Update guys, just installed a new Petronix flame thrower to replace my other petronix coil and everything seems to run fine now.  Whew am i relieved!!  Been chasing this gremlin for two weeks.  Just wanted to say thank You for all that helped me in the thread.  I promise I will never ever ever ever ever ever neglect my mini again, Ever! ??  

I had a poor connection at the coil on our 998 sedan, and it would stumble and even die at odd times.  I found that problem only after pulling the coil off in preparation to do a head gasket check.  When the female spade  connector stayed on the coil instead of the wire, I realized I might not be in for as much work as I was afraid.

Our 66 traveller had a similar issue when a wire on the back of the ignition switch shorted out on top of the heater.  For a while it was an unpredictable stumble, then an occasional shutoff, the finally I smelled the insulation burning after an extended period of cranking on a cold day.

Do you have a column mounted ignition switch/key lock, or is it in the switch panel?

hi jemal thanks for the input.  All connections look good at the battery terminals and grounds inside the engine bay.  Maybe it's the switch.  As far as bad gas goes , I did replace the old with new so I'm not sure as my problem is still in going.  opping/cracking sound coming from the carb area....got a new coil today so I will check that out

Hey Fab, your last 'update' sounds like you have a bad connection to the battery somewhere... Check the other ends of the battery cables at the ground to the chassis and the starter or solenoid.  I suggest running a nice fat wire to the engine unit (from the battery itself) to help the connection to boot floor sheet-metal.  A poor connection will result in what you describe... you get a bit of an arc that 'melts' to make a better connection... for a little while!

I think your problem was bad gas, but all the cranking arced your bad connection!

Try running the car at night and see if you can see anything arcing on the electrical side. Don't waste your money on a carb yet the problem you have is electrical. Also check the ignition harness where the plug from the ignition switch ties into the main harness under the column you may have a bad connection or a faulty switch.

Its a long shot, but you can also try unplugging your tach connecting to the coil. If your tach has a short, it can also cause the car to stumble and die.

I had similar problem earlier on and it turned out my tach wire connecting to the coil were burned and exposed by the exhaust. The car was hesitating while light driving in gear and after few attemped it died and wont start. I unplugged the coil completely as well as the neg. connection to the tach. Then reconnected other wires back to the coil. Leave the tach disconnected from the coil, and the car fired right up. 

A little update guys.  Tried to start the car today and for some strange reason after cranking it the car completely died.  Lost all power!  Checked battery connection and all looked good, turned  the ignition again and it worked?  Very strange.  Also checked spark plugs.  lugs 1-2 were black while 3-4 were light brown in color....tomorow I'm going to try to get a new coil to see if that might be the issue.

Thnks guys for all the suggestions thus far!  I hope the coil is the answer as the next thing would be the carb which gets into the big bucks!

FAB60: I think by now you are realizing that Triggerboy does not know much about what he is writing. It gets more obvious when he starts abusing othe members who DO know more than he does. A compression test is NOT required at this time.

Triggerboy: Wrong again. Low compression on one cylinder will NOT upset the timing and spark, which are mechanically driven off the camshaft, which in turn is driven off the crakshaft. It will not cause the engine to stumble but merely run with a slight unevenness. Even if a valve was badly burned or stuck, this easily can be detemined without doing a compression test the symptoms are different.

TB. Give us a break. Please slither back under your rock and stay there.

To some novice and inexperienced greek mechanic wannabe's doing the compression testing means stripping the engine into pieces?? Wow! doing the compression testing is as easy as 123,abc...fyi

dont get fooled by some false Greek myth-odology... Lol

dude its something silly i bet just try doing basic troubleshooting or else get the car to a mechanic! cars dont break that easily! dont let the troll make you strip down to the gearbox or buy another car

Hey guys so yeah when I got the petronix years ago one of the first things that i was informed about was the leaving the key in the ignition thing.  Since then I have never left it in ignition ever.  I'll go ahead and try to check the compression when I get around to find out how to do it?  Haha.  In the mean time I'll see if I can borrow or replace the coil and possibility get a new carb.  Live and learn ill never ever ever leave/neglect this Mini for long periods! ??

do the gadam compression test on all cylinders, if one of the four cylinders gets very low compression than the 3, it will cause the stupet car to stumble, because the 3 good cylinders drag the bad one,then it upsets the timing and spark. / how bout your fuel pump? is it in the working order?

it's 9:30pm and im eating oatmeal + chocolate , i understand here in america you call it Poridge.  

//youtu.be/_UJuGEHCguk 

By your first post stating the tach jumps around is a sure sign you have ignition troubles. The early Petronix units fail when the key is left on for a short while, whether they fail completely or just cause bad running i don't know. If you have an old known good set of points and condenser i would try them first.

Yes, I meant that when the choke knob is pushed in, the lever/arm on the side of the carb returns to the unchoked position. Since you have a HIF44 , that would mean fully rotated clockwise, as viewed from the rad side. Sometimes the core of the choke cable works loose and slides in the fastening to the end of the lever, and pushing the choke knob all the way in isn't really rotating the lever all the way. Since we now know you have a HIF type, it might be worth checking the seals in the choke barrel. It works like a tap, turning on the fuel flow through a passage to provide the rich mixture. If the seal has dried and caracked, it will act like a leaky tap nd not shut off completely.

if sir Dimitris is right about the varnish, you need to keep on mixing seafoam to your gas until the gunk dissolves away, you are another living witness to prove that the seafoam works and its NOT a snake oil.  My cousin told me that seafoam is a snake oil, oh i got mad and i didnt talk to him for years because i know in my mind and soul that seafoam does really work.

good luck, hope u get your mini running soon

Ok guys here's some background on the car.  It does have an electronic dizzy.  It's the first version pertronix I think flame thrower.  It came in a package set along with coil bought back in 2005.  I replaced all of the following and installed them last night.  New Spark Plugs, Cap, Rotor, and also Spark Plug Wires.  I did drain out the gas and put in new gas.  Actually if I remember I did put some of that sea foam in and that made the car run ok for a little while but that didn't last.  So I guess next steps are getting a new coil and maybe just buying or exchange new carb.  I'm running a HIF44.  Any other suggestion would be greatly appreciated!  Any mini mechanics Close to the Pasadena CA area as a last resort!!  Hahha

Hey Dan Moffet when you say choke mechanism are you talking about just the return on the cable end or actual choke mech inside carb?  I did check and the arm does fall back down to close position when I push the cable back in.  

You didn't mention whether you drained the fuel tank, it doesn't take long for fuel to go off these days. Try draining the tank and adding some fresh fuel.

New spark plugs is the best, cheapest and easiest tuneup there is.

Erratic combustion and bouncing tach suggest to me low voltage ignition issues. Clean the terminals wire connections on the coil. Replace the condenser - if you put a new one in (you did not list it), try the old one. Or a new one from a different source - some new ones are poorly manufactured and fail quickly. Poor spark will blacken plugs, so check the choke linkage is correct and the choke fully releases. Check also that the daspot piston falls fully with a small "clunk". It may be sticking up and causing a rich condition. If none of this works, including checking the carb for varnish etc., then try replacing the coil. Valve adjustment would not normally cause the symptoms you describe.