Mini 998 engine help

[william0750]

Hello,

i am looking for some help with my mini engine.

I bought the mini and the engine was running ok but has a few oil leaks as you expect so i thought i would do a full rebuild and check all shells rings etc for wear and gave all the parts a good clean up. i then went about 'tarting' it up with a fresh coat of paint.

I then built it back up new gaskets, points, plugs, leads, dizzy cap etc.

by now it is fully rebuilt all timed correctly (or so i think) and i just cannot get the bugger to start. it has a stage one kit on it which was on it when i bought i but apart from that is it all standard.

It turns over and over sometimes back firing. went over it and checked for the common things. fuel, spark etc but still cannot get it to start. i have put a timing light on it and have set it up to 8 degrees before TDC.

Any help and suggestions would be very much appreciated

Thanks in advance

Will

[GTRMikie]

Have you got the firing order right? Did you replace the condenser when you did the points etc?

[rww]

I think most have us have been here before. Check the following :

Cam timing. Are the crank and camshaft wheels aligned correctly dot to dot at TDC?

Distributor drive spindle.Did it rotate to it's correct position when entered into the block?

Unlikely but check you have the distributor leads on the right plugs. The fact that it (back) fires is indicative that there is an error in the timing, either valve or ignition.

Best of luck, you WILL find it and it WILL start.

[william0750]

Thanks to you both for your responses,

GTRMikie
yes i did the condenser as well as the points etc. im sure i have the firing order correct at 1 - 3 - 4 - 2

rrw
im sure both the camshaft and crank shaft are aligned correctly. i had no 1 cylinder at tdc and then lined the dots up. is this the correct way to do it? does it have to be on a particular stroke eg induction, compression etc ?
i have put the dizzy spindle in as per the haynes manual i have. i am certian the leads are in the correct order as i have been through this all over and over but just cannot seem to locate the problem.
The only thing i havent checked is the cam and crank shaft as it is 'hidden' away. i will take it upon myself to check this tomorrow to see if this is the culprit if its not them im completely stuck.

Thank you both for your responses again and i will let you know how i get on with the cam and crank timing.

[sprocketman01]

If the car ran ok before you took it all apart,try the original condenser as I have lost count of the amount of times "New" condensers have been faulty..... Rebuilt a 68 Cooper a few years back 12 (yes really) 12 condensers all faulty (and no they weren't Intermotor!!) in the end I gave up and fitted electronic ignition...
Best advice though is go back to basics and check everything from scratch,as stated previously we have all been there!!

[william0750]

thank you all for your suggestions i now have her running.

One last question you may be able to help with, is it normal for a coil to become so hot you cannot touch it as i haven't come across this before and my coil is untouchable within 5mins ??

[guru_1071]

william0750 said:

thank you all for your suggestions i now have her running.

One last question you may be able to help with, is it normal for a coil to become so hot you cannot touch it as i haven't come across this before and my coil is untouchable within 5mins ??

its either a faulty coil, or a 9 volt coil getting a 12 volt feed

they shouldn't get that hot ever

[GTRMikie]

william0750 said:

One last question you may be able to help with, is it normal for a coil to become so hot you cannot touch it as i haven't come across this before and my coil is untouchable within 5mins ??

I've had two Lucas "gold" Sports coils, of the correct voltage etc, fail very quickly. They too got very hot, and the cars would refuse to start until the coil had cooled down. Andy Davies at ML Motorsport reckons the standard "silver" coils are a better, more reliable fitment, even to tuned engines, which mine are!

[haynes]

william0750 said:

thank you all for your suggestions i now have her running.

So what was the casue of it not starting?

[william0750]

the cause of it not starting was the coil as i swapped it for another one (not sure if it was the correct one) and recharged the battery and it fired up eventually after faffing with the carb. then i changed the coil over to the other one and refused to start. got a lot left to to on my shell and got 2 rebuild the rear subby and somewhere between all that i will investigate/and work out what coil i should have and buy a new one.

Cheers for all your suggestions