Up-date on my Mini

[Jerry]

Update on my Mini

I now have the floor area stripped of all the undercoating so I can repair some of the holes and previous repairs. I will weld up the spots that need it and then use a fiberglass sealer prior to painting. This system seems to last well on previous cars for me. I also found a 1380 engine that I am going to put into the car. The engine that came with the car is a 1275 Cooper S engine and that will be sold to pay for some of the parts I need. The cooper S engine is more valuable for someone out there that needs it for a real S.
Parts I will need:
rod change shifter
carburetor for the 1380


Jerry

 

[dklawson]

Re: Update on my Mini

I assume you will post "wanted" and "for sale" threads at MM.

While dual carbs are what everyone wants, you may want to consider instead a large single carb like a later HIF-6 (or HIF-44) and compatible manifold. Of course, a large HS-4 or HS-6 carb could also be made to work and may be easier to clear the bulkhead than the float bowl of the HIF carb. As I am sure you are aware from your past experience, a single carb is always easier to tune.

The Cooper-S engine is probably sitting on a remote shift gearbox. Since it sounds like you are going with the rod change with the 1380 don't forget that you must add extra engine steadies to support the engine and gearbox. I think with your early shell there is also an adapter bracket required to fit the rod change to the floorpan. If I remember this correctly, there are also issues when fitting certain exhaust systems when you make the switch to a rod-change box in a car with the early floorpan. This is another thing I would ask about at MM if you don't get enough eyes on it here.

Would-be buyers for Cooper-S engines can be brutal. Before they buy an expensive -S engine they are going to want to know it runs. Therefore, you may want to at least temporarily fit it to your car and drive it for a time so you can say confidently that you know it works and does not have issues. Perform a compression test and keep the numbers for reference along with the operating oil pressure when hot. Even though it is an -S engine, you will find people want it discounted if you cannot guarantee it is in good condition.

 

[Jerry]

Re: Update on my Mini

I talked to Smurf at the other forum and he has been trying to sell rebuilt engines. He thought it was not productive to rebuild but to sell it as a block. His questions since he has done many Cooper S, was to make sure there are not sleaves installed in the block. Then it would be easy to bore to whatever the buyer wants. I know the PO drove the car but the compression sucks and the pistons are original by the markings. Since two of them have the arrows now pointed in the wrong direction, I assume they put new rings in. The head has been rebuilt based on the valves and seals. I am going to have to steal some parts off it anyway. The engine mounting brackets.
Doug, do you recommend an oil cooler? I live in the Sacramento area so it gets HOT.
I just noticed that the 1380 is missing the tach drive and cover. The Verto clutch arm and pin. Probably some other things also.
The compression ratio of the engine is about 9/1. The head is stamped 26cc. This ratio sounds low based on the talk with the guy I bought it from, but I am glad it is not over 10.
Jerry
+

 

[dklawson]

Re: Update on my Mini

Sorry... rambling, multi-topic reply to follow....

Missing the tach drive? I am misunderstanding something. There is no tach drive on a standard Mini engine. Some very rare modifications were sometimes done to fit a mechanical tach drive kit through the timing cover but those are not stock and are very rare. The common tach is electrical and the early cars did not come with them (not even the Cooper or -S).

Smurf would know more about the engine market than I would. I was basing my comments only on threads I followed over recent years. Whether it is justified or not, an -S engine can fetch more in parts than it does as a whole unless the engine condition is "known good". The original Cooper -S crank at stock grind with an undamaged tail for the flywheel is probably the most valuable component followed by the block itself. The early AEG163 head can be valuable but that all depends on condition and the would-be buyer's desire for originality. I have my car's original head in the attic and chose to recondition and fit a later 12G940 head instead as they are less prone to cracking.

A block with sleeves may not be desirable for larger offset boring like your 1380 but if the sleeves are at the stock diameter then there is a lot of life left in the engine. Sleeves would not scare me away from buying an -S block.

The gearox presents options for you. With the proper drop gears you could use your existing remote shift box under the 1380. That would allow you to use the standard engine and gearbox mounts and avoid fit problems with the exhaust pipe and the floorpan tunnel. Another part you may have to change if you fit the rod shift will be the driveshafts. The remote shifts used either yoke & cross outputs or Hardy-Spicer. The rod shifts had "pot joints" (basically an inner CV joint). However, parts sof the early 3-synchro remote shift are hard to find and you may not want to use it with a daily driver. If you have a 4-synchro remote, parts for those are a bit more available. Parts for the rod shift are readily available.

The 26 stamped on the head is probably the chamber volume in CC and that does sound a bit low. You said the compression was "low" but what is it and how uniform is it across the cylinders? I don't remember the volume of my car's combustion chambers but I think it was something between 21 and 22 cc.

I would take a look at all the clutch components and determine what you need to make it all "new". Wear on any of the pivoting parts is bad and contributes to low clutch pedal action. The clevis pins and the holes they pass through wear. Likewise the ball on the end of the throw-out arm and the hole it goes in on the rod with the release bearing can add up to a lot of play. If these parts are worn, fit new parts now before the engine goes in as it will be a lot easier. MM sold or sells a kit for the pre-verto clutch that includes all the parts subject to wear. I don't know if they have a kit like that for the verto clutch. It will also be worth your while to see if Seven has such a kit and if it costs less. Often both companies source their parts from Mini Spares which remains another option for buying parts.

