850side valve only turns over once then dies!

[Anzaclad1951MM]

Help! I own a 1951 low light that was running fine till one day it started to splutter and sound awful. so I drove it home thinking it was the carb but could not get it to run smooth and was becoming more gutless than usual. after 4-5 months of new parenthood I have come back to work on it to find it is very hard to start and will only fire one turn before it cuts out!

It keeps doing this this time after time every time I try to start it and it fires only once every time! HELP!

Is a stuck valve?

[bmcecosse]

I'm guessing it's a 918 cc side valve engine. First check - is the battery fully charged? Is it any better with jump leads from another car? I would check the compressions - this will determine if a valve has stuck open - or the head gasket blown..... But hopefully it will be something simple - check and set the points gap - and inspect the spark plugs. Is there a good spark at each plug? If you pour an egg-cup of petrol into the carb, and crank it - does it run for a few seconds?

[Anzaclad1951MM]

I think so as it is the same as my old series E, I have a new battery, and have done the petrol in the carb trick and the pump is ticking along with good pressure. I will double check the plugs but they all appear to be sparking.

I hope I have checked all as I am sleep deprived due to twins keeping me up all night, This is why I need to get it going to keep me sane while they seep during the day! LOL

[bmcecosse]

I had 3 X Series E many moons ago... Check the compressions.....

[meh]

Does that engine have those nasty timing cogs?

[bmcecosse]

'Cogs' ?? It has sprockets and a chain - like most engines of the era!

[meh]

The side valve oxford had tuffnel or similar cogs

[mike.perry]

The side valve has a duplex timing chain and does not suffer from stretching.
Check the spark plug gaps, if you have fitted long nose plugs then the pistons can hit the tips and close the gaps or even break the tips off.
Turn the engine over on the handle, this is enough to check that you have compression on all four cylinders, if not suspect head gasket
Check that the distributor is tight and has not rotated.
Check points gap and spark
If still no luck kick the hub caps and swear profusely

[Anzaclad1951MM]

Thanks Chaps, she is turning over thanks to you advice! It had 3 dead plugs and one sick one! I have had 1 or 2 go but not the lot in one go! they were NKG plugs (correct size and type)that were barely 8 months old, dam plugs.
I had some very old champion plugs with the brass ends and they give off a fantastic spark, oh but alas since it has been idle for two years it is smoking a bit with a blueish white smoke! aggggh

[rayofleamington]

It had 3 dead plugs and one sick one!

Dead in what way?
I've heard of plug-length issues on sidevalve engines.
Basically if the plug is over length, the piston meets the pug tip and closes up the gap.

I think so as it is the same as my old series E,

should be 918 then - very similar to what you had but slightly different head.