Ken is a quiet achiever and went out of his way to help me for no cost.

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the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page
66 Mini Minor sponsored by http://www.lifeonthehedge.com.au/ The Dog Harness Specialists
It was a pleasure ausmini. I'll miss all you misfits and reprobates

i really don`t want to step on anyones toes here,,, But!!!-->, i find it rather disturbing every/any time i hear someone suggest to someone to build the motor themselves

"Especially" if that person has not built any before, or done very few

i know many people would say that it`s the only way to learn,,, & to learn from your mistakes yeah???---> but i also diss-agree with that too when it comes to these engines... sure try a lawnmower engine first, Maybe a few, then turn your hand to a few motorbike engines & then maybe an old holden 6,,, then try a V8 or maybe a rotary,,, do a pile of "cost-little" & "Mean-nothing" small engjnes first... take a few years to learn if you want to do it by yourself.

My thoughts are that it`s Best to learn beside/with an aged experienced professional engine builder for the make of engine you wish to build & you`d need to have helped/be beside/with that person whilst building more than just a few power units to even "Think" you have "some" experience, let alone "Think" you have enough experience/ability/knowlege to build one on your own confidently & with-out it giving you any trouble

these things "DEMAND" a whole pile of experience/knowlege/ability/equipment/technique etc etc etc & to even suggest to anyone to build it yourself is just nuts & poor poor poor advice

sure,,, you can give it a try, yep,,, go ahead,,, & yep you may (or may not) make a few mistakes,,, but mark my words that any mistakes you make inside these engines usually become big ones

like it or not,--> to attempt to build a complete power unit with reliability yourself, without an experienced hand to help, or without having built many already, is just silly in my books.

I know of plenty of people up here in Qld (& all over the world i might add) have built their own engines yeah??? & some of those people (still to this day) swear they did a pretty good job,,, when i """KNOW""" they turned out crap... & never ending troubles/problems

& yes they should learn from their mistakes right??? ,,, well obvioulsy they still havn`t, ,, i say.

JC,,, Ken nelson is a great engine builder,,, he does a nice job & doesn`t try to push any envelopes with regards to power over reliability... & that is the mark of a decent engine builder... & he`s a damn good friend of mine too

I have been building mini engines since i was a little kid (Literally) & i know what i can & can`t do with regards to power & reliability... & i don`t know of anyone who has had any trouble with any of my engines, ever! & if there is someone out there who has had trouble, then maybe they should say something to me about it

I try to stay middle of the road with most things on this board, so i hope no one takes any offense from what i have just said,,, it`s not meant in that vein at all,,, it`s meant to help warn people against building their own engine """Without""" someone sooper-dooper experienced beside them , helping them at least.

"""With""" someone who has done it (built mini power units) more than 10 times, , , then yes... But to grab a book or look at stuff on-line & pretend that will be enough.
Ha!!! Bad move Bob.

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Come on Matt. This isnt rocket science, they are bloody A series engines. If JC asks enough questions of the right people, takes his time and follows instructions then absolutely he can build his own engine. Why the hell not?

IfKnowing what John is chasing I dont think he needs every last ounce of power out of the engine as he is looking to build a basic street motor and not re-engineer the A series.

PS I do recommend the use of a workshop manual JC. Using one of these would be a bloody good starting point.

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1970 Cooper S ex-Bathurst & ATCC
1964 Austin Cooper S ex-Group C race car
1967 Morris Cooper S ex-Group B
1962 Mini Speed sports sedan
1968-71 ex-Peter Manton Shell car

ah, it`s the part where he asked about maybe supercharging & injection & stuff,,, & being lost when Doc suggested std issue stuff that made me think i`d have to jump in 7 say something

but you`re right, , , with help from an experienced person & a manual & some quality equipment/time/money etc, i`m sure it`ll be right what-ever way he goes with it, i know JC enough to know he wont waste the process, hence why he`s asked for some help,,, & i think to quote he said things like just gaining info from people here would help with his head-rest ,,, & so he`s not wasting machine shop people time or the engine builders time
i gather he`s just trying to get a big picture, picture ... so he can relax when he keeps hearing the right words from the eventual person to build his engine, even be it he himself

i just don`t want others to read this seeing that people are saying ,,, "do it yourself, it`s easy",,, when in reality it can bite your aR$e big time & cost lots of pain & heartache & money & often actually does & in so many instances & multiple reasons. So i was just showing caution k?

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Matt, with the greatest of respect for good engine builders like yourself, I have paid big $$$ for an engine to be built by an expert, it dropped a rod within the first 10 kilometres. How did I feel about that? It ruined everything.
Anyway the old pushrod donk, workshop manuel in hand, some good advice, good parts, good machining and I reckon it can be done by a back yard enthusiest.

