Talk:BMC A-series engine

Your help requested
The Mini article is in the Peer review process - perhaps heading towards Featured Article status. I would greatly appreciate experts on A-series engines taking a look at it. (If you find a problem, please either fix it or post your concerns on the Talk:Mini page. TIA SteveBaker 20:50, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

SPi
SPi should be under a new heading like Twin point injection.

Out of spec
Describing the new/developed engines, is it too much to ask how they differed, more than just a pow/torque rating? Trekphiler 02:40, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

DIESEL A-Series
Is there any further information available?? ANY sources to name? Where does the information "22HP" come from? Strassenbelag 22:20, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

OHV versus sidevalve
Perhaps some mention should be made of the fact that all the A series engines were OHV - this engine appeared around the time the industry was moving away from side valve to OHV. As an example, the first engine in the Morris Minor was a side valve type, and Ford used side valves in their smaller British cars until the end of the 1950s. Soarhead77 (talk) 18:36, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

XSP dry sump engines
I think there should be a section on the factory race engines, initially produced for Formula Junior, but also used in Sebring Sprites.

From FJ site http://www.formulajunior.com/Car%20Marques/08%20Cars/Cooper/Cooper.html there would appear to be four successive XSP dry sump inline engines built by the factory or Morris Engines. Not sure if Sprite versions dry or wet sump.

For 1960 there was a 948 bored out to 64.4mm x 76.2mm stroke for 994cc (FJ site) 995cc (most often quoted online), but actually calcs as 993cc! Twin SUs

For 1961, same 993, but with twin-choke Weber

For 1962, bored out to 67.6 x 76.2 for quoted 1095 (1094 calc), twin-choke Weber. Not sure if still based on 948 block.

For 1963, bored out to 71.5, with stroke of 68.2 (probably 68.28 as in Mini)gives quoted 1098 (1097 calc) This obviously the inline version of 1071 Cooper S engine, bored close to 1100 FJ limit. For use in Mini, it would seem BMC allowed for a rebore whilst staying within 1100 class racing. Not sure if special block. Which came first -- 1097 inline or 1071 transverse?

Lots still to find out -- feedback welcome — Preceding unsigned comment added by Timetack (talk • contribs) 20:24, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

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A Series power
With the introduction of the 4 speed AP automatic transmission fitted to Minis and 1100's from 1966, the engine power was increased to offset power lost in the torque converter. The 848cc was increased from 34bhp to 39bhp, the 998 from 38bhp to 44bhp and the 1098 from 48bhp to 56bhp (the figure for the 1098 is actually in the BL workshop manual in the section on General Data - page general data 9. The torque is also quoted as 61ftlb at 2000rpm). These increases in power were achieved by higher compression, larger inlet valves and an HS4 carb. There was no increase in power for the Austin/Morris 1300 which remained at 60bhp (though I have (somewhere !) a BL brochure for a Wolseley 1300 showing an engine bay picture of an automatic with twin carbs - so presumably 65bhp. I owned a Wolseley 1300 auto (TAR244J) but it had a single carb 60bhp engine fitted as standard).

The MG1100 is generally quoted as 55bhp which is correct up to 1966, but it then benefitted from improvements to the 8.9:1 head fitted to the automatic with even larger inlet valves and the power was increased to 57bhp at 5500rpm.

Tony Erwood. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.235.41.82 (talk) 21:59, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

Inappropriate Nissan information
Should the detailed information about the Nissan development of this engine be in this article? A reference to the licensing and a wikilink to the Nissan version page should be enough. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.51.155.34 (talk) 18:06, 12 September 2020 (UTC)

