Morris Minor Owners Club

Any clearance problems? ie. fan to radiator? front harmonic pulley to crossmember? dosnt look like the fan will clear the flame trap on the front timing cover at the moment, (altough to be fair this is all by eye as engine isnt built up yet.
It also looks as though the tops of the fan blades are going to be close to the plate on the top tank of the radiator, the one with the moving parts warning on it as the block is a bit taller than my 1098.
I,m probably going to us an early heater tap that I can turn through 180 degrees and a bit longer pipe, I've lined up a MGB thermostat housing to align the top hose etc.
Apart from answering the queiries above any body else know of any pitfalls?

The flame trap will almost certainly be hit by the fan the normal thing to do is to cut of a section of the trap and then weld it back so that it becomes a D shape instead of a circle.
The other thing is to check the starter bendix clearance as somtimes it can stick on the ringear and will require a small spacer on the bendix shaft, this seems to be more of an issue with Marina Blocks than Midget but check it before you put it in it may be OK.

Thanks for that Kevin, so can I put a standard non-vented minor cover on it and vent the crankcase through a rocker cover breather via a flame trap like a rover v8 engine?
And how come the fan clears on a midget? are they smaller diameter?

re the flame trap on the timing chain cover; the easiest remedy is to cut 1/4"longitudinally off each fan blade with a tin snips to give clearance, it's quick and easy

On a Midget engine if you use spacing washers with flats filed on the insides you can assemble the fan blades and just have clearance between the radiator and the fume trap. It is also important to get the crankcase ventilation correct or the engine will drip oil from the rear main.

There is a spacer available in Mini land that puts the fan blades slightly further forward. Don't remove that vented timing case cover - the 1275 engine needs all the breathing it can get - but a rocker breather in addition to the timing breather is an excellent idea - highly recommended. The 1275 block is only 1/4" taller - so surprised if that make the fan hit the cowl ? Shorten fan or bend cowl upwards slightly should cure that problem.

As Mike & Roy have said don't replace the vented cover as it will cause leaks by pressurising the block. Personally I wouldnt like to space out the fan as its close enough to the rad in the first place especially under heavy breaking. I am also surprised that it hits the cowl possibly caused by a replacement rad at some time as suggested just reshape it slightly.

Agree with all the above, but have to say that the last possible thing you need is to move the fan forwards. I too have had problems with the blades hitting the radiator surround. Currently unresolved, but I'm hoping (when I get time) to space the rad surround/holder up a few mil - I'm running LCVs though, where the side/side strength is (IM nervous O) less of a worry, due to the separate chassis nature of the beasts.

EIT Oh, and a flip front, so panel gaps are pretty much out of things too.

I put a Midget motor & trans in and was surprised that I did not encounter a single clearance issue. I took the opportunity to put in new mounts, of course, and as for the fan, I simply bent the blades a tiny amount, (4-blade fan), and haven't had a whisker of trouble. On the upside, it's a terrific upgrade, especially if you also add the 3.9 diff out back.

My Midget engine came with the spacing washers, I added an extra fan blade, just in case it ran hot and with a slight tweak of one of the fan blades it fitted perfectly. I of course made sure that the steady cable was tight. The only other mods were a 1275/1098 conversion thermostat housing and cutting a small section out of the engine steady bar bracket to clear the heater valve which is at a different angle on the Midget engine. I used a screw tap heater valve but I intend making an adaptor bracket for the Minor heater valve so that it will clear the large battery I have fitted.

The obvious answer for the fan problem is to throw it away - and fit an electric fan which can be sourced v cheaply from a scrappy - or ebay! Much easier than hacking bits out of the timing case breather!

I of course made sure that the steady cable was tight.

it shouldn't really be "tight" - but they do need to be in place and have minimal slack.

As I recall I used a pair of early Spritget metal fan blades, which are a bit shorter than Minor blades. To clear the canister, I slightly reshaped the blade to provide clearance. It was near the center that needed to be done, so less effect on air movement. For the record all Minors had a double blade in my neck of the woods. I've never seen one with just one blade as shown in all literature.

The flame trap on my old engine was so close to fitting I just (everyone shudder now) bent the fan blades ever so slightly. There was still plenty of clearance between them and the rad, and enough between them and the flame trap.

Didn't have any problems with overheating - although the block was apparently cracked (old weld had reopened) when it was finally removed and replaced... Still, 50 quid got me 40k miles.

Thanks for all he reassuring replies folks, my engine currently has a american fibreglass 'Flexolite' fan originaly designed for a midget fitted anyway, clever piece of kit which changes the pitch of the blades to suit rotational speed so it moves less air at high speed and more air at slow speed (and cause less turning resistance) So it may just be a case of suck it and see when the time comes to put the gun to the old engines head and swap over to my lovely new engine
Well not literaly it will still be kept in my shed just in case! and slowly robbed of bits over the years of course

Same fan as I've got but mine made by Dowty and it clears the timing cover fine.....

With the amount of noise a standard fan makes I would always fit an electric version.If you rev a 1098 to about 2500rpm with the bonnet open the noise from the fan is greater than the engine.Also on the plus side you may gain 1 or 2 hp.

Hello 1275 ers

If you are going the 1275 route or for any reason gaining access to the rear of the block I have to mention the rear oil seal kits for the crank.
Wonderful bit of kit if a little expensive, I've got a turbo glued onto my standard 1275 block with the kit fitted and no leaks at all and the other thing thats a must to make your moggy more driveable in this day and age is the hydraulic clutch kit. Just finished a years worth of work on mine including every upgrade I could afford and those were 2 of the best. Oh and the electric fan is a must there are some very large computer cooling fans with really high cfm airflow rates for about 20 quid each and 2 of them would cover almost the entire surface area of the rad AND fit between the grill and the rad they are 12 volts also and only around 18 quid (BARGAIN) thats one of the things I wish I had done differently.
Regards Phil<br><br>

philsheredan wrote:Oh and the electric fan is a must there are some very large computer cooling fans with really high cfm airflow rates for about 20 quid each and 2 of them would cover almost the entire surface area of the rad AND fit between the grill and the rad they are 12 volts also and only around 18 quid (BARGAIN) thats one of the things I wish I had done differently.

I'm not sure computer cooling fans are a good idea because they aren't built to cope with salty road spray. Better to salvage one from a modern car in a scrappy if you don't want to splash out on a new Kenlowe or similar.

I had forgotten about the diaphram clutch. Take the relay lever assembly and weld on a 1 in extention to the lever that connects to the clutch pedal and re drill the hole. This willl restore the correct pedal load and movement. Saves messing about about fitting a hydraulic clutch. For good measure you can also fit a roller bearing thrust release bearing.