An interesting read............



The A-Series Engine - Its First Sixty Years
by Graham Robson
Published 20/10/2011 by Haynes at £30.

"Built from 1951 to 2000, BMC's A-Series engine was a remarkably successful, versatile and invaluable power unit that far outlived its original projected life. Not only did it power road cars as varied as the Austin A30, the Mini and the MG Midget, but it also found use in world-class race and rally cars, record-breaking special machines, light commercial vehicles and even tractors. This fascinating illustrated book chronicles the full history and achievements of this remarkable engine."

A book review by Michael E. Ware:
"Is it really 60 years since the introduction of the first A-series engine? It’s an engine my car owning grew up with, firstly in an A35 van, then two MG Midgets and a Morris Minor. In his introduction the author Graham Robson says “…this book not only covers the life of the engine itself, but also the story of the corporations that embraced it. It’s a story, too, which tells us who the dominant bosses, engineers and sporting personalities actually were…” It does just that, it’s no dull bore and stroke history, its alive with people and the way the companies evolved at the same time. It is estimated that some 13.5 million units had been made and of course many, many of these are still in use today. Firms are still making spares for them whilst other earn a living tuning and maintaining the A type for enthusiasts all over the world. There is a chapter on racing and record breaking. Plentifully illustrated with black and white, mainly press pictures, this is a most interesting book and one which deserves to be widely read."

More reviews:
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/books/a-series.htm

£19.20 at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Photos from the book:
John Cooper pictured below with a classic Mini Cooper and an early prototype of the New MINI Cooper in August 1998.

Lulu driving the last classic Mini of the Longbridge production line in October 2000.

 

A good read ......and a shame poor John Cooper passed away before the first new mini came off the production line...........he died 24th dec 2000....

was very glad to meet him on several occasions in the 90s.............

 

Alec Issigonis wrote to BL boss Donald Stokes 18th April 1968:
"The greatest need in combating increased production costs over the year is the development of a new engine for a small car of the Mini type. The present A-Series engine offered a quick way of getting the car into production in 1959, but has now outlived its purpose both for weight and cost compared with European competition."

However these proposals were kicked into the long grass by British Leyland who were not interested in technical excellence or innovation at a time when they wanted Austin-Morris to return to financial stability and profit.......

The Alec Issigonis 9X engine from 1968

 

Pictures of BL's OHC A-Series engine for the Mini in 1975 which featured belt drive to the overhead camshaft, single or twin-SU carbrettors and retained all the familiar A-Series features, such as the starter motor, alternator, distributor and spark plugs on the same forward facing side of the original cylinder block. There were also inline versions developed for BL's rear wheel drive cars. 11 prototypes of all sizes were built and completed 3,200 hours on test beds and 2,200 vehicle miles.
The 1275cc OHC A-Series produced 84bhp @ 6750, torque 80lb/ft @ 4,500 (against 59bhp @ 5300, torque 69lb/ft @ 3000 for the pushrod engine) in standard form.
There were also 970cc and 1097cc versions produced and tested but the project was eventually canceled due to the mounting losses of British Leyland which had become nationalised during the engines development. Lots more info on what could have been in Graham Robson's interesting book..........