i was talking to someone tonight who had an important postion in the development of the k series engine and i mentioned the butter head gaskets and he said it's down to 4 bolts ( i think) if they are over/under tightened they cause problems but when they are just right they will last a long time. another thing he told me was about the turbo mini (original) with the turbo boost turned upto maximum got up to 145mph!! (standard version at 25% boost) and then took 3 laps to stop!! and the brakes were killed in the process!! he also said about a turbo'ed k series engine only having 3% boost! as the engine already puts out a lot of power!!!

K series has a few problems, the main problem is the block moves about because it has a weak crankcase. the crankcase is webbed for lightness. On the 1.8, to allow for a longer stroke, some of the webbing is removed, and its even more flexible!! The dowles upto 2002 were not metal and so the head blew at the front left corner above the alternator. Because the coolant capacity is tiny[around 1.5 pints], it soon overheats and thats why the gasket goes. 1.8 has low boost, because gasket cannot take big boost. Metal dowles that fit at each corner together with a stronger gasket improved things after 2002.
As for the original Mini Turbo, do you mean the tickford version from a few years ago? If so, the aerodynamics will not allow much more then 120mph with alot of power!! this is why the Abarth 1000TCR's could trounch the Mini's down the long straights in European racing.

Andy.

also some spoon but the thermostat in the wrong place, and when it opened it dumped cold water into the hot head, causing 'issues'

the mini was done by ERA and after doing some research i'm thinking it may of been 125mph. i was a bit drunk at the time though. he did say though about it taking 3 laps to stop from top speed at testing at gaydon. roughly how long's the circuit? i think i might have to ask him for some more details next time i see him though.

It's a "sandwich" construction engine and the through bolts hold everything together (8 I think) they go right through from the top of the camshaft into the sump. This saves weight and the engine was very succesful here. As ever lack of investment meant a 1.4 with some edge design was stretched to 1.8, the final strech being a longer stroke. And yes this was aking too much of them. With the remote thermostat metal gasket dowels the latest gasket (or an aftermarket one) and the Ford oil rail (this goes in the sump and locates the bottom of the bolts, Ford re-designed it to help in the Freelander) the reliabilty is good, but I have heard of them still giving trouble. The MGF is the most seriusly affected often failing after the 30K service when they change the coolant, and dont bleed the long pipes to the rad properly, also a failed engine compartment fan can blow the gasket. But you can get a lot of car for your money with an F/TF!. The "A" series in the mini is a different story being famously tunable despite it's unpromising siamesed port head, it is also light for its output and known for being unbreakable. I can believe the breaks are a problem in tuned minis, the discs on my Cooper were smaller than a Chatham girls hoop earings.

A series in standard form was anything but unbreakable. The friction caused by the huge mass[pistons, conrods, crank and heavy flywheel], had the engine worn out by 40k. Its only when most of the standard parts were thrown away and people like Swift tune made stronger, lighter components to make the engines more powerful and reliable. To tune an A series engine took some money!!
Yep, MGF is the worse culprit for head gasket, and a pain to fix having the engine buried. Early Freelanders too were problematic. Indeed, this engine was dropped by Lotus as they said it did not meet American emission laws, but i think they were glad to see the back of it. But if its sorted properly, a very tuneable and light engine!!
The through bolts are nothing new. Gardner diesels were using them in the 1930's, and the infamous Chevy V8 uses them and that engine is bomb proof.

Andy.

Hi Andy, the Gardner name bought some memories back, my dad used to run Gardner engined Fodens in his business as he used to say he liked to sleep at night rather than hear from drivers stranded in Cumbria (probably he just liked the fuel economy, he could be pretty mean . Not sure if they still play in the road vehicle market but you could always tell one on the motorway by it's exhaust note. You are quite right about the 40K for a Longbridge built A series, thats what they were designed for in those days, however in Midgets , Mini Coopers and Minors in enthusiast hands they will easily see the world petrol resrves out.