Morris Minor Owners Club

Yes, it needs to be sharp enough to puncture the seal - a compass point will do it, or anything similar.

Yes, it won't take long to remove the head and take a look.

From my own experience, a broken crankshaft was a loud knocking that progressively got louder, together with a loss of power. Your 'fizzy wizzy clattery' might well be head gasket - its hard to tell at a distance simply from a description of the noise. But a failed head gasket will not always result...

There is, of course, a filter in the tank as well as the one in the pump and any possible in-line filter. But certainly worth checking the pump filter and the fuel flow and seeing if there are any leaks in the float chamber or pipe fittings first, as others have suggested.

I would expect more of a clattering noise were it the head gasket. An actual knocking could well be a broken crankshaft - its happened to me in the past - engine developed a knocking noise which increasingly got worse and it soon became obvious I was not going to be able to drive home.

Thank you, 'olonas'. I know I have one, as I have done this very same job before, but couldn't remember off-hand its exact size. I knew it was a spanner and not a screwdriver though!

Sounds like the pump is struggling to provide enough fuel for uphill acceleration. First check that the little removable filter in the bottom of the petrol pump isn't clogged up. Have a cloth underneath to soak up any fuel that comes out when you remove it. You need a suitable size spanner to do this.

I would add that I have a fibreglass rear valance and there are some hairline cracks - fortunately, barely visible - in the paintwork due to the flexing of the fibreglass shape under the stress of the spring bar and the chrome blade which I doubt would happen with a metal valance......

Personally, I am wary of fibreglass since I bought some fibreglass front wings which just would not fit properly. In the end, I had the old metal wings repaired - there was a line of rust down the back where it meets the front door. The repairs have been good these last nine years.

Some pics might be helpful so we can see exactly what is going on............

Just to be on the safe side - don't try starting the engine/driving the car with a blanket still in the engine bay!

On the subject of fuel,OP says "I popped a couple of quids worth in a jerry can at the local garage and chucked that in the tank, too." £2 is not a lot of fuel these days and might not be enough to make a difference if the tank had a lot of stale fuel in it. Be better to manually fill the ...

Alternatively, as Chloe seems to have mastered the use of the choke, why don't you get her to give you some in-car lessons on its function and correct use? It sounds like you are pushing the choke back in too soon. Remember, the choke is not just a device to help start a cold engine, but it needs to...

The service manual says oil, some say grease doesn't "run away and hide in the rack gaitors", some hedge their bets and put in a mixture.
As Bill says, there is no consensus among owners but, FWIW, I have used EP90 oil without issue for many decades.

So many accidents too!

Yes, I sometimes get the feeling that some drivers just have to overtake, simply because they can't bear to be behind an old car, even if it means breaking the speed limit in order to do so. On the other hand, I do get let out of junctions quite often with a wave and a smile - probably the equivalen...

It is possible, even likely, the old seal is in there if you fitted the canister without fitting a new seal and it doesn't leak. If it is not leaking now, I would leave well alone and change the seal next time you change the filter. Take the car for a bit of a drive making sure it doesn't leak at sp...

Glad the car is going again but - "before you know it we’ve usually tried that many times that we’ve either ran the battery flat or flooded her" Really, a Morris Minor in good running order should be very easy to start. It should not be so reluctant to start that the battery gets drained t...

Fire her up! But go easy on the choke. Your problem is likely either over-enthusiastic use of the choke, or damp in the ignition system. Hard to know at a distance. Next time this happens, spray WD-40 all over the ignition HT leads and dizzy cap to disperse any damp before trying to start, going eas...

Did you re-set the valve clearances after replacing the head?