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Fitted the engine to the mk1 Cooper . Fitted earth strap to inner wing via a bolt of the clutch cover housing. Turned the ignition on to try start it and its earthing via the clutch cylinder braided hose.
Any advice?
More earth straps?
Cheers

How clean was the thread that you bolted into on the wing? I had the same problem once and it was simply that I hadn't cleaned it out with a tap or anything. Bit too proud of the new paint I think

As long as the one you have fitted is substantial enough it should be fine - make sure all contact at the inner wing and the clutch cover is metal to metal and clean. Sometimes worth using a serrated washer between the strap end and the inner wing to make sure they bite into each other.

I'm with Graeme here regarding the star washers. I attached my inner wing strap to the sub frame and on to the clutch housing so have two bites at the earthing cherry

You shouldn’t need more straps. I had a similar problem that someone before me had tried to rectify with the star washers that bite into the wing (which I also recommend), but in the end it was the earthing strap itself that needed to be replaced. It was the original strap and it was just too far gone to conduct enough current anymore.

Earthing on a mini is a pain in the proverbial! I powder coated everything, only to find out that the solenoid needs to be earthed.....use a circuit tester on everything to make sure earthing is going thru.

I would always recommend earthing everything everywhere and then some!
I would also recommend scraping off a little paint at any earth point and I also add a dab of copper grease (stops corrosion and helps earth).
Every majorly weird electrical gremlin I have ever seen has been down to a bad earth somewhere.
In this case I would make sure everything from the ignition switch to the wing itself is earthed back to the battery.
Focus on the mk1 Cooper bit and get smug!