Morris Minor Owners Club

Guys/gals:

our 1960 2-door is out of the garage. It is time to get the engine running properly. According to its history, it has received good care including new crankshaft bearings etc just before she was garaged. Compression is between 10 and 12 on all four, timing is set correctly. Fuel pump and electrics(ign system) are serviced and work correctly. Polarity reversed, charging OK and all electrical systems are GO after the reversal. Valve clearances are set correctly.

Still, I think the engine is kindof "slow on the uptake". It´s a small car, so I believe this engine should be quite snappy when throttled, and it should have a bit more torque than now.

Things NOT looked into so far - i e possible culprits:
a) gas tank probably still has lots of old gunk inside (in addition to 10 litres of modern 2007 fuel with lead additive)
b) Carburetor not checked/cleaned, apart from float chamber cleanout (if it ain´t broke, don´t fix it)
c) Air filter not changed

This is about all I can still do. Where else should I look in case taking care of the above does not help? Could it be a gas/air mixture issue? A vacuum advance regulation not working properly? Symptoms/things to check for?

PS. I still don´t have a manual at hand (arriving soon), so I can´t RTFM

Cheers /Richard

Yes, by all means strip the carb and clean it and change the air filter- dirty carb and/or blocked air filter will kill the performance of your car as well as use a lot of fuel and cause smoking.

Make sure the points are set correctly and then check the timing.

I would finish the welding 1st though before spending too much time/effort on the engine.

Just take the air filter off for now - it likely needs replacing anyway - and then check if the little piston you see in the carb mouth rises nicely with finger pressure - and falls back with a clunk. But really - don't expect much from this engine/car - it's not a racing machine! If it's running and charging the battery - you have done well!

It´s a small car, so I believe this engine should be quite snappy when throttled

It should accelerate very well up to a point. The initial 'pickup' on mine, even with the old 1098, was sharper than the new Mondeo we have at work.

There should be no noticeable lag. Its a case of foot down - **** off.