Hi Fellow Mini lovers,

I have discovered a problem with my 1967 mini cooper s...

After all the rain and my aversion to taking the old girl out in the rain (she might get wet), i hadn't started the mini for quite a few weeks.

This has highlighted 2 problems...

1, the E-Type Jag style fuel filler caps i have on the mini's twin tanks do not seal the tank... this has meant the fuel has evaporated.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to seal the tank with these fuel filler caps? I have tried fitting the old ones underneat these but it's too tight a fit.

2, the other problem is that now the fuel has evaporated the lines are dry. I have put 5 L of premium fuel in each tank but it won't start... anyone have any suggestions?

It has twin SU's with ram flo air pods.

Cheers,

Zulu

_________________
Zulu...

1967 mini Cooper S

Feel your pain.....

Fuel tanks have breathers so slight evaporation from those. Had same non start problem after being tanks being dry. Fuel in and let it settle (for a week or 2) and then pulled the fuel bowl floats out and cleaned them and made sure fuel was pumping through the lines.

The car then started and ran like a champ!

_________________
Cooper S Mk2
Cooper S Mk1
ex Cooper S Mk2, various Morris 1100s, 1300s, 1500s, Leyland Sherpa!

Your Cooper S should have an electric fuel pump, so turning on the ignition switch should prime the fuel lines and fill the carb bowls in less than 30 seconds.

Take the top of the fuel bowl (one carb will do to start with) and see if there is fuel in there. If there is, then perhaps it is an ignition problem, or it is flooded.

If the bowls are dry, then maybe look at the fuel pump.

_________________

Sometimes when things dry up things can stick. If you can hear the fuel pump running but nothing is reaching the carbies it might mean the needle and seat is stuck (there is one in each carby) A whack with the plastic handle of a screwdriver is usually enough to free them up. You don't want to hit them with anything solid.

You could also do what I do and remove the lit on the float bowl and top up the carby with fresh petrol and also check the needle and seat is free while you are in there.

And if its not ticking then the fuel pump may need a Kruschev (whack it with the heel of your shoe (take shoe off foot first). A shoe is a good device as it provide the right degree of impact with less chance of actually breaking something.

The impact will jar the (fuel pump) points apart.......

I do not believe that a fuel tank will empty through evaporation in a few weeks - no matter how bad the lids seal. I left mine for 4 years and it still started .. after a bit of encouragement was applied the pump...

Cheers, Ian

ditto.... that's very wierd - I left an open tinned fruit can of fuel for a couple of months and it still has some in it

have you actually confirmed that the tanks are dry??

+1. Never heard of fuel evaporating that quickly. Perhaps check for leaks also. Could be dripping and then evaporating, although I would expect you would smell that.

_________________

68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

good to hear that it's unlikely to have evaporated.

Will tap the carbies to potentially free the needles.

Will eave the pump running for a while to se eif that primes them.

If I still have no joy I'll put some fuel in the bowl and go from there.

It was running fine before, never had trouble starting it prior.

_________________
Zulu...

1967 mini Cooper S

Avgas will evaporate quickly. Unleaded will just turn to brown soup.

external Ashtray?

_________________

nah, catching swarf & junk under the bench grinder

Tapped carbies.
Let pump run.

Still no joy. Should I take off the ram flo air filters & spray a few mls of fuel in each carby?

_________________
Zulu...

1967 mini Cooper S

I think you need to get a bit more technical.

Take the fuel hose off of one of the carbs, and point it into a container. Turn on the pump and see if fuel is flowing. If fuel is fine here, then you need to look at the engine (carbs, ignition).

If it doesn't flow at the carbs, then take the hose off at the inlet to the fuel pump down the back and see if fuel is flowing freely from the tank. If fuel flows , then it is the fuel pump which needs some attention, otherwise we'll go from there.

_________________
SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

so where are we at? sorry if this comes out too simplistic

is the pump ticking fast and constantly, does it tick slowly or just occasionally? Does it sound "normal" compared to the way it sounded before this issue

does anything actually come out of the fuel line when the pump is running? take the fuel line off the pipe that goes to the carbs. Put it into a container and run the fuel pump to see if fuel is actually getting through. If it doesn't, then look for blocked filters, or a pump that has spontaneously pooped itself

If fuel is getting through there, take the lids off the float bowls and make sure they're full. If they are, then you probably don't have a fuel problem at all.

sorry for the suggestion overload, Mick must type quicker than me