I’ve watched this so many times now! Still waiting on the carb tuning video 👍

Hehe, I was driving towards home about 40 years ago and the car in front of me stopped and wouldn't re-start. I could hear the lady turning it ove on the key and i had already realized the car had an issue from following it. It was an Austin 1100 and has the same A series engine as a classic Mini. So I parked up and went to her saying "I think I can get you going if you'd like." It had been popping a little bit coming down the big hill before she stopped. So she was very relieved, saying "oh my goodness can you???" My mum had the same car a short while before and I knew what to do, so I popped the "bonnet". Then I spannered the distributor pinch bolt and twisted it round about 20 degrees. When she tried that and it didn't even try to start I twisted it the other way about 30 degrees, and it started. That proved that the points had at least some gap. Then I listened to the engine as it idled, and twisted the dizzy about a little till it sounded smoothest and re-tightened the pinch bolt. I recomended that the lady got it checked over as the timing wasn't optimized. The lady was very grateful and gave me two packs of cigarrettes. I mentioned that I didn't smoke, but my old man did. So it was all good and off she went. It's always great to help out if you can. :¬)

We need that Carb tuning vid!!

Very helpful! Love your mini content 🇬🇧🙌🏽

Great video.. love how you make the videos and how you explain things.. and super with the last bonus tip.. :)

Best and most informative video ever!! Good job!

Great videos. Love your style, and very easy to understand instructions and explanations. Thanks!

Hey thanks for the great video! Learnt lots as usual! Big fan here in New Zealand!

Beautiful car. Nice maintenance, Steve. Thumbs up.

awesome vidja once again, learnt heaps! Ur an awesome teacher (show us + telling us everything to know, even testing!) nice bro :)

Great job mate well done 👍 from Australia 🇦🇺 😍🏁

Hey guys, thankyou very much for this very informative tutorial!

Inlet cam timing will vary depending on your engine and if you have high or low compression, as each engine has different profiles. Also distributors have different timing curves so one fits all is not the case here. Any engine wants a maximum of about 32 ~34 degrees advance at high RPM. You can find where your timing does not advance any further (should be around 3000 or 3500 RPM, and then set it to 32 at that point. Then, return to idle and measure what that is, for future reference. If you want to get fancy, after the above step, then on a rolling road dynamometer, you can identify the ideal advance at each RPM between idle and WOT, and then have a custom curve matching that made for you (by Advanced Distributors), or using a 321 Distributor find a near match among the curves provided with it. Thanks for sharing

Excellent explanation! Congratulations!

Brilliant work. Super helpful.

Spot ON mate great job from Australia 🇦🇺

Excellent video as always

Very informative! Love the videos!

What a great video- I now understand the theory behind it and can have a go myself.

Really well done 👍 very educational and loved your creative way to set max advance if you don’t have a more expensive timing light that allows you to do this without placing the 2nd “gold” mark on the pulley 😀

Hey guys, thanks so much for this super informative and detailed video - you always help and inspire me to do thing myself... Just adjusted the ignition on my 73 Mk3 yesterday, however, found out that I did not have the timing marks on the pulley/timing cover... Bit puzzled, but cross-referenced with the Haynes Manual and found out that pre 76 models have the timing marks under the flywheel cover, accessible through an inspection cover... It's kinda quirky as you wheel need a mirror to see the timing marks... However - Sure you guys are aware of this, but would be worth mentioning if you ever did an edit of this video!

Excellent explanation I've been repairing and driving minis for 40 years very well done from a British mini fan

Hi Steve. I'm one of your subscribers. my husband and I have a Mini 1995/6

Setting the max advance timing is something i never heard of but makes perfect sense. I’m a hobby mechanic so maybe it’s common practice among the pro’s ;). Did this to my mini and it runs better than ever. 👍

Always enjoy your videos, in my opinion you are one of the best when it comes to making technical mini videos. I like the look of the temperature guage on your binnacle, who manufacturers it?

This is the best timing video I've ever watched. Very helpful, super educational. Very easy to follow as a first timer. Thanks!

I love this content, I know like nothing from engines and one of our Mini's is not starting anymore after removing the distributor. I guess I have to set the timing but how can I do this when the car is not able to run? Thanks in advance and keep the content coming!

