Hi all first post and first mini

OK i have a Leyland 1976 SS with original numbers and in good condition that i bought for a project, the motor does need a fair bit of work to get it where i want it , so is it worth spending all that money on the 998, and how much risk is involved in blowing it up. or is it better to put it aside and chuck in a big donk straight away which will give me the option when selling in the future if i sell it.
The 998 is stock apart from the addons ive upgraded ,electronic dissy and fuel,water pump and radiator, So heaps to go.
i do realize that ill need disk front end and ive already upgraded the suspension to gaz adjustable with hi los if i decided to to go bigger.
i noticed that there are more people getting excited with the 998 as the 1275 is getting harder to find,so im stuck at the moment and want to make the right decision hopefully first time.

thanks in advance for your responses.

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1976 SS 998
1977 LS 1275

If you can find an 1098 crank and pistons, you can put them in your 998 and have a stroker engine with a bit more torque and keep the original engine block.

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I had a Blue SS when I was a teenager. I regret hotting it up now but back then it was just a run of the mill mini. Of the 500 made there would only be a couple of hundred left. I think you would get a better resale if it was kept original and more respect from the purists. Do you have any photos?

For a torquey road car I would (maybe) park the original 998 complete and rebuild either a 1275, or a 1098.
1275s are getting rarer and more expensive but smallbores are very cheap. Cost to rebuild either is much the same.

You can get a 1098 motor out to 1188cc now with off the shelf pistons, and with a good selection of bits in they will go `very well'.
You can use any 998 or 1098 A series block (with a 1098 crank in) for this, they are all the same really except for the engine number.

You can do all this with a 998 crank, but as you are then giving away over 100cc, won't get the easy torque that a 1098 crank gives.
OTOH 998 cranks are more bulletproof if you give it the big rev.

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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.

Cheers for the replies , I couldn't work out how to put photos on but I'll give it another shot

I was more thinking of just buying 1275 complete and worked, if I went that way, as for the 998 I was going to put a bit more thought into it and work out what I really want.

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1976 SS 998
1977 LS 1275

If you have the parts already or can buy them really cheap, and you can do a lot of the work yourself then playing around with a small bore engine could be fun.
If you have to pay someone to do the work then it'd be better to get a 1275 that's ready to bolt in and drive.
A N/A worked (1098 bored 0.100thou with lumpy cam) small bore will only make about the same power as a stock 1275...maybe a little bit more.

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

Nah, you can get a lot more than that now, my 1098 bored to 1220 with a 1275 head, 544 cam and twin HS4s did mid a 16s 1/4 mile at Castlereagh drags way back in 1968.
GR's 998 van bored .080" with big valved head, RE13 cam and 1.5 rockers with a single HS6 carb did mid 16s at WSID not long ago. A 998 crank in it too. It made ~68.5HP ATW (ausmini dyno day, 2009) if I remember right.

A stock near new 1275 Cooper S back in the day was only good for 17.8-18.0 secs. I know, I used to drag against them in the Fiat.

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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.