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I scratched high and low, went through all my resources and the best I could shimm the idler gear was 5 thou...


Block ready to receive gearbox.


Decided to use cap screws for the gearbox to block joints. New seal for flywheel housing.


Fitted plastic oil flinger and then lapped the flywheel onto the crank. The whole clutch assembly was lightened and balanced previously and has a grey diaphragm.


Had to choose which set of chest tappet covers to use from this collection.

Fitted this machined distributer drive.


After fitting the oil filter housing and pipe. Dipstick tube and dipstick. Installed into the engine test stand to test it...


For testing I fitted my old GTS branch and inlet manifold for the twin SU carbs.


Engine had great oil pressure just from cranking it, although my last customer's engine broke my oil pressure gauge due to no oil pressure so it over reads now (about 1.5 bar). Did not start the engine yet at this point.


I fired the engine up, ran it for about 3 min, then connected the timing light adjusted the timing while it ran again for about 6 min. Once I was satisfied that it ran okay, I left it to cool down and checked it for oil leaks etc.

Mean while I sourced some new outer disc cv joints and built up the drive shafts with new coupler rubbers.


This past weekend the clubman type original engine was removed ...
Had to remove this lip on the bottom radiator cowl, due to the breather on the timing cover.


Installed the engine into the engine bay, BUT made a rookie mistake. I had the clubman type 17 mm fan spacer still fitted from the engine test stand setup, so the fan was touching the radiator. Removed it and had it machined down to 11mm so now it works.


Next up was the remote gear selector housing and fitting it.


Offered it up and started to cut the hole in the floor bigger to use it. Then I called it a day.

Got it all in the body. Set the timing and balanced the carbs and checked it with my colortune...


Re-installed the bottom engine steady brackets and bars.


Ran the car a little bit, put some kms down and it was good. Untill I decided to chase more power and give the 1071 a more race feel and sound....
Had these little ram tubes laying innocently on the shelf and decided they needed to see the world again. Also added the K&N filters for good measure

I ran the car abit and it was good, till it was not....


After some head scratching and investigation, I came to the conclusion that the 1071 engine is much more carb sensitive than the 1275 engine. This setup ran good on the 1275 engine as it was. I decided to fit new SU blue dashpot springs and new EB needles as a base line.


Just to ensure that I am on the right track I measured the float level in the float bowls and adjusted the floats accordingly.


Used a drill bit to ensure that it was exactly right.


Needless to say after these new parts and mods the rev range improved considerably and I was well chuffed and impressed and now I have another problem. I need a rev counter to see what is happening rev wise and the bigger problem is now the engine has that addictive induction noise sound from the ram tubes. At about 5500 rpm people will break their necks to have a look at the car as I pass through.

These heat waves and summer heat here in SA is really bad. It makes the car to run above what I would deem a good temp for SA summers. I had to relocate my expansion tank to the driver side inner wing.


I started to look at fitting an oil cooler. I looked at the possibility of the 1071 original diagonal mount setup near the radiator, but due to the needed steel hard lines I decided against it. I had a 13 row cooler on the shelf and so I set about fitting that.


Had the needed hoses made up and had to remove the stiffener brace and modify it and relocate it diagonally. Pop rivited the brace in as I did not want to spot weld and then have to paint the area, well it looks bad, but I console myself that I cannot see it behind the grille.


Now that it is fitted and I daily drive the car (yes a fellow mini owner here in SA was quite shocked and said I am insane for daily driving this engine), the temp is about 10 deg celsius cooler on the guage.

hi
that is a neat job cheers roger mcnab

Cheers Roger

The gear selection, especially 1st gear somehow got worse and worse. I then concluded the bushes for the selector shaft that I did not replace before fitting the engine was biting me now....

I eventually managed to get the bottom bush out with a blind puller.


Then I had some bushes made to standard inner diameter, only to find the shaft does not fit the new bushes. So I had the shaft machined down very slightly and borrowed a reamer just in case.


