Morris Minor Owners Club

Leo wrote:Check your Distributor Vacuum Unit

Could be as simple as that

Leo

It's a fair point - not had the car long, so there's tons of things I haven't looked at yet, so I'll do the "suck it and hold the vacuum" test tomorrow - thanks!

Do I take it that most/all member's cars do fart? My impression is that they all do it, but that may be imagination, and I'd like to know how many others (if any) don't?

Cheers all!

Mine didn't with the old (rather rotten) mild steel exhaust. It started doing it when I replaced it with a new stainless one.

My traveller farts so loud on over run the car behind falls back a hundred yards,

Yes, I agree. I followed you out of that castle we all didn't meet up at on the LEO, it was sooo loud, just the farty pop bit.

Mine didn't make the noise when my system leaked, the tailpipe from the box was riddled with holes at the top. As with Alex's car, it came back when I replaced the system (although mine were both mild steel).

Andrew

Mine farts and proud!

If you want I have a VERY farty silencer in the midlands which I'm more than happy to swap for a non farty one ... I actually took it off to swap it for the one I have now since it is slightly less farty!

If I remember rightly the one I took off was stainless, wheras the one I have on now isnt ... I'll be down in the midlands for the weekend of the 9th november, and can check for sure that it IS stainless, but either way if you want it - it's yours

(If it is stainless then I'd like your non farty box in return, if it's not then you can just have it)

My impression is that they all do it, but that may be imagination, and I'd like to know how many others (if any) don't?

some don't, but nearly all do. My first Minor didn't and had a few different exhausts and manifolds. I wondered if it was because of the 12G940 head upgrade.

Minis don't do it, 1100/1300 don't do it - same engine but very different exhaust system. It's entirely to do with the position of the silencer - close to the manifold, and no amount of ignition timing etc will make/or stop it 'trumpeting'! Years ago I swapped straight pipe for silencer - and fitted the infamous 'Sprite Mk1' silencer at the rear - plenty of noise, but no trumpet.

You get a much more discrete fart out of a Series MM.

Leo wrote:Check your Distributor Vacuum Unit

Could be as simple as that

Leo

I note that Mike said to do that too - so as promised I tested the vac advance today and was interested to note that the diaphragm leaks when I do the "suction" test!!!

So - I shall get a new one ASAP, fit it, time the car up properly on a strobe and see what happens next. The car is actually running very well, and seems to pull well, but I believe that the vac advance is mainly there for fuel economy, and to be honest we haven't driven it far enough to really monitor this yet, so perhaps that's why I didn't suspect anything awry in that area. Still, I want the car spot-on, and shall replace it as a matter of course anyway. It looks a bit old, so I guess I'm not surprised really....

Great! I was running out of things to fiddle with, that'll keep me occupied for an hour or so once I've got a replacement!

Thanks for all the other comments too - very interesting, keep 'em coming! We'll have her trumpeting away eventually.....

Cheers

mike.perry wrote:Check your engine timing and vacuum unit. The more advance, the bigger the fart. That's my theory anyway.

I've had problems with points closing up, therefore retarding the ignition, and it definitely loses the fart! Also didn't fart when the vac advance was dead, so I tend to go with the above theory. Mine only does it at about mid range in the rev band so I have to judge it right. About 25mph in 3rd on the over run going down the long hill through our housing estate is glorious!! Makes up for all the prats with their drainpipe pugs making anti-social noises!!
As a complete aside, Luxobarge, I noticed a modern box in an earlier photo of your stable, it set me wondering about your monicker. The reason being I had the misfortune to briefly own a pug 406 last year and wondered why they wasted time designing it- unneccessarily huge and TOTALLY lacking in any character(or power-it was a strangled diesel). The point being, I christened it the "eurobarge", partly due its barge like handling. Just wondered if you owned the luxury version!!!

LINEARAUDIO wrote:As a complete aside, Luxobarge, I noticed a modern box in an earlier photo of your stable, it set me wondering about your monicker. The reason being I had the misfortune to briefly own a pug 406 last year and wondered why they wasted time designing it- unneccessarily huge and TOTALLY lacking in any character(or power-it was a strangled diesel). The point being, I christened it the "eurobarge", partly due its barge like handling. Just wondered if you owned the luxury version!!!

Thanks for that!

Re "Luxobarge" - no, haven't owned a Pug since a 205GTi in the late eighties - the moniker comes from:

a) a bit of reverse logic humour - I love Moggies and I also have an MG Midget - the complete opposites of "Luxobarges" - a bit like calling a really short person "Lofty".
b) I do love Jags also, and until a couple of years ago had a lovely XJ40 4.0l - a real leather-and-wood "gentlemans club" type affair, which I think easily justified the "Luxobarge" handle at the time!

I'm on www.popular-classics.org (an excellent "general" classic car forum) and the Car Mechanics Mag forum at http://www.kelsey-forums.co.uk/cgi-bin/cmm/YaBB.pl and also I'm a moderator on the equally excellent Practical Classics web forum at http://www.practicalclassics.co.uk/forum/index.php - so a bit late to change it now!

The rest of my fleet today consists of:

MG Midget (totally restored by me from a basket case, that's when the insanity really set in)
Jaguar XK8 (life's ambition - lucky me!)
Saab GM900 - one I "fixed up" - too much of a bargain to resist
Vauxhall Cavalier 8V 2.0i - don't ask! (actually a very capable and reliable workhorse, just boring eh?)
Triumph Trophy 900 bike. 1994 vintage, but still enough to scare me!

Back on topic - very interesting what you say, that yours stopped farting with a U/S vac unit - here's hoping that a new one works!

Cheers all

Very interesting re the vacuum unit - it is there mainly as an economy unit - but, it also pulls the ignition timing up on idle (throttle closed, so some vacuum and therefore advance there) - and it also 'brightens' the engine by holding the timing advanced when cruising along, and when you put your foot down it holds the timing up for that short time until the vacuum collapses and therefore helps the intial acceleration. When my vac unit was leaking I noticed a very 'flat' engine, but have to say I think it still 'trumpeted'!

Yes but you live in the hills, so plenty of opportunity for freelance farting! Living in the flatlands, I have to look for downgrades to express my flatulence!

As far as my experience goes, its mainly down to exhaust systems. Some of the new stainless ones are extremely farty (or just plain noisy really) which is why I tend to get mild steel ones these days. My convertible has a rear silencer as well as the front one (standard bore / engine etc) and no fart at all. I think the theory of the silencer being close to the engine is the main deciding factor. I had an original type exhaust on a car (silencer with the 'crimped' ends) and that was very quiet, until it fell apart so it may be an issue of newer silencers being a different internal construction?

Interesting - several comments above about it being due to the proximity of the silencer box to the manifold.

Mine is a new stainless (I think) single box system - here is where the position of the box is - does this look like the right position for flatulence?



Cheers!

its a stupid noise they make

Should be just right Luxo - provided no additional rear silencer?

bmcecosse wrote:Should be just right Luxo - provided no additional rear silencer?

Nope - just a long pipe, looped over the rear axle of course.

Thanks mate - we'll see what happens when the new vac advance is fitted!

Just thought I'd post up that picture as I'm BORED today!!! (it's raining!)

Raining ? It's hammering down here - 3rd day in row!

And when you've got the carb 'n timing right go for the slowest tickover so the the carb's as shut as possible. It not only increases the fart but also engine breaking - v useful for hills around here! Regards, MikeN.