35 replies to this topic

[charlie]

I have a 91 cooper, all is well.

I feel the car needs another gear five instead of four.

What year did mini's start to get a 5 speed box?

Could I fit any five speed box straight onto my car or are there only specific boxes?

Is it easy to add a fifth gear into my own four speed box?

Any ideas? and any ideas on cost? ta

[Floyd]

as far as i kno minis dont come with 5 speed box's, all i kno is the Mpi has a diffrent 4th to act more like a 5th on the motorways n stuff.

i have herd u can fit a mg metro 5 speed box, but how true this is i dont kno.

[The Matt]

MG Metro's didn't have a 5-speeder. You can do 5 or even 6 speed conversions for minis but it aint cheap (for a 5 speed box you'll probably be looking at over a grand if you were to fit it yourself).
Some of the later cooper sport 500s were fitted with a five speed box IIRC you might want to have a look into Jack Knight developments, or someone like Minispeed who do 5 speed stuff.

[Floyd]

non of the mg metty's what so ever? i was told 2day u can do it, if not ill be having words lol

[The Matt]

I think the Metro GTis had a 5 speed box in them, but the MG Metro was an A+ engine, which is the same as a mini lump. The GTi's were a 1400 OHC with a gearbox bolted on the side, you could do a conversion into a mini, but I would rather go for a decent tuned up A/A+ engine and a modded 'box.

[Dog]

5 speed box from minispeed ar 2k a 6 speed box from kad is 3k! :gasp:

[Bungle]

my five speed box cost me £1200 but they have almost doubled now :sad:

[minimadjonesy]

buy one from Stuart Gurr at VmaxScart! clicky

and there were a few cooper sports produced with a factory fitted 5speed!

[AlexM]

there were a few cooper sports produced with a factory fitted 5speed!

So thats why the Cooper 500 Gearknob has five gears on it!!!!

[Dog]

how strong do you think a 5 speed box will be...

I mean, if some people here fancy a track day with a road car... would it put up with the torgue etc

[gsms]

I'm really interested in converting to 6-speed too. 4 gears in a Cooper just doesnt seem right, especially on the motorways.

Guido.

[Guess-Works.com]

If you want a strong box for trackday, stick with a 4 speed.... And as for Coopers with 5 speeds, I'm 99.9% sure no mini was ever fitted off the production line with 5 forward gears, it may have been a conversion which may have been a dealer option, but as bungle has said, you're talking 2k plus for a 5 speed...

My answer is, if you want 5 gears in a mini, do a K series, Vauxhall or Vtech conversion, it'll work out cheaper and more reliable in the end...

[Dog]

would a 4 speed box with a 3.44 final drive, be ok?

[The Matt]

I do think the Cooper Sport 500's had a 5-speed box in them (I think it was a Jack Knight jobbie too). Not sure if it may have been an 'optional extra'. :saywhat:

[Guess-Works.com]

would a 4 speed box with a 3.44 final drive, be ok?

IMO, the best ratio for a mini providing good acceleration and not too high rpm at 70 ( approx 4k depending on wheel size )