Calver's Clinic

There are many small side issues, problems, technical hints and general advice that do not warrant a full story, but never the less are important enough to cover. To this end I will be using "Calver's Clinic" as a regular feature in Mini T ech News to cover such things.

A friend and colleague of Mini Spares runs the "Mincomp Mini " in America. His name is Bill Gilcrease - those of you who have read Mini Tech News 1 may recall that he was in this issue covering his escapades at the USA run-offs in Atlanta against, in particular, the Fortech car of Mike Kearney, Through his steady and continued development of his car , he has become a real threat to the once all-conquering Fortech Mini, and has recently been displaying his ability to beat this car. He is sponsored by Mini Mania, Mini Spares main distributor in the USA , and as such uses many Mini Spares' components. I spoke with him recently, and he has agreed to allow us to use his articles written for Mini Mania in the Mini Tech News, This will give a different perspective on our products as used by him - rather than us blowing our own trumpet. Bill doesn' t mince his words either, as you'll appreciate when you read his articles.

First, a little background on the man ... Bill is the founder and owner of Mincomp. At his shop he caters purely for Minis and, more recently Sprites. His car and engine preparation is meticulous, be it for road or race use. This stems from spending almost 10 years on Ferraris, doing engine tune-ups, or Cabriolet conversions. He began Mincomp in 1982, and started the development of his race car then. This progressed over the years from a basic "tub" car, through a highly developed "tub" car, to, in 1988, the building of a space frame chassis which he races today. None of this car is bought-in technology - Bill did all the work himself, including building the tube frame using a tape measure and cardboard cut-outs. Not a computer. This, in itself, speaks volumes for his ability, and seeing the car in the flesh is the only way to fully appreciate the project - mere photos do not do it justice. We'll call it "Mincomp Musings·'.

Bill and his Mini have proved an invaluable testing ground for our products, and as he often races in desert conditions in 110 degrees, new parts are really put to the test.

See page 13 for the first installmentl Over-heating rockers. This is a problem that should not occur. There is more than sufficient oil being flung around within the rocker cover to lubricate and cool all the parts contained therein. isn 't there? Or is there? A number of people have asked me about this over the years. They have fitted our 1.5 mechanical rockers or roller tip rockers, done some miles, or a race or two. and found that the adjuster screw balls and push rod cups have got so hot that they have deformed. Said person immediately blames us because this has only happened since fitting these items supplied/manufactured by us. One person went so far as to say that the reason this had happened to his new "S" rockers bought from us was because there was no oil feed hole drilled from the bush to the adjuster screw "like the original ones were. . He was still adamant this was the cause after I'd pointed out to him that neither had our 1.5 ratio mechanical rockers, and we'd sold literally thousands of these. The cause is simple. In each case where this has been a problem, rocker spacers were used. Not that this is a problem, but the example I was shown had the rocker spacers so tight against the rockers when fitted to the head~ that you could not turn them. If this happens there is nowhere for the oil to escape that is fed to the shaft to escape to lubricate and cool the rockers/springs/valves. If the tolerances must be this tight, drill holes in the spacers cross-wise. Big-ones. However, if the tcierances are this tight, you may as well use the standard springs - there will be less friction (not to mention more oil!). I always use these springs, even on my race engines - my short stroke 1300 regularly saw 9500rpm!

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One very popular question is "what carb needle do I need for my particular application?" This is very much like asking us to make a suit for a man that we've never seen. The only way to get this right is to have your car set up on a rolling road. The excuse of lack of funds wears a bit thin - especially when one of the offenders visits the shop with a blown engine expecting us to foot the bill for a full refund or rebuild because "one of your staff said this was the needle to use" Sorry, it doesn't wash. Mini Spares staff are happy to try and point you in the right direction, or suggest something that would be close - but the ONLYway to be sure is a proper rolling road session. Stick to those who are familiar with SU tuning (there aren't many of them), even if it means an hour and a half drive to get there. Having spent a large amount of your hard earned cash on a mega engine, why skimp now? Especially as the resultant failure can cost several hundred pounds to put right. In fact , having spent so much money on a serious spec engine, a dyno session would be an equally good investment. It only takes a day - well, a day once the engine is fitted to the dyno - so give it a day and a half. Total control over water temp, engine speed, ignition advance, fuelling, etc. , means that you are less likely to ruin the engine while running it in. Rather than fitting it in the car with a "near enough" mixture setting. including several hundred miles of slow, infuriating, running-in time (usually including several miles of "sod this, I wonder how well it goes" pedal pressing) and running a risk of two rich/too lean fuelling, where one destroys valve seats and softens piston rings -the other bore washing to destroy pistons and rings, and eventually bearings.

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The last item for this issue starts with an apology. I'm sorry, but I cannot make first class head modifiers out of anyone. Some basic facts really need to be absorbed here. It is a very dirty. sh*tty, messy, long. patience-testing job. Especially if you do not have profeSSional equipment. Doing it with a DIY drill fitted with a flex-shaft is going to take you for ever. I am well aware that persons of note say it is possible, and I bow to their superiority in years, but forget it. It takes long enough with all the right kit. If you have two left hands, do not attempt it. A major in artistic sculpture is very handy.

I do not want to seem defeatist about this, but I get many telephone calls from frustrated people trying to do it, and it's pretty distressing unless you have access to all the right gear, or have more patience than all Jesus's disciples put together. Invest some money wisely. BUY a head. Go to a reputable company. explain what you need and part with the cash. You get what you pay for in most instances, in some (where THE names are concerned) you get more because of their professional pride.

Keith Calver