ROO was apparently built in April 1973 and given the VIN: 021A2V2M10830.

Engine number (stamped in block where tag might otherwise be riveted) is: 10004967.

Do the VIN & Engine number match?

Is the engine a 1098cc?

_________________
Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

Yes thats an 1100 engine and I think it would be correct for a 1973 van.

Tim

_________________
1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

Thanks Tim!

An Australian is coming to Mini Meet West 2015 here in British Columbia and will be driving ROO as her meet entry. (my cousin actually who bought ROO for me in 2010)

Mini Meet Wests are held 4 years running (as are Mini Meets East) to bring together Mini owners, drivers, fans from western North American. We already have a number of Mini & MINI owners in California planning trips to attend. We expect attendees from Manitoba west and California/Arizona north

Lining up all the "facts" on ROO.

Rick

_________________
Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

Most (all?) of the Aussie engine block numbers were stamped instead of plated.

_________________

Due to our convict heritage, by law all engine numbers of Oz built Minis had to be stamped. Otherwise us villains would swap legal & stolen engine plates...

_________________
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.

Australian Mini manufacturing went through a period of enlightenment from about 1969 through to some time in the mid '70s when they used 1100s in most of the base models. The 1100 engine is a much better choice than a 998 or (heaven forbid) an 850, when you want to cover some distance.

Tim

_________________
1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

Truth be known they had a lot of 1098s being made when Morris 1100 production ceased. So they went into the Mini K & Moke, then the 1098 Clubbies.
Around 1974-75? these ran out, they then fitted the 99H (998cc) motors imported from the UK. When these got the air pump etc they were only around 30HP. An old 850 had more grunt.

_________________
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.

Well, I've found that 1 1/4" SU carbed engine is quite alright on the flat around town with the lowered FD. It simply does not have the grunt to get up hills in modern highway traffic conditions.

For example, on the Thanksgiving run we had to climb the "Cut" in North Vancouver - ROO was down to less than half the posted speed nearing the end of the slow vehicle lane and needing to merge into traffic all managing that or better at the top of the hill. Same thing on the Furry Creek hill on Howe Sound. I hit the bottom at 110 (posted speed 90 kmh) and was soon struggling to get up because of the gradient, again in the slow lane.

Am in the process of building a standard 1293 overbore that will see the box rebuilt also with output shafts for pot joints.

The 1098cc got us over the +9,000 foot pass into the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming (a 5,000 foot elevation gain) but...slowly. Same climbing over the (lower) Kootenay Pass but a steady climb with increasing gradient. I simply would not attempt to climb west from the Okanagan Valley on the "Connector"...it is a 32 kilometre long steady uphill climb.

My son's MG Metro 1275 had no issues with hills, my 1380 sedan, with trailer in tow, the same. The original 998 in the sedan is still going strong on the flat in the Fraser Valley but is not used by the current owner to climb any hills!

The mountain route into the B.C. interior, the Coquihalla Hwy. and Connector have just recently (June) had speed limits upped to 120 km/h/75 mph. ROO did not like running at that speed in Michigan (virtually flat) with our load for the long trip to the east and home again. Engine wanted to use a bit of oil at 70+ mph(which did not happen at all on the OZ drive about).

_________________
Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

It is my understanding that they used the 998 cc and the 1275 because they had troubles meeting the ADR27A requirements with the 1098. however, I cannot remember what those problems were

_________________
" A Hundred Years From Now It will not Matter what my Bank Acount Was,
The Sort Of House I Lived in, Or The Kind Of Car I drove ... But The World May Be A Better Place
Because I was Once Important In The Life Of A Child"