Facelift P.I rescue!

[sahtuning2000]

Well after a bit of banter with an owner of a nice original P.I i now seem to be the new owner of such car!!
Its very original and has low miles,i viewed the car again today and turned the fan by hand which was fine,it hasn,t started for a few years but seems to have been well kept,what advise do you give to trying to get it up and running again without to much messing about,i trust new fuel(doesn,t have much in it)and cheaking all items like points gap etc,then a fresh battery and a spin over after making sure petrol/pump are working maybe without the plugs in to get oil upto filter and around engine,any other tips to help.

[sahtuning2000]

Out of interest what figure should i be looking at to pay for the P.I.

[CAR]

Where in the country are you? Somebody with pi experience may live near you.

Getting the injectors to 'fire' will ultimately be the difference between the car firing and you draining the battery flat. Checking for a spark is the same as for a carb car but the pump needs to be running properly to push the fuel at around 110psi to the metering unit, which then distributes that fuel to each injector at around 60psi to allow the injectors to fire.
When assessing the engine in general (before attempting a start up) I would check valve clearances so that manifold vacuum is correct for the metering unit.
If you can't hear the pump whirring with the ignition on, check the grey inertia switch next to the wiper motor. These get dirty inside with lack of use and may need an electrical clean.
Make sure you have more than 5 litres of fresh fuel in the tank and a really good battery.
Injectors will most likely need bleeding too.
Check that the choke cable does operate the enrichening lever on the metering unit.

As to what to pay........facelift PIs are rare, only just over 2000 or so made so worth having. Anything from £1k up to £5k if very nice I would guess, but value is really in the eye of the potential purchaser. Good luck and well done.

Colin

[sahtuning2000]

Thankyou for the tips,i think i,am now getting it delivered direct to me and then looking at the running issues,i don,t want to rush getting it running again.
Just a few facts about the car,it was registered on 1/8/74 so brand new N reg that day,what a stunning sight that must of been for the neighbours.
Its ice blue with shadow blue cloth interior,but no headrests?,auto with PAS and has 51k on it.
Its never been welded and was zeibarted from new as it has the bungs on the doorshuts and the sticker in the rear screen!
Its not a minter but very honest and still has most of its original items including its ACE numberplates,current owner for 35 years and a local registered car.
Full length webasto aswell,underside looks great,getting excited.....

[sahtuning2000]

I forgot how rare facelift P.Is are but being lower BHP and facelift doesn,t that make them less valuable?
But then again only 2000 made,how many left now,and this one will be tax excempt this year?

[johnconradlee]

I think head rests were optional, certainly on the early facelift cars. If they're the original seats there should be a plastic plug covering the hole so you can retro fit them if you desire (common to quite a few Triumph models so relatively easy to get hold of). Not sure quite how much safety they add as its basically a bit of plywood covered in foam and vinyl attached to a metal pole. The cabin feels more open without them plus the plastic plugs covering the holes might be considered a rare original feature if everyone else fits head rests.

[sahtuning2000]

Yeah its got the plastic plugs,so has the TC in the glovebox!
How many facelift P.Is are known to survive?

[sahtuning2000]

I maybe having it collected tommorrow,if not i,am going to visit the owner to spend some time trying to get it running
I plan to put 3 gallons of fuel in it(V power)and top levels up,take a couple of new baaterys with me(what Rating do you suggest)
I want to check the points etc and i,ve been told to try and spin it over on the key,if i hear the pump,with the plugs out to build up the oil pressure and fill the filter.
How do i bleed the injectors?
I guess when all this is done its fingers crossed time......

[sahtuning2000]

If i get to the stage that the car is turning over,pump working and i have a spark but it won,t fire where do i look next?
Theres an inertia switch and reading about that would that be the possible problem.
I,ve been told today it last ran about 3 years ago.

[david_lall]

All sounds very exciting!

MGB head rests fit our cars and make for a very pleasant upgrade.

The inertia switch is on the bulkhead, nearside of the engine bay but it only prevents electric going to the fuel pump so you'll soon know if there's a problem.

From experience V-power isn't that great in a PI - you'll get better results, certainly with starting, from 97 octane Esso.

When I rebuilt my PI it took 40 mins of turning over before the car fired up and there was nothing wrong! So just be patient. Malcolm at Prestige Injection assured me that for starting you just have to get on with it, then eventually when the car fires up check to see if the injectors need bleeding.

Pull out each injector in turn, with the engine running, they should spray a fan of petrol. If not use a small can (maybe a clean baked beans tin) and knock the injector against the inside of the tin until it stops dripping and starts to spray. You can also encourage this by carefully pulling the very tip of the injector, its not easy to take hold of with your fingers and there's a fair amount of resistance, but it does sometimes help with a stubborn injector.

Oh, and do yourself a favour and put new plugs in regardless of the condition of the old ones - plugs are always the first thing to change with PI running issues.

Good luck!