mk1-forum.net

what's the word on this other than potentially a whole lot of matching numbers cars popping up eventually.

http://www.department75.com/

The link goes to a blank black page, but I do believe that some test blocks may well have been cast by some people.

No idea who "Department 75" are, but I reckon I'll be waiting for the blocks that Minispares have been working on.

I may be wrong but think that the site is quite old? circa 2013 or is that just the copyright at the bottom?

 
I've checked out department75.com and the domain name is registered to a guy called Benoit Bourdaire with an address in Paris. It then clicked with me that France is divided into departments and on further checking I discovered that the department number for Paris is 75!

The name Benoit Bourdaire means nothing to me but perhaps it does to other Mk1 forum members?


Graham

This might be the chap who is restoring the Crayford mini at the moment?

Tim

He apparently is on facebook and posts on Mk1 group and 1959 Mini Register pages.

https://www.facebook.com/ben.bourdaire?fref=ufi

The unloadable site has just loaded using a different browser - they're claiming to have reverse engineered the S block and are about to start casting.

Not French, they're just outside Cambridge.

coopertim wrote:This might be the chap who is restoring the Crayford mini at the moment?

Tim

It is just follow the link and read some pages, that is how I found out by following the Craford mini link and I posted on this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17932&start=10

PS: His workmanship looks first class!!

His names Ben, he's a very nice straight forward bloke..

Spotted an advert maybe in Historic Racing Technology this month for a casting/prototyping company and thought it was a mini block in their small photo's, must be casting them for 75.

mk1 wrote: Minispares have been working on.

we have the casting boxes made, samples have been cast

we are now just trying to get the machining done for an acceptable cost as the way we want it doing and the standard we are looking for is proving to be difficult and expensive.

once they are done I guess a couple of test motors will be built to have their ears pulled back so any issues can be found out.

we have been on with other stuff, so the blocks got pushed to the wayside for a couple of years.

everyone else who has been claiming to get them done soon finds out that its not easy or cheap to do

I'm no expert, but would imagine that getting all of the machining operations to be done accurately on an as-cast engine block is not a trivial operation. From varoius posts in the past it sounds like even the factory struggled at times to keep within correct tolerances.

And without access to original factory dimensional drawings it would be even more difficult.

anyone fancy building an all alloy s motor?

How's that for another first for the MK1 Forum.

You have now seen the evidence that this is moving ahead.

Not too sure about the pic of Rich though.

mk1 wrote:
Not too sure about the pic of Rich though.

its a holiday photo

That's his inspiration for his beard!

How much for the un-machined casting ?

I could do something with that

fantastic! But is it an experiment? Does it work when it's on the market?

But is it an experiment? Does it work when it's on the market?

The finished item isn't going to be alloy, these were just cast to tst the pattern boxes & start to work out the machining operations. The finished block will be cast iron just like the originals.