UK Car Repair: rover 216 sli 1996, distributer cap, rotor arm

Question
i have problems with my rover it starts i have cleaned and checked all the plugs distributer cap and rotor arm i have checked the fuel filter,but when i drive my car it sometimes decides it doesnt want to run any more and has this intermitent problem like it is running out of fuel then chugs to a stop,but i have a full tank of fuel and when it does this you get a rather strong smell of petrol,
any help please or some idea what to look for?thanks

Answer
Can you tell where the petrol smell is coming from? If it is from the tank area it might be worth loosening of the petrol filler cap, it could be creating a vacuum in the tank.  If it is from the exhaust pipe, it signals that the fuel supply is there and that it may be an ignition problem such as a bad connection.  If it were possible to remove a spark plug when the problem occured you could tell if it had fuel or not!