Our 1980 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus has been with classic car technician John as he began his investigation into why it won’t turn over and why it overheated recently.
John started by checking all levels which were fine. He checked the timing which was also fine before turning the car over by hand. The spark plugs were removed and John noticed that the starter was hardly turning over. There was also a puddle of petrol on the floor under the near side front of the vehicle. However, the fuel to the engine goes to the offside of the vehicle.
The only reason that John could think of for this to happen was stuck valves causing petrol to go down the exhaust and leak. Once the car was turned over a few times, it seemed to be a bit better.
John carried out a compression test of all cylinders which were all fine so he refitted the spark plugs and tried to start the car. It started on this attempt so it looks like John has resolved the issue.
While our Sunbeam Lotus was with John, he also removed the radiator as a fan switch was weeping in the bottom of it. The coolant was drained and the grill was also removed. It was during this process that John noted that there were areas of slight damage to the grill on both sides before he removed the radiator.
To make sure the paintwork was safe during the radiator removal, John masked up the area near the radiator to avoid causing any damage or scratches.
