this is on my dads mini is this normal?

could there be a leak or could it be anything to do with the twin su's?

it stinks!

I've found my mini deluxe smells strongly of fuel where as the Rover doesn't. I put it down to the hole in the firewall behind the speedo and the webber carb. Still not sure if this is normal with others and SU's.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

his is a rover & sorry it is on the out side of the car & inside the cabin a bit.

the whole car smells of fuel.

What sort of air filter setup does it have ????

Have you checked for leaks with and without the engine running ???

Mike

That's not how mine smells... The only time it has smelt like that was when I had a jerry can in the boot.

I would be checking for fuel leaks.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

the ramflows.

it is hard to tell.. as the car smells all around, where it is coming from.

do you mean just the stubs bolted to the carby intakes ??? Ramflows that is ??

Mike

I used to have this problem. Here is how I fixed it.

1) I plugged up all the holes in the firewall with rubber grommets.
2) I fixed the breather hose on the petrol tank so that it actually exited the car.
3) I no longer fill the tanks to capacity as they have a habit of leaking when cornering. I have not been successful in fixing these leaks.
4) I checked all fuel lines for leaks.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Sometimes can be hard to locate leaks as fuel evaporates quickly. Dependant on where is it (if you have one) it may leave a stain as a clue.

Broken/disconnected breather hose is also a common cause as ryan said. It goes from the top of the tank down and out underneath the car.

Also, you will find a leaky fuel cap (and who doesn't have one of those I know I do ) can cause fumes to waft back into the car with the back windows open

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Gearstick gaiter is a common spot for fumes to get in too, though thats usually for exhaust smell.

I little bit of petrol smell lets you know he's alive.

With a short intake tract (such as stubstacks or Ramflo setup on an SU) you can get a problem called "standoff", which is basically where the intake pulses set up a standing wave which can cause the fuel/air mixture to "hover" around the mouth of the carb. When the engine is running this is not normally a problem, but it can allow fumes to escape the carb via the filter which makes it smell "fuelly".

If you find your filter bodies have yellow-brown fuel stains (like mine do) then you have this problem. It's nothing to worry about really, it's how a Mini is supposed to smell

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

I'd do this first, and if you find something, fix it and take it for a quick spin. If some smell remains, look deeper. In my case, it was a car I'd just bought and the fuel bowl was loose, leaking fuel right behind the speedo and getting pushed into the cabin.

On minis and other older cars, they do seem to pong a bit anyway. Me, I hate that new car smell so I love the smell of old cars, like a patina you can enjoy with your nose

My car has a wonderful aroma which, at its peak, is a mixture of raw fuel, burning oil and hot brakes... lovely

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+1 for checking all your fuel lines... just recently I had this happen in my Morry, stunk of fuel! I checked under the bonnet when it wasn't running and couldn't see anything so I thought 'It probably just stinks like my mini did' Then I checked it later with the engine running and fuel was pi$$ing out where one of the rubber lines goes onto the steel line I wondered why the fuel economy had gone down a bit...