So we have established the lower spring cups are missing but nevertheless the engine was running until it got hot then it stopped but would start again when it cooled down. Could the lower spring cups being missing cause this? ie the valve travel is different to what it ought to be? Cheers Pam

I had issues on mine, had an awful misfire when hot. Turned out be be a dodgy spark plug.
But .. . . . . if not done already I would fit new ignition components. New dist and rota, spark plugs and leads, coil and an electronic ignition. Runs like a dream now, even when hot.

You can test spark plugs, coil and leads with a multimeter.

Rob

Hi Pam, If the car ran OK till it got hot I would point my finger at a, points, condenser or coil (not unknown for coils, especially new ones, breaking down under heat), b, fuel prevaporising, which usually causes problems with poor starting after stopping for a while when hot, c, ignition timing incorrect, or d, valve clearances incorrect, the lack of spring base cups unlikely to cause this problem their main reason for existence is to protect the alloy head from wear. This is all in my opinion. Incidentally are you sure the cups are missing? their presence is often not clearly obvious.

Hi, thanks for the reply. There are definitely missing as we have stripped the head down completely. Someone suggested valve clearances before we decided to dismantle it! Oh well it’s a learning curve and we have the rest of the winter to make her run again - we may need it ?.
We shall keep you all posted

Pam