Quote:
Originally Posted by HowGudAmI
The car does get crap mileage, it should achieve high 30's (uk mpg) without particular effort. In terms of performance it does run well - which is odd given the poor economy (would think it would be rich leading to sluggish running when warm)
I should probably get it rolling roaded. Will cost me about £80 though which I don't really have
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With our classic Volvos we have found out that petrol hoses go bad over time. Older cars usually have petrol hoses that are fabric covered, these can be deceiving, look fine, no apparent leaks, but they can be really badly shot while still working enough well to not cause any problems.
So if everything else checks out fine, then one have to check all pipes and hoses from tank to carburettor, if fabric covered are found, only way to really tell how they are is replacing them.
Also tank can leak and fill up pipe to tank connection can leak, that has been common with all older vehicles that have been running fine but just using lot of petrol.
Also checking that brakes are not binding is well worthwhile, lift car up and try to spin wheels and feel if they are spinning freely or not.
Older motors can also run quite rich without giving much of an issue, so exhaust analyzer test should be done to determine if mixture is within specs. One can adjust mixture without analyzer too, but I don't recommend that if lacking of experience, there is chance that by adjustment all looks fine, but it still is running rich, one needs to be able to do exhaust smell test to know that then.
Any leaks with carburetor are often compensated with richer mixture and masking real cause of issue, sometimes this is not very easy to spot at exhaust analyzer test either, but setting carb to base settings should reveal that.
These are quite general things, if you service car yourself, many things you will already know and are aware of current state and condition of vehicle, but if vehicle is new or if one is not very experienced with older vehicles, these should help a bit at least.
Also one thing to keep on mind is that old Mini was created when people were not so hurry and aerodynamics were left for aircrafts more or less, so speed can easily increase consumption greatly.