I got the book
tuning the A-series engine
and have started reading it...

which leads me to question

1) Should I have got the how to modify your mini?

2) How out of date is his work

3) If his ideas are as good as he says they are, than why
doesn't many people do what he says?

4) The 997 cooper engine revs really high he says so has anyone
got one bombed to the sky if so what revs can it rev to?

There will be more to come as I read the book further

how to modify your min is more out of date, but does have some info on chassis and gearbox etc.

Much of tuning BL's A series was written in the early/ mid 80's so area's are a little out dated, but a lot of it does still hold true.

How To Modify Your Mini is currently out of print (again). It has been reprinted many times without being updated.

Many people in fact swear by this book.

If interested in a copy, best bet these days is to find one for sale second-hand.

Cheers,
Watto.

You need to remember that reliability is attention to detail and performance is based on budget.

Dave Vizard and others pushed the limits of A and A+ blocks,cranks,gearboxes,components etc for performance purposes, and this gives Mr/Mrs Average boundaries once he/she has the budget for performance upgrades/ modifications

850 - It needs to rev to make it work , 6,500
997 - Rocking horse nugget - in full race trim , 11,000
998 - Its designed as a higher rev bore/stroke , 7,000
1098 - Longer stroke=torque , 6,000
1275 - Factory standard , 6,500

( Note - only with the 997 did put a potential maximum )


.

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David's book (yellow cover) is a good one but nearly 10 years out of date already.

David does put considerable research and science in to his offerings, however, these really are only a starting point. Probably more people follow his advice than you realise.

His early book, How to Modify your Mini, is good, but in terms of what is available today, it is way out of date (it was written in 1976!), but there is so many things in it that I still reach for it.

Even if it is a bit out of date; it is still brilliant to get a basic understanding of how the A-Series (and 4 stroke engines in general) works and what affects what if you change something. And that understanding, in my eyes, is of high value if you plan on tuning an engine by yourself

But whilst on the topic: is there some more up-to-date tuning book available?

Cheers,
Jan

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No speakers, no bodykits, no six-inch spacers, no spak filler, no bullshit

Des Hammill's 2 books `How to power tune the 998 A series', and 1275 A series are later, but much of the cylinder head mod detail in there is the same (for a 1275 head) anyway. it's primarily aimed at building race motors.
The 998 one is worth getting if you want to put a 1275 head on a 998 or 1098 for better breathing. It has all the details.
Note the 1275 book details using a Weber or Dellorto, but NOTHING about SUs.

But they are cheap books and a good read. I have both...

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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.

That's handy Thanks! I think I buy the 998 book, since I plan on building a 'hot' 998 at the moment Can't hurt to read something first!

Hmm - looks like no copys are available atm...

Cheers,
Jan

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No speakers, no bodykits, no six-inch spacers, no spak filler, no bullshit

http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1262945565/ ... ill%2Cn%3A
click on p2.

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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.

to bad that you're living so far away otherwise you may borrow them from me

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Rover 214 atm ....

I have a signed copy of "how to modify your mini" I was lucky enough to meet David Vizard many years ago when he come out to Australia on a promo tour.
I still use that book often, he was one of the pioneers of A series engine performance and building a engine to his 1970s specs will still give you a potent engine.

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Have a Nice Day.
If already having a nice day please disregard.

Says 'not available at the moment' - but maybe Amazon displays differently for Europe!?

The publisher says it's out of stock too:
http://www.veloce.co.uk/shop/products/p ... ification&



C'mon... The scientists invented that crazy thing. Erm - what's it called again? You now - to sort of transfere stuff over big distances? 'Post' or something like that?

Cheers,
Jan

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No speakers, no bodykits, no six-inch spacers, no spak filler, no bullshit

Sorry, I was looking at the 1275 one.
The 2 books are near identical in head work & engine building detail, apart from the bit on notching a 998 block which isn't in the 1275 one.

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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 have the A series book.
From information in that i have made a standard head, hs6 and 1 1/2 manifold perform really well together, i even cut open some extractors, cleaned them up inside and re welded them.
I also modified the carby on my chainsaw bike, now it has no choke bit it has more top end revvs and power

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

vizards books are quite good, the cyl head sections will teach you alot about what goes into a race head. its out of date, but hey the cars themselves aint brandspankers either

if you want something up to date and a bit more indepth, G. Bell's "four stroke performance tuning" is excellent.

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1974 1150cc Leyland Mini S racer,
1975 No motor Leyland Mini "ute"
1991 IPRA Honda Integra (in the build)
1995 Land Rover Discovery 300Tdi

CAMS Scrutineer