I had a 12g 940 on my car. I've had a AEG 163 sitting around for almost 20 years. I try to sell it a few times but nobody was interested. So about a year ago I put it on My Car 1275 GT motor. Now I have 2 12g 940 so if you're interested in one let me know but in the meantime good luck with yours

I made a couple of calls and it seems those guys are no longer interested in working on mini heads. I appreciate the work they did for us and certainly left on great terms. Good luck to them. Sorry my recommendation did not work out.

Hello.
Thank you to all who posted and the great suggestions.

I called and spoke with Bel.  If this is the correct Bel.  Apparently they only do aluminum heads.  Never have worked on cast iron. 

Bel Engine Services
1-9804 47 Ave NW, Edmonton AB T6E 5P3
1 780-465-3586

He recommended Edmonton Cast Iron Repair down the street.
//www.edmontoncastironrepair.com/edmontoncastironrepair.com/WELCOME.html
Since our company started in 1959 our expertise has grown to meet our customer’s demands. Originally operating as a cylinder head rebuilding facility Edmonton Cast Iron’s specialized welding technique...
Never heard back from them.

I found //www.midwestcylinderhead.com/services.php#special
I spoke with the shop foreman.  He stated repair should not be an issue; we have done this work untold number of times.

I will be sending the head to Midwest.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Exciting stuff!!  And soon to be expensive too. Oh Boy!

Thanks again.

Tim

12g940 heads show up for sale regularly.  A shop should be able to drill the extra two holes if wanted.

Or...lots of tasty heads available new!
https://www.minimania.com/part/AEG163-RB/Classic-Austin-Mini-Rebuilt-Cylinder-Head-With-Valves-And-Springs 
https://calverst.com/webshop/cylinder-head/
https://www.minimania.com/part/U-12G940/12g940-Cylinder-Head-9-Or-Eleven-Stud-With-Valves--Springs

Bel Engine Service in Edmonton, Alberta have the tools, the knowledge and the experience to fix your head, if it can be fixed. They did several for me a few years ago, I think it was about half of the total AEG 163 heads that I dropped off.

Hi Tim, Options??  Yes, the head can be repaired..the good news.  The bad news is that you may have (significant) trouble finding someone with the skills and equipment to do the job.  And may be a little concerned at the cost....

163s were used on early Ss and were known as being prone to cracking.  I hadn't heard about "Mk II" 163s but BMC did produce heads with reduced valve sizes to combat cracking... don't know if there are "small valve" 163s though.  The common updated head for 1275s is the 12G940 (casting number).  These do come in various guises.  AFAIK you would need to measure the valves to determine is its an "S" head.  A 940 modified by a "name" specialist is the best option... unless you're an originality junky..  163s do seem to come up on fleabay quite regularly.  However noting their reputation (163s not fleabay you would want to be very sure about the sellers bona fides..

I don't think BMC "stamped" heads..  The casting numbers were the identifiers.  Stamped heads indicate a third party involvement... which is helpful... if you can read the codes

Cheers, Ian

It's been awhile since I posted.  I have an update with bad news.  I had reinstalled the motor head on the Mini then ran the Mini last fall for a bit.  Seemed to lack a little power so I did a compression test.  The cylinders were progressively low to number 4 which was about 90 PSI.  The Mini has 80K miles, if you believe the counter, so I thought it's probably time for me  to do a complete rebuild.  I dropped the motor, suspension, dismantled the motor and sent the block, the crank, the pistons and rods, and the head out for checking.

The machinist called;  The head has a crack behind the valve so the head is not good.  Block, crank, pistons rods are fine.

%^$%#&*=many bad words.

What are my options?  Can the head be repaired? Machinist said he thought no.  Can I purchase a new "old"  "S"head?  Where?  or like Hens teeth.  What "new" head or heads are available for a "S" head block.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
It's spring here in WI irrespective of the 7" of snow we got last night and I do want to get Yoda back on the road.

Thanks for the help
Tim

Hello and thanks for the reply.
A while back, I bought "Essential Mini Cooper and "Original Min Cooper and Cooper S books on the classic Minis. I actually enjoy reading of the Mini.  I don't believe the books mentioned the casting numbers ie part numbers.  I believe they mentioned the "spampings" on the head.  With this in mind; I greatly appreciate your insight and comments! 
Thanks much!

Now on to gettting the head checked out.  I think if I drop it off early next week I may have it back and installed in time for spring!  Let' hope so.

Thanks again.

Tim

It does .... sort of. The part number is one digit less than the casting number or AEG162 in your case.

Hello and thanks for the input.

I have the car in a shop about 30 miles from my home so, sorry my response is not timely.

Yes it is an Austin Cooper S, 1965.  I did measure the valves and yes they are the correct "S" size.  Also, I did keep the pushrods in the correct order; ).  As for checking the head; I haven't given that much thought.  Just thinking about it; I think that is an excellent suggestion!

I am still curious as to why the head does not have a factory number stamp.

Regards

Tim

while the head is off, good time to get it crack tested, and relap your valves. Hope you kept them in order along with the pushrods.

Just to confirm, it is a Cooper S head. Should have 1.4" intake and 1.21 exhaust valves as stock.

Some runs of them are known to be crack-prone between the intake and exhaust valves. Supposedly there was a modified casting still bearing the same AEG163 number that didn't suffer from the cracking issues as the earliest ones did.

I've seen stampings like the one you have in the manifold mounting face on heads that have been rebuilt and a shop has marked it to catalog it. Performance modifiers like Longman and others also will sometimes stamp their heads there or on the top face with a serial number and chamber size designated in cc's.

 

On the pic of the manifold stud, is that indentation common?  Trying to remember if I've seen that before.

 

 

 

I believe the AEG163 is the number of an early S head

Hello.

I have a 1965 Austin Cooper S.  It"s winter here in WI so I am doing a little maintenance.  The rubber radiator surround seal was brittle so I removed the radiator to replace the seal.  This was a good time to check the water pump.  This too was very loose but not leaking...yet, so time to replace that too.  I removed the pump and the bypass hose was also brittle so I removed that.  Well the bypass metal tube from the head was just a nub so I tried to remove that but could not.  I removed the head, put in a vice and with a little heat and a big wrench and an easy out; the bypass metal tube came out.

So, checking the head; I could not find a head stamp number.  There are casting numbers 26A  MOWOG  AEG 163 see pic 2 and a stamp on the intake surface G  28  G see pic 3.  I can not find any other numbers on the head.  I find this stange.  Am I missing something?  Why would this head not have a number?  Near the thermostat is a single stamp, a D I think but not a number.

Thanks for the help.

Tim