden's book, the altitude compensating link clip can break
and instantly cause a super-lean mixture, which is what this feels like.
It runs as long as the cold-start mixture is there, but the instant
that goes away, the car dies.  Not running well with the throttle open
suggests too little fuel.

So, I'm now thinking a totally unrelated failure in the pump has been
confusing me all this time.  Am I likely barking up the wrong tree?
I'm going to refit the points and condensor just to eliminate the Crane
as a possible problem, but if the problem is still there, am I likely
to find the cause inside the logic section?

james montebello
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