all i did was check the breather hoses and they all seemed ok might need to drop the engine and take the fuel tank out in case it is the filler hose
Maybe two problems - both likely to be split rubber components. Fuel smell - If you havent yet replaced fuel lines and they are the fabric covered rubber ones, look for the darker sections - these will be darkened by petrol leaking through the hose. Where it is light grey it is dry. Please change them before your bus catches fire - the entire fuel tank will drain through gravity when certain sections break. Go look at the Samba for the pictures. Your bus wont be coming home. Then change the hose. The breather hose connections are above the tank level so generally breaks in these these cause petrol smells without letting out much fuel. Top filler hose cracks, smells on fill up. Bottom filler hose cracking/not sealing with tank smells when you corner or fill up . If you look at the diagram above .. Hose No.24 RED is quite a common source of petrol drips/smells - behind the spare wheel - the breather pipe goes fairly flat from the top of the tank to 24 RED, so slopping around on corners may cause a bit of petrol to spit out while on the other side the joint is 24 Blue which is beyond the loop up into the air vents. Hot engine - try zapping it with an infrared thermometer and see if it really is much above 100 degrees C on the bottom of the engine ... A hot running engine - air leaks into the carburettor through missing hoses, splits in rubber parts. Blockages in the carburettor. Basically looking for lean running - too much air or too little fuel. Badly set timing, or drift as points wear out can cause the engine to run hotter. Driving it as hard as possible for 20 miles can get it quite hot too. Post pictures of the pipework between the distributor and the carburettor, the fuel hoses. Then obvious things may be more obvious.
I would. Before you do that you could prise out the paint tin lid to investigate - stick your phone in and take photos of the filler hose connections. Crackling tinkling engine is much too hot, it should not do that. Check your timing first and check the distributor advances correctly - if it was "going really well" it could also be your jetting is a bit lean.
Something's not right Kevin and sadly it hasn't fixed itself over winter Do as @mikedjames and @Zed suggest and have a good systematic poke around. It can be daunting at first, as it was for all of us. Work out how to post pictures and you'll get all the help you need...
Mine did this when the points had slipped. Smelt of petrol and got hot very quick and lots of cracking and ticking on cooling. Quick reset of points gap and timing with gun all was sorted. Could be worth checking with a timing gun if not done this yet
Although mine's a type 4, I've had a few issues of fuel smells. From two vans over 27 years, in no particular order these have been: 1. bad breather hose in tank compartment 2. carb drain plug washer not fitted 3. faulty accelerator pump on carb dripping 4. faulty float valves 5. leaking fuel pump 6. perished fuel hose where it comes from below into engine compartment 7. perished seal on fuel gauge sender 8. corroded tank outlet 9. faulty choke unit. You can usually put your finger on a tiny leak and recognise it's slightly damp. It ran perfectly well through all of this, apart from nos. 4 & 9. Though it makes me doubt my sanity persisting with such an unreliable vehicle.
Mine did this when the points had slipped. Smelt of petrol and got hot very quick and lots of cracking and ticking on cooling. Quick reset of points gap and timing with gun all was sorted. Could be worth checking with a timing gun if not done this yet
thanks all i have a bit of time at home now so am going to take the advice given and start my investigations and try and rectify the issues once i learn how to upload photos i will do that as i go and hopefully get your thoughts and suggestions cheers