18 replies to this topic

[alpder]

More grief from this abandoned project I've picked up

 

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is in contention with

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This is a 1968 998cc Mk2. It came with a mish-mash of bits clearly from several marks. In particular it has the Mk1/2/3 square rad-cowl welded to the inner wing, but it also has the later one-piece cowling bolted to the rad itself. To add to the mix, I've binned the random 850cc which came with the car and dropped in an A+ onto the original gearbox.

 

As the pics show above, there's no way the rad is going to drop into the gap between the engine and the square cowl welded to the wing.

 

What's my best solution:

 1) Remove the square cowl on the wing and bin it? Is that what they did on the Mk4? Or did they fit something else in its place?

 2) Fork out for a split cowl to see if it will fit? (I'm doubtful - the 1275's fan seems to be even closer to the wing that the one on the SBU was.)

 

 

[KTS]

Remove the fan cowl from the radiator and fit that to the engine, then drop the radiator in and fit to the cowl

[alpder]

Remove the fan cowl from the radiator and fit that to the engine, then drop the radiator in and fit to the cowl

Hmmm.... I tried that. But the rad bottom pipe seems to prevent it going into the space without getting beaten-up by the fan. Certainly there'd be no way of doing it with the bottom hose attached to the pipe.

[nicklouse]

Bottom hose fitted to the rad. Cowl over the fan. Rad in. Connect hose to water pump but not tight. Rad to cowl. Cowl to bottom mount loose. Check and tighten everything.

[alpder]

Bottom hose fitted to the rad. Cowl over the fan. Rad in. Connect hose to water pump but not tight. Rad to cowl. Cowl to bottom mount loose. Check and tighten everything.

Tried that too. The oil/air separator holds the cowl forwards. So you can get the rad about half-way in. Then the bottom pipe jams between cowl and sub-frame tower, while the outside of the rad jams against the square cowl on the wing. If the square cowl on the wing wasn't there, it would fit fine.

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[timmy850]

Remove the engine steadies
Put a jack under the LH side of the engine and remove the LH engine mount. Undo the RH engine mount but leave the bolts in and nuts on loosely
Jack up the LH side of the engine to bring the engine up as high as you can.
Then install the rad onto engine
Then put engine mount back in

[Spider]

Here, try this but in reverse direction (post #11);-

 

https://www.theminif...nge-a-radiator/

 

While that guide is for a 2 piece cowling, you'd do as Nick suggested by fitting the Cowl over the Fan first, then follow the rest of that guide.

[imack]

Have you got the n/s engine mount fitted?
If so, disconnect the engine mount and jack the radiator end of the engine up before trying to install the radiator components.

[mab01uk]

I would just remove the square metal cowl from the inner wing. It was deleted from the later Mk3/Mk4 onwards as it make no difference to engine temperature and makes fitting/working on the radiator, etc a whole lot easier. Only reason for keeping it is if originalty is a concern which as you have replaced the original 850 engine with a 1275.....does not seem to be an issue. Also if that was a problem the inner wing cowl is easily refitted during any future restoration to orginal spec.

 

I wonder why it took BMC/BL so many years to do it?...a cost reduction and it must have made things easier on the production line. Such things are often from a suggestion put forward by someone on the production line but in this case I suppose it also had to be confirmed that removal of the shroud made little or no difference to engine temperatures.

Edited by mab01uk, 06 March 2023 - 08:20 AM.

[mab01uk]

The later ADO16's also had their much larger radiator shroud deleted from the inner wing (see below)....anyone know the changeover year/dates...and was it the same for Minis and the BL 1100/1300 range?

 

[Lplus]

I would just remove the square metal cowl from the inner wing. It was deleted from the later Mk3/Mk4 onwards as it make no difference to engine temperature and makes fitting/working on the radiator, etc a whole lot easier. Only reason for keeping it is if originalty is a concern which as you have replaced the original 850 engine with a 1275.....does not seem to be an issue. Also if that was a problem the inner wing cowl is easily refitted during any future restoration to orginal spec.

 

I wonder why it took BMC/BL so many years to do it?...a cost reduction and it must have made things easier on the production line. Such things are often from a suggestion put forward by someone on the production line but in this case I suppose it also had to be confirmed that removal of the shroud made little or no difference to engine temperatures.

I suspect the engine and rad were assembled on the subframe and the body dropped over it, so there would be no difficulty on the production line..  Even the rubber seal could be in place and just tucked up around the rad once the engine was in.

 

Any changes would have been made for either cost reduction by leaving out metal and welding, or the dealerships whinging about difficulty working on the cars, or both.

[alpder]

Thanks everyone. Practicality beats originality on this particular build, so I'll hoik the engine out and drill-out the spots on the square cowl. Put it into storage ready for any future back-to-original resto. Along with the rear sliding windows, the single-speed wipers, the Mk2 grille, the front drum brakes/hubs, and the entire interior

[IronmanG]

I would just remove the square metal cowl from the inner wing. It was deleted from the later Mk3/Mk4 onwards as it make no difference to engine temperature and makes fitting/working on the radiator, etc a whole lot easier. Only reason for keeping it is if originalty is a concern which as you have replaced the original 850 engine with a 1275.....does not seem to be an issue. Also if that was a problem the inner wing cowl is easily refitted during any future restoration to orginal spec.

I wonder why it took BMC/BL so many years to do it?...a cost reduction and it must have made things easier on the production line. Such things are often from a suggestion put forward by someone on the production line but in this case I suppose it also had to be confirmed that removal of the shroud made little or no difference to engine temperatures.

I was having some temp issues on mine and fitted the cowl with the rubber band. It worked wonders.

[mab01uk]

 

I would just remove the square metal cowl from the inner wing. It was deleted from the later Mk3/Mk4 onwards as it make no difference to engine temperature and makes fitting/working on the radiator, etc a whole lot easier. Only reason for keeping it is if originalty is a concern which as you have replaced the original 850 engine with a 1275.....does not seem to be an issue. Also if that was a problem the inner wing cowl is easily refitted during any future restoration to orginal spec.

I wonder why it took BMC/BL so many years to do it?...a cost reduction and it must have made things easier on the production line. Such things are often from a suggestion put forward by someone on the production line but in this case I suppose it also had to be confirmed that removal of the shroud made little or no difference to engine temperatures.

I was having some temp issues on mine and fitted the cowl with the rubber band. It worked wonders.

 

 

I suspect the later standard fit of the more efficient radiators which were originally only fitted to the Cooper S, also compensated for any small loss in cooling with the removal of the inner wing cowl and rubber band/seal on the production line. BL would have made tests before implementing the change in production on the Mini and ADO16 1100/1300 range. Also many enthusiast owners now fit the various larger aftermarket rads available from suppliers like Minispares.

https://www.minispar...AiAAEgIIYfD_BwE

Edited by mab01uk, 06 March 2023 - 07:55 PM.

[Cooperman]

If you want to keep the cowl, you need to use the 2-piece shroud.
Fit the bottom hose and the lower part of the shroud.
Remove the fan.
Position the rad onto the lower mount.
Put a rectangular piece of cardboard against the rad to protect the rad and your hand.
Position the fan and bolt it in place.
Fit the bottom hose onto the pump.
Fit the top part of the shroud, the steady bracket and tighten the fan belt.