ENGINE INSTALLATION

1 The only work that had been done to the Mini’s engine so far was to remove the cylinder head, decoke all the valves and fit a new head gasket. All this was carried out in front of an audience on Lancaster Insurance’s stand at the NEC by MGOC technician Alex Cursley while the stripped- out Mini was being displayed at the Classic Restoration Show back in early March.

2 While the Mini’s engine and transmission was on the bench back at the MGOC’s workshop, several coats of the correct shade of BMC engine paint were carefully applied to the recently steam cleaned engine. When doing this be careful not to paint over any machined surfaces – such as the exhaust ports – and it’s best to spray the rocker box and refit the cover once the engine is back in the car.

3 Using an adjustable beam attached to the engine crane to replace the Mini’s engine and transmission made dropping this heavy and awkward lump into the car a doddle. The unit could be angled back to allow the gearbox remote control to clear the bulkhead, then jiggled around slightly so the oil filter canister located on the front of the engine didn’t foul against the slam panel.

4 Fitting the Mini’s radiator to the engine before lowering the built up assembly back into the car made it much easier to tighten the lower bolts, securing the mounting brackets and fan shroud. A top tip here is to locate the engine mounts onto the subframe before the engine goes in and tack weld all the nuts in place. Using captive nuts makes bolting up the mounts much easier once the engine’s in place.

5 Positioning the chains on the adjustable beam to their lowest setting allowed the Mini’s engine to tilt back slightly while it entered the engine bay. The protruding remote control housing can be seen at the rear of the transmission casing and this part has to clear the ledge at the base of the bulkhead before the engine can be fully lowered into its final position on the subframe.

6 While an assistant lowered the engine into the car, Simon carefully guided it through the bonnet opening, making sure the radiator core didn’t make contact with the inner wing. Securing the engine cradle under two bolts at opposite ends of the cylinder head is okay, providing all the head bolts are torqued up again in the correct order after the cradle has be been removed.

7 Once all the bolts on the engine mounts had been fully wound into the previously tack welded nuts on the subframe, Simon wasted no time reconnecting all the auxiliaries, replacing the manifolds and carb before fitting the rocker box cover. Rather than replace the insulation at the top of the bulkhead, the original material was retained as it had survived the rebuild in one piece.

8 After both the driveshafts had been reconnected, all the U-bolts were tightened up and the cable ties supporting the hubs were finally cut off before reconnecting the upper suspension swivels. The condition of the brakes will be inspected while the Mini’s being serviced and to tidy things up, a couple of coats of paint will cover all the overspray on the suspension components and brake drums.

9 Nearly done. The final job to sort out before the Mini came off the lift was to fit a new oil filter, top the sump up with oil, refill the cooling system with the correct percentage of anti-freeze and refit the exhaust system. As the exhust pipe and silencer that came off the car seemed to be in pretty good shape, these items were refitted along with all the original brackets and hangers.

10 After adding a splash of fuel to the tank, the Mini’s engine fired into life and the car was driven out of the workshop and around the concrete apron outside the MGOC’s workshop. Although the engine’s running fine, there’s still quite a bit of work to do before the Mini’s auctioned at November’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, with all the proceeds going to Prostate Cancer UK.