Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all!

Trying to get a Minor running that had been sitting for 3 and a half years. Mostly into classic Volkswagen stuff, but when this Minor came up, it was just too good to say no to. So me and my housemate hitched up a trailer and headed to Plymouth. After about 2 hours getting the brakes un-ceased and tyres pumped-up to get it on the trailer and 12 hour round-trip - we arrived back with this:





We decided to see if the engine still ran or if it had ceased. Checked the oil, put fresh fuel in, then hooked some jumper leads up and the dash bulbs came on.. Cranked it over and sounded surprisingly free - but it did not start.. Didn't think it would go first time though!

So we knew the engine hadnt ceased, next thing was to check spark, compression and fuel.

Obviously coming from the aircooled scene, there are a few components of the engine that are not familiar.



What is the green thing? It looks like and electric fuel pump that is controlled by the red box? We pulled fuel through manually from the tank until it was clean fuel, but still when we cranked there was no fuel coming through from the green thing.

Is this a fuel pump and could it be broken causing no fuel to be getting to the carb?

I checked the spark and compression by pouring a small amount of petrol in the carb and the engine ran for a few seconds!! So the problem seems to be with getting the fuel from the tank to the carb.

Any ideas?

Also, What is the component on the carb circled pink? It has like an oil in it and makes a 'sex' noise when you move the rod in and out .

Last question for now, looking at the engine setup - can anyone tell if this is 6v or 12v? It has a dynamo (blue) but then I know Vdub engines with dynamos putting out 12v...

Thanks for any help gents.

it will be 12 volt first of all

does the fuel pump the green circled bit tick if it does then that would seem ok

the red circle is the wiper moter and nothing to do with the pump
the blue circle is the dynamo and the mauve is the carbretta

The green thing is indeed an electric fuel pump. The red thing is the wiper motor. The purple thing is part of the SU carb's mechanism for regulating the fuel/air ratio. The little cylinder with oil in it is the dashpot - it slows the rise of the piston when you open the throttle, temporarily making the mixture richer to avoid a flat spot. All Minors are 12V.

It does indeed sound like the problem lies with the fuel pump. Try removing the black plastic cap and rubbing some fine emery paper between the contacts you find underneath.

Thank you gents. I will try Alex's suggestion.

If not I guess I will look for a new pump.

It's not difficult to replace the points in the fuel pump if they are worn out.

there is also a filter at the bottom of the pump body there is a large nut undo it take out the filter,and clean it if it is full of rubbish then put back in.the oil in the dash pot uses a light oil 3in 1 is perfect for this.give the plugs a clean also the points in the dizzy to give her a fighting chance.

when you've fixed the fuel pump (probably by just cleaning the points) you should get fuel to the carb.
After a few years standing the carb could also give trouble and either not fill up or not stop filling and overflow. Occassionally these will self cure with enough petrol getting through and a few minutes running - however it won't hurt to remove the float bowl and clean it out and remove the inlet needle (valve) to clean it up and clean up the general inlet area.

Once it is running, don't forget it is water cooled!! most likely it will have lost a lot of water over the last few years, so don't overheat it.
Fortunately Minor engines are bullet proof and can normally withstand a lot of overheating but no point trying to rely on that!

Thanks for the help guys.

We cleaned up the electric fuel pump contacts as suggested and it ran first time

We then cleaned up the glass, got the engine rubbers out ready to replace, cleaned the spark plugs up, started taking the tyres off to replace, quick over-haul of the brakes to come, then we are going to whip it in for the MOT and see how it does

A few pictures for you..









Some nice patina!



Once we had it running it was time to get all the rubbers out of the engine ready to replace.

Guys, just thought of another question - is it worth putting an in-line fuel filter (a cheapy halfrauds type) before the carb?

Might be worth doing this as the car has sat for for a while. Also might be worth draining the fuel tank and replacing with new fuel as it doesnt take long for the petrol to go off. I am currently restoring a car which has sat for 10 years so its a case of unseasing lots of components . I find its the rubber bushes, brakes and the water pump that seem to suffer the most.
Regards
Jason

Thanks , I just wasnt sure as the pipe is directly above the outlet maifold.

Thanks , I just wasnt sure as the pipe is directly above the outlet maifold.

The pump is only low pressure so it's no problem - you'd normally expect to see one there anyway.

I wasn't expecting to see disk brakes on it!

rayofleamington wrote:

Thanks , I just wasnt sure as the pipe is directly above the outlet maifold.

The pump is only low pressure so it's no problem - you'd normally expect to see one there anyway.

Cool thanks, we will put one in..

I wasn't expecting to see disk brakes on it!

It has had a Ford Serria front disc conversion!! Supprised us too
Especially as the car was FREE It has also had a 'in-tank' unleaded conversion..

Especially as the car was FREE

No wonder you couldn't turn it down!

It has also had a 'in-tank' unleaded conversion..

I bet it doesn't "really"

cunning_plan wrote:Also, What is the component on the carb circled pink? It has like an oil in it and makes a 'sex' noise when you move the rod in and out

Thats the funniest thing I have read on here for ages!

rayofleamington wrote:

Especially as the car was FREE

No wonder you couldn't turn it down!

It has also had a 'in-tank' unleaded conversion..

I bet it doesn't "really"

Yerrrr, I wasnt really sure what an 'in-tank' conversion is.. But the lady previous owner used to run it from unleaded without an issue.. Or so she said..

10852sm wrote:

cunning_plan wrote:Also, What is the component on the carb circled pink? It has like an oil in it and makes a 'sex' noise when you move the rod in and out

Thats the funniest thing I have read on here for ages!

It made me horny just listening to it.

A handful of shotgun pellets?
Bits of church roof?
Enquiring minds need to know .

I'm also wondering if thats a 1275 engine in there.....

Did you get it from PH?

Looks a good 'buy' - well done. There is no in-tank unleaded conversion - it's a CON ! Good news is - the engine doesn't need any unleaded conversion - unless you intend to flog it mercilessly on the M/way. Good idea really to change the engine oil and filter right away - and yes - new petrol will help it start up rather more easily.

MarkyB wrote:A handful of shotgun pellets?
Bits of church roof?
Enquiring minds need to know .

Huh?

Dan_Harris wrote:I'm also wondering if thats a 1275 engine in there.....

Did you get it from PH?

We did find the ad on PH yup. Have not taken it for a drive yet but it does 'sound' more than 1098...

bmcecosse wrote:Looks a good 'buy' - well done. There is no in-tank unleaded conversion - it's a CON ! Good news is - the engine doesn't need any unleaded conversion - unless you intend to flog it mercilessly on the M/way. Good idea really to change the engine oil and filter right away - and yes - new petrol will help it start up rather more easily.

Yah, all the parts to service the engine came through from http://www.morrisminor.uk.com/morris-mi ... -sales.htm so fitting that tonight. Also have fresh Anti-freeze and brake fluid..

Could you recommend the best oil to use? The Haynes manual for it hasnt arrived yet..