The original Morris was a good design for 1930 sedan/salon. CHEAP. Entirely comparable to Ford A, stovebolt six, or the Willys engine which did much work in WWII.
For that matter, Ford Ts and As were THE popular race engines until the flathead V-8 was junked in quantity. Sure a Miller/Offenhauser would whup a Ford, but they were $5000, a Ford was $50 and even with massive upgrades only $500.
Remember a firepump engine is generally a truck engine with a liberal governor. But there was a need for a portable pump-engine, which justifies alloy and large port.
A lot of designs got sold-around. Chrysler's huge Straight Eight for limos was also sold for generators and used in one farm tractor. The related Flathead Six for Plymouth stayed in production after the OHV Slant Six arrived as a utility engine and reportedly an Israeli military truck. Chevy's V8-derived V-6 seems to power many fixed generators today. Porsche got a job making a truck Four, which didn't pan out, so they used it as a sports car engine, and probably for trucks and generators too.
I have to admit to not knowing a whole lot about US engines, or engines in general, but YouTube is full of great videos - I'd never seen or heard (or heard of), a Flathead until a few weeks ago!
I once had a vast collection of Minimags.
The most odd engine swap I recall, was shoehorning a Ford Granada 2.9 V6 (Ford Cologne engine I think) into a mini.
They used Austin Allegro CVs, and added a transfer box - making a 2.9 V6 AWD mini. Insane stuff.
1.6 4 pot Vtec seem to be the "normal" engine swap now, back then only a couple of people had done it.
Theres a mini somewhere with a Huyabusa (sp) engine in the boot, driving the rear wheels.
YouTube
I once had a vast collection of Minimags.
The most odd engine swap I recall, was shoehorning a Ford Granada 2.9 V6 (Ford Cologne engine I think) into a mini.
They used Austin Allegro CVs, and added a transfer box - making a 2.9 V6 AWD mini. Insane stuff.
1.6 4 pot Vtec seem to be the "normal" engine swap now, back then only a couple of people had done it.
Theres a mini somewhere with a Huyabusa (sp) engine in the boot, driving the rear wheels.
YouTube
For some classic mini racing you can't go past the 1966 Bathurst 500. YouTube They took out the top nine spots outright.
That was the Bathurst race when it was production cars. Totally different type of racing to today. The cars were standard production vehicles with no modifications allowed.
Tony.
That was the Bathurst race when it was production cars. Totally different type of racing to today. The cars were standard production vehicles with no modifications allowed.
Tony.
My first car was a six month 1973 old Hillman Imp which I loved. By then pretty much all of the bugs had been ironed out and It was much better than the 1965 Imp that my brother had from new.
The engine was a little gem compared to the all iron, pushrod, five port A Series boat anchor in the mini.
An earlier post referred to a twin engine mini. The first was built by John Cooper himself and called "Twini". He gave up on the idea after almost killing himself in it on the road.
The engine was a little gem compared to the all iron, pushrod, five port A Series boat anchor in the mini.
An earlier post referred to a twin engine mini. The first was built by John Cooper himself and called "Twini". He gave up on the idea after almost killing himself in it on the road.
Siamesed ports isn't the best possible thing, but not that bad either.
My Mini produces 130Bhp on the rolling road.
With a turbo you can even get 190Bhp.
To keep everything running, I changed the waterflow to enter the clutch side of the block.
Before that I had constant cracked heads because of bad cooling at the far end.
Hans
Z-cars do the nutter twin bike engined minis for grasstrack racing.
The venerable flathead* ford saw use in the french military way beyond its sell by date. There was a big fuss when all the spares were sold off around 2000 as thousands of new blocks came on the market.
* Note we call them side valve engines such as used in the austin 7 in UK
The venerable flathead* ford saw use in the french military way beyond its sell by date. There was a big fuss when all the spares were sold off around 2000 as thousands of new blocks came on the market.
* Note we call them side valve engines such as used in the austin 7 in UK
Hans: You can get respectable power out of them with enough effort, but when you look at the 2 litre ford duratec that became the kit car staple from 2000 onwards that will produce well over 200HP with only a cam change. With work some have even got 300HP out of them.
