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[Lizzie Zoom]

Enginewise, as said, that A series is bombproof, with only pure engine issues being having to constantly check the oil in the carb, and the manifold gasket seems prone to failure (easy job, even in the confines of a mini engine bay).

They do have more serious common faults: burnt exhaust valve on #3 cylinder, stretched timing chains(the 'tensioner' is a joke) although they'll run for decades like that.


Ensure that any Mini you intend to actually drive has ALL of the available engine mounts(many never had the lower O/S one to the subframe) especially the aftermarket one from the thermostat housing to the bulkhead.

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

[Nick W]

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

They all had timing chains and pushrods. The chain drives the camshaft which is halfway up the block, then the pushrods transfer the motion to the rocker arms, which finally open the valves.

[TheBoy]

The newer shape bmw mini's are dirt cheap , ok they look fugly but decent enough for a runabout but why are they so cheap  Only guess is reliability 

Early ones have a chrysler engine which is shit and the reworked gearbox from a Rover 25 which also wears prematurely(it was ok in the Rover),06 on goes Peugeot mechanicals which are better

Rover 25 had the (chocolate) Pug box as well 

[Bigron]

Am I the only one to be amazed that the A series engine survived at all in the Mini, considering that it shared its oil with the gearbox? The opil specifications had to be a poor compromise of lubrication paramaters, being unsuited for such a dual role. Gears need an EP lubricant, engines do not.
Even the magical Duckhams Q20/50 could scarcely cope!

Ron.

[Bigron]

Um, there's no such thing as "opil" - just my big fingers on the keys!   

Ron.

[TheBoy]

It was hardly a finely tolerance highly strung engine.  I suspect many were run on barely any oil.  Certainly I refused to top up my Ital van more than twice a day, so that was frequently thrashed about with the oil light on.

[Bigron]

At least it had a constant supply of fresh oil, TB - must have been good for it! Who needs oil changes? 

Ron.

[minifreek]

Enginewise, as said, that A series is bombproof, with only pure engine issues being having to constantly check the oil in the carb, and the manifold gasket seems prone to failure (easy job, even in the confines of a mini engine bay).

They do have more serious common faults: burnt exhaust valve on #3 cylinder, stretched timing chains(the 'tensioner' is a joke) although they'll run for decades like that.


Ensure that any Mini you intend to actually drive has ALL of the available engine mounts(many never had the lower O/S one to the subframe) especially the aftermarket one from the thermostat housing to the bulkhead.

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

ALL A series engines have a chain, unless its been converted very recently to belt... so yours would have had a timing chain.... even the B series has a timing chain fitted....?

[New POD]

The newer shape bmw mini's are dirt cheap , ok they look fugly but decent enough for a runabout but why are they so cheap  Only guess is reliability 

Early ones have a chrysler engine which is shit and the reworked gearbox from a Rover 25 which also wears prematurely(it was ok in the Rover),06 on goes Peugeot mechanicals which are better

I am a BINI fan, and ours has a SEPTEMBER 2001 Build sticker so it's pretty early.
The Chrysler engine has a power characteristic like the old metro turbo. Nothing below 4,000, but it loves to rev. The One only has 95 bhp, but both can be reprogrammed to have 125 bhp. I've never heard anything bad in terms of reliability of them.


Legend has it that the gearbox decision was against BMW wishes, and should have saved £150 per car, except many of them failed under warranty, despite an engineering led improvement project.
Now to me, that's not premature wear, it's poor manufacturing. We changed the oil on ours at 84K and there was a lot of debris on the magnetic drain plug. Seems to be fine though. Recon boxes are not that expensive - it's just labour costs that will kill it.
Also the electric power steering issues, can be resolved at a fraction of the cost when almost new.
If i remember correctly early metro turbos destroyed  gearboxes under warranty due to midrange torque and face lift models had less midrange and more in with a bang at higher revs.

Hence my comment that the BINI cooper is the spiritual successor to the Metro Turbo.

Our BINI had to have new front wish bones and top mounts
Our 1988 mayfair, had to have all new ball joints, and new front knuckle joints.
My Old metro turbo had to have all new ball joints and new rear knuckle joints

[BazaJT]

Had an old mini for a while back in the mid 80's,not a bad thing really but driving position not to my liking from what I remember.I still think though that the Hillman Imp[and its derivatives]was the superior car,especially after they'd sorted early production problems-ditched the pneumatic throttle for one.

[EMD]

Had an old mini for a while back in the mid 80's,not a bad thing really but driving position not to my liking from what I remember.I still think though that the Hillman Imp[and its derivatives]was the superior car,especially after they'd sorted early production problems-ditched the pneumatic throttle for one.

Theres one of those for sale near me .. i think the mini is a better looking car than the Imp  Have you noticed how much those early minis are fetching now  I'd be scared to park it anywhere but the drive .

[Lizzie Zoom]

I read your comment about timing chains, but i had an A Series engine in my A40, and later a Wolsley Hornet III (mini variant), with an A series engine with a Wolsley badge, but neither had chains.  They had in engine push rods. Was there a version with a chain?

They all had timing chains and pushrods. The chain drives the camshaft which is halfway up the block, then the pushrods transfer the motion to the rocker arms, which finally open the valves.

Ah, many thanks, that explains it

[TheBoy]

I am a BINI fan, and ours has a SEPTEMBER 2001 Build sticker so it's pretty early.
The Chrysler engine has a power characteristic like the old metro turbo. Nothing below 4,000, but it loves to rev. The One only has 95 bhp, but both can be reprogrammed to have 125 bhp. I've never heard anything bad in terms of reliability of them.

When you get a replacement car due to the long term reliability of the one you have had from new, BMW make you sign a form to keep schtum.  Or at least the 3 people I know who have had their MINIs replaced within 3 years.

Legend has it that the gearbox decision was against BMW wishes

Whereas the actual truth is the Rover designers specified the uprated box (the MINI was entirely a Rover design, and was due to be launched via the Rover brand (like the original 1 series)), so had the full BMW penny pinchers on it.

It was also due to get the 1.8VVT and 1.8 turbo K series initially (both far more powerful than what they got), but BMW didn't want to keep Powertrain going once they decided to close down Rover.

[BazaJT]

If I recall correctly the very early Minis were badged as the Morris Mini Minor and Austin se7en.Although[as they say]beauty is in the eye of the beholder I'd agree that the mini is better looking than the Imp apart of course from the coupe versions of the Imp-the Californian and [I think]the Stiletto[?]

[Lizzie Zoom]

If I recall correctly the very early Minis were badged as the Morris Mini Minor and Austin se7en.Although[as they say]beauty is in the eye of the beholder I'd agree that the mini is better looking than the Imp apart of course from the coupe versions of the Imp-the Californian and [I think]the Stiletto[?]

Yes, you are right, apart from it was a Austin Seven Mini; the Austin Seven was the much older "Baby Austin" that I wanted when I was a child.  They were so cute

They were also great cars for passing ones test in