sorry couldn't help the ebay headline. you clowns have got me started on something there.
anyway, i just received the following email. i will get the pictures up of the sand cores tonight.
"MINI SPORT / AKM 7 PORT CYLINDER HEAD
Thank you for your enquiry about the AKM 7 port cylinder head and we are pleased to give you an update on the current situation regarding the production of these heads.
Firstly though, we would like to apologise for the delay in supplying you with information, which was unavoidable for a number of reasons but trust that the following explanation will help you to understand the cause of this delay.
The recent history of the 7 port, in brief, is that it was being produced in Denmark by Georg Mikkelsen of AKM racing, who had gained some spectacular results with Mini racers in Denmark, Japan, Canada, in addition to other racers all over the world. Also, Georg had given a 7 port head, to the well known Guru of 'A' series tuning, Mr David Vizard. His glowing tribute, which can be found in his book Tuning BL 'A' series engines, say's it all about this head.
Georg knew he had a brilliant product, good news always travels fast and enquiries followed from all over the world. Mini Sport was no exception, we had tried the head and the results were astounding, hence we contacted Georg to buy heads from him. However, he had a problem with the head which had become very difficult to solve. He could not get the heads cast or machined in Denmark in sufficient quantities, the problem being that either the castings were wrong, or they were incorrectly machined by the sub contractors. This was costing a lot of time,money and endless stress and he still didn't have any heads to supply his patient customers.
The situation had to be solved, and through discussion between the Chairman of Mini Sport, Mr Brian Harper and Georg, it was initially decided that Mini Sport would have the heads cast in the UK, where expertise in casting is greater. The heads would then come to Mini Sport and be machined in their new state of the art machining centre which had been set up during 2004, with great investment in CNC Lathes and Milling machines. These machines, along with the expertise and knowledge gained over the last 50 years by Mini Sport engineers was the perfect combination required to produce the finished product.
However, with the problems Georg had endured over a long period time, he finally came to the decision that he no longer wished to be involved with making the 7 port head and suggested that Mini Sport should buy the rights and the tooling. After a great deal of discussion, we agreed to take the project on and the deal was finally done in February 2005. On our insistence, part of this deal was that Georg would still be involved in the production, but in an advisory role.
Since March, when we received the tooling, we have been actively sourcing the correct foundry for the job within the UK, as it is important to us that we get this head into production as soon as possible. However, it is important that the head is 100% perfect before it is released into the market place, hence the reason for the delay. We know this is frustrating, but it has been very necessary to spend the time on doing the research so we were confident of a positive result and a quality product.
We are pleased to advise you that the first cores have been delivered to the foundry for prototype casting and we expect to take delivery of the first Mini Sport 7 Port Cylinder Heads in the next few days. These first heads will go through rigorous tests, including X-ray and pressure tests and finally to be cut into sections to make sure the castings are perfect.
When we are completely satisfied, we will begin production and then be in a position to supply you with your Mini Sport 7 Port Cylinder head. Unfortunately, we are unable to give you any accurate prices at the moment, but envisage the price for a standard bare 7 port head to be inline with the AKM price of approximately £1000 to £1200 + vat. Until all the testing has been done and all the costings finalised we are unable to confirm these prices. However, from the beginning of this project these have been our target prices, so we are reasonably confident that these will be achieved. We will inform you immediately, the prices and specifications are available.
Additionally, we will be sending you updates over the next few weeks, keeping you informed of our progress with this project and although we don't have an accurate delivery schedule we would like to be in a position to start supply by mid to late July 2005.
Finally, if you wish to reserve one of the first Mini Sport 7 Port Cylinder Heads, we need to hear from you very soon. These cylinder heads will be produced in batches and to be assured of receiving one of the first of these fantastic pieces of engineering, which will be sold strictly on a first come first served basis, we need to receive a confirmed order along with a deposit of £250. On receipt of your order we will contact you as soon as possible to advise you of your position on the list.
We trust that this information has been of help and interest to you and we will be in contact again very soon with an update.
We look forward to being of service soon,
Very kindest regards,
Chris Harper
(Sales Director) "
hmmm $3000 plus shipping, plus GR working. Craps all over that $13500 16V for value, but would it get you anything over and above a GR 5 port? Would love to get one out here for him to work his magic on.
michael
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good way to see where the ports go and how thick the walls are!