Last time we caught up with Hagerty’s 1965 Mini Cooper S, things weren’t looking good, either visually or figuratively.
Our colleagues in the US had bought it as a bit of a smoker, but after removing the head to take a look at the possible causes, our host Davin discovered some significant gouges in the block, the result of – as far as anyone could tell – combustion slowly eating away at the material.
The question was whether the engine could be machined and skimmed enough to remove the damage, but not so much the engine was wildly out of spec – you can only skim so much, after all. And in the latest episode of Redline Rebuild, that’s what we discover.
The alternative to skimming the block would be to find a different one. Not disastrous, but rather a shame to transplant the heart of our Mini. Davin instead heads to the local machine shop to see what could be done.
Hopefully it’s not too much of a spoiler to reveal that thankfully, the block could be saved – and with a rebore and a new coat of paint, it’ll soon be ready to go back into the Mini, its smoking issues hopefully cleaned right up (and perhaps a little more power on the table, too).
We’re as intrigued as you are to see how this project will progress. Who doesn’t love a Mini Cooper, after all? We’ll update you when the next video drops, but in the meantime, why not subscribe to Hagerty’s YouTube channel to watch other Redline Rebuild episodes, plus a great deal more.
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