I have just finished getting my four and a half year build on my Mini done. I bought the car with big brakes, side draught carbi, non standard seats and a busted up body. I have stripped all the suspension and rebuilt. Body went back to bare shell and got rust cut out and then a new paint job. Wiring all replaced, interior all replaced plus brakes and hubs all done. When i bought the car I found an order list for all the engine components. It had all new and upgraded pistons, timing, cam oil pump etc. So I assumed that the head was done at the same time.

I drove it for a couple of days and it felt great. But it started pushing out coolant when i turned the engine off. The temperature was all fine on the gauge, but it was running a little rough. I booked it in for a tune on the Dyno. It's a good thing that I decided to pull the head off and replace the gasket before getting it tuned. Guess what I found?

The Head Specialist has found no hardened valve seats, the valves worn and thin, valve guides worn out and looks like the head is warped too. Seems to me that the bottom end has been reconditioned and the head bolted back on with some dual valve springs added.

My lesson here is to always check, never assume. Especially when you are dealing with a 40 year old car.

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1975 1310cc Street Mini Custom
1974 Leyland Mini daily driver
2008 Cooper S R55 Clubman

Hi Eenii, sorry to hear about your engine but at least it's just the head and not a full engine rebuild.
Great looking car, do you have any more pics of it?
I'm interested in the bonnet scoop, was it on the car when you got it or did you make or buy it?

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1970 MK II Cooper 'S' Supercharged 1310 with Megajolt.
1970 MK II Cooper 'S' Original resto project (SOLD)
1962 850 Original. (Under restoration)
1973 Leyland S (My first car. Now rebuilt, so my kids can learn how to drive a real car).
VMCI # 215.

It still seems pretty common for some to do a head without fitting hardened seats - probably because you can do valves, guides and springs without machining.

And you can fit oversize (31mm) exhaust valves instead of hardened seats, if the seats are worn.
Many racers don't like hardened seats, they have been known to come out if the head is overheated.
Depending on how they were fitted....! I have seen some shocking how-tos published in UK mags over the years.

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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.

First thing I thought was that the seller had swapped a good head for something else before selling...could have been a lot different story if you had driven it any distance

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"Show me the Mini!"

I bought the car from the previous owner who lost interest. He got the engine built and the brakes fitted plus the seats installed. From what I was told, he had just started driving it and was planning on the body work next. Instead he crashed into another car and smashed in the front. It became too much work and I picked it up for a couple of grand.
I am not too fused. I would rather the issues happen now.


I got the whole front end from Sydney and it came with the bonnet. I did see one of the local parts suppliers had the same style scoop for sale. But that was a while ago.

Check out photo's and build thread here viewtopic.php?f=3&t=76226

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1975 1310cc Street Mini Custom
1974 Leyland Mini daily driver
2008 Cooper S R55 Clubman