Morris Minor Owners Club

So do you balance them together with the hubs and drums?

That's quite a bit of effort to go to, tearing them down and then balance and build back up again.

Mine cruises quite nicely on the motorway at 60. It will go faster, but just feels a bit frantic. I can't feel much vibration, but maybe if I did all the balancing I would then feel the difference?

I know what Sowden means. Sometimes, overtaking or pulling up a long hill a little bit more power or torque wouldn't go amiss.

I've a couple of 940 heads, and when I get round to it (and when I've plastered the spare room ) I'll fit one.

Andrew

Hi again,

Mike / Andrew, thanks for sharing your views.

Mike, an interesting perspective. It's never occured to me that balance might play a part, but like Andrew I've not discerned any imbalance - and I agree with your views Andrew, re the power / torque / frenetic cruising speed. The latter for me is the most irksome. I keep telling myself its a characteristic of the car and so dont stress, just put up with it...but I'd just like to cruise at 70 more peacefully, I think.

I think now that Pandoras box is open, I will have to go forward. Thus, 3.7 diff and Wolseley front brakes are on their way to me. Mini rocker gear too. Soon a Mini exhaust manifold and MG inlet or similar, with Hif38 or HS4 will join the list, and finally a 940 head. I will then see how the car cruises, pulls up hills overtakes etc., and keep at it until I get it set up right or get fed up.

And go back to the standard set up, ha ha!!

Hopefully all will go OK though, and I will then get going on the suspension, heater, baggy drivers seat, etc., etc.

Cheers

Russ

Hi again, avid minor enthusiasts.

I'm not just trying to keep this thread alive, BTW...I just keep trawling through old posts and revising my ideas!

My new "spec" for my upgrade is as follows:

Std 1098 block & internals
12G940 head
Mini 1000 exhaust manifold (with inlet chopped off)
Separate inlet manifold + HS4 carb with K&N type filter.
Std exhaust (would like the whole 1.5" 3 branch set up from BMM but I havent got the £200 - would it make that much difference?)
3.7 diff (for the cruising comfort)
Wolseley front brakes

Comments/Questions:

decided against another cam as it may be a bridge too far..(would like the extra bhp but its too much added complexity / fitting time)
will use my minor wheel cylinders with the Wolseley set up...does this affec t the braking balance to a degree that should cause concern?
Re inlet manifold: is the separate cast iron Metro one any good? or does it have to be an alloy one for the better performance?
Does the HS4 / K&N type foul the bonnet?
Will the above run the 3.7 OK do you think? (I have a nagging fear about this!! Wimp!!)
How much BHP does the above give you (guestimates welcome)?
I understand I would need to sink the exhaust valves into the head - that's right isnt it? 40 thou? Could I get the head converted to unleaded at the same time?
How much more insurance (than my current £100 fully comp unlimited mi) do you think I will have to pay?!
Still thinking about a 1275 straight swap (e.g. ital etc) - would this equal the above or be better than?

Phew!

Thanks to all,

Russ

Well Russ, that looks good and interesting! Tell us how you get on.
Re the balancing, I'm not talking of steering wheel shake which balancing the front wheels will usually sort out at least up to around 70, but more the background vibration. Its the sort of thing that's the difference between a minor and a modern car like my Toyota MPV. The latter's no prop shaft (in the ordinary sense) and the discs and hubs are machined all over - so are inherently well balanced.
I've checked my notes and see that all 4 of my brake drums are 30-35g out of balanced (as measured at the rim) and the heavy sides aren't opposite the brake adjustment hole. But by placing the heavy side of the drum opposite the heavy side of the wheel a minimum of weights are needed to get the lot in balance. Its easy to do - its getting the weights that's tricky! Quick Fit wanted to charge 50p each(!) but my local village garage just gave me a pile - but then he's a minor fan. MikeN.

Just my thought on the 3.7 diff.

I doubt that you'd have enough power to comfortably get up hills etc.

So fine if you live in Holland

The engine spec you now propose is excatly what I have. It works. Yes i too would like a better exhaust - but at the moment the standard stainless is ok but no doubt losing me some power. But since last summer's petrol prices had me toddling along at 50 mph anyway (most of the time!) it doesn't really matter! The alloy MG manifold is the one to get - but NOT the Turbo manifold! The 3.7 diff will be fine - ok so you may have to go into 3rd for some hills - but the benefits on most roads will easily out-do that. Remember you will need a speedo change - look for a Mini Speedo with tpm ~1250 - there's plenty out there, I just bought one ! The W brakes are very good - but if possible stay with the W cylinders. I find the Minor cylinders give a very light pedal and the front wheels are taking more than their fair share of the braking and lock up all too easily. The W cylinders are much better balanced.

