By Farrokh Ollia (August, 2001)
I came across your web site and will contribute as I recall the things that I have done to my 1800S that may be helpful to other owners. I am the proud owner of a 1967 1800S that I purchased new, just prior to graduating from college.
The car had a tendency to leak gas from the top of one of the two SU carburetors - usually the front one. The leak could be stopped by taking apart the top of the carb and cleaning out a small piece of debris from the shutoff needle just over the float. The debris screen in the fuel pump appeared to be in good shape and correctly installed. I corrected the problem by purchasing an inexpensive in-line fuel filter (a two dollar item at any auto or discount store) and installing it in the fuel line just before the split to the two SUs (a 15-minute job). This was done about 10 years ago. I have yet to have a carburetor leak.
A few years ago the engine started to gradually idle faster. I cleaned all the throttle linkages and checked all the obvious items with no success. Realizing that the return springs on the carbs were 30 years old, I went to the local foreign auto parts store and got two Volkswagen Beetle carburetor springs. The installation was a snap (pun intended). No more fast idle problems.
Farrokh Ollia ollias@yahoo.com