Engine machining .

[monkeyjim]

Due to my lack of time , money, space and a 3rd parties laziness my mk1 revamp had stalled .
Its not been on road for two years now .

All my minis are finally under one roof where i can work on them and i am about to start getting on with things on mk1 , see rh tank post etc .

I built the 1330 engine from a MED kit and although not really powerfull (estimate 80 90 hp) it has been a great reliable engine round Castle Combe , local B-roads , brilliant French roads and even had a blinding run back from Longbridge Mini 50 on the motorways . However Through my own stupidity the engine has sat a work , removed to look into a cam drive sounding rattle that that was present for about a minute from cold start up. I took head off only this September and found cause of rattle to be worn pushrods , a couple of them had nipples forming on the ends . Going to need a set of those and followers to start with . However as I said the engine sat around and with head off i encountered a bit off resistance in turning it over , got some rust down the bores .

Not sure at this stage whether a hone will suffice . I do not intend to do it with one of the three pronged honing tools available but get it done properly at specialist .

Now - I would like to do a bit of modification whilst the engine is in bits : lighten rods modify crank , lightened flywheel and have the whole rotating assemly balanced . I could go back to MED , it would not be the cheapest job from them but quality work . I live in East Sussex and have Kad , Swiftune , Ac Dodd , Bill Richards and Gerald Dale in the area which we have all heard of and I know there are other big boys in the same game in uk. There is even the Sussex engine centre in Eastbourne but at this stage as I have not yet called them I am not sure they would handle or know about modifying A-series cranks etc over the basic machine work I know they can do .

Yes I can chuck it up to the big boys but there is a limited budget . Can anyone recommend someone? Is there a forum member capable . . Westlake are in Rye , Sussex and obviously there heritage says it all but has anyone had work done by them? Harris Motorsport , again not that far and he has got the heritage , can carry out his own machining and I would be particularly interested in hearing about his work . . There is also the Mini stallwart of the Brighton Speed trials - Pat Howe of Raven racing but have no idea on contact details other than he is in Worthing or what he will actually do . At this point in time I have made no enquiries other than back to Med .

Any recommendations ?

Thanks , Dave .

[mister bridger]

I believe Westlake are long gone from Rye so no good to you. I have had work done by G J Greenough in Brede, nr Hastings which was excellent, recommended to me by a local classic car specialist. Gerald Dale has also done good work for me. If you need contact details please ask.

[carbon]

Dave, is this a S engine? If it is an original motor then would suggest considering various options before lightening or modifying the crank and rods. Reason is that the original S cranks are EN40B and nitrided to give a very hard surface coating of about 10 thou depth. The original S rods can be lightened but will be a lot of work, or expensive to get someone to do for you.

With the pushrods the 'nipple' on the end can easily be filed off, you don't need a new set unless there is something else not right with them.

[monkeyjim]

Sorry , did not give enough info . Engine is A+ .
However I also have a 1300GT short motor that I will want a opinion on .

Dave

[Dean]

Hello Dave. I used Julian Godfrey in Heathfield. They have a full machine shop. Engine dyno.

I used them for all my crank balancing with my flywheel etc. They also balance the rods etc,

I know someone who has also used them to build them a series engine. But I know of them for there ford racing, grass tracking rallying.

But I have only used them for balancing and built it up myself
Are you now going to use the 1300gt block? but I know it means more work ( and money ) than just re ringing and honing out your MED engine. Plus replacing the shell bearings.

Sussex engine centre, he has done all my machining but send it out for all his head, crank , rod modifing work. , but still always done a good service on my engines.

If it's only your crank and rods you want machining and lightening. You could send them off to be done by one company , ( med , slark, swiftune ) and another to do a bit of block work which is a more normal job.

These guys were very well recommended to me. http://www.classic-and-modern-engine-services.co.uk

[Black-Mamba]

Still in Worthing ,still building engines, you have a PM

[migliacars]

I dont want to start a war here but balancing and lightening rods and cranks doesnt give you big power increases. it helps if your really reving them hard like in the migs but power comes from
compression
cams
heads
and as more power comes the less drivable it becomes.

just something to think about