Morris Minor Owners Club

hi folks, if you have looked in the other posts, i was looking at getting a fiat twin cam engine/box. well i have it now, which is nice. fitting kit, downpipe, prop etc all there, and for £300(plus another £20 for the radiator too.) my only real thing is i have no idea about the engine. are there any books that i can get that will help(bar guy crofts as i can't afford that sort of money!) i need to know all the bits about servicing too, what car parts are compatible with basic service(plugs, leads, points?)
any help would be massively appreciated my friends.
woohoo!
cheers
*Callum*

Something like this:

http://tinyurl.com/7xw62h

Or maybe this:
http://tinyurl.com/9nv7rv

Assuming you have a RWD engine and gearbox.

hey thanks for that, looks promising,a nd cheap! bonus! is there anything that may be more in depth about just the engine? i'm pretty sure the haynes one should be okay though...

Haynes one will give you most of what you need for the engine, even for rebuild. Modifying there's a few useful sites:

http://www.guy-croft.com/
http://www.mirafiori.com/
http://turbo124.com/forum/

The haynes manual will certainly tell you about plugs, points etc. Leads, if you find somewhere that sells individual leads of different lengths you can mix and match...

I got that GC book back when it was cheap, I can't believe how expensive it has gotten!

Its a fairly simple little engine mate despite its italian looks. Just remember SUCK SQUEESE BANG BLOW and you shouldnt be able to go wrong.
Guy crofts book is a very good read but unless you want to go balls out i wouldnt bother with it. As has been said anything you need to know should be in a haynes book or easilly available on tinternet.

Rod

Ive got some info on these engines. Its a bit limited just timing, fueling, valve clearances etc I could do a copy for you if you want
also are there any no's on your engine

Most service parts are easily valiable from the auto factors or Fiat. Some engine parts are difficult to get from Fiat (pistons and big end bolts)

I normally buy all my engine bits from Fiat.

If the engine has been stood then I would change the head gasket (and obviously the timing belt). In our experience if the engine has been stood then upon starting it will leak combustion into the cooling system and how ever much you bleed you will get air locks and over heating.

The only other thing to watch is your sump. Some of these fitting kits positioned the engine very low. The oil pick up is cast ally and sits at the front of the sump. They can be welded up though if you do break it off.

Twin Su`s are a nice mod to the engine.

Never thought about SU's for the Fiat - I've a pair of 1 3/4's doing nothing just now - is there an inlet manifold available, or is it a one off?
Agree with your sump comment - my mate destroyed his engine when he whacked the sump and broke the oil pump. It was the quite rare 1600 with twin downdrafts - very sweet engine - fitted to his minor in 1978 (can't believe that's 30 years ago). Another mate made a completely new shallower sump for his and shortened the oil pump housing.

Pete

I made a pattern for a twin SU manifold (still have it) and cast up about 4 manifolds. It made a sweet conversion, more power, better mpg and better running.







1" 3/4" would be a bit big, I always used the Allegro 1500 ones (11 5/8" ??)

The top tip with the Fiat sump is to use the Regata oil pump base plate. This lets you bolt on your own steel pick up pipe.

I've also got a pair of 40 dellortos for which I can get a manifold, but I like the SU idea.

Pete

god i want a different carb! for no reason what so ever really! but ooooh....!!!
anywho...more important things that i need to find out...
i will be needing a few things still and i would love to know what to search for. it's a bit hard typing "mirafiori" or "131" to try and get certain parts as different models had different bits. so, the thigns i need for my 2 litre are...
a speedo cable
a cam belt
service bits(plugs, leads, points etc)

any info, or good searches on teh bay would be massively appreciated. thanks!

sorry to bring it up but it's a big thing on my mind at the moment, have you thought about what your insurance company will have to say about this?

The service items should be available from Motor factors (cam belt, plugs leads etc) Your engine number will identify the model and year.

You may have to do it the old fashioned way of visiting them and not online though!

The speedo cable will have to come from Fiat or try Speedy Cables.

Insurance has never been an issue for me with Adrian Flux. Even as an 18 year old with a 2 litre Minor and a 21 year old with a V8 Kitten....... was a few years ago though.....

ha, how funny, i was just going to start a post about what people would recommend about insurance, i know it won't be cheap, but i do need the cheapest possible being 23 and that!
thanks about the bits, i didn't think a factors would have the bits for a car of that age, but hey, that's great, i've got a couple right near me!

callyspoy wrote:god i want a different carb! for no reason what so ever really! but ooooh....!!!
anywho...more important things that i need to find out...
i will be needing a few things still and i would love to know what to search for. it's a bit hard typing "mirafiori" or "131" to try and get certain parts as different models had different bits. so, the thigns i need for my 2 litre are...
a speedo cable
a cam belt
service bits(plugs, leads, points etc)

any info, or good searches on teh bay would be massively appreciated. thanks!

First port of call, as said above local Fiat service dept. They'll look at you a bit funny but the part should still appear on the computer even if listed as 'no longer available'.

Here's couple
www.montehospital.com
www.sportspider.co.uk
www.fiatspider.com

These should have links to specialists. Might also be worth giving Middle Barton Garage a try.

As an aside, the oil filter thread is the same as the Ford Pinto engine , also the Reliant Robin(!) and some Renaults. The Oil pressure sender has tha same thread as that for a Pinto as well, so if you use a T-piece for a Pinto, you can hook up the original oil pressure gauge.

Why thank you twincamman, that would have been a question at some point! another one i ahve though is about the temperature sender. i have a capillary temp gauge that i would really like to use(as i only just made the three gauge mount for it!) so am curious what gauge thread the temp sender is on the fiat? is it workable for a minor thread sender? cheers
*C*

If it's an aftermarket gauge, it would normally come with a choice of threaded adaptors. However, the normal setup is a brass fitting that screws into the head, and the capilliary pipe then screws into that. If you know someone with a lathe and thread gauges, than it would be easy enough to knock up an adaptor with the external thread of the Fiat sender and the internal thread to take the capilliary pipe.

twincamman...i got one of those adapters for the oil pressure gauge...went in the engine great but what do i plug the end with?? obviously the small hole will be for the minor adapter, but the big hole...? would a pinto oil pressure switch go in there? only the fiat one didn't fit!

there was yet another thing...i would like to do the cambelt...the factors i went to were brilliantly helpful with all bits(service stuff was pretty cheap!) but they said 60 odd quid for the belt! does anyone know if the 1.6 one works on a 2 litre? as they are on ebay, but i can't see any for the 2 litre...help is as always appreciated!