Has anybody taken one of those locking caps apart? Mine appears to have a reversible key which suggests it has pins or tumblers actuated by only one side of the key. It probably would not be too hard to pick. I'd try but it is too darned cold in the garage - colder than outdoors!

Al,

Yup!  I read "Kiss me it's very terrible" in about 3-4 weeks and mailed it to Texas and I am not sure it ever surfaced afterwards.(iirc)
It's a Mini adventure book about driving through Asia (etc.) in a Mini Countryman, back in the day.
A solid 6/10 adventure book.  Not great - not bad, but was worth the price I paid to read it (postage to Texas afterwards was I think $10)

A great idea.

Hope you get your keys D.

Good one mur:

actually, l have a bunch of the two sided petrol cap keys here, built up after years of trading

i would be glad to mail them to D in P E I if he wants them, pick out the one that works and send the rest back

 much the same as the “BIG AL” travelling “key” library that l started up years ago, l had about 50 mini keys, ignition, petrol,door etc, the deal was, l send them to some mini affectionate, he takes what keys work for him and he adds his surplus keys and mails it forward. Well l sent it to Knoxville TN and it never surfaced after that. .????

however on a happier note, my BIG AL travelling mini library of 3 rare mini novels did make the rounds and were still going 3-4 years after they first entered circulation

BIG AL

I am thinking that Al’s question about how D plans on removing the gas cap is because he is already planning a super low ball offer on the car. Having to change the fuel tank will drop the price even more!

So just how are you going to remove the gas cap without the key ?

Big. AL

Absolutely right. It has been run on and off trucks and in and out of storage in cold weather probably on full or 3/4 choke without ever getting close to running temperature. Even if it did get warm, it would not have had a run to clear its lungs. I'd expect all plugs to be black and fuzzy. The one that isn't was probably the last one to fire. If they are dry and black, it means they were firing, so don't go changing things (carb or timing) until you can get it out for a good, cleaning run.

might want to check your valve clearances.  Not sure if a poorly sealing valve would let more fuel in and give you a rich condition.

and you can use a propane torch, not lit, engine running to see if the idle goes up, if it's a leak on the intake side.

Less mess than starter fluid.

Thanks Whee and Malcolm. Great food for thought. I’ll see if any more ideas come in before I take any action, because tomorrow I plan to change the gear lever ( rod change type ) from short shift to the factory set up. I have my fingers crossed that this will fix my shifting trouble. I sort-of realize this shouldn’t take long, but I also want to remove a locking gas cap that has no proper key. So that may take a while. Cheers gents, Darren.

Also, since you don't really know what sort of driving the car has had recently, you might not want to put too much credence in the condition of the plugs until you put a few miles on yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if it's been for a lot of very short trips most recently.

Possible air leak on intale gasket on the weak cylinder. Spray starting fluid around the intake gasket with the engine running if the revs rise it has a leak. Also you can use a piece of fuel line or regular tubing and hold it next to your ear while putting the other end of the tube where you think the leak may be, if you hear a hiss there is a leak.
FWIW most Mini's run richer on cylinders 2 and 3 due to the porting.

Hi gals and guys,

I hauled my spark plugs out tonight to have a look at them , and to my surprise 3 of the 4 plugs are sooty looking and deffinetly running in a rich cylinder. Can anybody please give a reason or more as to why my single carb 998 is running rich on 3 cylinders ?

Thanks, Darren.