Hi readers,

the wolseley brake set up arrived today, and looks fab. The brake drums are in really good nick, look new! I'd recommend the seller if anyone was watching the item - quick delivery, great communication, really well packaged.

BMC - I have a query about dropping the exhaust valves into the 12G940 head. I've just phoned an engine machining place and they were concerned about taking 40 thou out of the valve seat. Is it better to take out the seat, machine down and refit/recut a new seat, 40 thou lower in the block (is this even possible)? Or are we fussing? PS - Quoted me about £80 too - hells teeth!

Also, if going 998 cooper, how far do the valves need to be from the flat face of the block, i.e. the bit that gets skimmed? It occured to me that you could end up with a block that has been skimmed previously.

Thanks in anticipation

Russ

I like the sound of

untold smoothness.

What method did you use Mike?

sowden wrote:Hi readers,....
BMC - I have a query about dropping the exhaust valves into the 12G940 head. I've just phoned an engine machining place and they were concerned about taking 40 thou out of the valve seat. Is it better to take out the seat, machine down and refit/recut a new seat, 40 thou lower in the block (is this even possible)? Or are we fussing? PS - Quoted me about £80 too - hells teeth!...Russ

Check your 940 head first before you sink/machine. You may be lucky and not need to do anything, I was! Worth trying first, nothing to lose, £80 to potentially gain! Remember the head gasket thickness when you do your sums.

If you have to lower the seats you could look out on ebay for a set of seat cutters, probably get some for £80?

0.040" should be OK, can't see how it wouldn't, just alters the valve height by 1mm at the rockers, not a huge issue.

Where are you based?

Andrew

Hi Andrew, I'm in West Yorkshire.

I have posted a plea for a 12g940 on the wanted ads, as its looking as if everyone wants a packet for them on ebay. I'm hoping someone has a metaphorical stack of them and doesnt mind parting with one for more sensible money. We'll see.

Mike, will keep you posted. The kit is building...I got an Oselli torquemaster alloy inlet manifold off ebay the other night, which is the forerunner to the Metro alloy variety from what I can see. A little additional classic appeal with that one. Also, thanks for your comments on the balance issue. I will have a think about that, it may be worth doing a balance test and marking up the drums to understand where the weight sits. Thinking as I'm typing here, but doesnt a fully balanced wheel present as effectively neutral and thus offer no offseting potential for the drum (If that makes sense!)? Or is it a way to avoid having to
balance at all? I may have got the wrong end of the stick with this of course....

BMC and compadres: thanks for all your shared wisdom on the head issue. I'm looking forward to getting a 12g940 asap and getting to work with it. Got a bit disheartened earlier and was going to go 12g295, but another trawl through the posts put that to bed.

My wife says I am an anorak! Ha ha! She's right of course, but as long as I get my extra bhp I'm not bothered (nor if I dont!).

Cheers,

Russ

There does seem to be a bit of a 'dearth' of 940 heads at the moment - be patient - one will come along at the right price. Many on ebay are WAY overpriced - so don't rush in - just be patient!

BMC-is this the Manifold you are talking about? What about the water connection-is it to be blocked off?
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0142353566
Thanks
Declan

Yes - but that is stupidly expensive! Look for a less expensive one. Water heating - you may want it in winter to get faster warm up - but in summer should be disconnected to get lowest temperature mixture into the engine.

I'm a bit late coming on to this thread, but just thought I'd add that I've got a tuned 1098 fitted to one of my cars and it's a real improvement. The engine has lost a very small amount of its low down tractability but I feel it's well worth it due to the improvement in 95% of driving conditions. In fact this might dissapear if I had the car professionally set up on a rolling road.

The spec I'm running is a 12g295 head (skimmed by 70 thou), HIF38 carb on an alloy inlet with a big K&N filter. I built the engine with the cam from a 997 cooper but could never get it to run very well, so have stuck the standard one back in and it's fine. The exhaust and diff are standard for the moment. Ideally I would fit a maniflow system and higher ratio diff but I can't afford it at the moment.

One thing to bear in mind if you're using a K&N filter is that they're pretty noisy, particularly when you stick your foot down. I'm not especially bothered by this but if you are then Vizard recommends that you use an MG Metro air filter and box - he reckons they're good enough for an engine producing up to about 80bhp and are quiet.

I've got completely standard brakes and suspension - to be honest as long as the standard stuff is in good nick then you should be ok with a moderately tuned 1098. If they're in a shoddy condition (as they often are) then you'll reach their limits very quickly.