The Lotus Grand Tourers

After several weeks of suddenly coming to a halt or non starting, by a process of elimination my man at the garage has pointed the finger at this valve. It has now been disconnected from the system, both electricaly and from the fuel lines. I am now running the car to see if this has solved the problem.The thing is why is this valve fitted, after all it is either shut with the ignition off, or open with the ignition on, what is its purpose. We have discovered that the valve is sticking, so you can not depend on it letting enough fuel through, the engine cannot be producing the power it should, and can be difficult to start. Since removing it from the system the car starts first time and seems to run much better. So is this safe to do if it is why is the valve fitted in the first place.One other thing it might be wise to check the clear hose going to the fuel pump, mine was deterioating with small cracks in it and it had become brittle. Keith

I believe this was fitted so if you park your car on a steep hill overnight, nose down, all the fuel does not flow into the carbs, both flooding them, causing bad starting, and/or if it overflows from the float chambers the possible cause of fire.

as Tonypoll said but i dont think the car needs to be on a hill, and also the fuel leaks into the combustion chamber past the piston rings and destroys the oil.