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Glossary of terms used in the suspension on the mini. The Mini has consistently more than proven its capability in competition with very limited and cost-effective modifications based on the standard equipment fitted. Having first ensured the bodyshell (in reality little more than a complex bracket to hold suspension and driver securely in place) is well sorted out by removing all cruddy or rotten metalwork and into something like straight, square and strong we, maximising suspension stability and geometry pays dividends in the enjoyment that is driving a Mini. Understanding what the individual ingredients are helps in pursuing what you want from the experience. Smooth Mover Good, reliable, and consistent handling is dependent on a number of factors. At this stage, we’re concerned with clapped out or badly adjusted suspension components. Stiff, seized, partially seized or slack, sloppy, worn out suspension components will cause inconsistent, wayward, confusing and – more important

CAM TIMING - Mechanical Method

CAM TIMING - Mechanical Method Part No Applications: MD256, MD266, MD276, MD286, MD286SP, MD296, MD296SP, MD310SP, MD530, MDM266/KIT, MDM276KIT, MDM286KIT Equipment required - Stop plate - mechanical stop plate for setting TDC (see text). Set of feeler blades Terminology - TDC - Top Dead Centre, when piston is at highest point in bore BTDC - Before Top Dead Centre, before piston reaches highest point in bore ATDC - After Top Dead Centre, after piston has reached highest point in bore Accurate piston position indication is the first goal. You need to know exactly when piston one is at TDC. Without engineering measuring equipment a ‘stop plate’ is required. This you will either have to manufacture personally, or get one made. You need a piece of metal plate long enough to span the bore plus a couple of the head stud holes on either side - about 4.750" long by 1.375" wide will do the trick.

Camshafts - Scatter cams, pros and cons

To scatter or not to scatter, that is the question. This whole 'scattering' deal has befuddled many. The only real prose produced on the subject, and 'advice' handed out by many so-called 'specialists' tends to be somewhat tainted with large chunks of mysticism - inferring there's some kind of black art involved. The simple fact is the principle is very basic and easy; it's getting a cam with the right profile and figures applied to it that will actually work as a scatter profile that's the hard part. And this article does not mean I am all for scatter pattern cams. I will illuminate… We are all pretty much aware that the A-series is a real oddity, largely because of the siamese (shared) port work - cylinders 1 & 2 share an inlet port, cylinders 3 & 4 share an inlet port, and cylinders 2 & 3 share an exhaust port. Very weird compared to the more familiar head designs found on almost every other engine type that has one inlet and one exhaust port per cylinder.

Camshaft Design

Elgin Cams is a company that is a direct descendent of such famous California specialists as Isky, Delong, Winfield, etc. etc. Elgin has taken the art of cams into the science of the '90's. Computer designed and handcrafted workmanship guarantee a first class camshaft. Custom designed cams are a specialty. Part No Applications: CAM001, CAM002, CAM003, CAM004, CAM005, CAM006, CAM007 Elgin has made cams or sold his design to General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Nissan Corp., Zakespped International, Porsche Motor Sports, Winston Cup "Engine Builders. Elgin has the largest percentage of cams used at the SCCA Runoffs from GT-1 to Formula-V. He also has provided original or new technology for antique and vintage racers. Much information has been recorded about the four stroke internal combustion engine and yet only a small percentage of people really understand how it works and fewer people know how to modify an engine to suit their needs.

Primary Gear - Bush Replacement

With the cost of new primary gears spiralling ever upwards, and the availability of good, serviceable used ones, fitting new bushes to existing gears is becoming a more common solution. For some reasons for bush failures and rectification to stop it re-occurring, see article Primary gear - Bush problems. Since there is no useful information given in any of the workshop or DIY manuals on this subject, following is my approach to dealing with the issue. The first thing to get to grips with is which bush is which. This has added an element of confusion to many conversations I have had with folks on this subject, so - the FRONT bush is the one nearest the engine block, the REAR bush is the top-hat one nearest the flywheel. This is because the front of the engine is actually the radiator end - quoted in 'in-line' engine-speak. The REAR bush is the same on all primary gears - be they for small or large bore engines. The FRONT bush is different for each though; the small-bore one is smaller

Primary Gear – Bush Problems

Although not of immediate interest to many road-runners/street-burners, mainly accorded to the racing scene, it seems to be a perplexing problem to a very large number of folk around the world, and has burned up plenty of telephone time.

part numbers: 13H2934, LUF10005, CE12, 22G109, DAM8889, DAM8887

The first thing to get to grips with is which bush ...

