3.8 series one E-Type

[SSwindells216120]

Ignition problem when engine hot. Starts perfectly well when cold. After about 20 miles will not restart until cool. No problem on long run to London (coolant temperature 70 Celsius / no overheating). Not likely to be fuel vapour lock.
What would cause HT failure when hot? ?coil ?condenser ? HT leads ?plugs ?rotor arm / distributer cap.
I would appreciate any advice.
Steve Swindells

[PPV]

Possible causes if not vapour lock or other fuel problems could be condenser or coil mainly I would have thought. If plugs/leads then you would probably get rough running. Replacement check one by one is the best to find problem I would have thought although you can check the coil resistance to see if in parameters cold then hot.
There could also be a lead chafing which just by coincidence moves to short out when hot.
Regards,

[SSwindells216120]

Thank you Paul,
the idea of checking coil resistance when hot and cold is a good one. Do you have any advice about coil replacement? It strikes me that the coil is set up to get pretty hot because of it's position at the front of the cylinder head.
Regards
Steve / Mark

[PPV]

If the condenser is the original I would go for that first (cheap and easy to do) but also check that it is connected properly as sometimes the leads can rub due to vibration etc. Regarding a coil then to be honest I upgraded mine (3.8 Mk2 engine) using one from a company called Powerspark. There are several different types available. I also changed to their electronic ignition to do away with points etc. It all worked quite well, helping improving starting etc. There are many other suppliers out there which I am sure others will advise you of.
Just get a good make is all I would suggest.
Are you sure it is not fuel related? What checks have you done?
Regards,

[SSwindells216120]

In short Paul no checks. My son Mark has the car just now. At the moment we are in trial and error mode doing the cheapest thing first. Historically the problem has been solved in the past by replacing the coil. The car has covered 2,000 miles in 20 years but had a run from Yorkshire to London recently and conked out just over Tower Bridge. Half an hour to cool down and it restarted. Next day it started from cold first time. The engine runs very smoothly. Condenser is on order.
If you don't mind we'll keep in touch as your replies are half what we expected.
Regards
Steve

[PPV]

No problem Steve. With fuel check that you can see it in the filter in the engine bay (if the same as my Mk2) and when it has stopped I would take off one of the tops off a float chamber to ensure fuel is at the carbs as sometimes the needle valves can stick when hot also. I presume it has SU Carbe and they have not been changed for something else.
It could be dirt or water in the petrol tank if fuel is not getting through as well as blocked tank/fuel filters which settle down when the car has been stopped for a while. As you say do the easy cheap bits first.
Lastly is everything else bog standard on the car?
Best of luck,