Gearbox in sump?
I'm a bit surprised this article has barely any mention of the fact this engine typically has a sump-mounted gearbox in FWD applications - often considered a key feature of this engine, and something that probably could do with being described in at least some detail considering the engine's long history going well into the era when the gearbox-on-end transverse layout became the de facto standard. There's also no mention of the automatic gearboxes besides the description of one photo. It certainly deserves more of a mention than the huge paragraph about Nissan engines... Zilog Jones (talk) 10:50, 28 August 2021 (UTC)
 * I know the Mini had the transmission in the oil pan. Or did it have the oil pan in the transmission? I guess the little Austins with the transverse engines did too?   Which cars didn't have this? Was this a North-South engine made into a transverse engine or was it a transverse engine from the get go? Diaph0nous (talk) 14:21, 28 August 2021 (UTC)
 * All applications prior to the Mini, such as the Austin A30/A35, A40 (Farina) and Morris Minor were rear wheel drive (RWD) and so used the conventional north-south layout with the transmission mounted on a bell housing behind the engine. The same layout was also used for later RWD cars such as the Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget; Morris Marina (1.3 only) and Morris Ital (1.3 only).
 * The gearbox was only fitted beneath (in the sump) for transverse mounted engines, which were themselves only used in FWD cars - Mini family (all models), Austin/Morris/MG/Wolseley/Riley/Vanden Plas 1100/1300 family (all models), Austin Allegro (1.3 or smaller); Austin/MG Metro (1.0 and 1.3); Austin/MG Maestro (1.3 only); Austin/MG Montego (1.3 only). -- Red rose64 &#x1f339; (talk) 18:10, 28 August 2021 (UTC)
 * The Maestros/Montegos that used the A series had end-on gearboxes rather than in the sump, though the engines were of a different design from the older inline engines, having a proper oil seal and I believe a different flywheel mounting. Emmajnation (talk) 15:58, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Nissan content questioned
See
 * The following paragraph needs citation as it contradicts the wikipeda pages for the Nissan engines it refrences, as well as well disregards well known mechanical details that disprove the relationship of the refrenced OHC engines
 * Opinion should not be presented as fact

In reference to
 * It became the basis for many of their following engines notably the later OHC Nissan E engine]], was scaled up into Nissan CA engine and ultimately the DOHC 170 bhp CA18DET as well as scaled down into the Nissan MA engine.

Andy Dingley (talk) 08:38, 1 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I second removing the editorializing, but I do agree that we should add a citation for this- particularly in extending the A-series heritage to the CA and MA engines. I definitely have some stuff on the shelves for the A-series and E1 relationship, though.  Mr.choppers &#124;   ✎  13:55, 1 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Actually, I looked into this a tiny bit, and the Nissan C and E engines were both derived from the BMC B-series engine, which was license built by Nissan as the Nissan 1H. I don't see any support for including any of this content in the A-series page; it should be at B-series.  Mr.choppers &#124;   ✎  14:09, 1 September 2023 (UTC)
 * It has been there from day 1, but the article creator,, seems to have retired. -- DeFacto (talk). 15:28, 1 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it just seems to be either the result of some confusion since Nissan made 1.0, 1.2, and 1.3-liter versions derived from the B. All citations I find say that Nissan license-built the B and used it as the basis for their future designs; the A-series was never used by Nissan and no cars that use the A-series were ever license built by Nissan (as far as I can tell). I am normally in favor of tags and giving people a chance to provide a source, but this is pretty cut and dry.   Mr.choppers &#124;   ✎  12:28, 5 September 2023 (UTC)
 * @Mr.choppers, makes perfect sense to me to leave it out then. -- DeFacto (talk). 13:16, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

Engine family list questioning source
In the Engine family list section, it states “ All A-series engines up until mid-1970 were painted in British Standard (381c) 223 "Middle Bronze Green".” and gives a vague reference as “Austin Morris (BL) internal documents archives.” I’d be interested to see what this source actually is, as it is not correct; for example Sprite and Midget engines were painted a pale metallic green between late 1967 and late 1971 (Horler, Terry (1994). Original Sprite & Midget. Bay View Books. pp. 100-101 ISBN 1 870979 45 1 Emmajnation (talk) 16:24, 12 October 2023 (UTC)