850 gold seal engine

[Lambretta]

Hi all
My 1965 mini is fitted with an engine with number 8G45 R N73281 and the characters FD stamped on the 2nd row
First of all can we indentify the year of built of this engine?

Also how can I tell for sure that this is a gold seal engine? I am going to completely overhaul the car so the engine will be completely stripped as well.
Reading that these engines had several specs, is there anything I can do to investigate further whether this is a gold seal unit indeed?

Cheers
Nassos

[AndyPen]

On the FD, the first letter is bore size and the second crank size.

So yours is plus 30 thou bore and 20 thou crank grind as far as I can recall.

[Lambretta]

Thanks AndyPen
So I have to measure these.If they are minimum +30 and +20 then there are some chances, my plate tells the truth and this is a gold seal engine.

Also some info I get is the foll:
8G45 850cc - Gold Seal, 1.5-inch self oiling primary gear/crankshaft type

Does anyone know what do they mean by saying "1.5-inch self oiling primary gear/crankshaft type" ?
I should check this as well

[mab01uk]

Interesting article on Gold Seal reconditioned engines from Classic Car Buyer:-
http://mk1-forum.net/viewtopic.php?t=24535