I found an old folder at home by Marshall Cavendish where you have to buy new inserts from the newsagents each week. The first one is normally very cheap then the price shoots right up for the subsequent ones. You know how it works, which means this folder of stuff is incomplete. But part of the free stuff had a good guide on fitting taps. I'm guessing this info is from the late 80s/early 90s and I've reprinted the guide here:
HOW TO DO IT
Push each new tap through it's hole in the basin, bedding it on non-setting plumbing mastic, or on a plastic washer. Mixer taps are supplied with a shaped rubber strip instead of using a washer. If the fixed lugs are smaller than the hole in the basin, fit an anti-rotation washer over the shank.
Fit a plastic washer under the basin - use a top-hat washer on thin basins - then fit the backnut to the shank. Hold the tap steady and use the basin spanner to tighten the backnut. Do not over-tighten - it should just compress the washer or squeeze out the mastic slightly. Scrape off any excess mastic. You can now connect the supply pipes. If you are simply re-using old connectors, replace the coupling washers. Then wrap some PTFE tape around the threads of the shanks and screw the connectors to them. Tighten them firmly with an adjustable spanner or pipe wrench. If the taps are made of plastic, be very careful not to overtighten the nut - the threads are much weaker than those on metal taps.
If the pipes have shorter or Metric shanks, you will need to fit an adapter first. Wrap some PTFE tape around the threads then screw the adapter in place. Fit the supply pipes in the ordinary way.
If you are fitting a mixer tap, you may find that the old supply pipes are arranged the opposite way round to the mixer - with the hot on the left. If this is the case, it's much simpler to swap the tap heads.
Turn the water back on and check for leaks. If any appear, check the joints carefully and either tighten them or remake them with new sealing washers.
Replacing bib taps
Bib taps are very simple to replace. There are variations in design, but normally it is just a matter of turning off the water, unscrewing and disconnecting the existing taps, then screwing the new ones in their place. If you have to grip the body of the tap to turn it, wrap it with cloth to prevent it being marked. Use a new sealing washer in the connector, and wrap the screw threads with PTFE tape.
However, since bib taps are quite often part of an unsightly and antiquated exposed plumbing system, you may well want to renew the whole installation. In this case, the job will involve extending or rerouting the pipework, as well as fitting a new sink.