A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
-
mab01uk
- 1275 Cooper S
- Posts: 8249
- Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:08 pm
- Location: S.E. England
- Has thanked: 91 times
- Been thanked: 67 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
The A+ as launched with the Austin (Mini) Metro.
-
Pete
- 1275 Cooper S
- Posts: 11085
- Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:47 pm
- Has thanked: 16 times
- Been thanked: 39 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
Seems quite a few late GTs had an A plus in them too!
-
AndyPen
- 1275 Cooper S
- Posts: 3849
- Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 5:55 pm
- Location: South Wales
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 22 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
It was pics like these that got me into becoming a Technical Illustrator 
-
Costafortune
- 1275 Cooper S
- Posts: 2022
- Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 9:26 am
- Location: Sheffield On Thames
- Has thanked: 10 times
- Been thanked: 21 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
It was a good upgrade. The only mistake was that stupid plastic cage gearbox main bearing - if they'd kept the original it would have been pretty much faultless. The 998 A+ was a particularly good unit. A pity the HLE version wasn't a 1098 as the extra torque would have made it even more economical.
-
Peter Laidler
- 1275 Cooper S
- Posts: 6143
- Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2017 5:35 pm
- Location: Abingdon Oxfordshire
- Has thanked: 29 times
- Been thanked: 30 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
Yep, agree entirely...... That plastic/paxolin gear cage was the 20,000 mile downfall of my wifes car too. Otherwise it was just fine. Just such a bastard to fix it....
-
olddave
- 998 Cooper
- Posts: 601
- Joined: Sat Apr 09, 2016 4:23 pm
- Location: Yorkshire side of Bedfordshire
- Been thanked: 4 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
Costafortune wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2024 10:02 am The only mistake was that stupid plastic cage gearbox main bearing - if they'd kept the original it would have been pretty much faultless.
A good source of warranty revenue for dealers
-
Spider
- 1275 Cooper S
- Posts: 4775
- Joined: Mon May 07, 2012 6:10 am
- Location: Big Red, Australia
- Has thanked: 59 times
- Been thanked: 15 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
My first Moke, I bought new off the lot, was plated as October 1979, that was fitted with an A+ 1275. Given the date on the plate was when the vehicle was dispatched to the dealer, it was likely sitting around Leyland's yard for about 1 - 2 months, then add to that the import lag, these would have been in production from early 1979 at least.
-
Costafortune
- 1275 Cooper S
- Posts: 2022
- Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 9:26 am
- Location: Sheffield On Thames
- Has thanked: 10 times
- Been thanked: 21 times
Re: A Minor miracle - LJK Setright (Car magazine Sep 1981)
The first BL to officially use the A+ was the Morris Ital, April 1980 ish.
But, the Mini Clubman and 1100 Special were using A+ ribbed blocks from June 1979. I didn't know about the 79 1275's.
David Vizard offered his services to BL Cars but was declined. BL did a good job but it could well have been even better.
Compared to that bag of bolts Valencia engine in the Ford Fester, the 998 A+ was a marvellous thing. The idle was almost silent.
But, the Mini Clubman and 1100 Special were using A+ ribbed blocks from June 1979. I didn't know about the 79 1275's.
David Vizard offered his services to BL Cars but was declined. BL did a good job but it could well have been even better.
Compared to that bag of bolts Valencia engine in the Ford Fester, the 998 A+ was a marvellous thing. The idle was almost silent.