Mini Pics, movies, Lots of both!
BMW K1 on A series
Matt getting comfy with the BMW K1

After competing in the the 2002 Targa Tasmania road rally event, Matt felt the need for more power. It is well known that the major limiting factor on power output from the 'A' series is the rather asthmatic 5-port head. This is especially true of the larger capacity motors, and the 1510cc engine that has been used in the "new blew" to date certainly fits that category. A 16 valve head is a great route to extra power, and the most common heads used are the KAD and Jack Knight items made especially for this purpose, but are costly and can require difficult installation.

Looking to a cheaper option, the cylinder head from the 1100cc BMW K1 motorcycle was found to be a very close match in both cylinder and stud spacing and had been used by a couple of other mini enthusiasts around the world. This is the "miniman" spin on how it should be done.

 
 
  The complete donk, as it comes with 4 small injection throttle bodies   This is how it looks when placed on a 1275 block - the match is very good and a number of the studs don't even need modification
  As above, end on   The business end, where it has to be driven. The cams run backwards compared to the 'A' series, but as the cams are symmetrical, it should not present huge issues. The following pics show more detail on how it will be implemented.
  This little piece of alloy plate i made up to seal off the bottom of the head to stop oil "pissing" (leaking badly) out under the front cover...it gets grub screwed into place & alloy devcon putty plastered around to seal it all.   That`s the little piece in its place.
  The same piece from different angle..the excess metal overhanging the head will be skimmed off flush with the front face of the head to allow the front cover to seal against it   And again, the same bit from another angle with the "old" front cover faced up against it. A completely new "Billet" front cover is being made to support a jack shaft which will hold both the outer, upper, front toothed pulley & the inner driving gear for the cams chain.
  This shot shows the cyl head back on the donk & shows just enough room for waterpump pulley clearance.   Here you can see the drive gears & chain will be set up...the little driving gear will be situated & turned by a jack shaft which is supported by bearings through the new billet front cover.
  The outer, upper toothed driven pulley roughly in its position, with plenty of clearance for the original fan/waterpump/alt belt to be easily replaced.   This one shows a "mock up" of the lower driving toothed pulley in its place. A little alloy adapter plate is being made to mount it true to an original Cooper "S" 2 piece (bolt together) front pulley & balanced with the crank.
  And again, another "mock up" of the upper driven toothed pulley, in its place ready to be mounted to the jack shaft to be fitted through the new alloy billet front cover.   This is just a very rough positioning of all the pulleys, belts, gears & chain, in their respective places...once the new front cover & jack shaft is made I will "dummy" it all up again to make sure it all lines up...after which, a little tensioner roller will be mounted to the mini front engine plate (where the alt bracket swings from) to tension any belt slack.