Brakes - How They Work

This time we’re going to look at just how brakes do what they do, and ways to improve them. Without a doubt the most important point to get sorted at the outset is just what makes brakes do their thing - FRICTION. The sole purpose of the brake set-up on any vehicle .....

What you actually need for the disc/drum conversion is pretty straightforward. Disconnect the steering arms, top and bottom swivel-pins, CV joint, and flexible brake pipes at the subframe - that’s it. There are, however, a number of ancillaries to consider.

Basics

Basics Fitting discs designed for the Mini is easy enough. Just make sure you use CV gaiters for the disc-brake set-up - these have a different bellows shape to stop the gaiter rubbing the inside of the hub. The drum type will rub, then split, shedding grease all over the place. Moly grease is mighty mucky stuff to deal with and doesn't assist braking at all! A tip for racers - to stop the gaiters over-expanding when getting very hot and imitating the aforementioned, put either a decent sized split pin or (my favorite) a piece of very small bore pipe - as in the type supplied with WD40 aerosols, etc. - under the retaining strap on the drive shaft. This allows air to escape and return,

During a discourse with the editorial staff at Mini Mag, it was decided the build feature presented an ideal opportunity to demonstrate just exactly what such an engine build is capable of in days where it's generally believed you have to have an all-singing, all-dancing 1380cc engine to have an enjoyable road burner - leaving those with very limited budgets a little depressed. During a discourse with the editorial staff at Mini Mag, it was decided the build feature presented an ideal opportunity to demonstrate just exactly what such an engine build is capable of in days where it's generally believed you have to have an all-singing, all-dancing 1380cc engine to have an enjoyable road burner - leaving those with very limited budgets a little depressed. So the idea was to finish the engine off using a relatively 'mild' specification to maximise drivability. The camshaft used was the fantastically versatile Swiftune Racing SW5 profile that provides drive from nowhere up to 7,000rpm - d

Cylinder Head - Unleaded Fuel Use

The specter of 'unleaded fuel only' - instigated in UK on January 1st 1999 and seemingly from decades ago across the rest of the world - seems to be forcing more and more folk into frightened, panic orientated action. And Mini owners are featuring heavily in this. See bottom for useful part numbers. The situation not at all being helped by all sorts of conflicting information from 'leaned' sources, such as lead levels in humans has declined greatly since 1935 - despite the rapidly expanding ownership of petrol-burning vehicles. And benzene and toluene used in unleaded fuels are cancerous. Still, the powers that be are relentlessly forcing through the 'no heavy metals in fuel' bills, not being at all put off by such trivia. Not surprising bearing in mind the complete debacle on the catalytic converter front - the type decided on for world wide and universal use was developed and tested in California!

Cylinder Head - Unleaded Fuel Use

For the very good and simple reason it minimised airflow obstruction by having the least amount of material in the way. Very plausible, and a design that many have stayed with to this day - surprising considering the magnitude of expertise housed in the more recognised A-series tuners. Probably something along the lines of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', or perhaps (and more likely?) 'Can't teach an old dog new tricks'.

However, as time and technology progressed, man's ever-inquisitive nature started to determine more exactly what and why - and airflow activity was not passed over. Not only 'how much' was being measured, but 'where and how' to further determine where improvements could be made. After all - it has long since been realised that the engine is essentially an air pump. The more you get in, the more you get out, so improving the air's tortuous route to the cylinder has to help.

Engine - 1098, Initial Tuning

The 1098 (1100) engine has had a lot of bad press over the years - largely because of early experiences when trying to tune the motor brought about problems with the then standard components available - they simply were not up to taking any real punishment as experienced in racing.

See bottom for useful part numbers.

This fallacy was handed down generation to generation like some scary bedtime story. Those that have used the unit in more recent years, employing more capable componentry know what a demon motor this can be. Following is an initial look at what it will do with a little modification - the results compared directly with it's smaller brother the 998 for illustration of the potential.

Abridged History
When the Mini was first conceived it ustilised a de-stroked version of the then quite remarkable 948cc A-series engine.

Engine - Running in Procedure

This is another of those subjects that crops up on the message board frequently. I am constantly surprised by the number of engine builders - or people who charge other folk for building engines at any rate - that never hand out such an information sheet. It seems pretty daft to me that having taken a wad of money off of a customer for an engine you've lovingly put together, you'd want to help that person get the very best out of the engine. And the running/breaking in procedure is absolutely crucial. It at least ensures no damage is incurred when the engine first bursts into life. A collection of the usual suspects have explained their own methods on the board, along with various others - many of which probably work just as well for them, a few which are down-right dubious. Following is a sheet I administer with every customer engine I build.

