Thats coming up next week.

Yip,the Haynes manual, although vague also seems to indicate the dizzy side.

Can't be that critical eh? Otherwise Mildman might have posted something to the effect of: "the mystery of the prematurely worn out rocker shaft"

Definitely the distributor side.

As far as I know it must be on the distributor's side.

Hey guys - just to make absolutely sure (I'm gonna start the thing tonight after work) : The headbolt marked "T" goes into the middle hole on the dizzy side of the head?

The reason for asking is that I discovered Mildman's A14-build thread and while cross checking my build with his,I noticed that his "T" bolt went into the middle hole on the Exhaust (opposite) side of the head!

This had me slightly confused to say the least

one thing that's not mentioned in this thread, or the article dd linked is that the oil to the head is supplied via the centre cam journal. the centre cam bearing has extra oil holes to pass the oil and the centre cam journal has a scallop cut in it that restricts oil supply to the head.

Sports1300 racers (clubmans) used to elongate & deepen this scallop to increase oil supply to the valvetrain, used in conjunction with a hi-vol pump made from L series internals.

New cam? Don't forget to break it in (do not let the engine idle). See camshaft.


For more on the oiling system, see Lubrication Circuit

Thanks Dodgeman for the thorough explanation

I've kept it simple as I'm unfamiliar with Datto motors - Stock A15 with new rings on (good)used pistons,hone and new bearings.

The head has been flowed and reconditioned by a mate in the trade(stock valves,recut seats,new guides). The head has been skimmed to get the CR up to a modest 10.5:1. It has a 268 deg cam and twin 40 Weber sidies.

I'll build a warmer version next time around

Hi Mustard

Are'nt you going to use this car/engine for classic racing?
If so, what have you done to the engine.
Just curious about what the racers do to their engines to get good reliable power.

Regards