I'm having difficulty with my old MGF. I had'nt run it for about three weeks. The battery ran flat and when tested it was knackered. I've fitted a new battery, it cranks but won't fire up. There is petrol in the bores and a spark at the plugs. I'm puzzled why it will not go. Any suggestions please?

I would clean and gap the plugs, get a nice charge on a fresh battery and squirt in some easy start.

If there was nowt wrong with it when it was laid up thats gotta get it to fire - assuming no alarm / immobiliser issues that is?

It was ok when it last ran. This is why I'm puzzled. I wonder whether there is some electronic gizmo that I'm missing?

Its always worth giving the inertia switch a prod, 2 secs if nothing else just to exclude from the possibilities.

we used to get this with rover 200 and 400s with the k series engine that if they were parked up over a weekend they became difficult to start due to the cold start and tappets draining the oil away

Thanks for the replies. Old battery definitely knackered and replaced. Found inertia switch which seems ok, put in new rotor arm which looked dodgy. Still got spark and petrol, turns over well but no bangs! WD40 sprayed around but still haven't tried easystart.
Any more suggestions?

Having had the "lazy tappets" issue on a 1.4 "K" (that had actually run very low on oil as it happened), the starter spun a hell of a lot quicker and sounded different due a lack of compression..

If you've got fuel and sparks, then you're missing the third component (compression). Wet plugs won't help though...

Thanks for all of the response. I've bought some Easystart today and if weather permits I'll work my way through it all again tomorrow morning. If that doesn't go bang, nothing will. Bearing in mind all of the time the engine has been revving on the starter I'm hoping that the tappets are now 'well oiled' and that there is compression. I feel like getting well oiled this evening and then see what tomorrow brings!