MG Car Repair: 78 mgb starts for 2 sec. then dies, weber carburetors, haynes manuals

Question
Hi Howard:
I have a 78 mgb, the fuel pump is new, the flow to carb is steady.
the carb is weber, engine is rebuilt, the car starts for 2 sec. then dies. I drove it yesterday, no problem. I think the engine is floated by excess gas. I let it sit for 6 hours no change.
I noticed the gas is strong yellow to orange color.
Please advise.

Answer
Hi Mohammad,

If the engine is flooding with excess gas you can see black smoke out of the exhaust and if you remove the spark plugs they will be colored flat black.

The gasoline should not be colored like that. It can be stale gas and/or rust in the tank causing the color. I would drain the gasoline and put in fresh high test gas.

Also, you should take the top off of the carburetor and lean out the float chamber. If you find a lot of trash in the bottom of the float chamber you can try using compressed air to blow out the jets but if that don't correct the problem you may have to remove the carburetor and have it cleaned out with a vat of carburetor cleaner. Also check the float to see that it is not damaged or full of fuel and then put in a new needle and seat and set the float level.

Haynes manuals sells a service manual on Weber carburetors. Depending on what model Weber you have. MG never came with a Weber carburetor. let me know the model of the Weber and I may be able to give you an ISBN number of the manual.

Howard