Finally got my ported/polished cylinder head and Schrick cam installed... Install took 12 hours start-to-finish, including two runs to the auto parts store and stopping for dinner...

The head was ported and polished by hand by a good friend of mine, Mr. Mike Valant (http://engr.smu.edu/rcam/cpm3v/minih...nihead_21.html)... We were actually working over two heads in parallel, with him teaching me how to do it since he's been doing it for years and I wanted to learn.

The actual porting/polishing and all the associated steps took COUNTLESS hours beforehand. In fact, some would go so far as to say that my "lowbuck" head project ended up costing me more in personal labor than it would have to just buy one from someone. See, there's a reason this stuff costs so much - it takes a LONG freakin' time to port and polish a cylinder head. Much to my wife's chagrin, the porting/polishing and head build-up project took a whole Saturday and several evenings - and that was just my part... Add another Sunday just for the install... I'd say at least 80 hours spent, in all.

Mike and I had two heads... I bought one, Mike bought one. He was teaching me to port and polish in tandem. Things went very well until that fateful moment - I ended up cutting a bit too deep while porting behind one of the exhaust valves on mine and got into the water jacket. Dumb. Sucked. I ruined my head, but I learned a LOT. I finished my head out pretty much to the end, just to learn... I learned that I still have a lot to learn - Mike can "feel" things that I just can't "feel" yet. Which is why he's the MAN, and I'm not.

So, Mike finished his head and was VERY kind to give it to me. In return, I will hand him the head I just pulled off my car. It took us a solid 12 hours to rough port the heads, I think - and then Mike spent quite some time beyond that finishing his to the ridiculous point it was at when he handed it to me... like a freakin' mirror inside it and dead sexy. I have no idea how long Mike spent finishing it up - but lemme say, he's a great friend and a hell of a guy, and I appreciate the heck out of his willingness to give me his head after I f'ed mine up.

I used stock S valves in my rebuild. All I did was soak them overnight in Chem-Dip, then B12'd 'em, and then polished 'em up nice. IMHO, and in "our" collective humble opine (meaning me and Mike, after much discussion), it's silly to go oversized on the Cooper. You might be able to use oversized on the S and get benefit, but on the Cooper, it doesn't seem necessary...

The results:

The car is now sooooooo choice. I highly recommend a ported/polished head and Schrick cam. This is the way the Cooper should have been delivered from the factory. There are NO dead spots. The car isn't peaky at all. It pulls hard from 2500-redline in a steady state, like a freight train - it really, really turns on from 3500-redline. The car is almost scary quick now, IMHO, and it freakin' SCREEEEEEEEAMS! The difference is quite surprising.

I'm very interested in putting it back on the same dyno at ATS Racing and comparing it to my previous best pull...

The sound of the car is different... The aFe intake used to have this raspiness to it at WOT between 5.5k and redline. No more. It's wicked smooth sounding...

Gone is that dreaded, "OH GOD, I'm running above 6K RPM's and I'm running out of breath... I'm gonna... Can't breathe... Oh, LORD, thanks for shifting..." kinda thing that we used to have going on... Between the porting and cammy goodness, we've got lots and lots of flow. You fellow Cooper owners know what I'm talking about - that flat spot. It's gone.

The car pulls harder from any RPM's, in any gear.

Oh, on the topic of, "Would I physically do the install again?" Well, lemme say that I understand why people would pay someone to do this... Seriously... it's a beating... But, I would do it again, if only to help walk someone through it.

 

I hadn't read any comments on a head for a Cooper, but it does seem like a great mod, although a difficult one.

Matt

 

Great post!

Are you on stock ECU?

What about throttle response and flat spot between 3K and 4K?

I envy you.

Leon

 

MTH'd, but not the Tuner file (yet). The throttle response is great everywhere - there are no flat spots anywhere. Power delivery is very linear!

It was a hell of a job, but SOOOOOOOO worth it.

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! one day........one day.......

 

Cool mod you have there.

Anyone knoe a good place to get a good head for the Cooper

 

I bought an S head locally from someone that did a JCW swap... IMHO, it's worth finding an S head because the valves are Inconel instead of regular 'ol metal. If you compare them side by side, they look pretty much the same - but the S valves are considerably more hefty in weight.

