I plan on going to a 1098 since I was given one for free along with 3 gearboxes and another head. I might weld up the original engine, but that would be after I get the car "finished" and hopefully have the money to get it done, but for now I am just going to put it in storage.

In 1981 or so, I had a 1978 Honda Civic Wagon I got from my father for free.

He had put a chunk of a connecting rod through the side of the block.   He drove it for 3 days with 1 connecting rod flipping and banging around inside the engine, losing lots of oil on each of his 2 mile trips.  How that car ever drove the 12 miles on 3 separate days (6 wee trips in all) is beyond me. The hole was the size of a quarter or a bit bigger.  I believe the block was cast iron or some kind of steel at any rate.

I partially dismantled the engine and removed it from the engine bay.

We sent it off to be welded and $100 later I had a 'good' block.  I replaced only the connecting rod and put many miles on that car afterwards.

YMMV

I'm not sure about Mini engines, but in my youth I saw a 4 cyl engine that had cracked. When the crank was taken out, it would not go back in because the bearings were no longer aligned. The bent block was apparently bending the crank untill it was lulled free.

Polish it up and put a glass table top on it.

Image Gallery

busted a valve at a race  welded up the hole in the piston in the pits . started last with a busted up engine  finished first ,   people were betting in the pits if the weld would hold up,it did  , in fact raced two more races before had a piston to replace it with . 

agree with most its junk, but for information its easy to weld both,  with a tig welder  and nickle cast rod  you can weld up the block  ,  with alum rod weld up the trani, then mill flat the  mating surfaces, done it many times in the old  racing days  .  . can you do it  yes  do you want to   no. 

search "cast iron stitching"

My 2 cents with the devalued currency we now have still is to junk your lump and get a replacement. If you think you must have an 850 go for it. If you live where there are any hills, I'd suggest at least a 998. Get a complete running lump. There lots of folks who went to 1300's and have 998's sitting which can be purchased inexpensively.

Welding aluminum is not an issue, Cast iron is another story, and while it can be done, for what you'll have into your old lump, you could have another running lump and be driving tomorrow.

you can do most anything as long as you are willing to pay for it - welding an iron block and an aluminum transmission included. This is a job for an expert welder/fabicator/machinist. Getting it done right would be at least a few hundred bucks.

you could also ask yourself, what does engine numbers matching really mean? Sure, if you know 100% for sure that it's the original engine and trans, and you absolutely want to keep it that way, that's one thing, and for that you can pay a lot of money to fix something that really isn't worth a lot of money. Or, you could buy a replacement block and trans. for what I expect would be less than the cost of trying to repair what you have - 850 engine's/trans aren't worth much. From a 'numbers matching' standpoint, there are casting numbers you can match to what would have been in the car, and if you really like, buy the tag that gets riveted on the block with the serial number that would have been attached to it, or transfer the one of the current block if it's still there.

Just my opinion.  

Don't even think about trying to weld that up, the engine would be tough to do but the the transmission would be also

What you now have is a boat anchor or paper weight at best

Take Ron up on his offer and move along from there

BIG AL

Ron,

I want to drive the car, but I was talking to one of my buddies here and they were telling me that it could be fixed and as always I wanted to check and make sure I am not being filled with smoke. It would have been nice to put the car back together just the way it came off the assembly line(as much as possible), but alas I guess my only option is to go the buy a motor/trans route. I am still going the 1100 route, I think...

As for the one up there what would be considered a reasonable price? I really don't want to go over $500 for a non-running, if its in pieces, needs a rebuild. If its running and pretty much a slide in (doesn't have to be pretty) motor than I would of course pay more. I would love to put the magic wand back in the car.

Also has anyone seen the prices of interiors for these wagons...it cost more to decorate the interior than pretty much anything else on the car. WOW!

Scott 

Hi Scott,

It all depends what the end use for the car is. Do you want a car that sits in the garage and collects dust or do you want to get out there and drive? There were issues with the early engine/transmissions which lent to their early demise. Even if you did or could rebuild what you have, it may not last long and could give you grief. It has a wet crank and cone syncro's. I thought you were going the 1100 route? I know of one up here that probably could be had for a reasonable amount and you could put the magic wand on it. I have a '61 with the same issues and my thoughts were to keep it as stock sitting in a crate and use a more modern(?) 850, 998 or 1100. You could put the magic wand on one of these.

Sorry, but this doesn't help with your arguement for the 1380.

Ron

As most of you know I purchase a 1962 Austin Mini Countryman Woodie back in March of this year. When I purchased the car I knew that it had a hole in the 850 block. When I was disassembling I noticed that the hole removed about 1 1/2" out of the motor and about the same out of the trans case right along the mating surface behind the starter. The reason I am asking this question is that it is the original motor and trans and I was just checking whether its possible or not to weld the pieces back into the block/trans, this way I can keep the car all numbers matching...or would it be easier to just put the motor trans aside and get a new one. Just making sure before I convince the old lady that I need a really big motor(1380)