Villiers advice please

[bazjude2998]

I,m a retired bod and been into classic cars all my life .Change of direction bought a part restored 98 cc Excelsior which will fire up but wont run .New plug,points,condenser and carburettor, gone through all the clearance and timing checks.
After priming the carb she will fire but only run for a short time,I,m guessing until the fuel runs out ,any thoughts? The other question which I know I,m going to get Slated for is once I,ve got it up and running how do I stop the engine
Please be gentle
Regards Baz

[kev b]

Crank seals leaking?

[powerstroke]

Hi , should be a connection to the low tension (points ) of the magneto , short that out to stop the engine, the bike should have a button or a ignition switch that shorts it out , on the running bit try removing the float bowl turn on the fuel and check to see if there is a good flow , if as you say it only runs for a short time it sounds like the fuel isn't filling the float chamber fast enough, there might be a gauze filter on the tap where it goes into the tank ..
however as the other poster said the crank seals can cause running and starting issues too, if really bad the engine starts but sucks air and dies , if semi knackered makes hot starting hard and the engine runs weak so maybe will only run with the choke on ...... good luck ....

Edited by powerstroke on Wednesday 25th April 23:09

[bazjude2998]

Thanks for replies / advice

[overunder12g]

I had a similar problem on my Greeves with Villiers engine.
Turned out the vent on the tank filler cap was blocked, thus causing vacuum in the tank. When your engine stops remove the filler cap, if it hisses then that may be your problem. If it has been standing for some time then dried out crank seals are also high on the guilty list as others have said.

[overunder12g]

Any joy OP?

[bazjude2998]

I,m away for a few days and have got other things on the go so unfortunately wont be tinkering for a week or so .I had set up a temporary fuel tank so there is definitely no issues with the tank filter.Will post a reply when hopefully I get things sorted.
Thanks again

[Felters]

Not that it's any help to the OP but I learnt to ride on a Villiers engined Excelsior in a friends field. I was 12 and I vaguely remember it having girder forks and a hand change. Could be wrong though. It was 50 something years ago. I think we ultimately killed it and replaced it with a James Captain for field duties. I remember it being a much nicer ride. Still Villiers though...

[smcapstick]

It sounds like fuel starvation. If you remove the fuel line from the carb, pop the end of the pipe in to a bottle or tray and open the fuel tap under the tank. Does the petrol run freely? If not, check the tank breather and/or unblock the tap outlet.

It could be just some old, dried-up fuel mix the is partially blocking the feed. I had it with my James (AMC engine... but the layout is the same).