The other head was purchased off eBay.

The tools used were alu-cut burrs (or aluminum rotary files, depending on who you talk to) for removing most of the material and rough porting, in various shapes and sizes. The bullnose shape is the most useful. Finer detail work was done with regular carbide burrs, dipped often in a lubricant to clean them. Then, we went back in with flapper wheels in medium and then very fine... Finish polishing was done with cross-buffs on a long mandrel in medium and then very fine. In other words, everything was done by hand...

Ports were worked from the inside out, starting in the valve pockets (or ports), and then working from the runner sides from the inside to the outside. There's a LOT of extra material in behind the valves... To keep from munching the valve guides, we used dummies, but that only works up to a point and then you have to remove them and carefully work down around them. Careful attention was paid to ensuring a proper radius...

The exhaust ports were matched to the gasket, basically. My buddy took an impression of the exhaust manifold and then used a water jet to cut a template. Then, we blued the ports, attached the template, scrawled our shape, and got after it...

The intake runners themselves were basically just cleaned up. Some material was removed around the valve seats and the radius between ports was narrowed.

A before (left port) and after (right port) of the intake side, rough ported:




A before (right port) and after (left port) of the exhaust side, rough ported:



After polishing:



Intake runner, before polishing:



I didn't get any shots of the exhaust side before and after...

We were careful not to damage the valve seats. They're pretty hard, so this was rather easy to avoid. We did not cut the valve seats or otherwise mess with them. They looked fine.

The bottom of the head was worked over with 600 and then 1000 grit SiC paper on a big, flat piece of metal. This ensured a nice smooth surface, free of any knicks or scratches so the multi-layer steel (MLS) head gasket would seal nicely...

Valves were lapped in the old fashioned way - by hand, using the suction cup tools and valve lapping compound with fine and then very fine grit. Then, they were marked and installed in sequence after a thorough cleaning, of course. New valve seals were used. My bud made a valve puller tool that attached to his drill press for removing and installing the valves - basically, you'd ratchet it down (power off, obviously), lock it down, remove the keepers and then release. Install was the same process, except you put the keepers back in their home...

Since I'm running the Schrick cam and using stock valves, I didn't feel it necessary to invest in any fancy springs, retainers, or keepers. If you went with bigger valves or a higher lift cam, it might be a good idea to replace the stock stuff...

 

Scott, did you ever run the new cam in the stock head? Would be interesting to know how much of the improvement is head work and how much cam . . . Let me know when you go to ATS, I want to tag along . . .

Outstanding write-up, by the way.

 

No, I didn't run the Schrick cam with the stock head...

The head work and cam are meant to be complementary... The cam alone won't make near as much power as the head + cam - the head without the cam won't make near as much power as the head +cam, either...

I am certain the porting and polishing of the head makes a bigger contribution to the power gain than the cam does, though - how much, I don't know, but I'd guess it's like 75% head and 25% cam. IMHO, it's silly to do the one without the other since everything's all opened up... If you improve the flow so much with the P/P job on the head, the new cam is like icing on the cake.

 

Great info!

I was under impression that P&P can improve the air flow up to 50%.

Do you think that your A/F is very lean now and could it create problems?

There is probably hidden potential with custom ECU tuning.

Leon

 

Based on my original dyno charts and A/F ratios, the car ran pretty daggone rich throughout the RPM band... I'm running standard MTH on the car, and I reset the adaptive learning. So far, it's buttery goodness.

At some point, I'll throw it up on the dyno and log the A/F again and see where I am at... I am certain there is more power there, but for now I'm incredibly happy...

 

Based on your performance at the first autocross with the new head, I'll bet you're happy. I'd be happy too if my Cooper was within 2 tenths of a second from Valant's killer Cooper S. WTG!

 

This is something I am definitely looking to do at some point. I was looking at getting a used S head off ebay for a few hundred, and having a shop port & polish around here, probably Webb.

But I found this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MINI-...QQcmdZViewItem

Do u think this is quality work? Is it enlarged valves for an S specific application? Cheap, right?

 

there are no bids (yet) and the $250 starting point is below the reserve, so there's no knowing what it will really sell for.

