MINI Cooper S Project
It has been a busy few weeks here at Mount Motor Works with a new project car in the works.
We picked up a 2008 MINI Cooper S on Trade Me with a blown headgasket. It was going fairly cheap as it definitely needed a bit of TLC, so we loaded up the trailer, shot up to Auckland and got it back to the workshop.
It appears to have overheated due to a leaking coolant pump and then the headgasket had gone soon after on cylinder 4.
Once we got it apart and checked everything we decided to give it a big Birthday and sent the cylinder head away to be machined and the valves re cut so they would seal up nicely. The pistons were removed and the cylinders honed as the cylinders were glazed.
We had a new set of piston rings measured and fitted up and then reassembled the engine with new gaskets and seals.
It now runs like a dream and we have really been enjoying driving it. As the little Cooper S has a manual gearbox it is a great joy to get it out and into some corners. But what to do with it now? Watch this space…
