Morris Minor Owners Club

your dizzy cap looks like a 45d type.go onto the mini spares web site order a new one and they do a blue rotor arm that does not have a rivit in place,so it cant short out ive got them in mine and it does not miss a beat.

Fitted the new dizzy cap, rotor arm and leads now it doesn't start at all I understand that the firing order is 1342 - 1 being nearest to the radiator. I wonder if I've fixed No1 too far around on the dizzy cap - perhaps it should be the one below the clip not above it - if you know what I mean!!! Think you can see from the picture<br><br>

take #1 plug out and rotate the engine using the starting handle, with your finger in the spark plug hole and the ignition OFF!
When the air pushes past your finger, that's when #1 is under compression. Continue to rotate the engine until it's near the timing marks, and leave it there.
Then look at position of rotor arm - the HT lead from the dizzy by that position needs to be #1.
After that, the rest should be simple.

What are the timing marks??

the bottom pulley has an indent on the side nearest the engine. Underneath the pulley there is a plate with markers on it (attached to timing cover). When the indent is in line with the biggest marker, this is TDC (Top dead centre - i.e. 0°)

get top dead center and take the cap off the rotor arm should be at 8oclock.the rotor arm goes round anti clockwise,so 3 will be at 4oclock 4 will be at 2oclock 2 will be at 10 oclock,i hope that makes some sort of sence.

If you look at the picture on the first bit of the post it looks to me like the one nearest the rad goes to no 4 so have squint at the picture yourself. I found the easiest way to find tdc was to take all the plugs out then rotate the engine with the starting handle very gently with a small screwdriver in the no 1 plughole, as soon as it moves lift it and you can feel with it when the piston is at the top. look at the rotor arm and it will be pointing to the plug about to fire, it can either be 1 or 4 so you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right first time. It it fails to start rotate the leads round so 1 now 4 and so on. If you have the rocker cover removed its even easier as you can see when both valves are closed on no 1 cylinder.

Thank Nigel - sort of followed your advice above. Charlie came to the rescue and we used the screwdriver trick! Once I felt the pressure under my thumb on No 1 we were able to work from there and it fired up immediately Unfortunately I can't use the starting handle because te 1275 engine doesn't have anywhere to locate it. Now on to finding a solution to the exhaust and I'm going to try and get a brace made up which might help. Ray has kindly supplied me with a diagram.

Now you know which lead is #1 - mark it - by putting a little tie-wrap around the lead at the spark plug end. You should have done this before changing the cap/leads!

Don't they say the best way to learn is the hard way!

Indeed