Vintage Minor Register

Barry Gilbert asks if anyone has any idea how to restore a fuel tap so it doesn't leak?

All I know is that modern fuels are much more penetrative than pre-war fuels which makes the problem worse. I obtained some new corks a while ago for my Semi-sports and, even after some very careful re-assembly, it leaked like a sieve. I ended up sealing the whole thing and locking it in the reserve position! I recently obtained a new tap from Paul Beck Vintage Supplies for my fabric saloon. The saloon's tank has been modified to take a smaller threaded tap. The good news is that the new tap works perfectly, and the other good news is that Paul Beck also supplies new Enots style taps to the Minor pattern https://www.vintagecarparts.co.uk/products/575-fuel-tap.

Any other thoughts to pass on to Barry?

I've had a related problem that I also ascribe to modern fuel. Ongoing problems with rust blocking the carburetor were finally solved by fitting a fuel tap with a protruding filter. This has the drawback of having no reserve but has solved the rust problem and has worked fine for a few years now without leakage. Recently though, it's become almost impossible to turn. I suspect that its brass surfaces are slowly being corroded by the ethanol content.

Hi Ian
Just taken the fuel tap out of the Minor I am restoring.......its at 90 degrees to the Paul Beck one......does the Paul beck one have the same threads that screw into the tank.
The seal on the one out of the 29 has dried up and broken into a million pieces. Any idea what they were made from originally. I am thinking maybe cork or leather. The tab for turning the tap has also broken off mine

Hi Bruce,

Sorry to hear you are having problems. I believe the Paul Beck taps have the same threads, but as you say, their geometry is different to the Minor originals, so a small amount of pipe bending might be require to fit one.

The original seal was indeed cork, and it is a tricky job to get the compression just right - tight enough so it doesn't don't leak, but loose enough so you can turn it, and in your case, that would be even more tricky if the lever has broken off.

On my Semi-sports, when i shipped it to England, the first thing that happened when I collected the car from Southampton dock was the cork seal crumbled. On the dockside, i drained the tank, removed the tap, pulled it to pieces and re-assembled it in the reserve position and tightened it right up so it could no longer be turned. But at least it didn't leak and I could drive it to Dorset. It remains in this state to this day as far as I know. Of course, this has the disadvantage that I have no reserve, but also I cannot turn the fuel off, so any problem with the float bowl pin would cause a garage floor flood. MY car has now been delivered to Cirencester by the chap who has owned it since 2008, so one of the first things I want to do is sort the tap.

If you do order a Paul Beck tap, please let us know how you get on with it.

I understand the Enots tap is 1:2 in BSP into the tank and the Paul Beck one is 1/4 BSP an adapter can be got on EBay. EBay number 402471162003. Andy

And 3/8 BSP angled fuel pipe fitting for 6,8,10,12,14 or 16 mm rubber pipe EBay 303705603252.am going to try new cork seal in my original and if not successful will use this route. Just a pity to loose the reserve. But I don’t think I can justify the price of a new Enots tap

Peter Stubberfield has just rebuilt the tap on my Semi-sports for me.

He reported:

"To cut a long story short I took the fuel tap out and brought it home to sort out on the bench. After a number of false starts I hope we might be back in business. The new cork seal appears to work, but I have discovered that it needs flatting down to make it as smooth as possible. It is then a case of getting the right pressure on it so that it seals, but the tap can be turned.

Of course the nut on the lever spindle is split-pinned so can only be fixed in one place! To get the appropriate pressure on the seal it is a question of experimenting with washers of different thicknesses under the nut and waiting for the result overnight. I am sure you get the picture.........

I am going to Tarlton tomorrow to install the tap and try again. I am a little apprehensive about getting the tap sealed in the tank and pointing in the right direction so I’ll take a selection of sealants, washers and hope for the best."

The result, I am pleased to report, was totally successful!

A follow-up from Peter Stubberfield:

"We did not use the usual cork gasket material. The material used was Blue Nebar cork sheet. Obtained from Camthorne Industrial Supplies Ltd. via Ebay."

I have obtained some old cork material used on traction engines and by lapping the surfaces and gluing the cork in with a special gasket glue have successfully re done my fuel tap. Also made filters and fitted them on. Two weeks later and not a wife of petrol totally dry. If any one would like me to refurbish their tap I can for a lot less than a new one and the advantage of keeping reserve and with filters fitted. Ring me on 07766152345. I’m in Northampton

The key is to first make several the cork gaskets and then soak them in oil for several days. Actually I keep a small sealed jar for corks in oil for the petrol tap and SU Carb. Actually my current tap cork has sealed for some 7 years and I always turn the tap on and off.

Here's a possible alternative if you have real issues with the tap. Just seal it up solid and tighten it in the ON position (main or reserve), and then fit a small inline tap between the tank and the carburetter. You lose the main/reserve capability, but at least the system would be leak-proof.

I had a small batch of gaskets made up for the enots tap. I have a few remaining if anyone is interested. Regards Howard

Thanks Howard, I will include them in Marketplace in the April Newsletter for you.

Reading through the above, clearly I am not alone...
The leaky Enots on my SV scuttle tank Minor has finally got to the point of making the car unusable (read: sodden carpets and wet boots).

I slotted one of Mr Annetts' gaskets in earlier in the year (beautiful firm by the way), but the leak has returned over the last few weeks.
Am I missing something really obvious?
How tight should the nut be?

You are not missing anything, George. I have the same problem on several of my Minors, even when I have carefully rebuilt the taps with new seals. Getting the 'squeeze' right is the challenge - too loose and they leak, too tight and you can't turn the lever.

On the fabric saloon I just bought, Halbe has removed the seal, soldered the tap in the ON position and then added a new inline brass tap 'downstream' of it. In this configuration,k you lose the option of having a reserve (its soldered in the reserve position), but I've not had a leak with it.