Jack Knight Twin Cam Heads

[Richspec]

Just wondering what happened to these? does someone have the rights to it in the back of a cupboard somewhere?

[rich@minispares.com]

I know someone who has a bare casting, he found the company who did the heads and all the bits and bobs for JKD, and they still have/had stock of all the bits & technical drawings but they flatly refused to sell parts or help in any way as they had been tucked up for so much money by JKD.

its an expensive door stop

[LLA 24V]

Wonder if there's any spare conversion kits from the nineties left out there. Have never seen any.

Disregarding KAD & 8 port heads. Were these heads a worthwhile conversion (reliabilty, performance & er parts )?

[Richspec]

I think its difficult to judge any reliability or much else with such little data to go on. I've only ever seen the (same) one at shows.

Dont know how many were made and where those that were, are.

It sounds like a odd decision to not do anything with the remaining stock/parts. You'll nnever make any money back gathering dust!

[rich@minispares.com]

I think the big advantage of them over the kad / arden was that the webers would fit under a std bonnet as they bolted straight to the head - I suppose that advantage has been copied by the sc 7 port or the minisport head now - though of course, modern slim injection has made kad& arden more attractive to people who want the standard look.

I got the impression from the guy with the head that the company who made the bits where pretty big and didn't really want to deal with individual retail customers trying to service something they didn't really want to think about anymore.

next time I speak with him I will see if he still has it

[Tupers]

Didn't most of them go to Japan? I'm sure there was a company doing JKD 5spd twin cam conversions over there.

[rich@minispares.com]

Didn't most of them go to Japan? I'm sure there was a company doing JKD 5spd twin cam conversions over there.

I think that when JKD where selling them, the Japanese market was the only one that could afford them

I can remember them been horrifically expensive

[mab01uk]

Here is one running in Japan:-
Jack knight twin cam mini
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u71jukb1xaQ

I remember watching the original "Fastest Mini in the world race" in 1994 at the Mini 35th with Peter Baldwin in the Jack Knight 16v v Bill Sollis in the KAD 16v, must be on video somewhere? Bill Sollis in the KAD won but it was a very close race.

[wantafaster1]

I know someone who built one for a rally car, apparently its an animal. Not sure what they do for spares, or where the head came from.

[Spider]

Didn't most of them go to Japan? I'm sure there was a company doing JKD 5spd twin cam conversions over there.

Slightly OT here - the JKD 5 Speed Gearboxes were also fitted by Rover to I believe 60 Mini Coopers, there was an inital run of 50 somewhere in the mid 90's then the last 10 off the line also had them fitted.

[rich@minispares.com]

Didn't most of them go to Japan? I'm sure there was a company doing JKD 5spd twin cam conversions over there.

Slightly OT here - the JKD 5 Speed Gearboxes were also fitted by Rover to I believe 60 Mini Coopers, there was an inital run of 50 somewhere in the mid 90's then the last 10 off the line also had them fitted.

they where rubbish as well, the fifth gear gets all chewed up and there are no spare parts.

we are always getting people ringing up at work in the vain hope that parts from the minispares five speed will fit!

[Tim Harber]

Didn't most of them go to Japan? I'm sure there was a company doing JKD 5spd twin cam conversions over there.

Slightly OT here - the JKD 5 Speed Gearboxes were also fitted by Rover to I believe 60 Mini Coopers, there was an inital run of 50 somewhere in the mid 90's then the last 10 off the line also had them fitted.

they where rubbish as well, the fifth gear gets all chewed up and there are no spare parts.

we are always getting people ringing up at work in the vain hope that parts from the minispares five speed will fit!

We did sort a Jack Knight 5 speed box a while ago by getting a selector fork made, which wasn't cheap but it saved the box. I think one is supposed to advertise the fact if one is in business , but it seems to have missed me. We also sorted one of the prtotype ones that had no oil feed to the centre of the layshaft

[bill773mini]

Didn't most of them go to Japan? I'm sure there was a company doing JKD 5spd twin cam conversions over there.

Slightly OT here - the JKD 5 Speed Gearboxes were also fitted by Rover to I believe 60 Mini Coopers, there was an inital run of 50 somewhere in the mid 90's then the last 10 off the line also had them fitted.

they where rubbish as well, the fifth gear gets all chewed up and there are no spare parts.

we are always getting people ringing up at work in the vain hope that parts from the minispares five speed will fit!

It's odd but I hear how terrible the JKD 5 speeder is all the time, can't be fixed, chews up 5th etc.

My SPI (the same one that's done Blyton now twice (I hope you'll agree not driven gently), the Italian Job and about 12k hard road miles mostly in 5th) has never given any grief despite a big chunk of torque going through it, the box it's self is a total joy, it's the nicest Mini box I've ever used.

Had the original 2 pin diff pop on the way back from the 2007 IJ, drove it slowly all the way home with a broken diff, pulled the box out and found it full of shrapnel and the diff cover cracked. Put a cross pin in from Rich and had the box rebuilt as a precaution as the diff was in such a mess. No problem with the rebuild and nothing at all damaged in the box, just new bearings etc as a matter of course.



Great box.

[Spider]

I don't know a real lot about the Boxes and haven't heard much about them either, but I did drive 998 a few years back that was fitted with one. I thought the shift was excellent, probably a tad better than the stock one and the ratios very well suited that engine (mind you, while it was a 998, it was a very refined Injected engine, pulled really well to the point that I could hardly believe it was only 998 cc). 850man has more details on the car, engine and gearbox, I think he recently overhauled the box in fact.

[rich@minispares.com]

bill


yours is the earlier straight cut one though......

its the later helical version that gives all the problems. they didn't make the fifth gear correctly and they just chew them selves to bits.

id guess that the big, heavy 13" rover wheels didn't help with the problem either

[bill773mini]

bill


yours is the earlier straight cut one though......

its the later helical version that gives all the problems. they didn't make the fifth gear correctly and they just chew them selves to bits.

id guess that the big, heavy 13" rover wheels didn't help with the problem either

Oh I didn't know that mine was an earlier version, it's from 96. Good news for me then!

I revise my statement, straight cut ones are brilliant, don't buy a helical one, they're rubbish! Better?

[JohnA]

Our S Works JK Speed box was replaced under warranty by John Cooper Garages after self destructing at 1500 miles. The new box was obviously fitted without cleaning the metal out of the engine as at 17,000 miles I had to strip and rebuild it, new oil pump, new camshaft and crank bearings. The replacement box has now covered 25,000 miles and is getting ready for some attention

[Spider]

Looks like this thread is also going the way of that damn cat,,,,,,,,,

[JohnA]

Meow

[Richspec]

Does anyone know if the Twin Cam head bolted straight on or needed block work / supporting mods?