I have a friend with a lotus 7 which has a BD series in. ISTR BDR. costs a fortune to rebuild but worth every penny for the sound on full bore . I have a soft spot for cosworth engines being from Northampton.
I have a friend with a lotus 7 which has a BD series in. ISTR BDR. costs a fortune to rebuild but worth every penny for the sound on full bore
. I have a soft spot for cosworth engines being from Northampton.
Almost everything imaginable can or has been done in engine swaps, but I was just expressing doubt that 1.8 liter BMC engines were used in Minis in period racing. Various classes limit engine size, so any sanctioned racing with Minis would have been with A series motors.
My BD engine would likely cost around $23-25k to build here, but that is with the new block. I am saving labor costs, and using an ex-racing head and rods, saving $$. Heading to the shop today to do a trial assembly of the head to the block and check valve to piston valve pocket cutouts, and cut piston crowns to achieve chosen compression ratio.
Cosworth DFV engines cost $80k up to rebuild nowadays here. Good for about one season in a winning race car.
My BD engine would likely cost around $23-25k to build here, but that is with the new block. I am saving labor costs, and using an ex-racing head and rods, saving $$. Heading to the shop today to do a trial assembly of the head to the block and check valve to piston valve pocket cutouts, and cut piston crowns to achieve chosen compression ratio.
Cosworth DFV engines cost $80k up to rebuild nowadays here. Good for about one season in a winning race car.
Re: 1800cc Mini
A colleague of mine some years ago had what purported to be a Mini Clubman 850cc.
Well, that's what it said on the back.!!
Under the bonnet was an Austin Maxi 1750cc engine.
The same B-series engine that was in the MGB.
He had it mildly tuned and boy did it go!!
The front wheels were 12" rather than 10" and disk brakes were fitted to the front.
Half-shafts were from various Austin/MG vehicles and broke regularly.
The main problem as I recall was it required stabiliser stays to prevent the engine mounts from breaking.
Andy
A colleague of mine some years ago had what purported to be a Mini Clubman 850cc.
Well, that's what it said on the back.!!
Under the bonnet was an Austin Maxi 1750cc engine.
The same B-series engine that was in the MGB.
He had it mildly tuned and boy did it go!!
The front wheels were 12" rather than 10" and disk brakes were fitted to the front.
Half-shafts were from various Austin/MG vehicles and broke regularly.
The main problem as I recall was it required stabiliser stays to prevent the engine mounts from breaking.
Andy
Andy, did your colleague make a new subframe for the motor? Did he have to modify the bonnet at all?
A company called Mini Tec does Honda VTEC engine/subframe/bonnet conversions for Minis. I've been on the autocross track in one, and it was a blast (made me dizzy, actually), but it seems a shame to take a vintage car and permanently convert it. Ah well, I modified most of my cars in my youth.
A company called Mini Tec does Honda VTEC engine/subframe/bonnet conversions for Minis. I've been on the autocross track in one, and it was a blast (made me dizzy, actually), but it seems a shame to take a vintage car and permanently convert it. Ah well, I modified most of my cars in my youth.
What a huge development the petrol engine has made since it’s invention.
F1 motors currently produce 600 Bhp from a 1500cc engine with a fantastic fuel efficiency of 50% !
Heat from the exhaust after the turbo is regenerated into electricity and stored in a battery. This energy is used to electrically keep the turbo running when rpm goes down when cornering, thereby preventing the turbo lag and helping to keep efficiency high.
Hans
F1 motors currently produce 600 Bhp from a 1500cc engine with a fantastic fuel efficiency of 50% !
Heat from the exhaust after the turbo is regenerated into electricity and stored in a battery. This energy is used to electrically keep the turbo running when rpm goes down when cornering, thereby preventing the turbo lag and helping to keep efficiency high.
Hans
Last years F1 was quite enjoyable, but IMO just isnr a patch on days gone by (and I'm not old, but old enough to remember better racing).
The rules shook things up enough to allow more teams to really compete, but...I'd still rather watch Formula 3, Renault World Series, Mini Cross, Super 1600.