Most people today don't bother to fit the cooler and I suggest you wait to see what the engine does in hot operating conditions before considering one. My engine is a +0.060" 1275. I do not use it as a daily driver but as a weekend car. I seldom drive my car when the temperature is above 90 to 95 degrees F as its sliding windows make it too uncomfortable to drive when it is super hot outside. Regardless, my car may run a bit hotter than "N" on the basic Smiths gauge but I have not seen it overheat. Oil will thin down with high temperature which may warrant a cooler but you should decide that after you have the car put together and on the road. Low hot oil pressure may indicate bad bearings. Oil cooling and experimenting with the relief valve settings may not get you anything but frustration. Part of the problem is that the additional oil lines and flow through the cooler introduce a pressure drop. If the pressure is already low you may see the pressure increase you had hoped for lost to the cooler and plumbing. The obvious next question is "how low can oil pressure be before you have a problem". You will get as many different answers as people who choose to respond. I can only share my personal feelings and state that my fear level kicks in when I see less than 25 PSI with a HOT engine idling at 900 RPM. It is not unusual for oil pressure to be low when idling immediately after a high-speed run or extended highway drive.

 

[Jerry]

Re: Update on my Mini

Doug,
Keep offering advice, I will take all I can get. I should have said speedometer gear! I have a hole into the transmission but no gear or cover.
The transmission that came with the cooper engine is a 4 syncro and has pot joints. Can I take them off and put the joints on the 1380 transmission? Or should they be replaced? I read a bunch last night and found that my 1380 engine is NOT a A+( 12G1279) , the transmission is a DAM5626 differential is DAM 4970. They guy I bought the stuff from said he did not replace anything in the transmission so I will open it up and take a look. I just have to figure out which rebuild kit fits the DAM5626.

I think you are right on parts of a cooper engine being worth more than the whole. I also have an Austin Healey and that is true there also.
Good to know about the heat in the sliding windows, Smurf said the same thing. What we need is a totally electric air conditioner. Maybe I can steal the one out of my wife's Prius?
I have 3 or 4 days more work on the floor boards. Since everything takes twice the time I think, make that 6-8 days. Good thing I retired so I can work all the time.
I did take a break and helped a friend fix fix his MGB. Strange electrical issue with the distributor.
Jerry

 

[dklawson]

Re: Update on my Mini

I installed an oscillating 12V fan upside-down to the underside of the parcel shelf above the passenger footwell. It is pointed towards me and I don't use the oscillating mode. It makes a big difference in "comfort" on hot days.



i can't remember if you are closer to MM or Seven but both can probably supply used speedometer drive parts. The forum members at MM may also have used parts they can provide. However, before you inquire about the parts you should look for the turns per mile number on the speedometer (4 digit number near the odometer window), then determine the final drive in the gearbox and which size tires you are going to use. There are some different speedo drive gears available and you will need the right ones for your gauge, final drive, and tires. John at Guess-Works (in the U.K.) has a tech section of his web site that helps identify valid combinations.
https://www.guess-works.com/

If the remote shift box has been converted to use pot joints, you should be able to use the existing driveshafts complete with the rod change box. However, do some digging for the details concerning the exhaust system as I mentioned earlier. I am sure there are some clearance issues when you fit a rod change to an early car that had a remote or magic wand gearbox. Don't forget the engine steadies.

 

[Jerry]

Re: Update on my Mini

Doug,
Does anybody ever put a roof vent on the mini to improve airflow? They were commonly used on Healey Hardtops to keep the air flowing. I will look for the speedometer numbers and figure out the drive ratio for the gear.

jerry

 

[dklawson]

Re: Update on my Mini

I have never seen roof vents on a Mini but that does not mean it is not possible. What you will see on a number of the cars are Webasto aftermarket, cloth sunroofs. I cannot tell you if the sunroof is a good addition to a car with sliding windows. However, as long as it does not leak it MUST help some!

 

[Jerry]

Re: Update on my Mini

Well, I already have two convertibles, and although you have wind, you burn in the sun too.

Jerry

 

[mrmomzz]

Re: Update on my Mini

Hi, Glenn here. I just recently moved to NC, Charlotte area and enjoy your discussions of the MINI. I own two classic MINIs and finally have purchased a house with a nice sized shop where I might be able to work on them. I have a non running, 1966 Mini S I have been lugging around for 25 years and a 1979 mini 1000 with a 1300 Metro Engine and several cooper s mods that was my dad's. The 79 was in storage for 3 plus years before I moved it from CT to NC. Put it in a U haul truck and put the 66 on a trailer and drove south. Unfortunately the 79 unloaded itself off the U haul in my slightly inclined driveway. Amazingly it only suffered lower front panel damage as that panel hit the trailer hitch ball of the U haul. It is now on blocks in my lower shop and I am trying to seperate the panel's many spot welds in an effort to put on a newly purchased panel. Not an easy job. A little fresh gas and it fired right up, bit noisy, might have broke the exhaust header when it fell off the truck. Was cute the way we loaded it on the U haul. Had a utility/car trailer with a rear gate. Loaded the car onto the trailer, backed the trailer up to the U haul and dropped the gate to the rear of the Uhaul. We then rolled the car onto the truck, bout 3 3/4 feet up. Was going to unload it the same way until I instructed my son to move the truck up the driveway a bit, forgetting I had taken it out of gear and not put the emergency brake on tight enough. Would love to have had video of my face as I watched it roll off the U haul. Least it didn't tip and roll over. Was planning on unloading it the same way we loaded it.
Merry Christmas from Race City USA, Mooresville.

 

[dklawson]

Re: Update on my Mini

Welcome !

You have a PM.