what would the average cost be for a clean up/refresh of a tired 1275 motor?

How long is a piece of string?

Honestly I'm starting to get real tired of non-specific posts on this site.
Do I have to cut my guards? How fast will this go? How cheap can I get this? I'm buying/selling something but wont list where I am.

DJ I'm sorry you got the sick and tired sentence but thats been coming to someone for a long time now. I can relax for a bit now.


The answer you're after here is dependent on a number of things, namely:
Condition as it is now
Modifications to be done from standard?
Person to do the rebuilding, ie you or a mechanic?

It entirely depends how much you can do yourself, and what spec you are building to.
I rebuilt my busted piston 1310 into a reconditioned 1360, and it only cost me $1300 for parts and machining.
OK I got quite a few freebies, I did the assembly work and the head didn't get touched as it was done previously.

I'd say around $2K if you do it yourself, $3-4K if you give an engine to a rebuilder.
Some of the sharks out there will probably charge you $5K.

These prices don't include the gearbox, which you should strip clean and inspect anyway.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I was talking to one of the mini worlds living legends, John Leffler the other day and he said to do a qaulity rebuild of the engine, box & head on a 1275 you would'nt get much change out of 6 grand.

Luckily my freshen up on my Cooper S motor recently only cost me just on $700.

Doogie

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I won Hay once, here's the pic to prove it..


Hay, it's not about the car, it's not about the venue, it's about the people that come here. Peter Dwyer, Mayor of Hay NSW.

I did it myself for just over 3 grand.

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You guys are crazy (but obviously loaded)....I'm with doc.

Engine kit: Pistons/rings to suit new oversize, pump,bearings, thrusts, timing chain, seal and gasket kit, all those bits and bobs for a new short block $420'ish
Machine shop work: bore/hone, crank main/big end journals, crack test, balance (everything) and deck $370
Valve guides: 50'ish??
RE13 and new followers: $210
Seats cut: $30
Home pressed guides: $$priceless
Home lapped valves: $$priceless
Home assembled block: $$priceless


Factor in:

Permatex No.3 (or your favorite sealant) <$10
Loctite <$10

On top of basic tools you will need access to(beg borrow or steal):
a torque wrench,
and ring compressor,
feeler gauges.

Now including the consumables, I've got that at $1100 even. You may consider replacing the clutch plate and throwout bearing while you're burrowed so deep in the engine as well..
Now there's no performance head work in there, but you've got to keep the apples with the apples so we're all comparing the same thing.

I might have forgotten a thing or two, but that is about all you need apart from a Gregory's and a sense of adventure. I love the job, it's all clunky and it's great when that engine fires up for the first time. People pay a lot for others to do all the hard work these days. The parts are still cheap for a mini, it's the labour that kills.

EDIT: I noticed Doogie included gearbox in that estimate. I just finished mine tonight, replaced everything. I have no idea on the over all cost of parts ( I haven't added it up), but the gearbox kit (for everything replaced including diff kit) was about $450 and I got a new selector fork for 1st/2nd (100 Aust from Minispares UK). Also replaced the case (thanks ballistic) and that's about it. So it's about $620. Extra clunky job however, and not for everyone. But I enjoyed it now that it's done I wonder if it will work however...

All respect to the mini repairers who do operate their businesses. They do have families to feed, but so do I

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Micks dead right, If you are willing to do some work yourself it shouldn't cost more than that, he is quoting for a mild performance upgrade in the deal

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Noli Illegitimi Carborundum

2-3 grand if you dont do any performance stuff.

Here's the info you require from someone who does this for a living.........
Estimate price for a mildly tuned engine (998, 1098, 1275), head striped cleaned, valves and seats machined, Block striped and inspected, new pistons and rings, block machined to suit pistons(cleaned bored honed decked), crank crack tested, machined, ground, re-profiled camshaft, new lifters/buckets, double row/duplex timing chain (and sprockets, only if the engine doesnt have them or if it does and the teeth are worn), mains, big end and thrust bearings, oil pump, gasket kits, water pump, new hoses, radiator pressure test and clean, carby reco-ed, dissy curved to suit engine, and including gearbox strip down, inspection, and replacment of any worn parts and full bearing kit, cross/4 pin diff and new clutch kit (due to recent price rises in parts, which sucks!), removal and installation in the car, running drive away...... Estimate $5000- $6000 but like everything, speed costs, the faster you want to go the more its gunna cost. Im sure Matt "theminiman" would be quite happy to help you out with this info.
Hope this helps

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

So about 3.5k in labour?

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Given that I know which engine this was based on I'd have to agree

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'62 Morris 850 (Marion)
'65 Mini Delux - sleeper 1275/S discs (Ms Plum)
'69 Vanden Plas Princess 1300
'71 Wolseley 1300
'74 Austin 1300 Countryman
'94 XJ6 Sport 3.2
'04 Rover 75 CDTi

No Mick less than that.....remember this is an estimate (worse case, normally cheaper) and yes it does cover my time, which includes all the running around, etc.....

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

If you had all the parts in front of you and the equipment to do the job, How long would this take. Taking into account that you need to take parts away for cleaning up?

What do you mean? For a shop to do it or yourself from home?

From home, it takes anywhere up to a week for a busy machine shop to get the work done on a block, the assembly time is too hard to pick if you haven't done it before or aren't very used to how things go together. My first engine rebuild took two weeks, but I didn't have a clue. My current one (my 7th full engine job) has taken 9 months. This time I have a clue, but a thousand other jobs on the go.

Workshops might take a couple of weeks as well depending on how busy they are. If they had an engine to exchange it could be a day I suppose...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Time frame in a workshop including removal, strip, machine shop time, re-assembly, refit and running 3- 4 weeks if everything arrives on time and everything goes smoothly, etc, etc but could take up to 6 weeks.
Remember that everything is estimated time frame and engine cost depending on what you want done, what needs to be done, what should be done and what you can budget/afford to have done.
enough from me good luck....

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU