Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi Everyone,

What would you do if you had 3 1098's and one rough 1275 ital engine (seized)?

Modify the best of the 1098's with ital head, bigger carb etc. (what HP would this give me compared to the standard 1275)
or
recondition the 1275 ital engine and use the an old engine for front plate and all other necessities.

Look forward to your replies,


Kyle

I'd personally sick a 1098 in for now. Rebuild the 1275 engine and gather the parts for the conversion. That way your not rushing into things and can do it all properly whilst using the car in process.

Spend my money on reconditioning and converting the 1275cc Ital engine for use in the Minor.
What ever you do to the 1098cc engine you cannot beat cubic capacity.
To get the same sort of 1275cc power out of the 1098cc engine you are going to have to spend money .
Just utilising the Ital head and carb will only go a small part of the way for better performance.

I'm with Phil.

A1098 can be zapped up to the same power as a stock 1275, but it's going to cost, and it will be much more highly stressed.

I've got a very mildly zapped up 1275 in Jodie and she can cruise at 70 all day. Personally I don't need any more power - but there is room to extract more for those who do.

I livened up my 1098 using a 12G940 head, HS4 on and alloy manifold and a Midget exhaust manifold leading into an 1 1/2" system. It went very well, a warm moggie rather than a scalded cat, but fitting a 3.7 final drive dampened down the acceleration to something like a standard engine but gave nice long gearing and more relaxed cruising. I'd love to see what it would be like with the same spec engine that's in my Mini Cooper

Is that 1097cc Cooper or 1275cc Cooper?

1275 Rover Cooper (carb) not as desirable as the earlier ones but just as much fun and about a tenth of the price

If the 1098cc engine was subject to the same spec as the 1275cc it would most likely soon be broken! The 1275cc Cooper is a completely different animal.

It would indeed, but a nice 1275 with all the bells and whistles would be nice - with suitable half shafts and diff

Hi Panky, long time no hear. Hope you are well

All is fine thanks. Ted the Traveller is off the road for some much needed love and attention - while I enjoy life with the Mini

philthehill wrote:Is that 1097cc Cooper or 1275cc Cooper?

1097 Cooper's a new one to me, Phil

A - so you are awake!!!!

1071cc is the correct answer - go to the top of the class.

1097cc Cooper is a 1071cc with a dodgy plus 30 thou re-bore.

Phil

Don't forget the 970 !

Les
I had not forgotten either the 970cc Cooper (Type 9F) and/or the 998cc Cooper (Type 9FA) but is difficult to reduce the 1098cc to 970cc or 998cc
Phil

Thanks for all your replies.

I picked up the ital engine from my local scrappy for £20.
The head is in fantastic condition after a clean up.
But unfortunately the engine has been sitting for around 10-20 years with water filled cylinders.
I have dried the cylinders and have filled them with diesel so that in a week or so i can have a go at unsiezing it.

Ultimately i want a moggy that cruises well but if i need an extra boost to get out of trouble then its available.

Also does anyone know if the Ital head is suitable for unleaded? It has 12g940 stamped so is this basically just a 1275 midget head?

The other issue (and the main thing swaying me to a 1098 with ital head) is insurance. I am 18 and only just passed my test so an upgraded 1098 is cheaper than an engine conversion.

Kyle

If you increase the performance of your 1098cc engine you should inform your insurance company. If you do not and you are involved in an accident and it is subsequently found that the engine is not standard the insurance company may refuse to pay out as you have not disclosed that the engine is not a standard production unit.

As regards the Ital 940 head - I would advise that you get the exhaust valve seats replaced with hardened ones to cope with the unleaded fuel. Also replace the top hat seals but only put the top hat seals on the inlet valve guides as the exhaust valves need that extra bit of oil to lubricate the stems.

Taking into account the likely rebore/liners and tweaks to ancillaries that the 1275 may require I doubt it would be a lot cheaper (if at all) than 'warming up' a 1098 that you already have three copies of all the parts for!

I'm biased of course because I'm currently finishing a modified 1098 (now 1149) with a mildly up-rated cam. I've informed my insurer of this and there was no change to the cost of my policy.

Personally I would not make any decisions as regards which engine to use until you have freed the 1275cc engine stripped it and made a cost based decision as to whether it use is feasible.
Costs will depend upon what you modification spec you want for the 1098cc engine but you cannot beat the larger volume of cubic capacity.
Even though you may have three of everything in the engines you have they are still of standard parts so no improvement gained there.
Yes you can fit the 1275cc 940 head to the 1098cc engine but as I have said above you will only go a little way to the base power of the 1275cc.
The 1098cc engine is not known for reliability when tuned - the only 1098cc engine that has reliability built into it is the 1098cc engine with the engine number prefixed by 10CC as that was built for tuning/modification.
If you use one your 1098cc engine as the basis of an improved 1098cc engine it will still have to be stripped / examined and rebuilt if you want reliability and even reliability when incorporated into an engine costs money.
So to sum up a 1098cc or 1275cc engine is going to cost money to either improve/modify or refurbish so you pays your money and takes your chance.

As regards the insurance issue - the insurance company should/must be informed of any modifications carried out.
It is then up to the insurance company to decide if any additional premiums are required.
It is to late when your insurance is invalidated because you did not tell them.
Phil