David L wrote:So Alan, that's the story with the Mark 2/Bronze; could you say whether there's more room in the right place to fit either of those engines straight into the Gold/Mark 3?
Hi David,
I've not tried, but I don't think so! If you line up a Mk2 & 3 together bumper to bumper, it's a long time since I did it. But the windscreen to headlights distance is about the same. The Mk 3 is obviously wider and Stuart thinks that maybe a single cam will tuck in behind the offside headlight. But even if you could, you would not be able to get the cam cover off, you would have to drop the engine and subframe. This theory is borne out on Stan's Mk 3, as he managed to get a single cam K-series in, but moved the headlight forward and disguised it with bigger eyebrow covers. My own Mk 3 with the twin cam K-series in has the cam cover tucked under the headlight, even though it has an extended front. I even made a jig to start converting the A-series Metro front subframe, but never took it any further
If you look underneath the subframe on the second picture, you can see I even made a Metro width engine cradle! Look how short the front to back distance is on the end view.
Here is a side view of a Mk3 with an MG TF subframe placed in. This will give you an idea how much space a modern engine needs, but saying that you can get a K-series in a standard length front Mini!
As you can see I've tried, but the body beats me every time, I'm not confident at the moment to try altering the bodywork! But I'm going to have to bite the bullet soon!!!
Alan