Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Starting my Crossflow

thanks Philip, I have had a good look at the HT leads, I agree it wouldn't hurt to replace them. My post about the engine turning over nicely was a response to Graham's earlier question. I do appreciate any suggestions as I would like to get the car to the stage where I feel I can trust it to start both cold and warm. My mechanical knowledge is slightly better than my mechanical skill but neither are going to get me a job as an AA patrol man!

If only they were still that well trained!

Cheers

to be fair I've only had good experiences with them. When I bought the Morgan I had a 250 mile journey home with it. The clutch rod broke on Salisbury Plain and the very very nice man who attended wouldn't leave until he'd made a new rod from a bit he had in the back of his van that he'd rescued from a skip years before 'just in case it might come in useful'. Similar result the second time the Morgan 'failed to proceed' whist in a Waitrose carpark causing much amusement!

Hi Simon
The crossflow generally has a mechanical fuel pump so it takes a number of revolutions to pump the fuel to the float chamber where with standing it has evaporated.(Seems to be worse with modern fuels) A solution is to plumb a electric fuel pump in parallel which can be switched on before starting so filling the float chamber prior to starting.
Saves a lot of drain on the battery as well.
Hope all the suggestions help.
Regards
Doug (from deep deep down under)

If it fires OK on Easy Start and then runs all right I'd be inclined to give the carburation the once over. Assuming it's a Weber twin choke of some description the inlet needle valve can be prone to leaking after a while, and you should also check the float level.

I was going to suggest the timing is a little too far advanced. Retard it slightly and I bet you'll get going easier....worked for me.

The X flow is quite a simple thing compared with a modern Ford engine, usually a process of elimination sorts the problem out. Changing the points HT leads, coil, ballast resistor and LT lead wouldn't cost a lot and if they haven't been changed for years may be worth doing anyway. Mine always used to churn over a few times if it had been left standing a couple of weeks before it started and as others have said this was due to getting the fuel through the system to the carb. Is the cold start (choke) working as it should? My old Rangy would not start if left for a couple of weeks unless I used Easy Start due to a problem with the cold start mechanism in the carb.

Lots of good info, thanks to all who have responded. Think I'll get a good engine service done and take it from there. Will see if it starts tomorrow!

If its in damp air, try and start it in the dark of the garage, any lead problem should show up with an arcing spark.

Sounds like a damp/cold environment. WD40 does the job. But also weak/bad HT leads, pitted points etc. Recently I have had Coil failures on my TR +4. Replacement stuff is not what it used to be.

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