Hi,
I haven't had my mini running for long periods as I'm still working on it, however, when I pulled the head off the rocker gear was dry as a bone like there was no oil getting there at all and lots of old gunky burnt stuff. It has oil pressure when running. Also, I pulled a cover plate and looked in the pushrod/follower compartment and it was dry as well, there was even speck of rust on the walls. What should I be checking to rectify this? Maybe an oil gallery blocked? Thanks

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1972 Mk3 Mini 1000, 1150cc supercharged.
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95872

You might have to put up a bit more imfo/ history on the engine , from reading back through your posts it appears that your motor came as a bog stock 1100 , things like has it ever been rebuilt , if so how long ago ,and by whom ie: backyarder or a qualified engine builder , did you get any imfo or paperwork with it , was it running when you got it , if not , what have you had to do to get it going? , just lots of things to piece the jigsaw together .

There's quite a few things that could come into play here and that makes it hard to diagnose , being that dry in the top end doesn't sound good , but i'm sure some other better qualified people on here may be able to give some more ideas on it .

I wasn't given any info on the engine unfortunately. Not sure if has been rebuilt but I don't think it has. I know that the head is in good original condition and hasn't even been skimmed before. Maybe I'll crank it over briefly with the head off and see if oil is being pumped up?

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1972 Mk3 Mini 1000, 1150cc supercharged.
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95872

it's not hard to get the rocker posts in the wrong order - I've done it before, and know others who have - one of the posts has an oil feed hole in it that needs to line up with the oil feed hole in the head. If it's not the rocker posts in the wrong order, then it'll be the front cam bearing in wrong and blocking off the oil feed hole completely

You can check/fix the rocker posts without taking the head off or needing a new head gasket. Leave the front head bolts/studs in and undo the rears, take the rockers off, rearrange, reassemble and retorque the rears.

I like to drain the water just for extra insurance, it *shouldn't* leak under the gasket, but water is cheaper than water in oil

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Thanks mate that will be a great starting point to check.

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1972 Mk3 Mini 1000, 1150cc supercharged.
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95872

oh hang on, I just reread that - you already have the head off... oops, I read it as 'rocker cover'... smart

yeah, crank it for a bit and see if oil comes up.

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Sounds like the rocker post! some people even flare the mating holes to get better lineup. If you find this was the problem then do a full oil/filter replacement. Most wear happens on dry starts and your behind the 8 ball as it stands. If you've done some serious cranking dry then expect more damage could arise.

Pulled the rocker shaft back out and found that it was in wrong! Good call fellas. Will flare the holes too.

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1972 Mk3 Mini 1000, 1150cc supercharged.
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95872