haha You know... when you painted those pieces, I was like... ok... how is that going to work... and now seeing the pic of it put back together I like it! Came together nicely! Good job! Very Mini-ish!

 

Wow that looks good with LY interior.

 

Parts!!!!!

 

Yeah, I was a little worried too, but I had quite a bit of wear on the old pieces, not much silver was left.

Nik

 

Those Carrillo's are pretty , looks like a parts party

 

Parts! Love parts!

Those looks very pretty! Excited for you to get the MINI back up and running!

 

This wait is killing me. I have all the parts ready to go, now just waiting for the machine shop. Was supposed to be done today, but it now looks like Wednesday. Ii guess thats how it goes when you live in a small town, one machine shop, one guy running it. He does do great work... patience, thats what I'm learning..... Might have to take Tuesday through Thursday off next week

Nik

 

hehe yes! Patience! As long as it is done right! You dont want any issues down the road. And manage the anticipation for when you do get everything back and decide to put it back together. I've seen people so jacked up to get going that simple/easy mistakes are made during reassembly.

Looking forward to seeing this come back to life.

 

Since the head I purchased is new, but has been sitting for a few years I went ahead and replaced all the valve seals.....

Nik

 

Well the original bearings I ordered were ordered with the assumption I would need to have the crank ground. The machine shop couldn't find any wear and recommended that I go w/ stock size. This delayed things a couple days. But this afternoon everything arrived so I got to start putting parts together. Finally.....




Painted block.





New bearings!





Crank installed.





Bottom end done





Done for tonight. Head, timing and all the rest tomorrow




Hopefully can get the rest done in the next few days.

Nik

 

Had a timing guide break, oops. So now on hold until Tuesday. Still made progress though......

 

Looking good!

Not bad. Hopefully, that is the only setback, right?

 

Thanks. It's getting there. Had a delay earlier because the machine shop and myself figured that the crank would have to be ground so I ordered +25 bearings. Turns out the machinist couldn't find any wear on the crank and recommended using stock bearings. It's all going together really well and I can't wait to get it on the road.

Nik

 

Great thread! Gotta love the Tritec!

When all is said and done I hope you post your 'take aways' from this process.

 

Oh sooo clean and its JCW red I have seen one W11 engine painted BRG and one in classic Rover green.

 

I couldn't decide. Almost went with Daytona Yellow, but chickened out (too much yellow). This reminds me of an old tractor engine.

Nik

 

Make sure to index those oil squirters properly or you'll be doing this again real soon. What sealant did you use to put the two block halves together with?

 

Found a damaged rocker, replaced today. Hopefully the last of the parts will arrive tomorrow.

Nik





Damaged roller....

 

Today's progress, more photos soon...

 

Well it runs! Started on first crank. Having some clutch issues, so unfortunately engine is back out for the moment.


Photos to explained




Shifter arm where throw out bearing should be in contact w/ pressure plate splines





Shifter arm where throw out bearing comes in contact w/ pressure plate splines...

 

Cummins red...lol..then again,you have put miles on it like a diesel...
Good luck getting the clutch sorted....
Interesting you went with a home rebuild, rather than a remanufactured one...then again, I guess if you trust yourself more than a guy punching a time clock,and who is is hungover, and trying to get out early to go to the bar, it was likly a good move....but looking at some of the prices for individual parts from BMW/mini makes me cringe.....
Amazing the block showed so little wear, and good to hear you are swapping out most parts and not just disassembleing it and reassembleing it with a few new parts to try to get another 50k out of it!
Most of the engines I have been around during rebuilding were aircraft engines....had an old-timer show me a few things...his speciality was Rolls-Royce Merlin engines...had bought a garage full, and rebuilt them for racers for a few years, then eventually sold most to antique aircraft folks....but I did learn that building a motor is a slow labour of love, and not a race...
He did have a way with even the small Lycoming and Contentals though...ran smoother that factory ones...never did get to run one of the big "round" radial motors he loved working on though...

 

I couldn't decide on a color, so red it is. I never even considered getting a remanufactured engine. This is something I have actually been looking forward to for awhile. Its been a bit nerve racking at times, has taught me more patience than I knew I had. But it was all worth it when it fired right up and ran smoother than the last time I heard it run. I'll figure out the clutch......

Nik

 

I'd love to see a video of the engine firing up if possible.

Regarding the clutch, I (and appx: 400 other viewers as of that thread) don't have an answer for your clutch conundrum, but anxiously await the resolution!

Keep plugging!

 

Sorry....maybe this was answered somewhere in the 4 previous pages of posts......but when rebuilding these motors, who's got the best deals on parts (pistons, bearings, cam, con rods, crank......) ?

 

How cool is that? Glad to hear that it fired up on the first crank!

Clutch issues are never any fun! hehe