All the Classic Mini heads on one table

I know this is a bit longer than I try to keep these, but there's decades of information here that you will not find anywhere else!
A follow up... the Mini Spares head on that first engine made 117 HP at the wheels first time on the dyno. Later in the season with some carb tuning, we are up to 121 BHP at the wheels. Just took two firsts and a second place finish at the last race this season in Seattle.

[@nalinfernando8093]

Very informative !

[@ryodeo1341]

Jemal, love listening to you talking and teaching about minis - great !

[@jokerscape]

I learned a lot from this video thankyou for the info

[@JemalCRM]

Thank you! This was a few years ago but lots of good info... I had to watch it again!

[@jokerscape]

@@JemalCRM I have never had any formal training in mechanics or engineering but I have rebuilt my 1986 Mayfair auto pretty much from scratch picking up useful information like in your video and others videos because of mini KZbinrs and the Haynes manual I have learned a lot and obviously a bit of trail and error. Thanks again

[@mikalves]

Realy nice video, can you do some video about 998cc headgaskets? your opinion about copper ones vs those cheap grey headgasket..... and cylinder heads studs torque and retorque

[@JemalCRM]

Ah yes, I'll post an update of my Super Small bore soon.... my info is a year or two old, but the only really good performance head gasket was from Australia, and could be found under part number C-AHT347 if memory serves. Unfortunately, was discontinued, in my opinion because it was expensive. MOST that drive 998s don't do so because they are rich, and a $10 gasket will always sell over the $100 good one! The Copper ones USED to be good. Let me clarify that all this is my opinion.... I just took apart my own 1380 that I built about 12 years ago with the Copper AF460. It was perfectly fine (and with 13 to 1 compression!!). Unfortunately, since then, asbestos lawyers have slithered over to England and forced the manufacturers to use ground up kitty litter in place of asbestos in between the layers. Now visitors to the UK are safe from breathing all that bad stuff from inside head gaskets, but they don't work for crap! IMHO the best ones to use for a street engine are the modern dark 'tacky' surface gaskets still sold under Rover part numbers as well as Payen / Federal Mogul. They are like my Chevy V8s' Fram "Permatorque'". But these can generally be found for the 1275, so the only common ones for the small bore are the Copper and Tin ones and the cheap cardboard looking ones. Right now, I'd use the cheap gray ones over the copper (if I couldn't find a "Rover" set), but I really hope they've been improved. Please let me know what you do, and how it works. My Super Small Bore will use a 1275 head, in part because I can use a much better 1275 gasket... probably one of the Cometic brand I use on race engines. I ALWAYS "retorque" head gaskets. There's no harm in it, and it makes good intuitive sense to do so after a few heat cycles and everything 'settles in'.

[@mikalves]

@@JemalCRM many thanks for your answer. Im allways on a learning process. I have use payen headgaskets, still copper. And Works great. But these days I ve use those cheaper grey.one with no problems t all, just wanna know your opinion as you are for me like a bible in this engines. And allways pleasure to see your vids and learn somethingn many thanks

[@gavinivers8941]

I would be interested to see what bhp you get out of this new mix of parts.

[@JemalCRM]

I have some numbers... My prepared Pierce head on the 1380 running an Elgin vintage race cam, MED crank and longer rods made 115 HP at the wheels. It was class champ for two seasons. Got damaged when something dropped into carb by someone helping at the track. I rebuilt it using the new MiniSpares head and an MED FIA15+ cam. Made 117 Hp, then with some carb tuning including bigger chokes on the Weber 45, we are at 121BHP at the end of this season.

[@just8ball]

Do you offer any port jobs if I ship my head to you?

[@hankpb1]

which one is Morris minor

[@adambatchelder4121]

Very cool, I didn't know you had a u tube channel

[@JemalCRM]

Hi Adam! Yup, more than 10 years and hundreds of videos!

[@adambatchelder4121]

@@JemalCRM assum, ill look for some on the chevell

[@avivscrewvalla]

Thanks for the video Jemal! How would you compare the Minispares head to MED's fast road head?

[@JemalCRM]

It's very hard to beat the combination of advantages with the new alloy heads. I have nothing but good to say about my friends at MED, but when you must take something old and modify it into what you want, you are at an immediate disadvantage to something new properly engineered for the purpose. That becomes more so as the availability of usable original castings diminishes. Unless you have a compelling reason for originality (such as my Multiweb crank all-out race engines with MEDs very special "Series 6" heads built to my specifications), you'll get more for your money with the MiniSpares Alloy heads. And less. MUCH less. Weight that is! The iron heads must weigh nearly FOUR TIMES as much! That's a noticeable percentage of a Mini's weight!

[@avivscrewvalla]

@@JemalCRM Very useful perspective. MED is very proud of their flow gains on their heads but there is no comparison to the aluminum head from Minispares. I assume it will fit road injection models as a bolt on? I don't know if you've considered it but you may find it quite profitable to link to the Minispares (or any product you recommend) in the comments section.

[@JemalCRM]

@@avivscrewvalla Thank you... I do try to show specific products to make them easy to find. MiniSpares has not responded to my inquiries nor shown any interest in having me help them sell direct to US consumers. Also I find over time links change, and I often customize my order for my build. In your case, yes the head will bolt up, but if you have an MPI, the alternator mounting and thermostat size will be different. The alloy head will not have the same tapped holes nor can they be added. Easy enough to use the earlier water pump and alternator mounting. Unless the engine is fully built up, I would definitely stay with the "street performance" or "road" version as they call it. The "race" version would be too much for either of the injected models without much more work!

[@avivscrewvalla]

@@JemalCRM It's a stage 1 SPi JDM Mini (with factory aircon). I will ask after the road version and if I install it, will share my impressions. Thanks very much!

[@ezekieljulius1867]

i realize I am kinda off topic but does anybody know a good place to stream newly released tv shows online?

[@djnowak]

Is it worth it to restore 998cc engine I bought it for 100bucks

[@Radfordperson]

Depends what you want to end up with. A 1098 or 1275 engine will usually make a better road engine. I have a 998 with Cooper head and cam, (12G295, AEA630) and a single 1 1/2" SU, Goes quite nicely. Same head cam and carb on a 1098 in another car has quite a bit more low down power/torque.

[@JemalCRM]

I didn't used to think it was worth spending the same money to build a 998 when 1275s were common and cheap. Then I built the "Super Small bore" that I installed in Aaron Hagar's Mark 1 Mini. It turned out to be one of my best street engines with amazing performance and smoothness! But it was certainly NOT just a "rebuild". I explain it IN DETAIL from idea to test driving (took several years!) in the playlist "Super Small Bore Experimental Engine". Some of it is beyond the capability of most people (and most machine shops!) and it isn't cheap to double the power output. The 998 still makes a very nice smooth engine, and you could do a standard rebuild likely quite cheap. Is it "worth it"? It depends on your expectations.... A proper rebuild will get you 20-25HP at the wheels, enough to make a little Mini fun to drive, and keep it reliable. I prefer at least twice that much fun tho! Here's the playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLf9CYi_IUYZklMtt-OmOlFuVdUkj9iRI-

[@djnowak]

@@JemalCRM what can you tell me about my engine from the tag 99H710V-H1088