Slow acceleration and in ability to keep speed on inclines.

[qwerty165]

I have a morris minor 1000 with a 948cc engine which has just been put back after dealing with an oil leak. The problem started yesterday when the car would bunny hop at low speed until it reached about 20 when it would run fine but you could not go past 40mph. Today I found that the dissributer had become loose and was mooving freely I have solved this issue and have checked to make sure the carburetta is working freely which it is. I now have the ability to be able to drive the car normally at all speeds. However the acceleration is very slow and when you come to any sort of incline even with the throttle flat to the floor the speed falls off. Does anyone know what I could do to resolve this problem?

[panky]

If the dizzy was loose it may not be back in it's original position affecting the ignition timing try advancing it slightly (clockwise) and test the results. Another thought, check the vac advance pipe hasn't been disturbed at the dizzy end.

[liammonty]

As above - almost definitely the timing

[qwerty165]

Thank you for the advice, I will have another go at it tommorrow though today when I did move the dizzy about it seemed to make very little if any diffrence.

[bmcecosse]

The best plan is to adjust it for 'smoothest' idling - and then check to make sure it's not 'pinking' when accelerating.. and possibly advance it a bit more until it's 'not quite' pinking. The other simple check of course - is the accelerator giving full throttle opening at the carb? Ideally - you need to run a compression check on the engine to find out the general condition. Check and set the valve gaps first - and do the test with a nice hot engine of course. Where was the 'oil leak' ? And is it now 'ok?

[qwerty165]

Thank you for the advice I will have a go and see where it gets me. The oil leak was comming from the oil pump cover and this now seems to have stopped.

[trabant]

Let me know how you get on I've been having exactly the same trouble with one of mine although it is fitted with 803 I'm fairly sure it should be able to handle a slight gradient without the need to drop it on to third. Hours of fiddling with the timing seem to make no difference at all. Head gasket valves and valve springs are all new and the carb has had a total rebuild I'm stumped.

[Declan_Burns]

Trabant,
Might have nothing to do with your issue but if you have an 803 I would suggest you read through this:
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... or#p458458
Regards
Declan

[trabant]

Thanks but my oil pressure is fantastically good.

[philthehill]

The 803cc Minor is no flyer and even the slightest grade will impact on its performance.
I think that you are expecting too much from that 803cc engine.
Phil

[trabant]

I have to of them with 803 engines so I'm marking one against the other my other car is a 1951 Manchester I'm.used to glacial 0-60 times

[trabant]

* Lanchester

[liammonty]

Does the Lanchester have an 803 A-Series?! And how heavy is it compared to the Minor? I can vouch for the 803 Minor being woefully underpowered and also lacking any torque. I think it was marginally better in the A30 which was lighter, but I found it pretty insufferable in the Minor. The other problem is that the bottom end of the engine is so weak that they break very readily if you work them hard . My friend jokes that his 803 Minor used to slow down in anticipation of an approaching hill, never mind when it actually got to it...

[bmcecosse]

As with most engine/performance problems - do a compression test to determine the overall condition.

[simmitc]

Is it definitely firing on all four cylinders? Dropping one would lead to poor acceleration and lack of power for hills, but not necessarily be so rough that you noticed it immediately. As above, compression test.

[trabant]

FYI the Lanchester is an LD10 1200 cc it may be but its shoving along a chassis like the forth bridge a Wilson gearbox some several dead cows and Half a Forest lol

[don58van]

I can vouch for the 803 Minor being woefully underpowered and also lacking any torque.

I agree. I had one that was mechanically healthy, but I was mortified by the way all the bicycle riders would overtake me on hills.

Don

[qwerty165]

Checked the timing and it was spot on, went on to replace the plug leads as they were a bit tatty and frayed and this made little diffrence, took out the plugs and found that number two was oiled up replaced the plugs and it has cured the problem all thogether. Wether it was the plug that was not working of the lead was not allowing it to spark and so the plug had oiled up I will never know but at least it is now running properly.

[bmcecosse]

Great success....I had assumed plugs had been checked...... I would have thought 3 cylinder running would be painfully obvious at idle......

[qwerty165]

I would have thought so as well, but it sounded the best whilst it was idling.