Engine harshness

[DUF2 ‘65 Elf]

I am getting near the end of my restoration of my ‘65 Elf.
Still not yet on the road, but I did fit the drivers seat into it yesterday and fired up the engine.
It runs nice and smooth doing all it should but it does seem a tad harsh. I am not sure how harsh an A series should be in a Mini.
The car has a 1275 A+ engine sitting on new standard mountings and the standard upper head steady,, but there is an additional head steady on the radiator end of the block.

3783BA18-1D9F-44CB-BE63-E222D966A6DA.jpeg

All the rubber mounts have been replaced but the engine does seem a bit harsh in the car.

Am I expecting too much from a 57 year old car? My daily driver is an EV6 so I am used to a smooth quiet drive.

[Peter Laidler]

I think that this tech Q should be in the tech queries section DUF!

I'm wondering what you mean by 'harshness....' Does it SOUND harsh or does feel too RIGID and harsh as a result? Looking at the picture and thinking on my feet, it doesn't look as though the home made left hand engine steady has much resilience in it at all. Apart from a VERY small amount of fore and aft movement. And this, by default, will restrict the resilience of the right hand engine top stteady. Your home-made engine steady might be the cause of the harshness. It's almost solid......., only two thin rubber type bushes on one end of bar. You could be asking whether you really need extra top end rotational support. Try taking it out and see what happens when you drive it.

I could be totally wrong....., I've already been told twice today by wifey and it's only 10.00 o'clock!

[DUF2 ‘65 Elf]

The harshness I am referring to is a vibration through the steering column.
The additional head steady is a proprietary kit, however the original bar was a solid bar with 2 washers welded to it and the ends threaded. It was almost impossible to install so I modded it with a steel threaded bar so I could assemble it then tighten the nuts. Perhaps I have the nuts too tight, I shall try backing them off and see what that does.

[surfblue63]

My 1993 Mini would vibrate through the steering column on tick over (1275 A+). It would go away once the engine was revved and I went out on the road.

[EAVB]

My guess is the additional steady is the source of most of the extra harshness. 1275's are hardly the smoothest sounding A Series anyway!

I ran my fast road/track day car with an additional steady like that for a while and it made it quite a bit noisier. I eventually did away with the steady and fitted a beefed up mount to the gear change remote, that was enough to stop the engine moving even with my heavy feet!

[imack]

What gear shift have you got? If it's the original remote shift there's absolutely no need for any additional engine steadies.

[minibitz]

As other have stated the extra top mount will transfer additional vibration through the chassis.

Also, engine mounts can do a similar thing. Genuine lower engine mounts use far softer rubber than aftermarket type and transmit less vibration. Maybe worth a check?

[DUF2 ‘65 Elf]

What gear shift have you got? If it's the original remote shift there's absolutely no need for any additional engine steadies.

Rod change gear shift.

[wantafaster1]

Just a thought and I'm not trying to teach anyone to suck eggs or anything, make sure the exhaust or something isn't touching solid somewhere

[Rubber Sprung]

Engine mounts are the most obvious reason for this problem , I know of three cars recently having similar issues , changed back to genuine mountings and all now perfectly smooth .

[Andrew1967]

I'd also be inclined to think engine mounts as modern ones are crap and usually aren't easy to fit as too thick ! Genuine MOWOG stamped ones are out there still.

Dad had similar issues with his Morris 8 Series E, always seemed harsh, quite unpleasant and not the same as his friends Series E. He recently changed the repro gearbox mounts for original ones and is a completely different car now.

[Exminiman]

Could the engine steady in your picture be contributing to the harshness ?

Have you tried slackening off the inner nuts to reduce to compression on the rubber bushes ?

That bit of studding between the two brackets is not standard as far as I know - its not bottoming out against the bracket is it ?

[mullerm]

I would try removing the mount in question and go for a drive, have you also got the mount under the engine ? I fitted one to mine but had to remove due to the vibration.

[DUF2 ‘65 Elf]

Could the engine steady in your picture be contributing to the harshness ?

Have you tried slackening off the inner nuts to reduce to compression on the rubber bushes ?

That bit of studding between the two brackets is not standard as far as I know - its not bottoming out against the bracket is it ?

Hi, as I said in post 3 the extra engine mount originally had a bar with washers welded near each end. It was virtually impossible to fit without stripping the bracket off the bulkhead, so I bought some SS studding which allows me to adjust the nuts. The rubber mounts were new, but I shall slacken the nuts and see if this makes a difference. Thanks.

[AndyB72]

I had the same issue recently with my MK1. I used new engine mounts, probably picked up cheap at a Mini show. The whole steering column and wheel buzzed and was really horrible to drive. I replaced them with good used MOWOG ones and the issue has gone. If you want to buy new ones the 21A1902 ones from Mini Spares are the ones to go for or drop me a PM as I have a few used MOWOG ones.

[DUF2 ‘65 Elf]

I have spotted the problem. The exhaust pipe is touching the tunnel where it comes down from the manifold and transitions into the tunnel. In my case the 2 pipes join into 1 and the pipe is touching the top of the tunnel.
I need to loosen the bracket on the diff housing, adjust the exhaust pipe down and the the tunnel upwards, to provide the clearance, The problem is I cannot get the car high enough to allow me access to it, I have my axle stands at their maximum, so will have to use the trolley jack to gain more height.