Modified engines producing more power generally induce owners to drive with greater verve, particularly when competing in one of the many motorsport disciplines. Terminology - LSD - Limited Slip Differential In fact this isn’t isolated to modified Minis. Owners of relatively standard machinery competing in a discipline or merely out on a country lane blast are subject to the same determination. The more verve/determination applied, the more of a struggle keeping your Mini on the designated track becomes. Generally the problem is down to grip - or more precisely the lack of it. Suspension modifications and extensive twiddling of geometry settings can provide improvements in stability, both for straight lines and turn in/mid corner performance. But even throwing bucket loads of cash at super high grade dampers, and the odd arm/leg/lung handed over to ‘professional’ chassis tuners doesn’t solve the particular grip problem we’re interested in here - corner exit/acceleration grip, or

‘Salisbury’ is the word banded about by most un-enlightened folk when discussing LSDs for Minis, mistakenly believing the word covers all Mini orientated LSDs. This is grossly incorrect. Terminology - LSD - Limited Slip Differential The ‘Salisbury’ was designed in the ‘50s at a time when racecars were a good deal less sophisticated than today. Tyres were usually cross-ply with severely limited grip due to poor compounds developed ostensibly for rear-wheel-drive cars; the front wheel drive of the Mini being a rarity. And tracks were more than a little ‘bumpy’. Agriculturally built cars needed an LSD designed along similar lines; enter the Salisbury - effectively developed from a tractor diff. High static pre-loads were more than common to help compensate for severe short-falls in chassis, suspension, and tyre design. To all intents and purposes the diff was practically locked up, making the car a real beast to drive.

The first Minis rolled off the production line with a three-syncro gearbox, first gear as explained earlier was still a hit and miss affair.

Terminology -
FD - Final Drive

NOTE; A 'high' or 'low' ratio gear is in reference to it's performance, not it's numerical number. To illustrate - a 'high' FD ratio will give 'higher road speed', but will have a numerically low figure. A 'low' FD ratio will give lower road speed, but have a numerically high figure. A by-product of this will be reduced acceleration capability on the 'high' ratio, increased acceleration capability on the 'low' ratio. The main gearbox gears work in the exact same way.

I’m sure we’re all aware of Sir Alec Issigonis’ brilliant solution to the gearbox location in the Mini - just fold it up underneath the engine, simple. Following is a résumé of the production gearboxes to date.

Suspension - King Pin Offset

Adverse Effects of Fitting Wide Wheels part numbers: C-AJJ3359 Terminology used: KPI - King Pin Inclination KPO - King Pin Offset LSD - Limited Slip Differential In the 'Suspension - Terminology' section, I covered what KPI is, as it is an ancient but still oft-used term despite being pretty redundant. Not that it isn't attendant in current cars - it has to be. It's just that the mass car manufacturers have settled the angle at which it is set down to a fairly universally used envelope, and there's nothing the individual can do to alter it without entirely re-fabricating the hubs of drastic surgery on the existing ones. So is, to all intents and purposes, fixed. Even the most technically advanced race teams can do little more than keep a wary eye on what it is doing when playing with suspension set-up.

Air filtration - K&N Air cleaner test.

In the forefront of Mini tuning, improving the over-all breathing capability of the very asthmatic A-series the air filter set-up is one that sees priority attention. All the widely available (and widely varying) stage one tuning kits include at the very least a replacement - and hopefully - high-flow air filter element to fit into the standard plastic case,

In the past few years (well, must be nearly 6 years by now!) since I got involved with writing for the specialist Mini Magazines I have been continually fighting with the problem of limited space. This has limited what I have been able to cover, both in subjects and in details. Up until recently (say the past year or so) I have been covering fairly broad topics in a fairly broad terms and detail. Basically trying to cover perhaps the most popular areas dabbled in by the Mini owning masses.

This is one of those areas where there is more than one way to skin the cat - depending on who you speak to. This is the method I have used for eternity, which has been totally reliable and never had a problem with.

This only applies to non-Verto type clutches, as the Verto types are not adjustable. You just have to make sure all the operating linkage components are in good order.

First off, ensure your operating linkage is up to scratch. For details on this, see 'Engine transplants - Clutch and flywheel'.

Satisfied all is OK, you can proceed with setting the linkage up.

1 - Remove/disconnect clutch return spring.

2 - Undo throw-out nuts (15/16"AF nuts on outer end of plunger) lock nut and back nuts off away from clutch cover.

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