My 2 cents.

All valid points and I encourage debate.

Anyone got any thoughts on gasket kits and the like?

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

Whether you go for DIY or pay someone to do it, just meaure everything, You may even get away with a re-ring if its within spec, Just measure it. Yes it is boring, time consuming and requires specialist equiptment. But it is the only way to do it.

And whoever you choose to do your machinging work make sure they are up to spec, no point paying someone to buld your engine when they dont have all the machines in house and outsource to someone that you could have gone to diretly.

Also make sure the machines arent decades old. If you are having any porting done make sure its done properly with a 3d scan. Not by hand even if its someone "whos been doing mini heads for years"

I get my gasket sets from Karcraft, because they are handy to me, cheaper, and I have an account there.
That said, there are only 2 things to watch I reckon-
1. Head gaskets- on a 1275 I use Payen BK450 and nothing else, have had no problems.
2. The flywheel housing to block & gearbox gasket- there are various thicknesses sold here depending on what continent they come from.
Kc sells the red one, which is original thickness or close to it.

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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.

My 10c worth re building engines
I built my first mini engine at 17 when I had a recently purchased mini which due to my inexperience had worn out bearings
So with little money a new workshop manual and a new set of Sidchrome spanners I set about doing a rebuild. Unfortunately I had no ausmini to help guide me, just my dad, who also knew very little about engines. So after trying to remove the flywheel without a puller I finally gave up and contacted a local mechanic who I arranged to dismantle my engine. Lucky I did cause the flywheel was lightened and wouldn't have appreciated my hammering through the starter motor hole to try and remove it
Any way long story short, I had the crank reground new ring supplied and rebuilt my first engine, may not have been built to perfect tolerances but I got enormous joy at turning the key for the first time and hearing that oh so famished sound of the engine firing with a bang, why are the manuals so confusing about the timing and setup of the distributor shaft.
Any way turning the distributor 180deg and the engine burst into life, what a fantastic sound, and I felt I had achieved something. Well the engine survived my teenage abuse until I traded it in on a Cooper S and so the story repeats itself. Here we go again.
And now 40 years later I am still building engines
My secret is buy a good workshop manual, read it and follow it. Ask for advise where needed and have a go and if you stuff up learn the lesson don't do it again and move on.
We all started some where.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

These are worth watching....

http://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1DF21E39347AB8EA

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

Quick question..If this happened in such a short time, couldn't you go back to the builder and go WTF and either get your money refunded or get a replacement engine?

Don't you get some sort of warranty???
I don't know how these things work as i have never had an engine built, so i thought I'd just ask the question..

I have little to no idea when it comes to mechanical stuff, so there is no way id be having a go at building an engine myself... .... but i could paint it a nice pretty colour so it looked really fast.....

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850

In my completely unscientific survey of about 4 engines, I knew nothing when I started, built them myself other than machining, and none of them failed, with maybe 100k kms between them. This includes a head I ported myself because nobody I spoke to would give me a set price. Not one failure related to the build.

However I know several people who have experienced major failings with commercially built engines. One guy is on about his third in a very short time.

SO I'm thinking, at least if you KNOW you know nothing, and do your homework, better the devil you know?

I do know two things if you do it yourself........
You'll certainly learn and there is no one else to blame.
Oh there is one more....If you are successful you'll feel very proud.

Mr Fail, I went back and the grub didn't want to know anything about it. I could have gone through the courts but at the time I couldn't afford it.
One thing that I have learnt is making sure everything is spotlessly clean. For example it took a whole day to clean the engine block that is in Slidey. It was spotless inside and out. Then add up cleaning crankshaft, gearbox, everything. That was many days worth. Could a customer pay an expert $80-$100 an hour to do that? Would make an engine build very expensive I think.

I agree Ty,
Time is money and no matter what the job you get what you pay for.
Unfortunately that still doesnt guarantee a good product. My race car came with a "brand new" engine. Three laps later including one as a slow warmup and it was binned. S block and crank stuffed, piston peeled the crown off due to incorrect machining. And all this when the previous owner had just paid $8000 for a new engine from a reputable builder. Reply was "there is no warranty on a race engine"

I think I am happy sticking to my own builds thanks. At least if something goes wrong I have nobody else to bitch about but myself.

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1970 Cooper S ex-Bathurst & ATCC
1964 Austin Cooper S ex-Group C race car
1967 Morris Cooper S ex-Group B
1962 Mini Speed sports sedan
1968-71 ex-Peter Manton Shell car