I just missed out on Tyrells, Lotus Ground effects cars, Brabhams, the Fan Car, etc, where rules were pushed to the limits of what the judges could find, or just flouted completely.
Mini cross and speedway have been a favourite since I first saw their F1 and classic series. Sadly the greedy landowner closed the speedway for good a couple of years ago. The place was a dump, but of the good variety.
The rules shook things up enough to allow more teams to really compete, but...I'd still rather watch Formula 3, Renault World Series, Mini Cross, Super 1600.
I just missed out on Tyrells, Lotus Ground effects cars, Brabhams, the Fan Car, etc, where rules were pushed to the limits of what the judges could find, or just flouted completely.
Mini cross and speedway have been a favourite since I first saw their F1 and classic series. Sadly the greedy landowner closed the speedway for good a couple of years ago. The place was a dump, but of the good variety.
Correct ....it was a long time ago 1977
I cannot remember any exact details. I remember it was a tight squeeze. The only external bonnet mod was a small bulge to clear the carb the same size as your cupped hand. It had 12" wheels at the front and had standard steel rims with hubcaps.
Andy
I had many cars.
My first was a Sunbeam Alpine Mk.5.
Then I had a 3000GT Capri ex-police - very quick in a straight line - not so good round corners.
And in no particular order :-
998 Mini
Fiat Supermirafiori
Vauxhall Viva
Ford Sierra
Yugo
Peugeot 205GTI 1.9
more peugeot 205s
Peugeot 504 estate
Renault Espace
Jaguar X-Type AWD estate
and probably some more...
One car that deserves a mention was my MG Midget 1098 that my brother acquired from me.
He transplanted a 1275 engine but then decided he wanted to do hillclimbs and sprint events.
So he installed a turbo from a MG Metro and a 5 speed box.
He unlimited the turbo and it went ...........
Some details can be found using a Google search ( Simon Atherton MG Midget Turbo )
Andy
My first was a Sunbeam Alpine Mk.5.
Then I had a 3000GT Capri ex-police - very quick in a straight line - not so good round corners.
And in no particular order :-
998 Mini
Fiat Supermirafiori
Vauxhall Viva
Ford Sierra
Yugo
Peugeot 205GTI 1.9
more peugeot 205s
Peugeot 504 estate
Renault Espace
Jaguar X-Type AWD estate
and probably some more...
One car that deserves a mention was my MG Midget 1098 that my brother acquired from me.
He transplanted a 1275 engine but then decided he wanted to do hillclimbs and sprint events.
So he installed a turbo from a MG Metro and a 5 speed box.
He unlimited the turbo and it went ...........
Some details can be found using a Google search ( Simon Atherton MG Midget Turbo )
Andy
Siamesed ports isn't the best possible thing, but not that bad either.
My Mini produces 130Bhp on the rolling road.
With a turbo you can even get 190Bhp.
To keep everything running, I changed the waterflow to enter the clutch side of the block.
Before that I had constant cracked heads because of bad cooling at the far end.
Hans
View attachment 808258 View attachment 808259
wow
130BHP at the wheels is no mean feat out of an A series! A stock 1098 does about 50BHP at the flywheel and a stock 1275 about 75BHP at the flywheel. I don't know what my 1098 does, certainly over the stock 50BHP, and it revs a whole lot better. I got it to 7000 once and decided I should change gear cause something would likely break. It was not running out of steam at all! In standard trim it used to take an age to get from 4000 to 5000 rpm.
It doesn't have that head any more. Cracked between two cylinders after some dodgy mechanic sabotaged it. (deliberately scored the block between cylinders 1 and two and between 2 and three, though it only blew out between 1 and 2).
I reckon with the mods I had, it was probably putting out max about 80BHP.
Mines in a morris 1100 which has been off the road waiting restoration for more time than I'd like to think about.
Tony.
Attachments
I forgot the most important and enjoyable !!!!!
Sunbeam TIGER 260
Lovely vehicle. That V8 sound
and I collected a whole cupboard full of classes courtesy of the petrol station.
Andy
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