31 replies to this topic

[MiniBean]

Hi All,
This is my first post and I'm not too technical but need advice.

My 1275 been off the road for 7 years and decided to sell sensible car and chuck money at it.

Its at a mini garage and he got it running and done all the other bits to the tune if £700 but when he took it for last run it was smoking and missing.

Compression test showed cylinder 1, 2 &4 @ 150 but 3 down to 105ish.

Hes taken head off, cylinder 3 has a score in it and that piston moves like a mm each way.
Does this mean rings gone?

My options are:
Get new 1275 engine (not got enough money)
Buy 998 engine (slow and seems all in my budget are "sold as seen" so a gamble)
Or spend £350 to replace head gasket and re do valves and hope for the best!?

Money is a massive problem so I'm stuck :-(
Any help? ?

Thanks Becky

[deanymini]

If cylinder 3 has a score in it then it needs a rebore and new pistons/piston rings. Changes and repairs to the valves won't cure that particular problem.

[MiniBean]

I know it won't fix it but i don't know how long its been like it so I'm pinning all my hopes its been like it ages and will run a bit longer?!

Matey reckons a rebore is going to cost between £1200 & £2000 - I've got £1500 for whole project and bodyworks not been touched while i already owe garage £700! :'(

[tom1]

Very sorry to hear your problem.

You have to look at this with a open mind, as to what your options are. A good long look at the car, how much have and how much do you owe.

Out of interest what did he do for £700 ?

Did this include a MOT ? or is it not this far on ?

Edited by tom1, 19 January 2015 - 08:54 AM.

[Spider]

See if you can get a decent pic of the score in the bore.

 

Agree that for a 100% fix, a rebore would be needed, but it's sometimes surprising what will still be satisfactory.

 

The score alone would have be be pretty huge to cause the engine to smoke, I'm thinking that may have been from the Head Gasket.

[PaulColeman]

Not that's it's a lot of help but playing around with classic cars is worse than a very bad cocaine habit in my humble opinion. Unless you can do the work on them yourself they can just become a bottomless pit. Have you ever heard of the definition of a boat?.. a hole in the water into which to throw money. Classic cars are a hole in the garage in which to throw money - I have a Lotus esprit and an e-type Jag, plus my daughter has a 1976 Mini, so ask me how I know ;)

 

Good luck with it though, Paul.

[MiniBean]

Its not a massively deep score in it. The engine was totally sludged so hes flushed all that out so maybe that was causing it to smoke?

I think given im stuck due to finances this is my only option. The other cylinders are good!

So far I've had:
Windscreen
Hi-los
Battery
Fuse box
Loom - and 6 hours to trace fault that melted the wiring
Thermostat
Hazard switch
Service
Wiper motor
So think most of cost is labour at £35 an hour?
Its more like £600 as didnt need a tyre.

Once heads sorted just need to see why brakes have stopped working - he suspects master cylinder as new calipers, hoses, drums and pipes.

Then mot and its done. Were so close!
I only paid £200 for that engine so don't want to throw silly money at it get bores done etc.

[Fast Ivan]

if you're just going to get the head done and see what happens I would suggest that a good quality 20W 50 mineral oil is used, this one being ideal in most peoples opinion -

 

http://www.eurocarpa...70500&0&cc5_251

 

good luck, hopefully its head related

[Icey]

Get new 1275 engine (not got enough money)
Buy 998 engine (slow and seems all in my budget are "sold as seen" so a gamble)
Or spend £350 to replace head gasket and re do valves and hope for the best!?

 

You can pick up running 1275 engines for the same price as you're paying for the head work. Not from this forum as the price gets bumped up a little (always does with single make forums) but they are around.

 

For £350 what is being done to the head? If you've identified problems with the bottom end why spend any more than the minimum needed to get the engine back together again? You can then save the rest for either a replacement engine or the full repair work.

[Nick Warwick]

Can you get a photo of the damage?

[Cooperman]

Its not a massively deep score in it. The engine was totally sludged so hes flushed all that out so maybe that was causing it to smoke?

I think given im stuck due to finances this is my only option. The other cylinders are good!

So far I've had:
Windscreen
Hi-los
Battery
Fuse box
Loom - and 6 hours to trace fault that melted the wiring
Thermostat
Hazard switch
Service
Wiper motor
So think most of cost is labour at £35 an hour?
Its more like £600 as didnt need a tyre.

Once heads sorted just need to see why brakes have stopped working - he suspects master cylinder as new calipers, hoses, drums and pipes.

Then mot and its done. Were so close!
I only paid £200 for that engine so don't want to throw silly money at it get bores done etc.

I am of the firm belief that to run any sort of classic car requires the ability to do the bulk of the work on it oneself - or a very large bank balance.

All the work you list is straightforward and not complicated. The money saved on labour pays for a lot of tools initially. The only specialist tools for the work listed is a 'cone compressor' for fitting the Hi-Lo's and a multimeter for sorting out the wiring. We are all here to help with advice and encouragement.

I know I couldn't afford my classics, neither could my grandson, if we didn't do everything ourselves on our Minis and MGB-GT.

[Spitz]

Cooperman....did not know you had a GT.  I just got one last fall....it's a 73 Harvest Gold.

 

(carry on )

[Cooperman]

Cooperman....did not know you had a GT.  I just got one last fall....it's a 73 Harvest Gold.

 

(carry on )

It's not mine, it's my ace grandson Dennis's. He bought a '71 car in red, but it is very rusty and needs a lot of welding. He then found a 'baby-pooh yellow' one (is that harvest gold?) which was without engine and interior or glass and he bought that very cheaply, although we had to go 270 miles each way with our trailer to collect it. That is very solid and we bought £250-worth of panels to make it rust-free. The second one is also a 1971, buy on a 'K-plate' so we'll use the engine from the red one.

The red one, complete with V5, is on ebay at present and could be restored, but we don't want to do two.

We will be painting it in Ford Diamond White, with a 125 bhp engine, an O/D gearbox and some other period bits. Suspension will be improved a bit too, but we will run the narrow 185 section tyres.

It's a pleasure to work on something different from a Mini.

Classic cars, you gotta love 'em.

[gazza82]

If cylinder 3 has a score in it then it needs a rebore and new pistons/piston rings. Changes and repairs to the valves won't cure that particular problem.

 

A fine scratch might hone out but it depends how deep the score is on 3 ... honing would be about £20 and a set of new rings £40-50 ... but that means the engine comes out and stripped down.

 

Get your engine man to measure the bores properly .. and make sure they are round and not already overbored.

[adam_93rio]

As said, most of the jobs your car seems to need are fairly straight forward. Following a Haynes manual or asking on here, you would see a huge saving
For example, it will cost you £350 for a head gasket and valves to be done
If you were to do it yourself you'd have almost that much to spend on other things
I did a head gasket change and de-coked the head and lapped valves in. It because me £18 for a gasket and a few quid for lapping paste