13 replies to this topic

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

hi guys,

a friend of mine has asked for a bit of help getting a valuation on this engine.

 

Ok, I am fairly sure this engine is a 998 cooper as the head is a 12g295 and as far as I can tell, the engines fitted with a "1000"  tag on the rear were the late 997 blocks and early 998 blocks, someone correct me if I am wrong please. unfortunately the engine number was lost when the block was skimmed at some point, there are markings but they are too faint to gather any info

 

the engine was built by Graham McConnell shortly before he died, who also built Paddy Hopkirk's mini that attends the shows. unfortunately this is why we don't know any of the build specifications.

 

I definitely do not want to touch this engine and start taking it apart to see what the specs are as it is a brand new engine which has only been bench tested and it does not leak a single drop of oil. Using a wee camera thing that I borrowed from work I could see that the engine has been over-bored by what looks like 40thou if I read the pistons correctly and the head has new valves and what appears to be bronze valve guides.

 

the build appears to be of extremely good quality as even the rocker gear was re-built and all the little clips, studs and any other parts which can break over time have been replaced with new items to ensure the longevity of the engine.

 

We are going to do a bench test of the engine over the next few days as apparently it has a straight cut gearbox and once again I do not want to start dis-mantling the engine to find out so we will just put in gear and find out that way.

 

here is a few pics

 

 

 Thanks, Adam

[mk3 Cooper S]

Does it still retain the D top pistons?

 

I presume not if it is +40 thou ??

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

It looked like flat tops through the wee camera, are D tops not available at 40thou?

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

Ok, I couldn't do without Having a 2nd look at the engine to confirm what pistons are in it, I am very happy as the pistons are the D top pistons, I also have a couple of other pics of bits I didn't notice previously such as a couple of sensors

adam

[Gr4h4m]

Didn't cooper engines have hardy spicer outputs? Or was that only on the larger bores.

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

I thought they are the hardy Spicer outputs?

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

ok heres some more pics :) i did a bit of research on the gearbox casing number which is 22g1128 which seems to be the correct gearbox for a mk2 cooper 998 engine and they couplings for the driveshafts are the correct type for the engine, not hardy spicers like I originally thought

 

from doing a bit of reading, seems that cooper 998's had this type of number stamped on the water pump side of  the engine :)

 

no idea what this number on the gearbox means if anything

 

just out of curiosity, is anyone able to tell me what these 2 sensors are supposed to measure?

 

 

the gearbox is attached to the engine by rather smart looking cap head bolts, but was cap head bolts original on the engine?

 

thanks, Adam

[Spider]

Without pulling the head, it's a bit hard to determine is it's a 998 or a 997, since the engine number has gone and undertand that you don't want to dismantle any of it. Only a very small number of the early 998 engines were fitted with the 1000 tag on the back of the block. The gearbox is an all synchro, so that's circa 1968 at the earliest. The Output Drive Yokes for Universals are correct for a Cooper, though it has been fitted with QH Joints (better than the original rubber ones). The Number stamped on to the front of the gearbox would have matched the serial no. (less the prefix) of the engine that it was factory fitted to.

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

Was the 997 engine not fitted with a 12g202 or 12g206 head?

If it was my own engine I would be more than happy to open it up and see what the craic is but unfortunately its not

Adam

[Daz1968]

The sensor on oil filter just lights a panel lamp if oil filter blocked, I am pretty sure the one on gearbox is for reversing lights which were not fitted on cooper mk2 cars so gearbox could be later.

[mk3 Cooper S]

, I am pretty sure the one on gearbox is for reversing lights which were not fitted on cooper mk2 cars so gearbox could be later.

Or retro fitted from an ADO 16 AUSTIN 1100 OR 1300 ? tHIS WAS A MOD BACK IN THE DAY TO LIGHT BOOT MOUNTED REVERSE LIGHTS ETC.

 

It looks right for a 998 circa 68 to me.

 

Are you looking to buy it or sell it?

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

I'm looking to help him sell it but neither of us know what it could be worth and i personally feel the forum is a better place to sell it to someone that will look after it as I know the guy that built it was a reputable builder and its completed to an extremely good standard

Adam

[Guess-Works.com]

The most interesting thing about the block and dates it, is the fact it has not been machined for a mechanical fuel pump, but really other than that it's nothing out of the ordinary and will only appeal to those doing a period restoration, thus your market would be slim, and if it does have a straight cut box even smaller, as it'll be unlikely someone doing a period restore wanting a noisy cutter on the bottom.

So value, IMO, a couple of hundred and possibly worth more in bits... at least you can be confident in what you're selling that way...

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

that not so good, I know the engine wasn't cheap when he got it so I have just advised him to store it in his garage until such time as he knows what's happening with his own mini, if the previous owner doesn't buy it back then I will be helping him to install it. if the mini sells then store it until such time as someone who needs a unit for a cooper will buy it or if I buy a mk2/3 with the remote change tunnel and then I will buy it.

 

I personally feel it would be a crime to break this engine to sell the parts and the owner is of a similar mind

 

Adam