Sorry if this has been touched on elsewhere, but im trying to get an idea of the path i should take with my 998

Car: 67 Morris Deluxe. Matching numbers etc etc, 120,000 miles on the clock (know the previous owner and it was in his family from new). All basically stock engine'd, never opened

We have pulled the motor out to start looking at freshening up the body work etc, and on further inspection the motor needed some attention (it sat for 15 odd years before we got it running again, and since then its decided to weep oil from every gasket conceivable).

Ive also just picked up a cam and a pair of SU's recently for it too


Basically what i want opinions of is....

Head wise:
-Port/polish worth it to make it breathe a bit better? Especially with the cam/carby upgrade
-Changing valve seats to suit running Unleaded fuel (rather than forever adding Additives)
-What head gaskets do people run? Standard vs "peformance"
-anything else i should be looking at?

Bottom end wise:
-is it worth just chucking a fresh set of bearings in and being done with it, or do i go and throw new internals in matched with some mild machinework
-what combination of gear is best bang for buck?

Ive had a few people tell me to go big bore / bore out the current motor as far as i can / bore out an 1100 block / so on, but as tempting as it is, i like it still being a 998 at heart (even if it does cop some new internals as well as the cam n carbies). Its not a concourse resto, its going to be a fun weekender / once a week to work in the warmer months kind of car. Want it to sound good and be reliable for years to come

Thanks guys

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1967 Morris Mini Deluxe. Minimal Rust, work in progress (6 years and counting)
2012 Pajero......cue the W*nker jokes, ive heard em all

And as for the carbies / cam i bought, i'll supply pictures. Can't 100% identify cam as it has no numbers/markings on it. Was told it was "matched" for the carbies, thats it haha

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1967 Morris Mini Deluxe. Minimal Rust, work in progress (6 years and counting)
2012 Pajero......cue the W*nker jokes, ive heard em all

If you wan to keep it standard bore I wouldn't worry about major block machining, just check the bores are nice, maybe some rings if needed. Check the bearings and replace if needed. Probably replace the oil pump while you're in there for safety sakes. But really the bottom end doesn't need much work if you're lucky. Maybe a bore hone and a deck skim.
Check the gearbox while you're at it and replace what's worn to keep it reliable.
The head is the big area to focus on. Convert it to unleaded, bigger valves, combustion chambers, port it and skim the head to keep it flat.
A standard head gasket will be fine. A set of extractors and if you're really keen drill and pin the manifolds to the head and match the ports when it's ported and polished, got to keep it flowing nicely.

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

The 998 and 1098 blocks are identical, the only difference is the crankshaft and pistons. So you could swap a 1098 crank and pistons into your original block and no one would be the wiser externally!

Do you know what cylinder head is on it now?

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Putting new rings in an old motor is not worth the trouble. Once you try to hone it, you will find the bores are worn both oval and tapered with a ridge at the top.
New pistons with rings for a 998 are dirt cheap, I'd do it properly and bore + hone to the next oversize (+.020") pistons.

As for the crank, if it's not worn or scored, just fit new bearings. But it it has more than 1/2 a thou (.0005") ovality or taper, or is grooved, get the crank reground to the next undersize. Bearings don't last with worn crank journals.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.