Whilst SP is sat or stood in hibernation, I am now actively looking at my other car which has been fairly neglected over the years. To those who may not know, I also have a 1978 Mini Clubman which originally came with a 998cc engine. This was bought by my father in 1995, and has been in our family since. I officially took ownership circa 1996 when I got my driving license. The Mini was the reason why I got into cars and modding cars. As you would have expected the Mini did not stay standard for long! It had so many different stages of modifications that I cannot remember all of them so well now, but just to give an overview, here goes:
1. Changed from 998cc to 1275 A+ engine , done in 1997 in Sg Buloh.
2. In 1998 - changed cams to 270-2 Piper, with upgraded valve spring, and rejetted HIF44 carburettor.
3. In 2000 - bigger pistons 1340cc with 286 Kent rally cams, engine fully balanced and Weber 45 DCOE
4. In 2003 - bigger and high compression pistons 1380cc, 296 Scatter Pattern Kent Cams, engine fully balanced 3.44 Final drive
5. In 2006-2007 - 1399cc, ultralight steel flywheel, 296 SP cams, 3.7 final drive, Aldon Yellow distributor, Fully Ported head, bigger inlet and exhaust valves, full balanced and lightend internals, front mounted radiator setup, etc etc
The reason why I have gone through so many setups, is due to failures, either from component or engine builder. The best setup I had was no 2 and 3 in that list, everything else was good but the fun did not last for long. The A series engine for the Mini shares the same oil for engine and gearbox, so if one breaks, high chances you have damaged both, as the debris in the oil goes through the gearbox and engine.
So I had planned for a last massive setup, and bought all the bits for it, include straight cut drop gears, different billet cams, and so on, but decided enough was enough and gave up the chase on the A series engine. I have the complete engine, with all the bits, some new, some old but with very little mileage, up for grabs. This includes the carburettor, complete exhaust, and all the relevant ancillaries. I will probably make a separate posting for the parts for sale.
Just a couple of pics of the Mini in the past glory days..
So the decision has been made to ditch the A series, to a............power of dreams, Honda PGM F1 DOHC VTEC engine, most probably from a DC2 B18c R 98 spec :)
So should I continue on this blog or start a new one???
1. Changed from 998cc to 1275 A+ engine , done in 1997 in Sg Buloh.
2. In 1998 - changed cams to 270-2 Piper, with upgraded valve spring, and rejetted HIF44 carburettor.
3. In 2000 - bigger pistons 1340cc with 286 Kent rally cams, engine fully balanced and Weber 45 DCOE
4. In 2003 - bigger and high compression pistons 1380cc, 296 Scatter Pattern Kent Cams, engine fully balanced 3.44 Final drive
5. In 2006-2007 - 1399cc, ultralight steel flywheel, 296 SP cams, 3.7 final drive, Aldon Yellow distributor, Fully Ported head, bigger inlet and exhaust valves, full balanced and lightend internals, front mounted radiator setup, etc etc
The reason why I have gone through so many setups, is due to failures, either from component or engine builder. The best setup I had was no 2 and 3 in that list, everything else was good but the fun did not last for long. The A series engine for the Mini shares the same oil for engine and gearbox, so if one breaks, high chances you have damaged both, as the debris in the oil goes through the gearbox and engine.
So I had planned for a last massive setup, and bought all the bits for it, include straight cut drop gears, different billet cams, and so on, but decided enough was enough and gave up the chase on the A series engine. I have the complete engine, with all the bits, some new, some old but with very little mileage, up for grabs. This includes the carburettor, complete exhaust, and all the relevant ancillaries. I will probably make a separate posting for the parts for sale.
Just a couple of pics of the Mini in the past glory days..
As my wedding ride
A series engine, running 45 weber, but not the final version
KAD quick shift
Interior, not fully completed
So the decision has been made to ditch the A series, to a............power of dreams, Honda PGM F1 DOHC VTEC engine, most probably from a DC2 B18c R 98 spec :)
So should I continue on this blog or start a new one???
