repair shop in Central Fl......." Mike, I have a r50 in the shop that has a valve that looks like a blowtorch cut right thru it!! Have you heard of this happening on the r50 MINI's??"
The answer is YES!! This r50 has 80K on it. And the valve is burnt. Was it the fault of the valve?? NOPE!! Running lean ( this IS a smog engine) and high temp, over a period of time, will cause the valves to burn. Upgrading to a more resilient Valve material would be a good idea now.. as your shop is going to replace it with the r50 like part.
This KIT is right in there for you. $226.00
Check the cost of all the top end gaskets ( $186.00 )
Or all the gaskets AND ARP studs: ( $350.00)
Thanks
Thumper