[Mgs] 79B won't start

Monte/Jane Morris montejane at gmail.com
Wed Oct 26 11:11:06 MDT 2011


Thanks to all who responded; it always amazes me how quickly one can get
help on this list!
We still are unpacking and getting the house back into order, so I've had no
chance to look at the MG yet. One quick observation is that the pump did
"chatter" for about 20-30 seconds.  So I figure it is working; but I may
have to "whack" it a little if there is no gas coming out of the carb inlet
hose.
I'll let everyone know what I find out.
Monte

On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 3:06 AM, Paul Hunt <paul.hunt1 at blueyonder.co.uk>wrote:

> Can't speak for the USA but in the UK fuel doesn't go stale, I regularly
> have fuel five or six months old over winter and into spring and it starts
> and runs just fine.
>
> Did the pump chatter away when you first turned on the ignition?  It should
> have as the carbs would probably have evaporated to dry in that time.  If
> not, then there's your answer.  Pumps with points do suffer from oxidisation
> when left unused, even new pumps come with a slip of paper saying to clean
> the points before returning the pump as faulty.
>
> If the pump only clicked once then possibly the float valves are stuck
> closed, although I'd say that was unlikely.  Try rapping the float chamber
> with the handle of a large screwdriver or small hammer.
>
> After cranking with the choke out without starting I'd expect it to be
> flooded, and you would get a strong smell of petrol from the exhaust when
> that happens unless outside on a windy day.  If you didn't get that, remove
> a couple of plugs after cranking a while.  They should smell strongly of
> fuel.  If there is no fuel smell it is a fuel problem.  If they are wet as
> well then it *is* flooded, you can clear that by pushing the choke home and
> cranking with the throttle fully depressed, being ready to release the
> throttle and half pull the choke when it fires.  However you should
> investigate the spark first.
>
> Lay a plug on the block and crank and watch for spark.  If you see a spark
> check all the plugs, and if they are OK check the static timing.  However
> the plugs could be old and not sparking under compression, in which case
> they should be replaced.
>
> If no spark it could be damp in the distributor cap - has the heater valve
> been leaking?  Is the radiator full?  Assuming standard ignition and points
> with the ignition on manually open and close the points by hand and check
> you are getting a small spark when opening them.  If not check for 12v on
> the coil +ve with them open, 6v with them closed.
>
> PaulH.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
>> We just got back home after 6 months away. I tried to start the MG to no
>> avail (cranks well) and due to all the other things that need done haven't
>> gotten back to it yet. The car started and ran fine the day we left.


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