Metro carb in Scamp.

Discovered an issue with my HS carb today. Leaking badly and sealing bits are missing (as explained in previous post). I have a Metro HIF carb with the manifold (twin exhaust downpipe type) and wondered if it would fit OK.
Specifically is there enough room between engine and bulkhead.
I haven't looked too closely just yet but after a quick search it seems the bits for the HS I need are not available easily/cheaply and since I intend to swap the Metro head over anyway (it's unleaded) I was just thinking it might be an option to use the Metro carb and downpipe.
Any thoughts from you guys?

A HIF carburettor should fit fine have had a HIF44 on my mk2 for years only difference may be in clearance for whichever particular air filter arrangement you use.

The bottom of the carb where the float bowl is looks a bit more bulky, I dare say someone has done it though. I measured up to see if the MG Metro Hif44 would fit on mine but it looked a bit tight against the bulkhead so I have modded it a bit to suit. Hopefully it will fit and I haven't measured it wrong !
What size engine do you have in your Scamp, if you are swapping bit's from a 1275 to another then you should be Ok, if not you will probably need a different needle in the carb at the very least, not sure about the head fitting either there could be the problem of the bypass hose to the water pump. 

On the other hand what bits do you need ? Someone might have an old carb lying about, what about Burlen Fuel Systems for the parts ?

Just found this picture which might help. 



I created more of a clearance problem with mine as I have altered the subframe mounts but as said it just looks like a non standard air filter might be a bit tight.

Thanks for the info. Both the Mini engine that's installed and the Metro I've got as spare are 998 so hopefully head will fit fine. I've done away with the bypass hose already as the stub in the head was rusted away badly so it's blocked off and thermostat drilled. seems to work ok.
Was a bit concerned about clearance at the bulkhead as there aint a whole lot of spare but I haven't tried it yet.
The sealing ring and washer for my old carb don't seem to be listed anywhere I can find as yet. Guess it's not a common problem. I've no idea how or when these bits disappeared as I've not had the carb apart myself.
Guess I could try breakers but don't need a complete carb and doubt they'd want to sell two miniscule parts and write off a carb in the process.
I found a little rubber washer and got it to fit with a slice of nylon tubing in place of the compression washer so all's working now but I'm not completely convinced it will hold up over time so would prefer a more certain solution.
Aint it fun running a 50 year old car

Just seen the pic thank you. Hard to tell how much room you've got but if it's do-able at least I have a fighting chance. I'll make up a filter box if necessary so not worried about that.
thanks again.

Dredging my memory back to my youth.......used to swap the saw the Hs carbs out for HIFones on all my mini's.

Only problem was when the top engine mounts wore the increased movement would sometimes bump the carb onto the bulkhead....easy solution was to fit urethane top mount bushes....

Neil

If your using a 998 then your swapping to a HIF38?.... which is physically smaller than a HIF44 as I say should fit any scamp with minimal fuss.....

Good news all round then thank you. Guess all the probs are to be expected and one reason for getting the Scamp was the 'joy' of working on a car where you could see what bits did and how they did it with no microprocessor interference. Having said that I'd quite like to spend a bit of time actually using the car now. Hopefully carb sorting will give me some breathing space and I can put a few miles on her while I sort out some of the rest of the list of jobs to do.
Good to have a bunch of guys like yourselves handy for advice as I go. No doubt I'll be back here soon with more tales of woe. Will take some pics before I get the paint pot out and put them up here. By mid summer I hope there'll be an improvement when she turns from cream to a sort of turquoise-green and white. We'll see.

Was hoping to put pic of the HIF carb here as I'm not sure of all the pipework. Suspect there is some emission control stuff etc. but since it had been 'disconnected' with a hacksaw and wire cutters I don.t know what is what.
If the pic appears maybe someone can point me in the right direction. If not I'll hunt around and see if I can find the info on the net somewhere.

Putting pics up here certainly isn't very easy is it? I created an account with servimg.com but using the user and password they sent to me won't work so can't access the site to see if my pic is there.

Ah well pic obviously didn't appear and I haven't got the patience to work out why. Other boards seem to have a simple select and send system but guess there's a good reason it's not available here.

Couple of quick questions:-
The HIF seems to have a fuel return pipe connection. Is it OK to just cap this off as don't want to have to run a return to the tank.
There is a vacuum advance takeoff and another small takeoff close to it- what is this?
There's a large union on top of the manifold with a foot long pipe which looks like it takes a rubber hose. Is this to do with emission control?
There's a plastic covered 'thingy' about size of a cotton reel screwed into the carb above fuel inlet. What is this chappy?
Thank you.

Well think I've sussed most of the extra bits on the HIF by scouring various websites. Seems there are a fair few variations on this carb and none are exactly the same as mine.
While looking on the Minispares site I actually found the seal and washer lost from my old SU. I'd looked previously but missed it (think cos the picture makes it look the size of a car tyre). Have decided to get the repair bits and stick with the old carb now. Less hassle and the HIF is, apparently, no better anyway just designed for better emission control.

The apparently knackered engine fitted when I bought the car has been taking up space so decided to take off useful bits ready to scrap the block and box. Removed the head and surprised to find it's a 12G 295. These are apparently desirable for tuning. Seem to fetch £100 or more which is nice to know. Looks to be in good condition and no sign of cracking or valve wear- result! I will still use the Metro head as it's unleaded and maybe sell the 12G.
The old engine has no number plaque so not sure what it is but was told it's a 998. This too looks really nice with no worrying bore wear.

This has got me thinking about the engine. When I bought Teabag I was told the engine had serious problems. The guy started it and it ran really badly with loads of smoke and no power at all. He said it had failed suddenly after being off the road for a while. Assumed he was right and had it trailered home. Removed the engine and put in the replacement.
This engine had a Facet electric fuel pump which looked to be newly fitted. This pump didn't seem to have a pressure setting but just pumped at full pressure all the time and was running continuously while the engine ran.
I'm now wondering if he had fitted the pump and should have had a pressure switch somewhere which was missed out. With the pump forcing fuel into the engine all the time it could have caused the bad running maybe? Wish I had spent more time fiddling with it before removing. Might have saved myself a lot of work.

If it's a low pressure pump they only put out 4psi I think so it shouldn't cause a problem assuming it's one of those.

Might be worth trying to sell the bits you don't need, with the prices of Mini stuff now it could be worth a few quid to someone.

Yes I didn't take too much notice when I removed it but I know there was no pressure adjuster on the pump itself and from what I read this type are normally used with an adjustable pressure cutout switch. Seemed odd that the thing should be running (and making a hell of a machine gun like din) all the time ignition was switched on. I'll look it out and see what the specs on the label say. Old engine didn't have a mechanical pump drive so obviously needed an electric pump.
Always reluctant to sell spares I might want to use one day but don't think I'll want the 12G head so will probably put it on fleabay. The other bits will go in my 'might come in handy one day' boxes.