Engine rebuild

[Wings]

Good morning,

I took my Mini up to Lewisville last week for a little bit a maintenace work. Will G. used to work for Bob's Tire & Auto and/or British Leyland Auto Center. I guess they've reorganized a bit and while the MG - Triumph business is still handled by Bob's the Minis are now being serviced by "Miatas, Minis and More".

Anyway..... They took care of an issue I had with the clutch and another with the Weber. My car has a very noticeable oil leak and they've told me sooner or later (probably sooner) it needs to be fixed. The oil pan gasket is the culprit and I understand the engine/transmission will need to be pulled to replace the gasket.

As long as the motor is out, it's probably time to address the bigger issue, poor compression in two of the cylinders. The car runs ok but it really doesn't have much zip. I'm sure Will and the rest of the guys up there can handle the rebuild but I'm curious to hear what you guys have to say when it comes to selecting a shop for major engine work. While it's being torn down what are your thoughts about adding a few extra HP to the final project. I'm not intersted in a high strung race motor but I'd like to have a little extra power as long as it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg.

Any thoughts, suggestions, recommendations and warnings are appreciated.

Paul

[BritBits]

remind us of what you have in it's current form?

The neat thing about the Mini is that there are so many choices available, as they made so many for so long.

Easy things are a slight compression bump and a more sporty cam.

Cheers,

Jim
McKinney

[Wings]

Thanks Jim. I'm not really sure what I have in the first place. It's a Re-VINed car and the best I can tell it's probably a 1991. It's got a 1275 with a rod shift transmission. I was told that at some point the motor was 'redone' and some things were added but I have no paper trail to prove what was or wasn't added beyond the Weber carb. On a previous visit Will pulled the rocker cover and said it looked like some better pieces had been added to the valve train but I couldn't tell you anything more than that that. It's got an aftermarket exhaust too but I'm sure that's mostly for sound effects.

Paul

[BritBits]

Actually, let's step a minute or two....  you've got 2 cylinders down in compression.   The middle 2?  (2/3)

And is the Weber side draft or down draft?

Distributor?   Or coil pack? (not sure what was used when on the later cars)

I'm interested to see any other thoughts, as I'm starting to get into my vintage racer and need to decide which way to go.   It's a genuine Mk I with a 1275S drivetrain, well, 3/4 of an S drivetrain as #1 piston is melted. 

It was fun on the street (had it registered/insured )and autocrossed it the same season I was vintage racing.   

So now the question is how much tamer can I make it and not kick myself for the loss of go?   


Cheers,

Jim

[Wings]

I'll have to check with Will to find out which cylinders are down on compression.
The Weber is a side draft but I'm not sure if it's a 40 DCOE or a 45. It's got a distributor.

I met a guy at Cars & Coffee a few months ago who owned a '66 MINI and a '66 Olds Toronado. (They matched the cars featured on the cover of Road and Track comparing the only two front wheel drive cars sold in the US that year.) Anyway... he mentioned that he won the autocross event at the Goodguys' Nationals event at TMS the previous year. Later he had the engine rebuilt and was surprised how much power he had been missing. I believe he said someone in Denton did the motor for him. Perhaps someone here knows which shop that might be.

Paul

[THolt]

I don't know what shop it is but, I am looking for the same information. Picked up a 1275, thanks to Angel for the tip, now I need to get it rebuilt. We plan on doing most of the work ourselves but, still need to get the cylinders checked stuff like that done first.

[Wings]

I'm reviving an old thread, one I started five or six years ago. I took my Mini up to the shop in Lewisville that i've used since i bought my Mini. The car had a noise that I was guessing was a bad front wheel bearing. It turns out the shop is no longer doing any mechanical work so they assigned it to the guys next door, a place called AutoScience.

Long story short the confirmed the wheel bearing issue but also pointed out some other 'issues'. They tell me the Weber needs a rebuild, the master cylinder is leaking and the radiator has a tiny leak too. They also retested the compression which I've known to be an issue and found one cylinder reads only 25 pounds. i'm driving a three cylinder Mini. 

Since this isn't a Mini shop I'm hesitant to turn the big stuff over to them. I told them to proceed with the bearing while they work on estimates for the rest of the work. In the meantime I'm wondering what you guys might suggest. Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.

Paul

[BritBits]

Hi Paul,

Low compression is either blown/failing head gasket, valve sticking open slightly or worn rings, or a combination of those things.  Pulling the head for a head rebuild (or getting a new/rebuilt replacement head) will hopefully cover gasket and valve issues, and you can look at the pistons/cylinder bores while you're there.   The hardest part on the older Minis is getting the intake/exhaust disconnected, not sure how much extra hoses/piping you have on your vintage.


Cheers,

Jim

[Wings]

Hi Jim,

LOL  Well, you probably have a better idea than I do on what it has or doesn't have. I'm pretty sure it's a 1991 but beyond that I'm pretty much clueless.
I will say the engine doesn't smoke at all so my guess is the rings & cylinders are in reasonable. shape. Oil consumption doesn't give much clue because it probably leaks more than it burns. I've been told the gasket between the engine and the transmission is the source of the leak.
I need to call the shop again today; they have failed completely when it comes to communication. I'm hoping they've got the wheel bearing issue taken care of so I can pick the car up and go elsewhere.

Paul

[Wings]

I had the Mini flat-bedded down to Kip Motors on Monday. They are checking out several issues for me including evaluating the condition of the engine. I have a few things on the 'must do' list and then we'll see how much money is left over for the 'would like to do' list. Wish me luck 

Paul

[Wings]

I got the Mini back last Thursday (8/15) after a couple of months at Kip Motors. They confirmed a bad valve and a blown head gasket both of which account for the lack of power and the coolant loss. They sent the head out to be machined and continued to look for other issues. The low oil pressure suggested the bearings might be shot but they discovered a stuck oil pressure relief valve. After fixing that the oil pressure is back to 60psi and the bearings, pistons and rings checked out just fine. Whew! The shop found the ball joints were very loose so those were replaced and then a lot of other little stuff with tweaked and adjusted. 

The final bill was more than I had hoped but I can't find any fault with the work they did. The motor, while still no power house, runs MUCH better and keeping up with traffic is a lot easier. The front end feels a lot tighter with the new ball joints. The adjustments to the Weber and the timing make the car idle smoother and the car no longer smells like a rolling refinery. FInally they did a great job tightening up things in the dash which cut way down on squeaks and rattles in the interior. All in all I'm happy with the results.

Jane didn't toss me out when the final bill arrived to I'd call that a win too. Now I just need some cooler weather so I can get out and enjoy the little car again.

Paul

[MINIzilla]

Thanks for all the experiences and information in this thread, Paul.
I sensed the Matchbox experience had been challenging, but I had no idea how much.
The Classic ownership experience is a whole different set of variables, but the one common need is an accessible, reliable, trustworthy service/maintenance/repair location.  It looks like you gave us one good option in this thread.

Cheers,
 

[Wings]

Hi Scott,
For those of us who are mechanically challenged there are a few more challenges to owning a classic Mini compared to a new MINI. For someone who can maintain the car themselves it's probably not such a big deal. The parts bill for Matchbox's repair was very reasonable. The labor bill at $105/hour is what got my attention. 

Paul