Very helpful indeed 👍

After years of amature mechanics I never heard about setting the higher timing settings. Have a few MGBs with non vacuum advanced dizzies.With the right engine and electronic ing. They are just great. Now I have a 6 cyl Austin Westminster I need to find the max-vac (so to speak) for the dizzy. You have forgotten to say that with a mini it is advisable to purchase electronic ignition because to adjust the points you have to remove the chrome grill. My sister one had a van an no grill could be removed! Hope you do twin carb set up as well as a single carb set up video. I am watching this whilst the world cup is on TV.

Nice explanation

I think you may have just solved my ign issue on my mini, ive been running bp5es on my electronic ign and its been breaking up and missing and not accelerating ans just the worst to deal with, your recommendation of bpr6es made me remember the time my friend had the same issue as im having ;D

Great content and videos I was womdering and need a bit of your vast knowledge. I want to take out my distributor and there is a way of setting up the timing marks so I can eaily put it back in without messing up the timming. I have a mini Mayfair 1,000 1985

This is a great video and of course everything from SMCO is amazing. I don’t understand the adjustment of the distributor cap. You mention is 7/16 wrench to adjust but my cap is screwed on in three places…

Is the carb tuning video available? Thanks for this, been looking for a good vid for a while now

Hey! great video!, just writing to ask you a tech question regarding timing. As the MED Aluminium timing cover doesnt have timing marks on it, how a timing light must be used when the MED set up is installed? Thanks!

When I first got a mini, I didn't have a feeler gauge and my dad who is a bit of a car expert recommended using a bit of breakfast cereal box for the points to use in place of a 15 thou feeler gauge - and it worked. But I now have a couple sets of feeler gauges...

Thanks for the detailed video. I'd be keen to see another similar caliber video about tuning the SU with relation to timing, if you could? I've just changed to electronic ignition in my Triumph TR3 (changed the base plate from points to magnetic trigger) after my condenser failed after only 60miles. I'm keen for less trouble / maintenance with electronic ignition. I am having difficulty with getting the tune setup though. It was fine with points before the condenser failed (baseline ~15dbtdc). Now with the electronic ignition, the engine doesn't idle nicely at the baseline timing. It's fine at about 20dbtdc as a baseline, but this brings my max advance to about 40dbtdc which I'm not very keen on running with. Even at that setup I found that it was pinging on a test drive. I have high compression ration, fast road cam, ported head, manifolds matched, oversized valves, large bore, etc. and am just running it in so I'm not too keen to load it up excessively, or have it running poorly. Any further ideas would be greatly appreciated.

great video, i just have a question, if i have a modified camshaft, can I apply this video? thanks and regards from Chile

Great video! I have auto ignition on my mini 1340 with shaped camshaft. It continues running 5 seconds after turning off. Do you have any advice on how to set ghe timing?

massive cred sighting David Vizzard

Very helpfull i will be using what i have learned soon :) What rev counter is that ?

Hi I have a 1300 Spi factory spec engine with a cam shaft from a carby model and running a SU single carb . Would setting the timing as per this video work ok ? Currently I have the timing at Idle set via gun at 8 degrees BTDC

Timing how to starts at 15:00

Any recommendations for an alternate to the BP6ES spark plug? Maybe another brand? I can’t find them anywhere and NGK website says they have been discontinued.

R u running 25d or 45d? I want to use a 25d with vacuum advance for the exterior advance adjuster. I have an hif44 and pertronix with no vac now. Im just trying to get a lil more mpg.

Nice comprehensive video! Can someone identify the music used at 4:26 ? Thanks

Great video, but there are different timings for different engines! My 998cc engine needs fewer degrees BTDC than a 1275 engine. Always check the manuals for your engine/distributor.

On the 4k rev timing do u still blank off the vacuum line?

I wish you were based in New Zealand, Waikato, North island to be precise. We, well and my 1981 MK4 mini needs your expertise.

Do you have the vacuum reconnected for the high rpm timing setting ?

Where have you bought the hood vent? Try to find one that suits å 1965Cooper S. Great channel! Love it

Very informative although I'm slightly confused.....if the vacuum advance is disconnected during these tests then once it's reconnected wouldn't that be giving you more than 32 degrees advance? Thanks

Should this apply to other BMC A engine cars like mg midget?

