Of Fuel and Filters

It wasn't easy getting Olivia home. When I bought her, she was sitting in Joburg, 1,500km away. And once I'd found transport, she wouldn't fit on the carrier! But eventually she arrived in Cape Town and a friend took me through to get her.

It was a mission to get her started, as the batteries (both of them) were "pap", but once she was going it was OK. Except....

About 10km from home she suddenly died! Happily puttering along and suddenly there was nothing. Fortunately the friend (who was driving behind me) knows things about cars. We jump-started her (for the third time), or at least tried to. Still nothing - sounded a bit like fuel starvation. So out came the Big Tow Rope (see her pic 2 posts below) and off she went. Towed by a Hyundai - but heading forward at least.

We tried another start near home before we took on the mountain I live on. Still no luck, so up we went - all ton or two of her, loaded to the hilt with ammo boxes, equipment and such, hoping the tow rope would hold. We made it to near home where just a short tow was left, but my friend was unsure he had sufficient traction to get her up the last, worst hill. So there she stood. Fortunately another guy dropped by with his Landy (to drool at mine), and we managed to get her right to my place with a bit of effort.

And then came the search-and-fix part. After a lengthy chat to the previous owner, it was time to check out the fuel filters. And the pic in this post is what I found! She has two filters, this one being an "extra" in-line one, and it was literally clogged with mud. The engine-bay one was also quite filthy. Out they came, replacements in (another learning curve - fuel tends to drip out of engine-bay filters once you loosen the bolt at the bottom... and washing one's eyes with fuel is not a good thing), and she finally started! YAY!

While chatting to the previous owner, I'd sorted out which tank belonged to what guage/lever, so now most of the fuel stuff is worked out. She has 3 tanks - a total of 175 litres (though I've been warned not to over-fill one of them). The fuel pump ticks along happily on start-up, so we're getting there!

Step one in getting to know the Landy / getting the hands dirty completed. And this fuel filter saved for historical purposes... perhaps I should frame it! :)