Getting the engine of a Bristol 410 running for the first time in seven years

[Stuart]

Having just fired up my 412 after 5 years idle here's a few thoughts:

- Agree with draining the fuel tank but it will also need flushing several times with a few litres of fuel

- The fuel line from the tank to the engine will be full of crud, this also needs flushing

- The mechanical fuel pump (if fitted) should be removed and flushed, mine was stuffed, valves all crudded up, they are only $100 from your local V8 shop...

- There should be an inline fuel filter between the pump and engine, throw away the existing and buy 3 more, that's how many I got through, they are disposable, can't be cleaned

- Take off the carburettor and get it cleaned and reset by a specialist, my car fired up first turn after this...

- Before even trying to turn over the engine remove all the plugs and spray oil into the bores, get an aerosol of oil (not WD40, too thin) aerosol or use an air line and spray, do this every day for 5 days, try and get the oil all round the cylinder, you're trying to soak the rings

- Try and turn over the engine by hand with a socket in the end of the crank and long arm, if you can't turn over the engine then forget it, it has to come out. If you can turn it over then turn it a few revs every day for a week while repeating the oil spraying...

- Dump the engine oil and replace, take care with the grade, these are not modern engines, replace the oil filter

- Dump the water and refill....

- Now time to try and turn it over with the starter motor, plugs out, messy as the oil sprays out. Do this for 20 seconds once every 5 minutes. You should see the engine oil pressure build to 20+ psi, if not then the engine has to come out......

- Check for a spark on each of the plugs, if not then check the resistance of the plug HT lead, should be in the range 5K - 20K Ohms, replace as necessary....

- Plugs back in, get car outdoors, fire extinguisher ready and off you go.... Be prepared for huge clouds of oil smoke from the exhaust for a few minutes....

- After a few minutes of running, dump the engine oil and replace it and the filter....

- Brakes are a challenge, it's very likely that all the slave and master cylinders will need sorting (rebore and sleeve, new seals) along with the servos and replace all flexy pipes.

- Transmission, after initial trial dump the fluid and replace, same with back axle....

Overall not a trivial job, mine took me a couple of weeks part time, not counting the brakes....

Good luck, Stuart

[paul410]

Thanks everyone for you advice. A new car battery had been sourced and purchased, and my car does have a electric fuel pump as you suggested in the boot.

It proberly won't be until next weekend until I drain the fuel and see if the car burbles into action. I ll keep you guys informed anyway.

P.s. my mothers boyfriend who seems to know considerably more about mechanics than i will be on hand. I am excited to learn though.

Thanks

Paul

[Kevin H]

I have been informed by another forum member that my assumption about that little protrusion at the bottom of the tank is wrong. It is in fact a small sump to catch dirt and water - it is not the reserve.

Thinking about it, it couldn't possibly be the reserve because it's wouldn't be big enough.

It does however still allow you to drain the dregs out of the tank without removing the tank.

I'm glad Stuart provided some more suggestions about turning the engine manually, changing oil etc before trying to fire it up!

[paul410]

Thanks for all your advice. The fuel tank turned out to be pretty empty, so I filled it with 2 gallons of 98 octane fuel, connected the battery and after pumping the throttle for 30 seconds the car started! However after 10 minutes of running there was a massive coolant leak from the bottom of the engine bay. Couldn't see any disconnected piping so my mother's boyfriend reckons it is likely to be a core plug that has failed. We are not 100% of this though because the engine was still far too hot investigate further. If it turns out to be a failed core plug, does any of you know how this is accessible or what else its likely to be? Literally all of the engine's coolant emptied from the nearside of the engine bay in about 2 seconds. I imagine it will need to go on a ramp. I really appreciate everyone's help and advice on this. Its exciting times.

Paul

[GREG]

Get your mechanic pal to bash one of these in ! easy job

SET OF 4 CLASSIC MINI CORE PLUGS A SERIES ENGINES 850, 998, 1100 2K8169 2GV4 | eBay

[GREG]

And yes they are the same size :-)

[paul410]

Part purchased. Thanks for the link. Hopefully it solves the probelm.

Regards Paul