The Dark Wob

Is it worth the bother?

Tbh a good 1098 is a better bet. An MG1100 head (200 quid) and a 1.5 inch SU will give you a solid 50 bhp and loads of torque.

Its currently running a 1098 albeit fucked. I want to sort out the 948, because it's correct for the year and is the only A Series I have never experienced driving. It also has a reputation for being the sweetest of the A's, which would be nice. If that works, I can rebuild the fucked 1098 at my leisure to whatever specification. But I really want to try the 948 and hope it really is sweet as a nut.

I can't remember but you have taken the crank out of the moggy engine before hammering the pistons. It will be a lot easier knocking each one out on their own then re boring it and new pistons. With the state of that rocker shaft it will need a full recon anyway.

The 948 can be bored out and 998 Mini pistons fitted to give 998 cc. The crank stroke is the same.

998 pistons are cheap enough from Minispares although you'll need to retain the 948 gudgeon pins as tbey are pinch bolt rods.

Of all the Mini engines the 1000 was by far the nicest. A Series thrive on a nice high compression like 9.75:1 to give excellent throttle response. The 1.5 inch SU just helps it breathe better.

Bloody hell, only £126 for +20 thou 948 pistons. Scrap the 998 idea!

You are not going to free it by trying to knock the piston down unless you undo the big end and get the crank out the the way.

Well maybe a slim chance if you go about 90 degrees past tdc.......but still next to fuck all.


Edit......like mr panhard said if I bothered to read stuff before posting!

I feared as much but having a stab at it is less of a ball ache than going underneath and removing the sump etc. Which I know I'm going to have to do at some point anyway. I was hoping to free it off in-situ to get it running in the scrapper before removal.

Have you tried turning the flywheel with a suitable pry bar through the starter hole and into the ring gear? You have a decent amount of leverage

Not much to report on the car front. I've been collecting wings for the impending Morris spruce-up, and took the Snipe up to Northumberland for holiday. I am pleased to say it ran beautifully all the time but I have noticed some horrible tyre wear on the nearside front, which is the one I had trouble with the ARB mounting. The outside edge is feathered and wearing rapidly, I think this is a recent development as I'd been monitoring tyre wear since I fitted new ones and secured the ARB. Not looking forward to sorting this out.

That takes the edge off an enjoyable trip away.....Could the wear pattern have been establshed before the re-fitting and just showing itself now, so to speak?