Hi, can anyone recommend a brand / grade of oil to use in our 997 Cooper, from the records we have it has had one rebuild back in 1974 or about 25k miles ago and regular oil changes up till it went into storage in 1981, the engine is very original and the oil in there looks ok on the dipstick but I'm thinking I should change it and the filter anyway. I've turned it over by hand with the plugs out but was hoping to maybe connect up a battery, put some oil down the plug holes and see if there is any oil pressure as has been recommneded to try next. Thanks Jon

I would drain it first. Refill with fresh 20W50 and change the filter too.
Old oil can go gummy with age. I once had to throw away 1/4 of a 20L tin of Castrol 2 stroke oil.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

i would let it drain over night as it would be cold and thick.
put some fresh "supermarket" 20/50 oil in to run it and get it hot.....then drop that and the filter this time and put in some quality nulon or penrite.

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....you just lost him his insurance bonus!

997

Do what the Doc suggests, but also turn it over without plugs to see what sort of oil pressure comes up...if OK...whack the plugs in, drive it, then oil change after some hundreds of miles...

Go for the oil marked suitable for older engines

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"Show me the Mini!"

An engine that has been sitting for so long may need the oil pump primed.

When refilling the oil I would pull out the banjo bolt for the oil filter pipe and fill the oil passageway in the block as much as possible.

You may need to spin the engine over for 20 or 30 seconds without the spark plugs until oil pressure comes up.