Hello, I purchased a classic mini last week from a seller in Florida. The car started and drove fine while it was there. The car has now been shipped to my house in Chicago and I received it last night. The engine will crank and then sputter out and die within seconds of starting. I believe it may have something to do with the drastically temperature drop between the two locations.

Any suggestions on getting it running? Thanks

 

I'm not a mechanic. Wondering if when you saw the car did it get started cold or was it already warmed up and then restarted? Seller playing games or a straight shooter? I suppose lots of things could have happened during shipping as well. Bad gas, sediment kicked up during trip, weaker battery and cold temps as you suggest.

I think you need to provide a lot more detail for the mechanically inclined to help you out.

 

Welcome to the world of distributors and timing lights and points and dwell meters. Get youself a service manual. It will pay for itself a thousand times and will be an intimate companion on long frustrating nights.

 

Those were the days when someone like me had a shot at fixing his own car!

 

What other information would be needed? This is my first car that is not controlled and run by computers. I wouldn't really know what to look for.

The car was cold started. It was 80 degrees out... here it is 25.

 

This would be my first choice for a cheap try in cold weather with old tech cars. Beyond that ?

Always helpful to give year of car, condition, past work, etc.

 

It is a 1982 1275e. Pretty good condition and all original mechanics.

 

simple question


are you pulling the choke out? When it is COLD you'll need full choke to get it started while in FL I barely need to pull it. BTW, the first 1/3 of the choke 'pull' does not even engage the choke but only raises the idle speed (this comes out of the owner's manual; and assumes everything is set up correctly)


and if so, trace the linkage and see that the choke is actually being activated on the carb(s)


it does have fuel? PREMIUM ... these lil beasts NEED octane . . .


info we need to begin:


what year is the car ... model if known (they are not all Coopers)


what engine size .... original or modified


what is the carb setup? Single or dual? SU or other? stock air cleaner or a cone filter?


at a minimum hang


some pictures of the engine and carbs


for example I have a modified 1979 Mini Saloon. It has a 1275cc A+ motor (MG Metro), with a single SU HIF - 6 carb with a K&N cone filter, and Pertronix ignition in lieu of points. ....


I was in your position 10 years ago when I first bought my 79 ... feel free to PM.


Order the Haynes ....
http://www.minimania.com/part/646/Ha...orkshop-Manual


but also available from other sources (but Amazon lists as out of stock)

 

I agree with Capt bj- make sure you have the choke pulled all the way to the end of its travel. Then crank a few times, wait few seconds, and crank some more. At some point you might want to pull the fuel line from the side of the float bowl on the carb, then crank and see if a nice strong pulse of gasoline comes out while cranking. If no, you have no gas in the tank, blocked fuel line, a blocked fuel filter if it has one, or the fuel pump is failing. Also you could check for spark or see if the distributor is loose and the timing has shifted. I also recommend the manual; lots of troubleshooting advice there. Good luck!

 

Houston, we have a problem


I'm PMing OP


looks like the car is a South African Mini (I didn't recognize the "e" model designation) and has a Weber fitted . . . . "all original" ???? I dunno ... maybe the SA builds did come with a Weber . . . Haynes nor the factory manuals for a "UK" build say anything about any of the cars made under license like the Innocenti' etc etc


Soooooooooo . . . can any one help this guy?

 

The same basics apply, you need compression, spark and fuel for it to run.
I agree with giving a shot of ether just to get it to go......is there any gas in it? Did they drain it to ship it?


The weber carbs have a choke too...but they also have an accelerator pump, so with the air cleaner off, you should be able to peek down the carb throat and see a squirt of gas when you pump the throttle - at least till the float bowl empties.


One last possibility, water in the gas is frozen.


Do you have a warm garage to keep it in?


Tuned properly it should start in cold weather like any other carburetted car.


A few good pics of the engine compartment could help.


The best shot for a warmish day is this coming wed-thurs, it's only going to get down to 37* wed night in Chicago (according to the weather service) so if it had to stay outside that's the best chance to get it unfrozen, tho a warm garage would be even better.

 

They shipped it with the tank full.

Here are some engine pics.

 

OK, I thought it was a downdraft weber, not sidedraft, so no accellerator pump.......did it have an air cleaner? If not, it needs one asap.

 

PM sent


looking carefully at the picture of the carb ... the "trunnion" is missing from the choke lever, leaving the cable just hanging . . .



(Minimania picture)

see #2 below





should be able to get one locally and hook up the choke which will probably help . .

 

Ok. So you all guided me to the proper problem. The choke was not connected. My wife and I just got it started manually holding the choke open. Now I just need to get the part to have it held open properly with the pull on the dash.

but after that I noticed the carburetor does not have an air filter on it. So I am going to work on looking for a air filter that will fit.

Thank you everyone for all the advise.

 

for a temp fix, a small bolt, nut and a couple of washers will hold it .... just don't pull too hard. You can get all this at ACE for about a buck. Just don't mess up the end of the cable ... you don't want the strands to start to come apart.

 

Good eyes Capt BJ, I could barely see that even after you pointed it out!


Glad you go t it started Sunks000.....

 

get rid of the webber carb its too fiddley to get the air and mixture correct and during the shipment you may have disturbed all the sediment in the petrol (gas) tank and dirt has got into the webber give it a good clean and drain the petrol tank and wash it out.......

 

Sigh.

I too am having this problem. Picked up my 82 at Galveston Port and it wont start, it cranks but no bueno. I'll try what you all advised above. But for now...:(

 

a) you need air + fuel + spark ... is there gas in the tank (highest octane you can get) ... if a fuel filter is present ensure it is not clogged. When you crank with no start, do you smell fuel in the exhaust? The unburned fuel should be passing . . .

b) SPARK? - do not NOT mess with the fuel system beyond what I mentioned above until you ensure the ignition is correct. ESPECIALLY DO NOT mess with carb adjustments. Do you have spark? There are several ways to check for this but bottom line is if you have spark the car should try to start assuming SOME fuel is making it thru. Even with timing WAY off you should get a 'buck' or two.

ENUF to get you started . . . . IF you had no prior car knowledge . . .

 

I was just outside, I can smell fuel. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can get a spark plug tester or something.