South African 1964 1071 S

1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 3:53 pm

I suppose laying your hands on a "real" Cooper S is a difficult task in most countries but especially so here in South Africa. There is a great Afrikaans saying; "n boer maak n plan" - which literally means the farmer will find a solution, but it is used in the instance where one must think on their feet and devise a new way of looking at something.

In my case a 1071 S was the holy grail but unattainable because they are just not available. Even if you are lucky enough to track one down that may just be for sale you will have to sell a magnitude of organs to fund the purchase. Herein lies the "lets make a plan".

Actually it sort of presented itself really and I just went along for the ride.....

Here follows my 1071 S build story.

1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:16 pm

It all started with a Gumtree advertisement. A well known person in the South African Mini fraternity was selling up his personal stash of Cooper and Cooper S parts. Among these items were a 1071 block, with EN40B crank, con-rods and pistons still fitted to the block. The AEG163 head came with the engine but was only usable as a paper weight because of the all so common cracks between the valves.

At this time it is worth mentioning that I reside in Cape Town which is at the most southerly tip of Africa whilst the seller resides in Pietermartizburg in Kwazulu Natal approximately 1000 miles apart.

Part of the items for sale;

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1071 S sub assembly;

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mk1 · Post by **mk1** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:45 pm

That is a cracking stash by any account!

I am really looking forward to the next installment!

I really love the SA Minis & hope to own one one day.

1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:37 pm

The big day arrived and off we went to collect the 1071 S engine and related bits from the Time Freight depot in Montague Gardens, Cape Town;

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It felt like Christmas opening this package!!

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All important AEG151 block;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:44 pm

EN40B crankshaft;

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AEG163 head - nice to have for originality sake but unfortunately unusable;

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The magic tag;

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A slightly later Lucas distributor - I guess mk2 Cooper S as it is marked as 1966;

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Cooper S rocker set;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:47 pm

All chrome handbrake - apparently not from a Cooper S but will still decide whether to use or not;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:05 pm

I decided to make use of Motor Masters (http://motormasters.co.za/) in Bellville, Cape Town for the necessary engineering. They have been in existence from 1956 and is well known for their quality of workmanship;

The crankshaft was measured and was well within tolerance on 10 thou big ends and 20 thou mains. Therefore only a polish was required;

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As far as the block is concerned;

It was chemically cleaned,
Welsh plugs were replaced,
Main oil-way brass plugs were machined out in order to clean the oil-ways in the block, (a rifle cleaner worked wonders here)
New brass plugs were machined to seal the main oil-way,
The camshaft bearings were replaced,

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abri · Post by **abri** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:14 pm

Yay! Looking forward to seeing the pics and following the thread Francois.

1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:24 pm

I decided to have the block re-sleeved to standard as it was already on 20 thou oversize. I opted for Nural "low drag" slipper skirt pistons from Mini Spared UK ;

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It was also time to decide on a camshaft profile. Given that my aspirations at this time was for a original restoration I bent the rules a bit and ordered a 544 profile to be ground by Master Camshafts in Stikland, Cape Town. The camshaft was delivered with print out of all measurements as well as graphic illustrations in the form of graphs indicating correctness in relation to specification;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:31 pm

Having received the engine back from engineering my next stop was at Stealth Engineering (https://www.facebook.com/Stealth-Engine ... 760990461/) in Killarney Gardens, Cape Town for engine balancing;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:36 pm

abri wrote:Yay! Looking forward to seeing the pics and following the thread Francois.

Hey Abri, good to hear from you!

1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:52 pm

Preparation is key and whilst it took what felt like hours the end result made the effort seem insignificant.

Block and head stripped down to bare metal in preparation for primer and paint;

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I suppose now is a good a time as ever to address the head choice. Unlike in the UK we were fortunate enough to have the Mini Clubman GTS after the demise of the Cooper S. The GTS head is the well known 12G940 big valve head with double valve springs, 11 studs and was a suitable alternative for the AEG163 in this build. The unit I chose was unmolested with much of its original meat left. A light skim was in order to ensure trueness, valve guides and valve stem seals replaced; obviously valves cut and seated. Pressure tested 100%;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:57 pm

Bare metal clean, masked and ready for primer;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 9:01 pm

A few coats of Plascon Coast Coat Etch primer later. Gives a lovely matt black finish and is good for 200 degrees Celsius;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 4:09 am

I obtained an original Austin Cooper S green color sample from Abri who is a member on this forum. This is how it turned out;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 4:27 am

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 4:29 am

Yes that is the dining room table; she wasn't impressed........

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Head all made pretty;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 5:12 am

Whilst all the beautifying was taking place the crankshaft went off for re-nitriding. Plasma nitriding was selected and many prayers were said for the crankshaft not to distort.

Fortunately it was 100% when we received it back just requiring a good scrub and clean before fitment;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:10 am

As you might have noticed the engine was purchased without a gearbox. Finding a 22G190 is virtually impossible. A 22G333 was available and could work but the hardy spicer joints would be incorrect. Add to that the fact that it had to be a remote gearbox and the options became limited. I finally decided on a South African big bore short stroke 1100 22G1128 4 synchro box. It had the necessary cut outs in the casing for the crankshaft to clear, had a remote gear change, normal universals for the drive shaft and the correct 3.76 final drive ratio. In my mind this box is as incorrect as the 22G333 from a purist's perspective but is the best option under the circumstances. At least the 4th synchro will make life easier.

A full strip strip and rebuild was undertaken. Whilst I am more than comfortable rebuilding Mini engines I have never rebuilt a Mini gearbox. For this reason the assistance of Dennis Nathan was called in. Dennis is a absolute gentleman, old skool to the core with the added benefit that he worked on the assembly line at Leyland South Africa based in Blackheath, Cape Town back in the day. Dennis has been running his own garage specializing in preparing race cars and specifically Minis at Killarney race track in Cape Town for many years.

Dennis at work in his workshop based at Killarney Race track, Cape Town;

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Other than the expected replacement parts we eventually ended up stripping 4 of these gearboxes in order to find the most original and least worn parts. A full bearing set, lay-shaft and baulk rings later we had a near perfect gearbox. Not that track days are intended, but we also fitted a center oil pick up whilst we had the opportunity.

The 22G1128 case was shot blasted and checked for any possible damage;

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Gear set fitted;

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Oil center pick up installed;

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1312bullnose · Post by **1312bullnose** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:15 am

Diff fitted;

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Gearbox completed;

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