miniron,,,The Doc has it right, the sth african ones were made specially for them alone & were large journal 1&3/4 inch big end jobbys with the 2inch mains

awsome strength in that there crank



& maybe that 1220cc engine might have been a 1250cc & from the early "B" series line of engines...(austin A40 & MGA etc) not a 1275 based block but very close,,,is that what you`re talking about Makka>>>???

_________________
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.

no it is a "a" series
makka

_________________
Anonymous moderation means the agro that is built up towards the mods isn't aimed at an individual (fewer "Makk" attacks). Less stress for mods means less moderator "retirements".

How strong is the crank in the 950cc diesel A series?

Matt & Kevin,
Thanks for that info but that raises a whole lot of other questions.

Why was this done for cars destined for SA? Afrikaner driving habits? (They do seem to have only 2 speeds. Stopped or flat out.)
Where were they made? UK or SA?
What were they made of? EN40 or?
When did it occur?
What rods did they use? (presumeably later large journal rods didn't appear til after end of 1071 engine production)
I'm afraid I can't help asking all these questions. It's in my nature. I'll probably think of many more down the track.

Regards
RonR

Maybe the 1220 engine is a 1275 block but uses a destroked large journal 1275 crank to give 1/8" shorter stroke. Opposite to the usual longer stroke offset grinding idea. I have a vague recollection of this being done by Mini racers in the UK to improve bore/stroke ratio but they ended up with 1275cc or thereabouts but used around 74mm bore.

Edit: Just did the sums and standard bore 1275 (70.6mm) with 1/8" shorter stroke (78.3mm) gives 1226cc

Regards
RonR

miniron...people might think about biting my head off for saying this, but i really don`t care too much cause it`s so true,,,so here goes

the 1100cc cranks are sh!t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Total Rubbish,,,allways have been & allways will be,,,they flex like rubber & are allways a problem especially in worked engines,,,now that`s not saying that i`ve had trouble with them personally,,,i havn`t,,, but they`re sh!tE,,,simple as that & The Factory in Sth Africa allready knew that & decided that they didn`t want to have the same trouble that we did with our 1100cc engines (as torquey as they are )

so they designed & produced their own 1100cc engine & it happened to be based on the 1071cc crank we all know of,,,but they simply made it better by making it a large journal cause all the large journal stuff was avaliable & a plenty, this 1071 crank was not an early version, it was quite late (somewhere around 1969-1970 i believe-not positive tho) they used the 1275cc block at the std height & simply fitted taller pistons

this crank is largely unheard-of around here...so don`t tell anyone ok???

I do have connections there & can get ahold of more of them if anyone is interested, i currently have 2 of em in stock

BIG & STRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tough muthas they are,,, 10,000rpms in an A series...hee hee,,,you can all think i`m batty, but it`s a fact!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

& Makka,,,i`ll ask my dad today about the 1220,,,if anyone knows, it will be my dad.

_________________
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,

You learn something new everyday even after 40 years of interst in the A series engine. (Unfortunately that doesn't equate to 40 years of hands on practical experience)
If I understand what you are saying the SA factory made their own 1071 large bore short stroke engine instead of using a small bore long stroke 1098 motor for use in SA produced 1100 engined cars. Presumeably both for Minis and 1100s. It certainly raises some interesting possibilities. I'll do my best to keep it quiet.
I seem to remember that some export 1275 Cooper 'S' cars that went to the US were rumoured to have large journal EN40B cranks in place of the small journal tuftrided Mk3 cranks used elsewere including OZ.

Thanks again
Regards
RonR

Hey, tottaly off the subject as usual, but Madmatt aka The Mini Man, does your dad own Readspeed Mini Mecca in Morningside?

Slightly off topic but what prices do EN40Bs fetch in an unknown condition?

I win...



Some facts on the 14 cylinder version:

Total engine weight: 2300 tons  (The crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons.)
Length: 89 feet
Height: 44 feet
Maximum power: 108,920 hp at 102 rpm 
Maximum torque: 5,608,312 lb/ft at 102rpm[/b]

yeah miniron,,,that`s the way it is hey?...i`m still learning & have spannered since i was about 3 years old, Now i`m almost 5 years old & still know nothing

The sth african crank has been a bit of a secret for such a long time, but now i spose the cat is out of the bag , stay tuned for some seriously high reving race minis , comming to a mini magazine near you

& yeah,,,you got it right Hanra,,,i`m the "chip off the old ReadSpeed Mini Mecca Block",,,,,,Jack (my dad) allways said that i was an accident,,,well,,,that being the case, thank Phuck for accidents hey???

AngusDawg,,,i reckon you win too,,,we just gotta find out how to sqeeze that thing into a 1275 block & away we go

Mike,,,Unknown condition???...i wouldn`t buy it in unknown condition,,,i`d have it measured & crack tested before i bought it,,,simple as that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_________________
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.