Engine idle and timing (I think)

[Jonkicks]

Hi Everyone,

My car is now running with new exhaust fitted and governor replaced. I spent three weeks at a local mechanics getting these bits fitted (the exhaust in particular was a big job for me to attempt as my first task on the D).  While it was there he got the engine running the best he could and did a few repairs to get it through its MOT.  It has now passed and has arrived in my garage.  Plenty of bits to sort which I will be working through but the engine is still not running right and, frankly, I’m not sure where to start.

Please excuse me being a complete novice but I am willing to learn and do as much reading as I need to!  To my untrained eyes and ears….

The car starts easily whether hot or cold so does not appear to be any problems there.  When it has first started (from cold) it needs to warm up before it is ready to move and will stall otherwise.  Not sure if this is normal but does seem to be worse than I would expect.  As it is warming up it will stall if left unattended.

In addition the engine rocks at certain revs (and at idle) which the mechanic is convinced is a misfire (plugs all checked by him).  He was scaring me with talk of a full engine rebuild but I thought I would check with the experts here before start worrying about such a drastic solution.

Any initial thoughts on where I should start with this?  Things I can do to eliminate potential causes to try and narrow things down?

Any help is very gratefully received.

Jon

[Chris P]

One thing I would suggest is not to "adjust" anything...if i'm not too late!.

This can introduce a second issue wihich may disguise the first issue. Two faults are much more difficult to sort out.

I'll let our resident experts advise further.

[Chris Williams]

Quote:In addition the engine rocks at certain revs (and at idle) which the mechanic is convinced is a misfire (plugs all checked by him).  He was scaring me with talk of a full engine rebuild but I thought I would check with the experts here before start worrying about such a drastic solution.

I would have thought he was correct,  (disregard the full rebuild part) The engines are not the smoothest at idle as they are an 'odd fire' engine, however should get smoother when revved up. Difficult to know where to start as no one knows what has been done. Normally I would suggest start with all the basics: plugs/leads/dizzy cap and arm etc. DONT discount them just because they are new! I have seen some of the new dizzy caps being sent out that have missing carbon parts/and and are shockingly put together, likewise the rotor arms with broken copper arms in them.....

[Rich H]

First question would be has the mixture screw been uncapped?
If it has, almost certainly it's running massively over rich. The go to 'solution' when these engines aren't running well, is to simply crank up the mixture.
As Chris has suggested, the first step is to check the basics...
Then go around the whole engine bay with a good bright torch and check all the pipes and make sure none have come disconnected.
That's a good starter for ten...

[Jonkicks]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I’ll have a look at the things suggested and report back with findings. Chris, nothing played around with yet - I have a friend who collects classic minis and that was his immediate advice. 

Currently messing around with a faulty temp guage so will post about that separately.

Thanks again. 

Jon.