Make it running perfectly

Hi I know it's an old video but is it best to set the timeing then air fule

Hi Guys, made everything as you told and engine started working better but now it is not stop for some seconds after turning off ignition. It starts to stop properly only if to put setting to stock 10 degrees. By the way engine is 1098 with 229 Piper cam, big valve head, intake, exhaust and so on. Seems instructions for tuned engines must be a little bit different?

Do you also have a video About ajusting a Carb?, much thnxs grom Holland

Any tips on setting timing on a supercharged engine?

Hi there, My mini isn't idling very well and I recently noticed that my Vacuum line is connected to the distributor only and wrapped around the dipstick! you had mentioned that it goes to the intake manifold but couldn't really tell where exactly, any way you could send me a picture of where it goes?

Same procedure if you only have the little window on the other end. My car doesn't have marks on the pulley.

Aye you adjusting the same thing as 1000rpm and 4000rpm? Or there is 2 different bodies to turn?

QQ do you use the vacuum advance when testing the 32 degrees @ 4000 rpm or should it be plugged off? Thanks.

Fuel Octane rating will also affect pinging susceptibility....Higher octane resists pre-ignition better so for this demo you may want to use a low octane fuel. Safety tip: Not a great idea to be wearing a hoodie with dangling laces when leaning into the engine bay...that spinning fan would make short work of them!

When doing the raised timing with the revs at 4000, do you need the vacuum advanced disconnected

Why is it necessary to time the ignition without the vacuum advance operating, assuming car is able to start ok? Why not just go straight to the fully advanced timing step with engine at higher rpm? Seems any low rpm/non-advanced setting you make is then immediately changed when doing fully advanced???

Why can't we use a BP5ES spark plug instead? and whats the benefit to using the R series? My car uses electronic ignition

Only thing I get is a spark show when trying to connect the positive clip to the starter solenoid! Scares the shit outta me!

When setting timing at 32 deg as this video shows is the vaccum hose connected

Sorry, 850 Minis use the BP5ES sparks BP6ES is from 998 onwards

What's a good a electric ignition for an 1987 mini 998?

👍🏼🏎💨

Why don’t you get the dizzy graft to those specs

your hood laces hanging above the rotating pulley; totally unsafe; watch out lads!!! Nice video tough

Will this work on MPi mini's?

Very interesting, I’ve only heard of setting the timing at idle. I guess you could’ve gone straight to checking at 4K rpm

..I'm a Sri Lankan technician. Can you tell me a way to contact you? It will be very important to me ..

I would like to discuss my MG with you

Please don’t wear that hoody with the strings hanging down each side, just waiting for these to be tangled into the revolving engine fan or fanbelt! Great videos by the way.

How can you set rpm if you don't have an rpm gauge?

Careful of your hoodie toggles getting caught in the fanbelt!!

Hoodie ....... hilarious.

Did you zap yourself at around 17:50?

It sounded higher than 900rpm to me… great video though!

pretty sure it's not possible to cross threat whilst undoing a bolt/plug.

my word _ beshjs has watched alot of the vids it seems . strange type of hater ?

Spark plugs have single start threads, so you can turn it backwards all day, it will always start at the same place. So turning it "180 degrees backwards" literally does nothing. It will start at the same place EVERY time. If you want a thread to engage every 180 degrees, it needs to be a 2 start thread. If you want the thread to engage every 90 degrees, it needs to be a 4 start thread. And so on and so on.

Auto subtitles keep saying APPLAUSE when the engine revs 😅

your engine sounds like a hedgehog forcing out a fart

THE HOOD IS DOWN BOYS

does this man ever relieve his hood?

6:10 Could*

Got your hood up inside in case the rain gets through the roof.

Haha you put the mic in the engine bay at 17:30, rookie mistake lads

Tightens spark plugs with a ratchet but wheel nuts with a torque wrench HMM

SPANNER not wrench

We don't need a montage with trap music every time you do a timeskip. Especially not for something as mundane as widening spark plug gaps.

Why not just put your camera on a tripod. We arent on a boat boys.

could have been a 10 minute video EASILY

using inches like a child and not calling them "though" instead of "thousands" UGH

If you're gonna speak in illiterate at least include the measurements in real man speak on screen please.