8 replies to this topic

[racingbob]

thought i would share with you the difference a good head makes

 

1275 engine stage 4 rally race head, (minispares race valves)

 

mg metro cam

 

vizard spec hif 44 carb

 

itg filter and substack

 

1.4 rocker bushes fitted

 

 

gained 22hp and 11 torque over standard mg metro head and KN filter

 

cost was just over £1000 head was about £750 (no VAT on the head)

 

very happy with the result

[jonlad]

thanks for the review, did you build the head or did minispares, or someone else?  been looking at the MS heads with interest

 

did you do any other mods at the same time?

[Magic jason]

A Good head is a must have      how much are those figures as a percentage? 

[racingbob]

thanks for the review, did you build the head or did minispares, or someone else?  been looking at the MS heads with interest
 
did you do any other mods at the same time?

no there mods at time before was 64 hp 72 torque. Neal here on the forum done the head. Neal with the fantastic 1330 clubman gt

[Cooperman]

Whilst some go on about having a 'hotter' cam and hi-lift rocker shaft, the real key to improved performance from the old A-Series engine is an improved cylinder head.

Once a better and efficient head is fitted, that is the key to unlocking more 'grunt'. The head can be followed up with a better cam, better exhaust system, better distributor and better carburation.

[racingbob]

yes that's thats exactly what i have done. also maniflow system 3.4 dif balanced bottom end. 're curved dizzy

[Trissy B]

Hi Bob, so is that 86bhp with that setup? Seems pretty good. You had another modified head before this iirc, can you feel the difference?

 

Out of interest is there a generally agreed point at which you need to start doing other things like steel centre main cap, uprated diff pin etc. Over 100bhp?

[racingbob]

yes 86 with this set up it's the quality of the head that gives this Neal made a cracking job. the first head he gdone stage 3 gave 80/80. if revving over 6000 I would be putting centre main strap. mine peaks 6100 but rarely rev over 5000 got good torque. but boy does it pull from 4700 to 6000

[neal]

yes 86 with this set up it's the quality of the head that gives this Neal made a cracking job. the first head he gdone stage 3 gave 80/80. if revving over 6000 I would be putting centre main strap. mine peaks 6100 but rarely rev over 5000 got good torque. but boy does it pull from 4700 to 6000

Hey Bob, if you recall I did your head and Minimadman1's head at the same time to virtually the same spec as yours. However, he has a 1994/5 1275 Cooper SPI with a K&N air filter, 1 3/4" maniflow twin box side exit exhaust system and a set of 1.5 roller rockers (his choice), other than that pretty much standard and a relatively simple mod.

 

Yesterday, the car was taxed (the car flew through it's MOT and emissions last week, full service, new genuine cat and an oxygen sensor)  and we went out for a little spin just to see how it felt, bearing in mind that we used the same roads and hills before as Minimadman1 wanted to use these as a benchmark, bearing in mind no rolling road figures as yet.

 

During the drive and just prior to going up certain hills and roads of his choice he would explain to me what gear he originally needed and at certain speeds to comfortably travel and accelerating. As it was his car, he knew it's capabilities, as you know yours.

 

Conclusion.....?

 

His face lit up at every stage, he was shocked at what a difference these simple mods do to and replied " This is incredible, I don't need to keep changing down gear and nailing the throttle, the car just keeps pulling and revs so much easier" 

 

You could see on his face that he couldn't find the words to explain the difference and concluded by saying "Why the hell didn't Rover just make these simple mods as standard to my Cooper SPI, it delivers such a nice spread of power and revs so freely"

 

At this point he handed me the keys and said "Here, you have a go". Not to disagree or remotely dampen his claims and decline, I took the the opportunity, who wouldn't?

 

Bearing in mind this is a relatively standard SP,I I must say that it pulled great and as he rightly said, kept pulling throughout the rev range, not dropping off in power but at good constant rate up the rev range, In fact, the damn thing invited you just to keep driving it harder.

 

He also went on to say, "I'm not really bothered about a rolling road figures, the car feels great!", so, the outcome of all this is:

 

Yes, you don't have to spend a fortune to put a smile on your face, just stay within a budget and carefully pick the right parts.

 

He did say today, out of curiosity, that he would put it on a RR and is looking forward to traveling to the IMM in Portugal and checking the fuel return figures.

 

Neal