I will shortly be fitting a P75 engine into a 1989 Mini, ive had the head off to give it a basic porting (heavy decoke) and im now wondering what head gasket to use when I reassemble it.
Ive read elsewhere that the late 1242cc 8v engines have a "metal" head gasket that raises the compression ratio because its slightly thinner and may be more reliable and less prone to faliure due to its construction.

Does anyone know if this is true and if so what its Fiat part number is and whzt cars it is fitted to.

all fiat FIRE engines have metal head gaskets as far as i know.. Best bet IMO is to order a genuine Fiat one for a 1242 8v.

The ePER is great for finding part no's

7th Post:

https://www.fiatforum.com/cinquecento-seicento/280352-turbo-prep-getting-my-fact-straight.html

Not sure why you'd wan't to put a 75 engine in a mini though, people seem to get as much if not more out of an A series and there are more tuning parts available.

thats a good point, i recently been looking through a massive pile of old mini mag's from before i could drive (over a decade ago), and they were making 100bhp+ from the a-series back then..

Thanks for that Honeymonster,its exactly what im after....
You are both correct about the tuning potential of the A series engine and the vast ammount of tuning parts available for it......but there is always the fly in the ointment......only 4 gears
Ive recently been on some long journeys to Newquay and Le Mans and its no fun sitting on a motorway at 65mph at 3800rpm always wishing for a 5th gear.

5 speed conversions are available but are out of my price range and would be a waste of time on my standard 1275 engine.
Ideally im after a 25 bhp increase over the standard 60bhp A series,5 gears and unleaded fuel compatibility for under £500
To get this from an A series will cost me in excess of £2000.
My plan is to use a P75 engine,retro fit a Uno distributor,make an inlet manifold for motorbike carbs,4-2-1 exhaust manifold and a Mk2 Punto 5 speed box with a 3.4:1 diff and over driven 5th gear,my Mini gearbox has a 3.4:1 diff and 1:1 4th gear so the Punto box will be ideal.

Lots of power to be had from the A series, but lots of money!

The HG isn't really an issue, the problem is that the cooling system has no room for error.

Late (that is, very late) cars do use a metal HG, but will run a different map to compensate for the higher CR. Can be retrofitted, but generally the block needs to be machined smoother.

I doubt, given the cooling system is in order, that you'll have any issues with the old style composite HG. Use new bolts, ensure the mating surfaces are dead flat and squealy clean, lubricate the head bolts, ensure the threads in the block are clean, empty etc. Do use an angle guage.