Anglia 997 engine
Discussion
Been away on holiday and as you do, my mind started drifting and wondering.
An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
Skyedriver said:
Been away on holiday and as you do, my mind started drifting and wondering.
An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
997 Anglia engine was a very strong engine for its time. Short stroke oversquare design meant very steady reliability. However I do think Turbocharging without a lot of serious improvements including complete dynamic balancing might be too far to go. Depends on how much you want to spend.An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
Steffan said:
Skyedriver said:
Been away on holiday and as you do, my mind started drifting and wondering.
An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
997 Anglia engine was a very strong engine for its time. Short stroke oversquare design meant very steady reliability. However I do think Turbocharging without a lot of serious improvements including complete dynamic balancing might be too far to go. Depends on how much you want to spend.An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
The flywheel ring gear was too soft and wore out at incredibly low mileages causing the starter to jam frequently. The rings were also very soft and they would devour oil again at low mileages.
The alloy casting for the carb was poor in the extreme and the spindle would wear an oval hole in the carb body making it impossible to get a decent idle mixture. Need I go on?
The 1200 was a wee bit better, but not by much.
The trick with an Anglia is to fit either the 1500 OHV engine or, in the case of sub 1400, the 1300 cross flow from the MK2 Cortina. This is a stonking little engine and can be made to produce serious amounts of power reliably, and would definitely stand up to charge pressure.
J
jith said:
Steffan said:
Skyedriver said:
Been away on holiday and as you do, my mind started drifting and wondering.
An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
997 Anglia engine was a very strong engine for its time. Short stroke oversquare design meant very steady reliability. However I do think Turbocharging without a lot of serious improvements including complete dynamic balancing might be too far to go. Depends on how much you want to spend.An Anglia was pretty small and light, can be made to handle and stop.
there's a hillclimb class for road going up to 1400cc. A turbo or supercharger multiplies the engine size by 1.4.....
My guess is the 997 was a 3 bearing crank?? and would fall apart but has anyone ever tried it?
The flywheel ring gear was too soft and wore out at incredibly low mileages causing the starter to jam frequently. The rings were also very soft and they would devour oil again at low mileages.
The alloy casting for the carb was poor in the extreme and the spindle would wear an oval hole in the carb body making it impossible to get a decent idle mixture. Need I go on?
The 1200 was a wee bit better, but not by much.
The trick with an Anglia is to fit either the 1500 OHV engine or, in the case of sub 1400, the 1300 cross flow from the MK2 Cortina. This is a stonking little engine and can be made to produce serious amounts of power reliably, and would definitely stand up to charge pressure.
J
Engines and lubrication have improved so much it seems much simpler to shoehorn in a modern unit. I still remember baking distributor caps from Anglia's to dry them out because the cold weather starting was so awful. That produced boosting coils and all the other ignition upgrades eventually ensuring transitorised ignition. If modern cars do not fire at once there is a fault and a specialist electrician with laptop is essential. That is progress I think.
Interesting comments
I thought the 1 litre (997) engine was used in the Formula junior single seaters and would therefore be stronger than that.
Re the 1300 engine, I had one in a Mk 2 Cortina and it flew but I think I would struggle with eligibility in the older precrossflow Anglia - need more research....
Also need to sell the Mini Clubman
I thought the 1 litre (997) engine was used in the Formula junior single seaters and would therefore be stronger than that.
Re the 1300 engine, I had one in a Mk 2 Cortina and it flew but I think I would struggle with eligibility in the older precrossflow Anglia - need more research....
Also need to sell the Mini Clubman
the cosworth mae (modified anglia engine) screamer and presumably FJ engine - or kit of parts you bought from cosworth - was based on a 997 ford anglia lump wasn't it? remember seeing one in back of an old f3 car with what looked like a downdraught weber - can only assume this engine was based on a later 5 bearing crank as i am sure these used to rev to crazy amounts?
I thought the 997 engine was the F3 requirement in the late 60's. Seem to remember Holbay tuning them with around 114 bhp revving to 7,000rpm with titanium valve collets and breathing through a 32 mm restrictor on one choke of a 38IDF?
My Boss / Driver man got Holbay to set up a manifold and twin 40dcoes if I remember, for formula libre where it knocked out some 140bhp.
We never had a problem with the mechanicals ( refreshed at HUGE expense by Holbay every season) but the Lucas magic black box ignition was a constant headache.
It was in a Lotus ????? can't remember the type no. it had been developed by John Miles, but the Brabhams (BT 18's ?) of the era left it for dead.
We actually bought it from Frank Williams when he was still dealing from a phone box at the end of his Mews .
My Boss / Driver man got Holbay to set up a manifold and twin 40dcoes if I remember, for formula libre where it knocked out some 140bhp.
We never had a problem with the mechanicals ( refreshed at HUGE expense by Holbay every season) but the Lucas magic black box ignition was a constant headache.
It was in a Lotus ????? can't remember the type no. it had been developed by John Miles, but the Brabhams (BT 18's ?) of the era left it for dead.
We actually bought it from Frank Williams when he was still dealing from a phone box at the end of his Mews .
Edited by niccis dad on Monday 4th November 19:23
The engine you want is the 940 unit as used in export Mark 1 Escorts. That had a five bearing crank and was a big improvement over the 997 Anglia. Either that or sleeve down a 1098 Escort unit.
I never liked the 105E or smaller 1100/1300 Escort units much. The A Series was always more pleasant to drive with better throttle response and economy.