In reading the add, it seems to use the stock valves, with back-cut stems. It doesn't say if this is from a Cooper or an S, so you don't know what the valves are....

Also, some of the port and polish people don't think you should open the exhaust port all the way to the gasket. This will lower gas velocities at low RPM, and may effect torque. But that's all arm-chair racing, I haven't seen any real data to say one way or the other what's "best"....

If these suckers sell for ~$500, it's still a deal. If you're near the shop that did them, it's probably worth a stop to see if they're a good operation or not. As it gets up to $1000, then there are other options.

Matt

 

The seller is asking for a $600 deposit refundable with core return. The reserve will surely be higher (we can all speculate by how much).

 

Actually the heads will be a little aggressive for the MINI.. the ports have been enlarged more for the Cooper "S" !! the intake runners are from the stock 96 CC to 100 CC and the exhaust from the stock 53 cc to a 58 cc we retained the stock CC's in the chambers for the boost!! However, if there are a few guys boosting the mess out of them and racing.. we can custom enlarge the chambers to give a 8.0 vs the 8.3 :1 comp and save a few parts from the heat.. I guess the parts are cheaper on the west coast.. cause these heads sell anywhere ( for this port /valve work ) from 1800/1950.00 to 2000.00 out here on the east coast..??/ ( if we add undercut Stainless valves.. up to 2500.00 ) and by the time you read this the sale will be over on ebay!! the HP gained is WHEEL HP not fly wheel HP , and the more the mods the more the power, of course!! We are going to run a dyno on a 05 S with the usual bolt ons ( pulley S/C- crankshaft, exhaust, shark) in a few weeks and see what the heads will do on that car.! .. It is a big undertaking for ones self to do a head change .... but you read what just a basic smooth and blend does with a "Lapped in " valve.job . the power in these little guys is the Head!!

Just me.........................................

Thumper

 

From $950 for the port/polish from Endyne ($1250 if you get larger valves) to well over $2k, but it's hard to get an apples to apples comparison because each head house does different options.

M7 is having a sale on the M7/Cosworth set up for $1600 (I think) that includes a 180 degree thermostat and a port matched intake manifold.

Webb sells one for $1800 that includes a new cam.

This is one area where it really pays to do some research about what is out there and what it costs....

Matt

 

zackly... there are NO rules or guide lines on what IS "Ported and polished" !! that is why when we really start to add these guys.. it will be dyno HP Gains on certain mods, not all the specs.!! Adverts can shower the average guy with so much info.. that he is lost!! and make something that is common to head work sound supper trick. to make their heads a "better deal".. LOL been there done that... I think the average guy that is into mods.. and feels the head is next, should research, search.. look and ask a lot of questions!! Hell yeah, it is a costly move!! Port work is only part of the head work.. there is the bowl work, the VALVE Job, surfacing, CC the chambers, the Ports !! I feel as long as the guy who buys is happy and the mini is screaming to his liking... then all is cool!!

Just me...........................

Thumper

 

I agree - which is why I did all the work myself. I know what's in the head work because I did it!

Installation is quite the job, too, so the actual cost of the head or head work is only part of the cost... add in replacement gaskets and bolts (another ~$250 for those parts), and it ain't cheap!

 

And that is not even for RaceWare bolts!

 

you really dont need new bolts, i have never heard of any one replacing head bolts simply because they took a head off. I know guys that are running the same studs and bolts in the heavily modded engines for 50 years! and never had a problem with them, and thats with removal every couple of years (not all do that, but some do, kind of required on old flatheads, especially if running alloy heads, otherwise they will never come off). Basiclly, the iron threads in the block will fail before any stud or bolt will. In case you are interested in saving some money. (maybe to later for you scobib, sorry)

Beecher

 

The Mini bolts are $39.50 for all ten. I don't know of any (good) engine builder that doesn't or wouldn't change them.

 

If the factory repair manual and Bentley books say to replace the head bolts, I'm replacing them. I know some people reuse them, but I ain't one of them.

 

ARP has a set of studs available for the MINI Cooper. That would be the way to go for sure!

 

that means the bolt elongates when torqued, and they are one use items. When you do bolt your head down, make sure to lube the bolts liberally, and the head as well, so that you get good torque readings....

Matt