Morris Minor Owners Club

My Traveller broke down today at a set of traffic lights on a busy road. The engine died and would not start again.
I thought it may be lack of fuel as my fuel gauge is dodgy.
Luckilly I was only a couple of miles from home so my wife phoned her dad to come out with some fuel.
I managed to push her off the road a bit but the car was on a slight incline and it's hard to push a car on your own. My wife couldn't help as she is disabled. So we just stood by the car while it caused a traffic jam.
After being stuck in the road for 40 minutes a breakdown van came along and the technician asked if we needed any help and I told him we had help coming but he offered to help push the car off the road which I was thankful for.
After about another half hour my wife's father rolled up with fuel.
We put the fuel in but no joy. She would turn over but the engine wouldn't start. we ended up being towed home which was the first time I had ever been towed. She is stuck at home until he can work out what is wrong. He has a series one Landrover so knows about old vehicles.
If that fails I will be phoning my breakdown company. It's lucky I have another car to use or I would be stuck.
Does the embarrasment of breaking down get any easier?
If you have any ideas what could be wrong please let me know. One thing my father in law did say is that it could be vapour lock.

My van used to die sometimes and would not start at junctions and other awkward places and that was because it had a fuel filter fitted by the previous owner. I threw away the filter away and fitted a new piece of pipe and has been alright ever since until about two weeks ago when my head gasket blew and fixed that at the weekend.

Assuming that it's not a major mechanical problem then it's going to be either fuel or ignition. If it died suddenly then I would tend towards ignition. However, it's easy to check:

Is the fuel pump ticking when you turn the ignition on? You would expect a few initial ticks, and then stop. Have a container ready, remove the fuel hose from the carb and place in the container. Does the pump run and fuel flow? If no, then it's a pumpo problem. Replace the hose. Remove the air filter. Tip a small amount of petrol straight into the carb. Try to start the engine. Does it fire and then stop? If yes, it's a lack of fuel.
NB Preceding tests should be conducted in a well ventilated area, away from naked flames or sparks.

Now move to the ignition side. Once any petrol vapour has dispersed, remove the HT lead from the centre terminal of the distributor cap. Using insulated pliers or similar, hold or wedge the end of the lead near the cylinder block and, with the ignition on, turn the engine over. Do you see a spark. If no, then it's an ignition problem. If yes, replace the lead and then remove a lead from a spark plug and repeat the test. If no spark, then it's a rotor arm.

If no spark at all, then consider low tension wiring, condenser, points. Report back on the test results for further advice.

Thanks simmitc. Very concise instructions. I will report back when I have news.

a shame that you cause a traffic jam for 40 minutes and no other motorist can be bothered to help you push the car to safety

Well she's running again but not quite right yet. It was vapour lock caused by me running out of fuel so my father in law says.
He's had a look at the fuel mix as she was running rich and now idles without hunting.
He reckons now that it's an ignition problem more than a fuel problem as she mis-fires a bit now when I pull away on an incline.

A 'vapour lock' would clear almost immediately -and the fuel pump would be hammering away... And now it's an ignition fault? He's shooting into the dark.... Test the fuel flow into a container. Then when you find that's ok, try a new condenser. You can always move the car a few feet on the starter in 1st gear - enough to prevent causing a traffic jam......