Lancia Beta Forum

The engine on my Beta coupe cuts out whenever I'm coming to a stop at traffic lights or slowing down in general, if anyone can offer an explanation that would be much appreciated. Also there is a heavy smell of petrol at the rear of the car. I've checked for any petrol leaks but there none, again your suggestions at solving this problem would be most welcomed.

I suspect either the idle jets are blocked or it's running massively rich for some reason - which might account for the smell.

There are a number of possible reasons  - pretty much all of which involve digging into the carb.

I would agree, sounds like the Carb needs setting up / cleaning.

If the car seems to idle ok, but stalls when you close the throttle while driving in traffic, this usually means the idle mixture screw is set too lean. Identify the idle mixture screw and with the engine warmed up, screw it out a turn and a half. Then screw it in very slowly and listen for the revs rising slightly and idle getting smoother. Keep screwing it in slowly until the engine starts to stumble. Then screw it back out half a turn. That should be about right. You can try a turn either way to get the sweet spot and smoothest idle.

The smell of petrol at the back can be from perished fuel lines, specially those furry braided hoses. They may look ok but they "sweat" petrol, so you never see a real leak. In bad cases it could be the tank rusted through and getting porous.

Cheers R