Thought you might like to hear about my Sunbeam day today. Having freed the
clutch and feeling rather brave I drove my 4 year old to school this morning
in Half Moon Bay - a distance of about 3 miles round trip - his little face
was an absolute picture as he squealed with delight at the prospect of
driving in Daddy's little red car. When we arrived he asked if Daddy would
take him to school in the little car more often!! Definitely a moment to
relish..now for the bad bits. Having tasted the sweet taste of daily sunbeam
driving I thought I would be very adventurous and drive over the 'hill' that
separates us from the more suburban side of the San Francisco Peninsula area.
It is a beautiful drive , past fields of flowers and farms up through the
hills and over to see the panorama of San Francisco in the distance, the
airport , reservoirs etc..brilliant!! The car was doing fine until I got to
around San Mateo - where I work, a distance of about 14 miles or so...and the
car engine started to splutter and lose power - picking up then dropping off
until it just coasted to a halt - several attempts to restart eventually
succeeded and I pulled out on to the road and accelerated only to have the
same thing happen again and again (about 15 agains in total). I couldn't find
anything wrong - I have just checked the timing and it is spot on , new spark
plugs as well- anyway I eventually got myself through stopping and starting
to an area of many car repair shops - only to be turned away by every single
one.- no experience with Sunbeams and no desire to even look. In the end I
had the humbling experience of retracing my steps back over the mountain with
the Sunbeam attached to the back of a tow truck - all for the bargain price
of $ 85....what an end to the day...
Well if you made it this far ...do you have any thoughts on a diagnosis ..I
assume fuel or ignition ..but wondered if anyone else might be more specific.
Strange thing happened on one of my many restarts - the passenger side brakes
seemed to be squealing - like they were locked on - I don't suppose the
brakes could lock on to such an extent that forward motion is stopped and it
makes it seem like no power? BTW whilst stationary the engine seems fine....
Any help gratefully accepted...
Thanks
Clive
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