Vacuum Bleeder:
I have a generic MityVac with bleeder kit.  They can work but you have to apply some form of sealant to the bleed nipple threads if you want any chance of success.  My kit mentions that but I don't know if all of the vacuum bleeder kits do or if anyone bothers to read the directions. 

Regardless, I am glad you got the fluid moving and the brakes bled !

the lazy man's cheaty method to prime the system that's completely dry (without the need to crack lines or remove and prime master cylinder):

Take a rubber tipped air gun on your compressor line like this:

and press it up to the little pin sized breather hole that's on the master cylinder cap and have your assistant press up and down on the brake pedal while you are pushing air into the master cylinder (with all the brake nipples cracked open). When fluid starts to come out of a caliper/drum, close that one off and keep going until they all have a dribble. 

Now with fluid (mostly) in the lines, you can bleed as normal.

Be forewarned that you will possibly/likely aerate the brake fluid using this method and, after you bleed it without compressed air assistance, you will want to let it sit overnight and bleed the system again with fresh fluid.

But it does work in a pinch.

 

OK.  I see the question about the "vacuum bleeder" didn't get a response for that participant, anyone?    

         And to give feedback on my results .....

The park brake was not on.     I found that for some reason the Master Cylinder just wasn't getting primed.  So I disconnected the out flow pipe, and used my finger to seal the hole.  The pumped the pedal, forcing air out the hole, lifted my finger to let the air escape, and again used my finger to seal the hole, repeated this process about 3 to 5 times and fluid flow began (the MC was now primed). (I had the benefit of no windscreen yet installed, so I could push the pedal with one hand, and seal the MC hole with the other hand, otherwise an assistant would have been neeeded if the windscreen were installed).  I then used a little priming hose with tubing (I have since lost the label for a name) that has a oneway valve.   Attached it to the furthest rear nipple (I had to push the little black hose which is about 3 1/2 inches long, over the nipple nut to seal).  Then pumped the pedal and successfully got the fluid to flow.  Then moved on to each subsequent, next furthest rear nipple, next furthest front nipple, and closest front nipple.  This was all done using the without assistance.   Finally, when assistant (my lovely wife) arrived, we did the finally round of bleeding.  DONE  successfully.  Thanks again to all contributors  

Me? I would be thinking "Well, there's your problem...."
If you can't get it to burp fluid at the master cylinder, bleeding the brakes is just an excercise in frustration.....

Anybody try one of those little vacuum brake bleeder systems? Will it affect the proportioning valve?

That could before it too?  I will certainly check.  Thx for the replies.

I just recently finished swapping out my subframes and therefore needed to bleed the brakes. I could not get the process to get started????????????? Now, here is the embarassing reason why: I had applied the handbrake at the beginning of the project and after much pondering; I spotted that oops and when released, the bleeding proceeded normally. An innocent error is sometimes all it takes. Randy

I'll try that again "crack the fitting open at the MC and pump slowly to let a little fluid out".   And see if we can get something flowing; we didn't have success when trying that briefly last night.

That's "bench bleeding".  It is sometimes used but isn't always required.  As Malcolm said, crack the fitting open at the MC and pump slowly to let a little fluid out.  That will achieve the same thing as bench bleeding.

I bleed mine on the car just crack the line loose on the master.

I got advice from USA auto mechanic this AM.  He suggested bleeding the Master Cylinder before install.  Is this needed for our Mini MCs?  I had no problem bleeding the clutch MC.   Thx for your replies. 

12 yrs ago I replaced front calipers, pads, bleeders, rear wheel cylinders ,rear pads. I could not get bleeding started. The one rear bleeder  I started with had not been manufactured properly. They had not drilled a hole all the way through!  So I did .. .and...squirt.

If I had tried 3 different corners, it would have worked ( until I got to the one that did not) .

X 2 what Doug said also i have found that getting the rear of the car as high as you can helps with the rears.

Check all of Dan's suggestions first. If you do not find a problem or obvious cause and since it sounds like a lot of the components are new or have been removed, you may benefit from a messy twist to normal brake bleeding. Follow the brakes lines from the MC. At each joint/coupling/fitting, crack the fitting open and pump the brake pedal slowly to the floor until fluid comes out then re-tighten the components.  Move to the next joint/coupling/fitting down the brake line moving from the MC to the wheel cylinders or calipers. When at the wheel cylinders/calipers bleed as normal. You will loose fluid and it is messy but I have had to use this method to get fluid to the rear wheels.

You said you tried the 2-person method. That means different things to different people. If you mean you had a helper pump-pump-pump the brakes and then you opened the bleed nipple, that often does not work on Minis with rear proportioning valves as it causes the rear valve to shuttle closed. There is also the 2-person flush method which involves coordinated opening and closing of the bleed nipple as the helper pushes the pedal slowly to the floor and holds it in place. That method can work with the rear proportioning valve if the pedal is worked slowly.

 

All new parts and line & proportioning valve.   Single line.  Front discs.  lastic master. I will check tonight for plugged bleeder.  I did maybe get some paint on them.

If you are following procedure, you should be starting with the longest run - a rear wheel. What system do you have? Single line? Split system? What master cylinder? Disks or all drums? Twin-leading shoe fronts?

Before bleeding, see what happens when the pedal is depressed - do any of the brakes apply and stop wheel rotation? Do they release? If so, the Master and brake plumbing should be OK. If the rear ones do not apply, then maybe you have problem in the proportioning valve. If just one does not apply, then you may have a plugged line or a swollen hose.

Check also that the bleeders are not plugged. Since you are bleeding it anyway, it should be OK to remove each one at a time and clean them. Then put them all back tight before bleeding.

We can't seem to get the brake bleeding to start. Tried two man, with some obvious siphon capability, but nothing ever leaves the Master Cylinder.  Tried the one man with a pull type system and same lack of result.  What is possible?  Master Cylinder problem.  Air getting into lines somewhere?  Other issue?