Mattallics Mini #2

July 23, 2020 22 Comments

Deeper into the street project we go, the Mattallics Mini has undergone some deep engine work, a small amount of tuning and been on a diet! 

So we've been without our Mini for a few weeks whilst it's been away having some maintenance and engine head work carried out. Now it's no secret that this car gets a thrashing, but recently something a little more than just a lose spark plug came to our attention. The little 1.6 supercharged engine was experiencing a miss-fire and low compression in cylinders 1 and 2 (90/120/150/150 psi) cylinders 1-4 respectively. At this point, your guess is as good as ours... so we didn't have much choice but to remove the head and take a look at its internals.

 

Much to our annoyance, there wasn't a clear issue that stared us in the face. But rather a few 'minor issues' which could have have been causing the miss-fires and lack of bang. And in no particular order... these we're the findings *Geek mode activated*. 2 out of the 4 exhaust valves in cylinders 1 and 2 were white, indicating the mini was running lean using too much air and not enough fuel. The engine cam was also worn down quite significantly on one side which was resulting in the valves not opening all the way. Two valves also had imperfections on the seal, only minor but enough to lose compression. We had no choice but to send the head off for skimming, seats re-cut, ported and polished.

                             

So whilst it was all in bits and we had access to areas we wouldn't have otherwise so, we decided to give it a full once over: New camshaft, valves, head gasket, head bolts, thermostat, rocker cover gasket, injectors, engine oil/ filter and installed a 17% reduction Kavs Supercharger pully for good measure. The engine is now consisting of 170psi across all 4 cylinders! Our Mini pulls strong through the rev range and runs slicker than our Purifier Shampoo...a perfect result and preparation for its future!

 

 

As we're planning on installing some bucket seats down the line, we've not got much use for the rear seats. Throughout a Saturday morning, we measured up and made some suitable boot boards, cut out a trap door section where the battery lives and carpeted the panelling. The carpet was simply outlined and cut out, then applying some upholstery adhesive to both surfaces, it was glued down to stay snug. All in all, around £30 in materials and a few hours of sweat, swearing and persistence... a job well done we’d say! 

Thanks for reading our second update on the Mattallics Mini. No doubt a track day or two is over the horizon and we'd love to see you alongside us! We wish you all well - Mattallics Detailing Team!

•Ignore the fire extinguisher, it was just for show•

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