I never liked the 105E or smaller 1100/1300 Escort units much. The A Series was always more pleasant to drive with better throttle response and economy.
iSore said:
The engine you want is the 940 unit as used in export Mark 1 Escorts. That had a five bearing crank and was a big improvement over the 997 Anglia. Either that or sleeve down a 1098 Escort unit.
I never liked the 105E or smaller 1100/1300 Escort units much. The A Series was always more pleasant to drive with better throttle response and economy.
Now there I do agree with you. The A series was by far the best output from BMC in its heyday and some 5,500,000 were produced powering all sorts of different cars. So good that the Nissan bought the design from Rover when it was finished after nearly 50 years in production. Indeed the Nissan small engine now in production can still trace its origins to the A series which says it ALL. Harry Weslake was personally responsiBle for the squish head which at the time was the inexpensive answer to full fuel burning and cool running with huge advantages because it did not require OHC layouts which for cash strapped BMC at that time was the winner. That is one hell of a success story.I never liked the 105E or smaller 1100/1300 Escort units much. The A Series was always more pleasant to drive with better throttle response and economy.
niccis dad said:
I thought the 997 engine was the F3 requirement in the late 60's. Seem to remember Holbay tuning them with around 114 bhp revving to 7,000rpm with titanium valve collets and breathing through a 32 mm restrictor on one choke of a 38IDF?
The famous maroon Broadspeed Anglia's as driven by John Fitzpatrick, were 997cc and running reworked heads (intake ports welded up and re-angled) to enabled them to run a TJ fuel injection system, were possibly dry-sumped as well.....and were making around 115hp IIRC 
aeropilot said:
niccis dad said:
I thought the 997 engine was the F3 requirement in the late 60's. Seem to remember Holbay tuning them with around 114 bhp revving to 7,000rpm with titanium valve collets and breathing through a 32 mm restrictor on one choke of a 38IDF?
The famous maroon Broadspeed Anglia's as driven by John Fitzpatrick, were 997cc and running reworked heads (intake ports welded up and re-angled) to enabled them to run a TJ fuel injection system, were possibly dry-sumped as well.....and were making around 115hp IIRC The Anglia 997 was a big improvement on the old Prefect engine (SV) which preceded it. I had my taste of that engine building Falcon Ashley and similar E93A kit cars in the late 1950's. Interesting anachronistic cars but a world of difference from the 997 that followed motorway cruising really arrived with that small car very high gearing in fourth made highish speed sustainable. Independant front suspension also helped although the live axle set up at the rear was a definite weakness!
OP appears to want to run his car in the Up-to-1400cc Roadgoing hillclimb class. Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing whatsoever that you could do to that engine to make it competitive in that class. You either put a big engine in the Anglia and run it in Sports Libre, or you run a different car in that class. Of course, if you are not too bothered about being competitive, then run it as it is.... you don't see many on the hills, and I am sure you would be welcomed. Best of luck whatever you decide.
pilbeam_mp62 said:
OP appears to want to run his car in the Up-to-1400cc Roadgoing hillclimb class. Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing whatsoever that you could do to that engine to make it competitive in that class. You either put a big engine in the Anglia and run it in Sports Libre, or you run a different car in that class. Of course, if you are not too bothered about being competitive, then run it as it is.... you don't see many on the hills, and I am sure you would be welcomed. Best of luck whatever you decide.
Begs the question, so what is competitive in that hillclimb class? Modern 1400? Pug 205? Opel/Vaux c14SE Nova?I know there is ballistic roundnose Mini that runs a turbocharged 998cc A-series, regularly cleans up at Curborough in the up-to-1400cc modified roadgoing sprint class - runs FI and 3D mapped ignition. Are the regs same/similar for hillclimbing. Perhaps that would be a better option in the OP's Mini clubmen, all that real estate for a big Intercooler as well... Despite the 3-bearing crank the 998-series is a tough bit of kit. Mine runs 8.5K rpm WOT all day long using modified production crank/rods and forged pistons.
Re competitive in the class: the record is help by a 205 with a good margin over a Cooper S. My 1330 MG Metro powered Clubman runs a good few seconds behind along with a few other minis, Ka, fiesta Saxo etc. An Alpine 110 was pretty good in the class too.
TBH it's the mini thing, everything I want/need to do to it is a fiddly pain whereas an old Ford always seems easier to work on.
Skyedriver said:
TBH it's the mini thing, everything I want/need to do to it is a fiddly pain whereas an old Ford always seems easier to work on.
When I started out 30+ years ago, you could always tell the Mini owners in my motor club by just looking for the scarred knuckles....
I had a Mini first as they were cheap, and always wanted to move onto a Mk1 or Mk2 1275 S, but the lure of rwd and easier to work on Fords was too much and I made the switch after 18 months.
aeropilot said:
Skyedriver said:
TBH it's the mini thing, everything I want/need to do to it is a fiddly pain whereas an old Ford always seems easier to work on.
When I started out 30+ years ago, you could always tell the Mini owners in my motor club by just looking for the scarred knuckles....
I had a Mini first as they were cheap, and always wanted to move onto a Mk1 or Mk2 1275 S, but the lure of rwd and easier to work on Fords was too much and I made the switch after 18 months.
Much as I love the Mini which I do, it must be possible to better that package nowadays and cramped is a kindly description. But still the greatest character of any car on the road. Wonderful cars!
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