No leaded gasoline and possible valvle replacement
I own a 1250 Mini clubman 1.972 ... would you recommend valvle replacement? since here in Spain wright now we will not be able to find the leaded gasoline.
Should I chage any other parts ?
If so .. would you recommend me any source in order to finde the apropriate kit ?
There is also the option to use an additive to the gasiline .
I'd aprreciate your opinnions.
Thanks in advance.
no, keep the engine, 1250cc must have been a one off as most are 1275cc, get another unleaded engine & drop it in, what you have must be as rare as hens teeth,
Steve.
I would use unleaded with an additive and have the head converted when you need some other work on the engine. This way you shouldn't have to mess with timing/mixture etc until any major work is needed. At the same time you could keep an eye out for a cheap replacement unleaded head from a later model or Metro.
replacement?
The only parts that need replacement in the cylinder head are the valve seat inserts. This has to be carried out by an engineering shop.
Having said that there are heaps of cars that will run happily for some considerable time without the conversion just using an additive to the fuel.
rIn the U.S. we have had nothing but unleaded fuel since the early
1980's. Typically we haven't used additives or hardened valve seats in older engines. We don't see pervasive problems with valve recession in engines like the A-series or B-series.It's a good idea to retard the ignition to avoid pre-ignition (pinking, pinging). In the U.S. we tend to run our sports cars a bit on the rich side and I suspect this helps as well. There would certainly be nothing harder on valve seats than unleaded fuel, over-advanced ignition timeing and a lean mixture.
Cheers,
Kelley
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