Quite literally the autograss project has stalled. We were about to remove the fuel tank the other night and decided to check the engine one last time before we removed the fuel lines and replumbed them to the new small underbonnet tank. Well the car fired, ran for about three seconds and died. Investigation showed a good fuel supply and a spark at the plugs, albeit a weak one, but it just would't fire. Suspecting an immobiliser or electrical fault I checked through all the wiring joints we had moved and else everything I could think of, but came up blank. Then in a back to basics attempt I removed the distributor cap to discover it was held with only two screws instead of three, and had been on at a slight angle, not seated properly. The rotor arm had been mashing away at the contacts and I presume had eventually worn to the point where it no longer made good contact, hence high resistance and a refusal to start. As the cap looks fairly new I'm guessing the previous owner had it replaced by a lazy mechanic who didn't bother with the awkward to reach bottom screw.
A new arm and cap have been acquired, and just as soon as I get chance after our holiday I'll replace them and see if that fixes things.
