Classic Mini Small Bore Cylinder Head Rebuilt For Unleaded Gasoline

Last time we started building a small-bore engine for maximum power. But there is no point having a good engine and putting the wrong head on it. I'm going to use the 12G202 head, as these are the best to modify for our purposes. They are a bit smaller than the 12G295 or 12G206 heads, which gives you a bit more metal to play with when grinding. As far as a standard head goes, you can't go past the 12G295 or 12G206.

The specter of 'unleaded fuel only' - instigated in UK on January 1st 1999 and seemingly from decades ago across the rest of the world - seems to be forcing more and more folk into frightened, panic orientated action.

Everybody has their own opinion on this subject. The most experienced people will tell you that the best way to maintain your engine performance is to accept the fact that valve jobs need to be done 2 or 3 times more often than rings and bearings! And this data base was concluded when leaded gas was the norm! Now that unleaded is all you can get, valve jobs are needed even more often! The purpose of a valve job is two fold; first the valve seats. The impurities in the air and gas often get trapped between the valve and the seat in the head; under worst conditions stopping the valve from closing, but more commonly being smashed enough to allow just a little seepage of hot gases.