Morris Minor Owners Club

I am desperate as have tried everything, and read every book on the Morris 1000 that I have. The car turns over every time and it runs well on the flat but as soon as it starts to climb an incline, however small, it starts spluttering and usually stops altogether. I have no confidence taking it out and have been trying to find the answer to this problem for a long time. Every moving part has been replaced apart from the engine; the points have been checked along with the timing. Pump overhauled with new diaphragm and points etc. I have spoken to so many enthusiasts and nobody seems to know whats causing the problem. HELP !!!!!

Fuel starvation, check the pump delivery,filter and also check any rubber pipes as they can collapse internally so restricting flow of fuel.

does pulling the choke out improve it or make it worse?

I had that happen to me. Took me ages to find the cause which turned out to be a partially blocked flexible petrol pipe.

I agree - it MUST be fuel starvation. Use the pump to fill a jar and measure how long it takes to pump a pint of fuel through.

Does it vary with how much fuel is in the tank? It could be that the pick up pipe has broken off at the bottom, and as the tank is inclined, so the level at the front drops below the pipe. This is exceedingly rare, and the fuel level has to be very low; so I would go with other suggestions first; but if all else fails, it is something to consider.

Do I read correctly that you have replaced the engine?

chek the filter in the fuel pump is not blocked

please re read original post i have now changed it slightly,have previously removed petrol filter temporarily in case it was a problem, also completely replaced all parts and set up petrol pump, checked carb and cleaned out, not much dirt though (although not perfectly tuned?), also can you tell me how much petrol it should pump in a given time. Had a strong smell of petrol in garage this morning ivestigation showing main pipe leaking under car.Will now have to order and replace pipe before any more testing, this pipe looks like steel or another metal not copper,would this be right? As soon as i have new pipe fitted ill do more testing,thank you all for suggestions

If the car was doing say 30 mpg, at 60 mph it would need to pump 16 pints in the hour, so roughly 4 minutes per pint. This is the absolute maximum time for level cruising - and won't be nearly enough for hill climbing. The pump needs to do a pint in less than 2 minutes..... The (now leaking) fuel pipe may have been flattened or just blocked - or allowing air to be drawn in, however if that was so it would have shown as a leak before now.

Thanks bmcecosse for your prompt reply regarding fuel flow ill now have to wait until i fit my newfuel pipe before testing ! it would be nice to think it could be a furred up old metal fuel line causing the problem,will be in touch with the results soon.

I think if your tank to pump pipe has failed then I would assume that was the cause of your problems. If not, then you could consider checking the small pipe between the float chamber and the carb as these have been known to fail and can cause fuel starvation or fuel surge issues. The later HIF 38/44 carbs did away with that system and had the float chamber integral to and below the carb.

Interestingly though -I DO get fuel surge/spluttering on RH corners with my HIF 38.

That's interesting, SU obviously didn't quite solve the problem!

Mgb fuel pumps do a pint a minute so I would guess Roy is right about the pint every 2 minutes.

Yes - the MGB pump is quite a bit larger! It is a 'pusher' pump with flooded suction - which helps too......

Hello again to all those Morris enthusiasts who have tried to help with my problem!!! She wouldnt climb any inclines, but perseverance has paid off, so thank you all for your suggestions and comments. The answer has been in the timing, as after many changes to all sorts of things, a friend offered to lend me a strobe light to check the timing. It had been done a while ago, but manually without the strobe. It seemed to read around 12 BTDC, which was incorrect, so i tried it at 6-7 degrees then took Betsy down the road to my local hill, and lo and behold she shot up in 3rd gear without any of the usual spluttering so I was over the moon. This has been a real marathon for me, but the outcome is that with advice, everything has been either replaced or stripped down and cleaned so hopefully now I will get to drive her on the open road!! Only remaining job is to repair the faulty fuel guage which reads hjigh all the time. Thanks again for your advice and help..

12 degrees is indeed FAR too much static advance - it must have been pinking /detonating like mad! Well done getting it fixed.

After preening my chest at getting Betsy back on the road after many discouraging attempts, I decided to go out for the evening with my wife, and as I anticipated she climbed the hills no bother (not my wife!!!) but when I had been driving for around fifteen mins and had to stop at traffic lights on an incline, I glanced in my rear view mirror and there was a huge cloud of blue smoke billowing out of the exhaust. I cant understand how shes burning oil so please let me know if this is just a little gliche or am I going to be working on her for several more months to solve the problem??? Would you expect there to be this problem after shes not been run for a couple of years???

Indeed yes - the rings may be bunged up and not sealing well. But first - check if the crankcase breathers are all clear - and the rocker cover breather connected to the air cleaner - or better - directly to the carb. Also check oil level isn't too high.....

Give it several runs to settle down, a little oil makes a lot of smoke.
Otherwise, as above.