Used a modified threaded rod held in place with a vicegrip to install the bushes seeing as I am a one-man operation. Worked a threat.

The grey diaphragm was doing a number on the used release bearing from the old 1275 engine that I salvaged and used. So since I had the carbs and exhaust lcb off the engine to fit the bushes, I took the clutch cover off and fitted a new release bearing, even found a old MOWOG plunger and used it.


The exhaust bobbins also needed to be replaced less than 18 months after fitment.


Car was back in fighting shape and running like a champ. Did the annual AGM with MOCSA (Mini Owners Club of SA) the past sunday and when I got to my local caffee and stopped buy cold drinks, the car would not get power to the ignition at all. It was very hot and I was only down the street so was towed back home. Then the fault finding mission began. After some help from a BMC trained, retired mechanic, the fault was traced to the negative battery cable in the boot.


Still the car had some niggles... The power would turn the fuel pump etc on, while turned to the first position on the key, but would not actuate the solenoid and turn the starter. I sourced a brand new starter solenoid and fitted it, still the car would not start from the key, only when bridging the poles on the solenoid. After checking continuity and making sure power was supplied as needed, it was deduced that the brand new solenoid out the box was a dud....


Luckily since I am a classic mini trader and parts reseller, well I casually strolled to my store room and found the old push-button starter solenoid that was intended for the car, so it worked like a charm....
Now I did also source a new clutch arm clevis pin and a better clutch arm, both these items was also fitted and throw out etc was adjusted.


The final end result a mini that starts and selects gears and puts a smile on your dial when driven.

Patience is definitely a virtue with our minis - and you certainly have it

So it has already been a few months since the last update on the mini.
Have done about 4000 to 4500 kms since the engine was fitted
Had a noise on the left front, upon further investigation the whole hub could move.

So much for wheel bearings......


This was sorted out.
I then wanted to get the oil leaks sorted before our annual Cars in the Park event at Zwartkops Raceway here in Pretoria.
As I was getting ready to lift the engine I found the Left front cv joint boot also had a tear in it...
This was the state of play after getting the timing cover off, was quite amazed how the timing chain had stretched in just a few thousand kilos.


Ended up having to split the engine block and gearbox, the half moon seal was suspect.
The extent of the oil leak towards the radiator.


So all was cleaned and prepped for refitment.
Fitted new o-rings to the distributer and distributer shaft holder etc.
Engine was fitted back, then the irritation reared its ugly head.

The irritation is that once the oil is filled up and the engine stands, it does not leak oil.
Once I fire the engine up and it warms up, the LH diff cover leaks.
So I had a Hardy Spicer diff cover machined straight on the mounting surface and refitted it with RTV sealant instead of the hylomar that I usually use to seal surfaces. Let it dry completely for a day and a half and then filled the oil back up. Drove on a shopping trip and back home, oil leak still.

Made the rookie mistake of over tightening the bolts, next morning a larger oil spill.
Turned out that I snapped the top ear off the diff cover.

So found another hardy spicer cover and had it also machined straight and on the part that fits on the diff bearing. Assembled the diff cover waited a day and same thing still.....

Stripped it down again. Then was told to measure the gap between the cover and the diff housing when the bolts was just nipped up.


After this measurement we deduced that a further 0.35mm needed to be machined off the cover where it pushes against the diff bearing. A new gasket was fitted (3rd one sofar to this point) and RTV sealant again. Refitted and it worked, finally not a leak anymore.
Fitted a hose and filter to the timing cover breather also, like I had done on my 1275GT setup.


Then I decided to fit the small S to the bonnet and Bigger S to the boot lid.


The Cars in the Park event took place this past Sunday and I was very pleased with how the car turned out and behaved. I would open the bonnet and have some older gents come and have a chat after looking at the Cooper S engine on display.

Good to see you back again Phil. Some of your suggestions are worth all of us enthusiastic amateurs taking on board