Tom Wagner's question : "Is it normal for Lucus Fuel Pumps to stop for
no apparent reason' then to tap on them to get them going again..."
reminds me of a story I feel obligated to share.
In the mid 60's, I had a '57 MGA as my daily driver in Hampton VA (read:
too poor to own a reliable car) with a fuel pump that required the
occasional prompting of a tap. I carried a small hammer behind the
passenger's seat. It usually only required one downshift and a tap or
two to create the "whirr" that restarted the engine.
Usually, until.... my very pregnant wife and I were on the way to the
hospital at about 2:30 am, pains at 2-3 minutes and counting. You get
the picture, 70+ mph, 4th gear, revs fall, no big thing - reach back
give the fuel pump a tap, downshift, 40 mph third gear, TAP, TAP...
downshift, 20 mph second gear TAP, TAP, TAP, start thinking about baby
delivery roadside in a roadster. Do I lay the tonneau cover on the
grass???. TAP, TAP, TAP... somewhere, just before beating the fuel pump
to death, just before pulling off to the shoulder... WHIRRRRRR.
Long story long, we made it, but close. The nurse left skid marks with
the wheelchair on the way to delivery. Results, a baby girl less than
an hour later and I replaced the fuel pump while waiting for mom and
baby to come home. Don't we just love our LBC's.
Clark Chilton (80 MGB LE)
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